The cars are brought to the studio/shop in Franklin, Tenn., just outside Nashville. Strange and his wife, Carrie, are splitting time between their Illinois home and Tennessee until they eventually move south.

Raised in Woodhull, Ill., Strange has appeared in more than 250 magazines and several car-based TV series.

He was asked to audition and was picked from a field of 1,200 candidates.

“They can find plenty of ‘TV guys,’ but they couldn’t rebuild a hot rod,” he said. “It’s easier to teach people TV than it is to teach them to build a car.”

Having the series edited down to four half-hour segments doesn’t nearly reflect the time he and his crew put in, Strange said.

He often logs 90-hour work weeks and put in 350 hours last month while working only one weekend.

Spike advertised for car owners on its website and TV programs, not telling them the specifics of the show, about doing a restoration for a deserving person.

More than 1,200 applications were received.

“There’s some really good stories,” he said. “I’m glad I’m not the one who has to go through all these and pick.”