Name: Texas Metal
Uploaded: 2025-05-01T02:47:32.000Z
Description: With dozens of awards on their walls, crowds of adoring fans, and a long waitlist, Bill Carlton and his Texas team always have their hands full with rowdy customers, challenging builds and tight timelines.

With dozens of awards on their walls, crowds of adoring fans, and a long waitlist, Bill Carlton and his Texas team always have their hands full with rowdy customers, challenging builds and tight timelines.

WBD - MotorTrend FAST TV

Bill and the guys customize a brand new 2017 F350. They lower it with their handmade air ride and add a one-of-a-kind gooseneck hitch. Then, the owner of a 2014 Porsche 911 wants her sports car to sound as good as it looks.

Low Down and Dually

After a remodel in the 90's, a purple '55 Chevy truck is in need of a modern update. Ekstensive doesn't disappoint, creating a timeless and classy truck with a modified hood and scoop, a hand-made interior and new wood bed.

I Can't Drive This '55

A local restaurant owner asks Bill to customize his auction-bought '61 Cadillac. The boys at Ekstensive bring the heat inside and out with fully-custom interior, suspension, wheels and tires.

The Caliente Cadillac

The owners of a run-down '63 Grumman bread truck want it transformed into the ultimate T-shirt vending machine. Bill and the guys drop the giant truck to the floor with custom body modifications and a bar-themed interior.

We Drop Them Low

A big Impala guy from Houston wants to take the old shell of a '66 C10 and combine it with the best of a '60s Impala. It's a ground-up build with a completely hand-built chassis, body mods, 6.2L engine and a hydraulic bed.

The Impala Truck

A long-time customer wants to make a statement by having his stock 2017 F-250 Platinum 4x4 lifted and made off-road ready. The boys from Texas are happy to oblige with a handmade 22-inch lift on 42-inch custom tires.

Houston, We Have a Lift Off

Bill and the guys transform a completely wrecked 2017 F-150 into an angry-looking, one-of-a-kind prerunner. They also build a custom air suspension bike trailer for a long-time customer.

Bill's Baja Truck

Hip-hop artist Slim Thug wants Ekstensive to bring his rusted '59 Cadillac up to the dress code of the rest of his car collection. The result is an eye-catching, black-on-black-on-black Cadillac roadster.

Black on Black Cadillac

A client wants to set the bar for custom SUVs with an '18 Yukon Denali, with handmade chassis, body mods and interior plus twin turbos. Then they go full gangster with a '48 Mercury, remaking a classic from the inside out.

Denali Drop

Bill and the guys have built a lot of trucks, but never a Ford Bronco. They transform a rusted '68 roadster into a high-powered off-roading truck with an 8-inch lift, supercharged engine, roll cage and waterproof interior.

Buckin' Bronco

The 2018 Camaro ZL1 is already a high-performance sports car, but Bill and the guys make one even badder, starting with a handmade aluminum chassis and interior. Also, a new client wants his Sierra Denali frame dropped.

Beyond ZL1

The crew is back under the hood of the '18 Camaro ZL1 to rebuild the engine, adding as much power as they can before a visit to the dynamometer. Plus, they try to transform a patinaed '49 GMC pickup from a sleeper to a keeper.

Beyond ZL1 Part 2

The team revives the wrecked '70 Suburban hauler as a long-bed, four-door, crew-cab dually, complete with a 5.9 Cummins diesel engine and custom chassis. A '65 Plymouth Belvedere II gets some extra muscle with a Mopar crate Hemi.

The Grand Finale

Rusty and riddled with bullet holes, Bill's neighbor hands over the crumbling shell of a '52 Ford F4 milk truck. The guys unleash their fabrication skills, and turn this 60+ year old wreck into a one-of-a-kind diesel street rod.

Street Rod Milk Truck

Bill and the guys take a good C10 to 100 with custom touches inside and out, including one-of-a-kind interior and bed. The crew makes a dream come true by modifying a 2018 Dodge Demon to run the quarter mile on a track.

C10 to a Hundred

The wrecked shell of a 1970 Suburban car hauler tests Bill's metal geniuses as they transform it into a diesel, long-bed, crew-cab dually. The team creates a lifted and loaded F-150 for Boots for Troops, a military charity.

