Any real car enthusiast would love to come across a classic car barn find and restore it back to the beauty it was meant to be. This was what the Chasing Classic Cars TV show brought to the table, season after season, especially because the show focused on classic cars, many of which were rare beauties most car lovers may never have had the chance to experience. It was a show by car lovers, for car lovers, but it was a show nonetheless.
Updated September 2021: If you're a fan of Wayne Carini and his show Chasing Classic Cars, you'll be happy to know that we've updated this article with more recent and relevant information as well as better images.
Like most shows, there was a whole production process to optimize the show for maximum viewership. Cast members had to be complicit in this for the show to be the success it is known as today. Of course, the cars and the restorations were real. However, let's take a look at fifteen things, hidden between the lines, that the cast of Chasing Classic Cars kept quiet about.
15 Sometimes The Cars Are More Expensive Than We're Told
Yes, sometimes, there are hidden charges, and buyers might not get all the information on the show. The show is viewer optimized to seem all great where people get their dream classic cars for a reasonable price. In reality, these hidden charges make the purchase price a whole lot higher than what viewers think.
14 Wayne Carini Was Once A Teacher
Don’t be too surprised. Wayne had dreams of being an art teacher and even studied at Central Connecticut state university to that effect. We are confident that young Wayne would never have guessed that his path would ultimately lead him to his big break in the car TV show business.
13 Wayne Has A Personal Collection Of 25 Classic Cars
Wayne doesn't speak much about his personal car collection on the show. Some things in life are an obsession, and for Wayne Carini, classic cars are very much it. Since Wayne had to help his father fix classic cars while in grade school, he got the chance to interact a lot with them and fall in love, so it’s no wonder he has 25 of these babies in his collection.
12 Roger Barr Had To Quit The Show For Health Reasons
At some point during the show, Roger Barr, Wayne’s mechanic, quietly exited the show with no explanation given. It wasn't until fans started questioning what happened that Carini eventually revealed that Roger left for medical reasons, after sustaining an injury in the workshop.
11 Carini And Barr Go Way Back To Before The Show Began
Wayne Carini was ten years old when he met Roger Barr. Wayne’s dad ran an auto body shop in Glastonbury, Connecticut, in the same area where Roger was the local foreign-cars mechanic. The story has it that when Roger was fixing a car that needed bodywork, he’d bring it to Carini’s dad. When his dad was fixing a car that needed mechanical work, he’d take it to Roger’s shop.
10 Wayne Doesn't Always Know Everything About The Cars On The Show
Like all other things, no one knows everything about classic cars. The show may have led you to believe otherwise, especially with Wayne’s confidence, one genuinely exemplary of a master salesman, but it is simply not so. Typically, researchers in tv crews do research and get factual content concerning the topics to be discussed. We are sure this was the case.
9 Discovery Velocity Sometimes Interferes With The Content
The truth is that it is a show, and it needs views and followers to survive. That's why the producers would occasionally use scripted scenes to suit what the audience wants. One of the stars of another show produced by Velocity, Wheeler Dealers, didn’t buy into this and left the show because he believed Velocity was interfering and making terrible changes to the show.
8 They Don’t Say How Much Money The Car Owners Were Given
We were rarely told how much the car owners were paid. That's weird because the entire beauty of the show is hinged on the restoration of classic rides and their sale to the highest possible bidder. The fact that such old and dusty-looking cars could sell for such high prices is supposed to intrigue viewers. However, revealing how much the real car owners get tampers with that objective a little bit.
7 It Took Eight Years Of Consistent Work To Make The Show Popular
This is surprising, seeing as they have gathered a large following over the years. One would expect very high ratings from the beginning, but this was not the case. The show took time before it finally began to hit record high ratings. What makes this more unusual is that the show has had its fair share of beloved celebrity guests, but maybe that is just how show biz is?
6 Roger Barr Wasn't Paid For His Appearances On The Show
Roger Barr was not compensated for his role in the chasing classic cars show. However, he made a name for himself and has become the fans’ favorite. This became especially clear when Roger needed to undergo treatment after leaving the show due to a workshop incident. Friends of Roger had to solicit for financial aid via a GoFundMe account to offset hospital bills.
5 Not All The Cars Make Profits For Carini Once They're Restored
You might think that once a car is restored that it should yield profit. This isn’t always true, and this was the occasional reality of some of the car restorations done by Carini. Not every repair and auction was a hit. Some cars didn’t sell after renovation, but of course, airing such failures would have been detrimental to ratings.
4 Roger Used To Race In The Formula B And Vee Competitions
Roger Barr used to be in the air force and was stationed in Germany. It was during that time that he drove for the Porsche factory sports team in a supportive role. He won the Formula Vee and Formula B championships while he was at it, and picked up mechanical knowledge that became useful to him when he returned to the United States. Go, Roger!
3 Roger Had An Issue With French Cars
This story dates back to when the younger Wayne Carini would go look at the beautiful cars that came into Roger Barr’s workshop, back in the day. Roger would let Wayne sit in the vehicles, and even back then, Roger had a bold sign outside his workshop that read, “no French cars allowed,” which showed his dislike for them.
2 Wayne Carini Was Born Into A Family Of Car Restorers
Everyone is a product of influence, and the younger Wayne Carini was no different. He grew to know his dad to be a car restorer, working on all types of classic cars back in the day. He also has a cousin who built hot rods. Suffice to say; there was enough expertise in the family to inspire passion in young Wayne to become the famous car restorer we all love.
1 Carini Has An Attic Full Of Stuff He Sometimes Forgets He Owns
This fact shouldn’t seem out of place for an excellent classic car collector and restorer, who has been collecting classic cars for years. This video of Wayne’s attic shows some exciting things he has in there, including a tractor, a few classic cars, car parts, and even some car literature.