- As a former test pilot, Dan Short hopes that FantomWorks will become a classic car restoration shop that runs with military precision. Instead, he is finding out that when making old cars 'better than new' - nothing goes according to plan.
- Daniel Short, owner, DRS Automotive FantomWorks his company / shop has a simple history. Born in 1962 enlisted in the Navy where he worked demolitions and medicine and weapons. He was a Green Beret/Special Forces. Met his wife later in military grad school,a highly-respected and decorated Navy Commander.
The show proved to be one of the most popular on the Velocity network, now known as Motor Trend Channel. The show has ended but the shop isn't going anywhere. Fans of the show can still tour the 52,000 sq. ft. garage/shop and / or bring in their own classic cars in for restoration. Sixty to seventy percent of their customers are within the local area.
Most episodes include completely unscripted, tense moments, arguments, close calls, and rushed deadlines and show the painstaking hard work and sweat, completely real that goes on at FantomWorks garage day to day. Shorts' crew take on projects that viewers can watch start to finish. So many amazing vehicles showcased on the show during its eight-season run, but the pilot episode featured two of the best vehicles from the entire show. Both projects were very challenging. One was where the crew only had a couple months to turn a Corvette into a split-window. They came through in the end with a successful delivery.
Another amazing moments episode was when the crew restored a classic C10 pickup truck for a high school student. The deadline was for her Prom. She fell in love with the truck when she saw it in the movie Twilight, and saved up enough money to buy a beat-up one that needed a lot of work. The FantomWorks crew turned the C10 from beater to beauty. Many episodes of FantomWorks were a race to the finish. Many viewers watched with anticipation to see if the crew would be able to complete any specified car project on time and stay within the customer's budget. That made for some very exciting TV.
Fantom Works Arno IX replica hydroplane from 1953 episode was an incredible feat of accomplishment. The cosmetic work on the boat was impressive, very pretty boat, especially when built from scratch by a bunch of guys used to working on classic cars. The wood working re creation was amazing to watch as well as the extent of efforts Short went to find boat engineering experts to make the boat safe and usable.
Sometimes celebrities drop by like Ted Nugent to show support for the crew and check out the classic muscle in their garage. Nugent may be known as a gun guy, but he's a fan of classic cars as well. The crew appreciates whenever the rock star would visit.
The paydays Dan Short and his crew received from being on a reality show is coming to a close. He once said, "I would much prefer it back the old way." His wish has now come true as Fantom Works the show just ended its historic and incredible eight season run. Not to worry, the show will live on in reruns. - Martin Snytsheuvel
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