Hauler Back

Bill pushes the shop's creativity with a 2018 Yukon Denali XL. The SUV is their tallest build ever with a custom lift, straight axles and a supercharger. The Suburban gets a handmade chassis and body with a custom fourth door.

Extra Large and Supercharged

Bill's team is known for their custom metal work, but the transformation of a 1940 International Harvester water truck into a mobile barbecue pit tests their skills. A 1986 C10 is an heirloom that's remade for future generations.

International Truck of BBQ

Bill and the team try to outdo themselves with a radical redesign of 1950 Ford F5 COE, starting with a bed unlike any they've built. The shop begins its first shot at remaking a '69 Corvette Stingray by building a custom chassis.

Cab Over Custom

In Texas, you don't just go big, you go bigger. The team does that on the year-long 1950 Ford F5 COE build when the client asks for a last-minute Cummins diesel engine swap. A twisted graphic wraps up a months-long 2001 Ford F-350.

Cab Over Custom Part 2

Bill and the team fix another shop's mistakes when a 2017 F-350 is hauled into the shop broken and undrivable due to a botched lift. Plus, a client insists on the ultimate tailgating BBQ trailer with custom everything.

Re-Dually

Bill knows all too well that families are the lifeblood of the custom truck scene. A customer wants to transform a 1965 Ford Falcon Club Wagon into a fully custom family cruiser. A 1966 Cobra replica gets reinforced.

The Family Falcon

Bill looks to the year 2073 when the owner of a '73 El Camino challenges the shop to transform his vehicle into the Ride of the Future. The city wants a custom bumper on a 2020 Freightliner tow truck that can push 45,000 pounds.

Bolt-On Is a Dirty Word

Bill and the team get their chance to finish a 1968 Chevy C10, which they've turned into a unibody by welding the body and bed into one piece. An old dump truck rolls into the shop as the biggest truck they've ever customized.

100 and C10 Percent

A 1937 International Harvester gets a big old Cummins 12-valve diesel engine that's as heavy as the truck itself. A 2005 Chevy Colorado gets a new lease on life as a nitrous-infused drag truck.

Big Diesel and Drag Truck

A 1996 dump truck is the largest truck the shop has ever customized. The guys go extra heavy duty to create a military-styled mega-truck. A lowrider enthusiast wants a custom air ride and LS swap for his pristine 1934 Buick.

Dump Truck to Show Truck

This year's over-the-top build has Bill and crew lifting a 2020 Chevy Silverado 5500 more than a foot with a custom heavy-duty air suspension. The guys also prove their Texas mettle by radically overhauling the utility bed.

5500 Lifted, Texas Edition

Hall of Fame running back Earl Campbell arrives with the body and parts of a 1949 Cadillac, and the crew is honored to create a ground-up build for the local legend. Plus a 1940 F-100 build snowballs into a much bigger job.

Earl Campbell's Custom Caddy

NFL Hall-of-Famer Earl Campbell made a career mowing down defenders. The guys take the same hellbent approach to rebuilding his 1949 Cadillac. They also customize a van for a disabled motocross rider so he can drive again.

Earl Campbell's Custom Caddy 2

The team revamps an old school '34 Buick into a modern day lowrider. After months of rebuilding the body and making a custom frame for Earl Campbell's '49 Cadillac, the Hall of Famer challenges the shop with a last-minute wrinkle.

Earl Campbell's Custom Caddy 3

A long-time client wants to improve upon a near-perfect '68 Ford Ranger; the team is up to the task with an all-new custom chassis, handmade interior, rebuilt bed and Coyote 5.0 engine swap; the guys check off new custom upgrades on a '75 Bronco.

Tale of Two Fords

A 1996 Impala throws the guys for a loop when they discover it's an imposter; the team makes it better than ever, with custom body fabrications, rear subframe and handmade interior.

Imposta to Impala

Truck builds tend to get bigger than originally planned, so it's no surprise when a 1971 Suburban goes even bigger with a custom lifted air suspension and interior; a nearly finished 2006 Kodiak needs just one more custom upgrade.

Big and Bigger

Not many shops would try to drop a new 2020 Denali dually all the way to the floor. To get it done right, Bill and his team make one of their longest custom chassis ever. Plus, Ekstensive gets a diesel pro-mod drag car back on the track.

