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History
The act of "flipping" sees canny petrolheads purchasing sought after motors (the cheaper and rustier, the better) and bringing them back to life in order to "flip" for big profits.
Danny "The Count" Koker is the David Dickinson of the car restoration world, only less irritating and not as orange. He is the master of uncovering extremely rare machines and resurrecting them to their former glory... and further.
Watch the clip below to get an idea of what the guys do and then read our exclusive interview with Danny "The Count" Koker on why he loves nothing more than a rusty challenge.
So what is the secret to "car flipping"?
The art of flipping cars is to facilitate business. You've got to be able to purchase the car for the correct price and do things to that vehicle to make it appealing to a buyer and then be able to sell it for a profit. You've got to be careful what you do to it so you don't invest too much time so you can't make a real profit. I've got my own style, my own flair, my own vibe I like to put on vehicles, so the challenge becomes customising vehicles in the way I see fit, yet still be able to sell them for a good price.
You say that finding old cars and flipping them is an addiction in the show. What part of it makes you happiest... the profit, the finished product or the customer's reaction?
The finished product definitely makes me the happiest. I care about the cars so much and to see a project come together properly and to be satisfied in my heart that we did this car justice is enough for me. The fact the car now looks like a rock star - that makes me so happy.
What's been the toughest project you've ever worked on?
Some years back I built a custom chopper for Ozzy Osbourne - who is one of the nicest guys you would ever want to meet. He wanted a cool bike, so we built a custom chopper here at my shop, from the ground up, from front to back. To me it's one of my favourite bikes we've ever built out of this place, not just because whom it was for, but we did so many personalised custom touches on that bike, which pushed the team in ways we've never seen before.
What has been the biggest transformation from rust heap to absolute beauty?
A 1957 Chevrolet, 150-2 door post hot rod. That car came to me on a trailer palette and really the only useable parts were most of the roof and dashboard. Other than that, we built a '57 Chevy out of nothing and it is an absolutely gorgeous hot rod. That car was such a rusty pile of junk. There was no engine, no transmission, and no suspension; it was just a rotten shell. We built that car out of almost nothing, and it was a huge challenge, but now that car is gorgeous.
Have you got a dream find? Any particular car or bike that you are yet to uncover that you'd like to work on?
My dream car would be a 1972 Lamborghini Miura SV Jota, which is a very rare exotic car. The Lamborghini Miura was the car that coined the phrase "exotic car"; nothing was called an "exotic car" until Lamborghini built the Miura. I think it is arguably one of the most beautiful cars ever built.
Finally, have you ever thought about coming to the UK? We have tons of vintage stuff lying around in old sheds you could work your magic on
I would love to come to the UK. I got to spend some time in London a few years back and I fell in love with the place. The UK is one of my favourite countries in the world, so I would certainly like to try my hand at flipping cars there!
Catch Counting Cars on Thursday 21 February at 9pm on History