Roadkill Season 8, Episode 3: Rear-Engine Replacement: The Econorado Is Born!

Two Cadillacs, Too Reliable!

For years Mike Finnegan has wanted to build a 200-mph Cadillac, and now David Freiburger has finally agreed to make it happen...or at least get it started.

Twice the Power, Half the Trucks, Leah Pritchett!

What happens when you take the front half of two separate four-wheel-drive vehicles and combine them into one? David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan are back in the junkyard to answer that question and make one of Freiburger's dream schemes come to life! With two engines, four driving wheels, and two steering wheels, is it twice the fun?

30 min

440 Big Block Samurai: From the Junkyard to the Road!

Back on Episode 78 of Roadkill, David Freiburger and Steve Dulcich built the Super Sammy—a junkyard-rescued Suzuki Samurai that they crammed a 440 Chrysler big-block into right where it sat in the middle of the junkyard. Now they’re back to actually hit the road and find out why Suzuki never offered this engine combination from the factory. After some minor fixes and replacing the stock rearend with a better-fitting yet still undersized match for the 440, they make the Super Sammy “roadworthy” and head out for adventure. Will the police agree with the guys’ acceptable level of roadworthiness? Will the new rearend make it 500 miles without exploding? Will Dulcich tame the ThermoQuad and make the Sammy do epic burnouts? Find out the answers to all of these questions, and more, in this junkyard road trip adventure on this episode of Roadkill!

30 min

The Ultimate Beater Burnout Machine!

Roadkill has always been dedicated to the artistry, styling, and raw beauty of all things burnout related. David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan have long considered themselves masters of “burnout-ology,” yet they have never actually entered a burnout competition…until now. Armed with what’s left of a rusted-out ’76 Camaro—a parking lot mini spool upgrade and spare tires—the guys set out across Texas to show how to “scientifically” get the best burnouts. With a desire to win and a stronger desire to kill some tires, the guys enter the burnout competition at the Spring Break Jam car show in South Padre Island, Texas. They know how to do burnouts, that’s a given…but the real question is: Will the Camaro’s engine hold together longer than its tires? Find out on this episode of Roadkill.

Junkyard-Rescue Four-Speed Big-Block ’64 Galaxie!

On season 2 episode 3 of Roadkill’s Junkyard Gold, Steve Magnante found a 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 XL that absolutely needed to be rescued. Why? Because it’s a 390ci big-block with four-speeds of goodness, of course! This beauty has been sitting neglected for decades, and now David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan are determined to get it back on the road. With a little sweat, dirt removal, and some junkyard parts, the guys manage to get the 500 XL up and running. Funny thing is, though, most cars end up the junkyard for a reason, and they soon find out why this Galaxie was cast far, far away. After a few miles, the car begins to smoke worse than any car in the history of Roadkill. Will the guys make it to their destination, or will they end up performing a parking lot engine swap? Find out on this episode of Roadkill.

Cheap Beater Battle: Chevy vs. Ford, Old vs. Newish!

David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan are always out to determine the best bang for your buck when it comes to a beater under $3K. This time, it’s a four-vehicle shootout in all of the most important match-ups: We’ve got Chevy versus Ford, truck versus car, and old versus newer! With the stipulation of finding the best vehicle for someone in high school, the guys went with one four-door V-8 and one pickup each. Freiburger chose newish with a 2006 Crown Vic and a 1999 Chevy S-10. Finnegan went vintage with a 1972 Ford Maverick and a 1976 Chevy LUV. From there it’s an all-out battle using the classic Roadkill measuring stick of drag racing, burnouts for distance, dirt circle driving, and autocross. Which beater is best? Find out on this episode of Roadkill.

Parking Lot Engine Swap: More Power for the Draguar!

The blown 383 small block Chevy powered ‘74 Jaguar XJ 12 known as the Draguar is back! After sitting neglected for far too long, Freiburger and Finnegan have decided to put a new heart in the disabled Draguar in true Roadkill fashion. They are back the Summit parking lot in Sparks, NV - the site of their original extreme parking lot engine swap fiasco from episode 4 of Roadkill. And if giving the Draguar a new heart wasn’t enough, the guys also follow up on a lead to fill the void of the stolen Mazdarati. Will this nostalgia trip lead to a rebirth of mini truck greatness, or just more epic destruction of Summit’s pavement with unbelievable Draguar burnouts? Find out in this episode of Roadkill!