Low and Loud

Ekstensive turns a stock 2020 Denali dually into a frame-dropping, show-stopping work truck; as a final touch, Bill hand makes articulating speakers for the bed; Bill takes a family's minds off their brush with a custom 2019 Polaris Ranger.

Show and Go Dually

A '64 Lincoln has been collecting dust for years. The guys bring this classic roadster back with a late-model Coyote engine and handmade interior. Plus, the Sling-Ray is a custom automotive sensation, but Ekstensive has what it's been missing.

Beantown Continental

A 1971 Suburban returns to the shop for "Phase Two,' wanting more power and even more custom metalwork. When a client finds parts and pieces of a "68 C10, Bill and the crew set on a new course on a ground-up build unlike any they've ever done before.

The New Old School Suburban

Bill gets dÃ©jÃ vu on a 1985 Chevy C10 square body. After a long history of custom C10s, he and the team try to outdo themselves with a handmade chassis and air ride, interior and bed. After a close call, Ekstensive makes a 1923 T-Bucket street safe.

Texas Square Body

Rocker Ted Nugent brings in his beloved '74 Bronco; Bill and the guys make an all-terrain beast unlike any other; With his creative sparks flying, Bill gets going on a build he's dreamed about for years: a handmade, all-tube, off-road buggy.

Rock'n Bronco

A client wants to surprise his dad with a custom '46 Ford Coupe. Starting with little more than a car skeleton, the team builds it from the ground up. Plus, Bill surprises his wife when he goes classy and supercharged with her 2021 Escalade.

Blue Thunder Coupe

Ekstensive needs a new shop truck, Bill and the guys go sky-high with a lifted '21 F-450 King Ranch capable of hauling over 20,000 pounds; with most of the '46 Ford Coupe body beyond repair, the team has no choice but to build from the ground up.

450 Reasons to Go Bigger

The guys hit the home stretch on the '46 Ford Blue Thunder, its once-rusted shell now rebuilt into a one-of-one showstopper; Bill is surprised when John Cena drops off a '69 MGC.

A Texas-Sized Surprise

Bill and the gang split a nearly perfect 1960 Willys Jeep into four pieces to make it longer, wider and meaner. Drop shipped from halfway around the world, a 1998 AMG G-Wagon gets overhauled into a hand-built masterpiece.

Jeep Splits and Foreign Whips

After pro wrestler and actor John Cena makes a surprise appearance at the shop, Bill and the guys begin to customize John's small '69 MGC to be a perfect fit. A new customer wants a handmade lifted suspension on his '20 Denali 2500 as a gift for his wife.

Mom-Ster Truck

Twenty years back, Bill started Ekstensive Metalworks by specializing in lifting, lowering and everything in between. Fast forward to today, and he's still being put to the test with a 1928 Ford Rat Rod, a 1942 Ford pickup and a 1975 C10.

From the Ground Up

Bill has never really liked the body of the 1974 Cadillac Eldorado. But when a client wants hers radically redesigned, Ekstensive blends old and new to make it cooler than the rest. The guys make short work of a big problem on a 2021 Silverado 4500 HD.

Root Beer Cadillac

Never satisfied to keep a truck stock, Bill and the team work their magic to customize a brand-new 2022 International wrecker. Now that the pristine 1960s Willys Jeep has been quartered, they use imaginative fabrication techniques to make it whole again.

Bigger, Badder Wrecker

An Ekstensive favorite, a 2001 Hummer H1, needs some serious reinforcements. Bill changes things up on his completely custom, all-tube buggy by borrowing technology from monster trucks. Bill puts his daughter to work customizing her 2020 Challenger.

H1 Hummer-Dinger

Actor John Cena is amazed by the transformation of his British classic '69 MGC into a custom-built masterpiece with all-American trimmings. Also, the team has to get creative building a chassis and bed for a '60s Jeep Willys entirely from scratch.

MGCena

The Mecum Auction comes to town, and Bill runs four vehicles across the block with shocking results. The team starts their next monster build, a custom all-tube buggy. Building an indestructible cage requires all their fabrication skills and then some!

