The BEST episodes of Roadkill season 1

Every episode of Roadkill season 1, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Roadkill season 1!

Ride along with HOT ROD's David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan as they continue their love/hate relationship with hot rods, street machines and other highly strung performance vehicles. In Roadkill, Freiburger and Finnegan hit the road in everything from a 1968 Ford Ranchero to a 1500 horsepower Camaro called the F-Bomb. Just getting to their destination is an adventure.

Last Updated: 3/20/2024Network: MotorTrendOnDemandStatus: Continuing
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Chevy vs. Ford Cop-Car Thrash Battle!
star
8.25
4 votes

#1 - Chevy vs. Ford Cop-Car Thrash Battle!

Season 1 - Episode 12 - Aired 2/8/2013

Freiburger and Finnegan are out to discover which used cop car they like best, the Chevy Caprice 9C1 or the Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor P71. Of course you expect nothing but the most professional, scientific analysis from these guys, and that includes a day doing donuts and bashing into stuff on pavement, tire explosions, a road trip to the desert, camping, thrashing on dirt roads, and a finale that just might create a new form of low-buck off-road motorsport. ep012

Watch Now:Amazon
Cheap Truck Challenge!
star
8.22
9 votes

#2 - Cheap Truck Challenge!

Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 4/13/2012

David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan join Fred Williams and Rick Péwé of Peterson's 4-Wheel & Off-Road magazine to compete in the infamous Cheap Truck Challenge. Riding into battle with a modded 1979 Bronco, they face-off against a rock-ready 1980 Toyota Pickup and a beastly 1987 Chevy Suburban in a cash-strapped quest for ultimate off-road glory. ep003

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
727 Cubic Inches and Australian Tire Smoke!
star
8.20
5 votes

#3 - 727 Cubic Inches and Australian Tire Smoke!

Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 11/30/2012

There's endless burnouts and powerskids as David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan of HOT ROD magazine are on the loose in Australia with 727ci of Sonny Leonard hemi-headed madness. The massive big-block makes 1,275 horsepower between the fenders of a 2006 Holden HSV VE Clubsport R8. In American, that's like a Pontiac G8. This display of overkill is the product of "Gup," the promoter of the Powercruise series of events in Australia, New Zealand, and Minnesota (USA) where tire smoke is the rule. On the show, you'll see tire fire from Gup's infamous "Elvis" '74 Holden HQ, from his 727ci Clubbie, from a 1,500ci diesel semi truck, and from Downunder's most throttle-happy petrolheads on both coasts. The miracle is that Freiburger and Finnegan aren't still in an Aussie jail. Of course, that might have been less punishing than the 30-hour flight home. ep010

Watch Now:Amazon
Surviving HOT ROD Drag Week!
star
8.00
6 votes

#4 - Surviving HOT ROD Drag Week!

Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/2/2012

David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan hit the road with 500 of their friends for Drag Week. It's the most brutal test anywhere of real drag-racing, street-driven cars, as the competitors hit the road for 1,400 miles to race five times at four different drag strips in five days in a battle to post the lowest average elapsed time at the end of the week. The winner is crowned the HOT ROD Fastest Street Car in America. ep009

Watch Now:Amazon
Junkyard 'Cuda Rescue, With Nitrous Oxide!
star
8.00
4 votes

#5 - Junkyard 'Cuda Rescue, With Nitrous Oxide!

Season 1 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/11/2013

David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan of HOT ROD magazine fly out of town, buy a car from a junkyard, make it run and drive, do burnouts, add nitrous, drag race twice, almost die, and the auction off the car at the end. The scene begins at CTC Auto Ranch in Denton, Texas, where the guys score a '67 Plymouth Barracuda with a 360 V8, but without a carburetor, interior, glass, or brakes. By the time they sort out a number of other

Watch Now:Amazon
Rat Rod vs Lamborghini Aventador!
star
7.88
8 votes

#6 - Rat Rod vs Lamborghini Aventador!

Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 6/9/2012

David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan spend 24 crazy hours with a 1930 Model A Rat Rod and a 2012 Lamborghini Aventador to find out which wildly impractical, larger-than-life car attracts the most attention. ep005

Watch Now:Amazon
426 Hemi in a '55 Chevy!
star
7.83
6 votes

#7 - 426 Hemi in a '55 Chevy!

Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 9/7/2012

David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan hit the road on a quest to build a car they've both dreamed of for years: a '55 Chevy Bel Air sedan set up like a '60s Gasser and powered by a Mopar 426 Hemi. The guys drag out a '73 GMC Suburban that they'd never driven more than around the block (did you expect anything else?), then use it to pick up a bare '55 Chevy body in California before heading north for the 1,000-mile trip to Lincoln City, Oregon. That's the home of Jim Meyer Racing, the chassis builder that helps the guys turn the '55 into a wicked looking hot rod in a single day. There's no fail in this episode of Roadkill! Well, at least nothing terminal. ep008

Watch Now:Amazon
Thrash Battle! Van vs Wagon
star
7.80
10 votes

#8 - Thrash Battle! Van vs Wagon

Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 7/6/2012

David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan go head-to head in an epic driving competition that's really just an excuse for some hilarious, needless car bashing. The victims are two parts cars for HOT ROD magazine projects: a '90-something Dodge conversion van that will give up its 360 V8 in the name of hot rodding and an '87 Buick wagon that was intended as a chassis donor... but after this, maybe not. Let the battle begin! ep006

Watch Now:Amazon
El Paso To LA: The Hard Way!
star
7.65
23 votes

#9 - El Paso To LA: The Hard Way!

Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 2/17/2012

On the premiere episode of Roadkill, HOT ROD's David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan head to El Paso, TX with money and a mission - to find a car they can buy, fix up, and drive back to Los Angeles. The catch? They only have $1500 bucks to do it, and they need to sell it on eBayMotors.com before they get home! ep001

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Release The Draguar! Building a Blown Jaguar Rat Rod
star
7.60
10 votes

#10 - Release The Draguar! Building a Blown Jaguar Rat Rod

Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 8/3/2012

Freiburger and Finnegan do unspeakable things to a '74 Jaguar XJ12, one of about 4,700 made. Namely, they cut a giant hole in the hood and install a Weiand 6-71 supercharger and twin Holley carburetors on the 350ci Chevy V8 that was already installed in the car when it was purchased for $1,000. But things can never be easy, so the supercharger installation is staged in the parking lot of Gotelli Speed Shop in South San Francisco. Then the duo hits the road, making their way to Sacramento Raceway, where they can finally unleash "The Draguar" at the strip. ep007

Watch Now:Amazon
Extreme Elco Engine Swap!
star
7.33
6 votes

#11 - Extreme Elco Engine Swap!

Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 5/11/2012

David Freiburger, Mike Finnegan and a carsick dog drive a '69 El Camino 500 miles from home (on seven cylinders) to change an engine in the parking lot of Summit Racing. ep004

Watch Now:Apple TV
Viva Ranchero! Alaska or Bust!
star
7.10
10 votes

#12 - Viva Ranchero! Alaska or Bust!

Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 3/16/2012

David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan build a clone of the 1968 Ford Ranchero that the magazine ran in the very first Baja 1000, then head north for Alaska. But sometimes when you hit the road, the road hits back, and their ambitious journey quickly transforms into the road trip from hell. Undaunted by sleepless nights, multiple breakdowns, derailed plans, 0-degree weather and the lack of a passenger-side window, the guys create an adventurous win from a comedy of errors. It's American road tripping at its best... and worst. ep002

Watch Now:Apple TV