If you’re an avid fan of car TV shows — with their dramatized garage scenes and ambitious restorations of classic cars, motorbikes, trucks, and even vending machines — you’ve probably tuned into the History Channel to watch American Restoration.
Following Rick Dale and his team at Rick’s Restorations, the relatively short-lived TV show was a huge hit with both car fans and vintage fans alike, but it ended quite abruptly in 2016 after 7 seasons. But, while American Restoration made for good TV and there were some pretty cool vehicles showcased on it, how much of it was actually real and how much of it was scripted?
To give you the most up-to-date and accurate information possible, the data used to compile this article was sourced from various manufacturer websites and other authoritative sources, including IMDb, official_ricksrestorations Instagram, Rick Dale’s YouTube Channel, and History Channel.
The Premise Of The American Restoration TV Show
Kicking off in 2010, History Channel’s American Restoration followed the Rick’s Restorations team in their Las Vegas workshop, as they took on overhauls and restorations of antique signs, gas pumps, jukeboxes, vintage American nostalgia, soda machines, classic motorbikes, and pretty much anything that was brought to them, or they could find.
The team had already appeared on Pawn Stars but got their own spin-off show and became a huge hit. The main aim of the show was to give us all a look into Rick Dale’s talent at taking forgotten relics and turning them into pristine treasures again, and like all good reality TV, with a dash of the dramatic to go with it.
Behind The Scenes At Rick’s Restorations
Things weren’t always high-pressure and dramatic. Before the History Channel gave Rick’s Restorations its own show, it was run by Rick Dale and a small team in his workshop. Rick started his restoration business back in the early 1980s, after another of his businesses faltered.
First was the restoration of a vintage Coca-Cola machine, and then he gradually expanded the business by getting hold of more vintage machines and collecting “pickers” to help him find more things to tinker with.
A lot of the work at the beginning was hands-on work with him and his team buying, fixing, repainting, polishing, and then trying to sell their projects on. Then Rick’s Restorations appeared on Pawn Stars as the go-to place to get things restored, and it was clear from their appearances that they had become a trusted workshop for both the technical side of things and what they could do with their skill sets.
This is when the History Channel gave them a show in 2010, which saw things ramp up a lot. According to Rick Dale, he saw business increase 50-fold when the show started. Everything was then moved to a larger warehouse in downtown Vegas, the schedule had to become more structured, tighter deadlines were given, and, of course, a camera crew was always on deck.
Signs That American Restoration Was Scripted
With the moving in of the film crew and tighter deadlines (both for Rick’s team and the film crew), some “TV magic” and scripting were always going to be needed to make things move along nicely and to ensure that everything that needs doing is done. But, how much of American Restoration was just scripted?
Some scripting on reality TV shows is a given, but both critics and fans of the show have pointed out a lot of things that they think look staged. Unrealistic deadlines for big jobs, massive tension between team members, and questionable reveals have all got people talking about the integrity of the show.
In one episode, Rick’s brother, Ron, brings in a Coca-Cola machine as if it were owned by a customer. It later turned out that this machine was owned by the family and had already been fixed up.
Another example is from the episode called “Keep On Trucking,” where the team is restoring a classic Chevrolet K10. There are lots of close-ups on Rick’s and Brettly’s faces to show the pressure they are under from the looming deadline (which is likely too tight for a proper restoration anyway), and hard-to-find parts magically appear at the last minute.
Alongside this, while people who work in close quarters to each other are always going to argue, the level of tension and heat of some of the arguments that were shown on the show seem to be more for good dramatic TV than what would actually be realistic.
How Much of American Restoration Was Real?
At its core, Rick’s Restorations and American Restoration were rooted in reality. Rick’s Restorations was a real shop in Las Vegas where real people brought in things to be restored by the team, and Rick Dale was clearly passionate about his craft and had decades of experience in restoring antique objects long before the cameras arrived. The cast, which includes his wife Kelly, son Tyler, brother Ron, and crew members like Brettly (Rick’s stepson), Kyle, and Kowboy, are all actual employees or family members, not actors.
It is also true that the skills they all have for picking, restoring, and turning what looks like junk into something you want to look at are real. Yes, some of the deadlines were shortened for the TV, but the crew is a skilled set of people.
The tension on screen was likely also based in reality, albeit heated up again for the TV. Some notable episodes where things got hot between crew members, including when Rick and Tyler were restoring head-to-head vintage scooters. In the episode, Tyler thought what he was doing was being undermined by Rick, which then led to some heated words. That tension was probably real.
Another is when Rick was attempting a major overhaul of a 1946 Harley-Davidson, which gets complicated (if you’ve ever tried to restore a vintage motorbike, you’ll know that can happen easily). Time pressures from customers could have been real, and the frustration of working on an old machine is certainly real for a lot of us, so maybe there is a fair amount of reality in the show.
How It Plays Against Other History Channel Reality Shows
We all know what reality TV is, and the History Channel has a solid reputation for turning out gearhead shows and shows that interest those of us who like anything mechanical or vintage. As is apparent in all of them, we know a bit of editing and scripting is done to make it a good watch.
Shows like Pawn Stars show genuine people coming into the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop to pawn their items, and some of them are real collectibles, but the negotiation scenes are often carefully put together by production teams. Some customers are sometimes pre-screened, appraisals rehearsed, and certain scenes are re-filmed in more controlled environments to add tension and humor where it is needed.
In a similar vein, we have shows like Counting Cars, which showcase real car restorations, but a lot of the drama that goes on between the team is highly emphasized. Like in American Restoration, there are tight deadlines, crew disagreements, and problems, but, again, with editing, these are made to seem worse than they really are. American Restoration looks to be no more real or no more scripted than any other History Channel show, which has the same winning TV show formula of bringing real-life content and presenting it with more tension than there really is.
Why American Restoration Still Left A Legacy
Regardless of whether American Restoration was based on reality or more staged, there is no denying that it has left a legacy that is still getting people talking today. Like with other shows like American Pickers, Rust To Riches, and Counting Cars, should it really matter if it is all real? It’s reality TV, and it is entertaining for a lot of people.
A lot of American Restoration is likely scripted; that is the nature of the type of show it is, but the biggest legacy it has left is that of Rick Dale’s genuine passion for Americana antiques and restoring vehicles, which a lot of us can really appreciate.
Unfortunately, Rick’s Restorations is no longer in business and the crew has all moved on, but as another example of Rick showing that he is serious about vintage objects and classic vehicles, he himself owns one of the most ideal American trucks for a restoration project. It is a 1951 Ford F-100, and it is a beauty that deserves a lot of kudos for the attention to detail and clear craftsmanship it has taken to restore it.