Across the Block

When the hometown Houston Astros ask for a custom van that brings the party, the Ekstensive team swings for the fences on their 2022 Ram ProMaster van. Bill gives an unfinished '68 C10 one of their most innovative suspension and chassis designs to date.

Hometown Homerun Van

Bill takes the '68 C10 into uncharted territory with over-the-top fabrication and an epoxy river bed that tests their skills like nothing before. A 2018 Ram dually can't handle heavy loads, so the team comes up with a unique setup to get it back to work.

Ram Tougher and Louder

Bill refuses to hold anything back on the '68 C10, as it finishes in a Texas-sized flourish looking unlike anything they've ever customized before. The '60s Willys Jeep overcomes a major hurdle, as the team must fabricate a wider front end by hand.

C10 to End All C10s

The team custom builds every part for the first vehicle Ekstensive has ever built entirely from scratch, the heavy-duty, 1,500-horsepower buggy of Bill's dreams. As they finish one enormous build, they take on their next one, John Cena's Bugatti 57C.

Bill's 1,500-HP Diesel Buggy

Some builds are just worth the wait. With a longer, wider cab, custom everything and a 6.2 Hellcat, Bill and the team finish strong by transforming a pristine 1960s Jeep Willys truck into something bigger, meaner and louder than anything on the road.

Jeep Willys and the Hellcat

Ekstensive knows how to go big, but what happens when they go extra small? An antique 1953 tanker tests the team as one of their biggest builds to date, while a family golf cart gets radically remade into a wheelie poppin', high-speed electric demon.

Missouri Tanker

A new customer challenges Bill with his fully customized '37 Ford Coupe, which he wants brought back to the factory look. As one of their biggest builds yet, the '53 tanker proves again and again that the bigger the truck, the bigger the build.

Coupe de Tanker

As Bill says, you never know what is going to roll into the shop. This time, it's a beloved '64 Rolls-Royce with a rusty secret. Plus, the team finishes final fabrication as they prepare to ship out one of their biggest builds ever, the '53 tanker truck.

Rolls On In and Tanker Away

Bill loves a good, challenge, especially when it's a build he and his team have never done before. So while they transform a one-ton 2022 F-350 into a Baja-style Raptor, they rebuild a '64 Rolls riddled with structural damage from the ground up.

F-350 Raptor Build

When the outside doesn't match the inside on one of Bill's favorite muscle cars, a '72 'Cuda, the team hatches an innovative plan for a modern, handmade redux. Bill and the team tear down a 1952 GMC wrecker to build it back up into a tow and show truck.

440 'Cuda Overhaul

Bill is hard on his trucks, and that's especially true of his Baja-style 2017 F-150 race truck. After one too many jumps, Bill's ready to wake it up one more time. The team designs a one-of-one suspension for a 1952 wrecker truck so it can tow and show.

Bill's Baja Is Back

Bill thought he'd done it all until a 2022 Ford Lightning rolls in and becomes Ekstensive's first custom air ride with an all-electric drivetrain. The team stays old school by dropping a classic '52 Wrecker to the floor with a supercharged LT4.

Ford Lightning Fast

Bill sees a custom-made opportunity to turn a smashed 2022 Jeep Gladiator into a one-of-one custom truck. The side-by-side scene has exploded in Texas, and Ekstensive gets a shot to show what they've got with a brand-new Polaris Ranger XP 1000.

Jeep Gladiator Steel

Bill goes back to his roots building mini-trucks with a 2023 Polaris Ranger, adding a custom camper and dancing bed. Ekstensive has built its share of ground-up builds over the years, but nothing like the metalwork on the 1952 Wrecker.

Mini Truckin' UTV

What was already one of Ekstensive's biggest ground-up builds ever goes even bigger on the '52 tow truck, as Bill and his team fabricate a custom hot rod wrecker truck unlike any other. The team takes the stock out of a 2023 GMC Denali with a custom lift.

Denali Lift & Hot Rod Wrecker

After Ekstensive finished his '69 MGC, actor/wrestler John Cena surprised the shop with parts of an iconic '37 Bugatti Type 57. Now it's Bill's turn to surprise John with an audacious design choice. A stock '23 GMC Denali goes bigger, badder and dually.

Texas Metal

About