There was only one Garage Squad build that really went down to the wire in season eight, but the team has never failed a build completely.
The Garage Squad team endeavors to help various weekend mechanics with their stalled and incomplete projects by supplying whichever tools and skills are needed to get the job done.
Although this team often encounters snags along the way, the “72 Chevy Nova” episode from season eight was the only time where they almost failed on a build.
How Garage Squad works
There are many different things that may prevent weekend mechanics from getting to or finishing their ream builds.
Fortunately, the team that takes over in MotorTrend’s Garage Squad rolls up to their builds with all of the skills, tools, connections and money that they could possibly need to turn just about any build around.
The owners featured on the show have gotten sidetracked by personal tragedies, found mechanical problems that they just could not solve on their own, or simply did not have the time or resources to get their stalled projects off the ground, among other things.
But Bruno, Bogi, Joe, Cy, Ronnie and Kingster do everything that they can to bring these cars back to life within a couple of days.
The time that Garage Squad almost failed
Garage Squad first started airing in 2014. And over the course of the show’s subsequent eight seasons, the team managed to help more than 80 at-home mechanics with whatever was preventing them from finishing their project cars.
That is, however, until the team came across a particularly tricky 1972 Chevrolet Nova build in the show’s eighth season. The “72 Chevy Nova” Garage Squad episode first aired on November 24, 2021, and it proved to be a real doozy.
The Garage Squad team certainly always expects to find things like loose wiring, faulty welds, missing parts, and lots and lots of dust and rust when they first arrive at whichever garage, shed, barn or backyard that their next stalled project car is being stored in.
But with this particular project, it seemed like every new part they installed or problem that was fixed, would just lead to another issue somewhere within the car.
Fortunately though, the Garage Squad team managed to persevere despite all of the unexpected detours along the way.
They finished the build – with its twin-turbo, roll cage and small block engine in tow – just in time for the big reveal at the end and the show was able to maintain its no-fail streak for the rest of the eighth season.
How the show works
Whether or not a Garage Squad build turns out to be as challenging as this ‘72 Chevy Nova build from the eighth season, they all do start out the same way.
In order to be featured on the show, a project does need to be submitted through the form on the Garage Squad website.
From there, the show’s producers, one of which is Matt Burnett, reportedly sort through all the submissions, and look for the projects which “have the potential to kick-ass.”
They then call the owners to notify them that their projects have been chosen for the show. From there, the process continues the way that viewers see it play out on the show.
How long does the Garage Squad team take to film each episode?
In general, the Garage Squad team does not have a set deadline when they first arrive at the project, but they do try to complete all of their builds within to a week.
However, Burnett has jokingly admitted that the show’s project timelines really depend on “the scope of the project, and how good the local restaurants are.”
The show has also been known to push the team to finish their projects in a very short period of time, when there is some kind of special occasion or significant date that is coming up.
The other season eight Garage Squad builds
In addition to the down-to-the-wire “72 Chevy Nova”, the eighth and most recent season of Garage Squad included nine other episodes featuring some truly impressive builds.
These episodes and their original air dates are as follows:
| Episode number | Episode title | Original air date |
| Episode 1 | “89 Chevy Camaro” | October 20, 2021 |
| Episode 2 | “84 Dodge Ramcharger” | October 27, 2021 |
| Episode 3 | “71 Plymouth Roadrunner” | November 3, 2021 |
| Episode 4 | “82 Mazda RX-7” | November 10, 2021 |
| Episode 5 | “87 Buick Regal Turbo” | November 17, 2021 |
| Episode 7 | “55 Chevy Sedan Delivery” | December 1, 2021 |
| Episode 8 | “72 Ford Torino Cobra Jet” | December 8, 2021 |
| Episode 9 | “79 Ford Bronco” | December 15, 2021 |
| Episode 10 | “71 De Tomaso Pantera” | December 22, 2021 |
