The Garage squad “Daytona Delight” episode has become a fan-favorite because this build had such a touching story attached to it.
Although unfinished car projects are at the center of every Garage Squad episode, part of what makes the show so entertaining to watch are the stories that go along with these abandoned builds.
This is especially true for the “Daytona Delight” episode from the seventh season of the show. In this episode, the Garage Squad team helped an ill father to finish his dream build.
Why do people love watching Garage Squad?
Garage Squad first started airing all the way back in 2014. And although this show does not always deliver the jaw-dropping and completely over-the-top builds that many of the other car restoration and customization shows on television do, fans have kept coming back to this crowd-pleaser for eight seasons since then.
There are always many different reasons why fans keep coming back to their favorite shows, but it is not difficult to guess why Garage Squad has remained so popular through the years.
Since the Garage Squad team focuses on helping real people to finish their stalled and forgotten projects, the stories which are shared on the show (in between all of the building and repairs in each episode) are always strikingly personal and heartwarming.
This gives the show an authentic, emotional touch that just about any long-term car enthusiast will be able to relate to in some way.
Garage Squad Daytona episode
One of the Garage Squad episodes which has tugged on the heartstrings of everyone who tuned in to watch, was the “Daytona Delight” episode from the seventh season.
This “Daytona Delight” episode formed the season finale of the seventh season, and even though it first aired all the way back in December 2020, it is still one of the most talked-about episodes of the show to this day.
Not only was the team tasked with finishing a restoration job on a 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona (one of the most highly-coveted muscle cars in history), but it was also one of the very few Garage Squad episodes in which the owner could not help the team to finish this project.
The reason why the Garage Squad team was called in on this job in particular was because the owner of this absolutely stunning (well, it was by the end of the episode anyway) car had fallen ill and could no longer work on the car with his young son.
Naturally, the Garage Squad team did just about everything in their power to pull out all of the stops on this build and in the end, they delivered a completely finished, classic black ’69 Daytona which would be enough to make any car enthusiast’s day a little better.
Where to watch Garage Squad
If you missed this incredibly touching episode of Garage Squad, or you simply want to watch it again, before reading on, there are plenty of places to watch the Garage Squad episodes.
This includes the MotorTrend+ streaming platform (which is home to all of MotorTrend’s most popular shows), and platforms like fuboTV, Spectrum On Demand, the Roku Channel.
Additionally, platforms like Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Vudu and Google Play also house the show.
Joe Zolper and the Daytona
Although it may not have been apparent to fans who simply tuned in to watch this episode, Joe Zolper (the lead builder on Garage Squad), actually has a deep love for the 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona and a wealth of knowledge to go along with this. This likely helped the team a whole lot during this build.
In fact, if you follow Joe’s Instagram page closely, you will already know that he has a souped-up ’69 Daytona of his own, which he even recently showcased at his 2023 Builder’s Brawl.
More behind-the-scenes details from this episode
The Garage Squad team does not always share the details of their builds that did not quite make it to air. However, this particular build did attract some attention on a Moparts forum from 2020.
Although this cannot be verified, one poster with the username ‘Devil’ was reportedly involved in this build and has shared some juicy behind-the-scenes details and photos.
This user confirmed that the featured father had purchased the ’69 Daytona new (and in the original B7 blue car color), but that he was only able to see the finished project outside of the hospital, before filming ended.
‘Devil’ also confirmed that they did a full brake system rebuild, refreshed the interior, patched the floor, rebuilt the engine, fixed the rear end and restored the transmission, before completing the project.