Trading Cars Across Power Tour: the Ultimate Road Trip!

Ever dreamed of having a new ride every day of the week? David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan live that dream Roadkill-style, as they trade their way through the 25th HOT ROD Power Tour! Each day the guys trade away their junk for new junk and attempt to make it to the next stop on the tour. Needless to say, their trading skills don’t land many upgrades, but the big question is: Will they make it all the way or end up on the side of the road with only a single red paper clip? Watch this episode of Roadkill to find out!

60 min

Junkyard Rescue T-37 Pontiac!

How many times have David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan been burned by rescuing a car from a junkyard? Too many, but this time it’s a total win! Steve Magnante found an awesome ’71 Pontiac T-37 at L&L Classic Auto in Idaho, on Episode 15 of Roadkill’s Junkyard Gold and now he’s led the guys to rescue this treasure. After finally learning their lesson, Freiburger and Finnegan take the time to “do things the right way,” taking proper precautions to revive the motor that’s 38 years stagnate. “Spoiler” alert—it doesn’t all go smooth. After many speedbumps, the guys finally get the T-37 running, visit an Evel Knievel landmark, and even find out that their engine is something even better than they thought. What’s under the Pontiac’s hood? Find out on this episode of Roadkill.

60 min

Road Trip Survival: The LUV Is All You Need!

When is taking untested, unreliable junk on a road trip a bad idea? Eh, maybe 90 percent of the time, but not when you have a buddy who’s up for weathering any storm by your side. On this episode of Roadkill, Mike Finnegan and Tony Angelo take on a big adventure in a little truck. Sight unseen they buy a mid-’70s Chevy LUV mini-truck and hit the road, enduring miles of electrical problems, epic torrential downpours, water in the engine, and floods, and yet they still manage to install nitrous on the wee four-banger. Will Angelo blow it up, or will it do the longest nitrous burnout in Roadkill history? Find out on this awesome Roadkill adventure.

Episode 100: Back to Throwing Darts!

Eight years ago, David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan started a little Internet show where they played with cars so you could point and laugh. Now 100 episodes later, they’re back to their roots. On this episode of Roadkill, Freiburger and Finnegan revive the premise of the first episode: throw a dart at a map and hit the road looking for adventure. This time, however, they’re taking to new heights with a bigger map and a four-door Dart. Where will they end up? What’s the car that started all that is Roadkill? Can a ’76 318-powered Dodge Dart beat the terminal velocity of a 2013 in a quarter-mile? All of these questions and more will be answered in the 100th episode of Roadkill!

Project Car Showdown & Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge!

Surprise again! Remember when we did the last project car showdown for Episode 74 instead of 75? Well, we’re keeping up with the chaos by serving up this one for Episode 101 instead of 100. You knew we wouldn’t let you down and not deliver a Roadkill-style showdown around another milestone. On this episode of Roadkill, David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan bring their best Dodge project cars out to the M1 Concourse for the annual Roadkill Nights event powered by Dodge in Pontiac, Michigan. This time it’s a road course, skidpad, and drag racing with seven favorite project cars. And since this is an all-Dodge showdown, we had to bring out the Mopar man himself, Steve Dulcich, to partake in the action. Will he lose the course and kill maximum cones? Find out on this epic showdown!

Blasphemi takes on HOT ROD Drag Week!

If the 1955 Chevy with a Hemi we call Blasphemi is known for three things, they would be going fast, being awesome, and breaking apart! On this episode of Roadkill, the Blasphemi delivers on all three as Mike Finnegan and Tony Angelo take on HOT ROD Drag Week. It’s the most brutal five-day test of real drag-racing, street-driven cars, as competitors race five times on four drag strips while driving over 1,000 miles in between, battling to post the lowest average elapsed time at the end of the week. Last year Finnegan was the runner-up in his class. This year? Well, you might have already heard the results, but what you haven’t seen is the epic adventure, the carnage, and the struggle it takes to survive! See how it all unfolded right here on Roadkill!