How It's Made: Stretch Limousines 

I'm pretty surprised how janky this process actually is. Cut the car in half, measure and weld some beams on. This is like a backyard project.

Looks like a fun DIY project, gonna give this one a try

i don't know what i was expecting, but cutting a regular sized car in half is the last thing i would have guessed lmaoo

I cut the car in half to show you the strength of flex tape

If the flimsy construction of a stretch limo scares you, don't ever look into how most RVs are built. They're essentially a commercial truck frame with a wafer thin aluminum and plywood body bolted on top.

Lol after I watching this James May, Jeremy Clarkson and Hamster legitimately are engineers

I owned an '89 Town Car limo for a few years privately and worked on it myself. They're not made to last very long; no rustproofing, sloppy welds, lots of leaks. This was a California car but you could easily identify every piece of custom metal because it was covered in surface rust - next to rust-free factory panels. They used a two piece driveshaft and a single carrier bearing for mine (a 72" stretch). Limos are a lot like RVs... there are a couple of companies that make parts for a multitude of limo manufacturers. Mine had a secondary HVAC box behind the driver's compartment with a second heater core and AC evaporator. It had air shocks, but otherwise looked like the original Lincoln coils in the rear. Two batteries and a 200A alternator - may have been an option from Lincoln. The rear compartment solenoid looked the same as one used for a 1950s Ford starter. The biggest issue was glass, lots of custom, curved glass. Once some kids broke the rear door glass. The doors were stretched about 8" and had custom glass. I had to have a polycarbonate window custom made because the original supplier was out of business. They literally spliced the original wire harness going to the back of the car to extend it. There are a surprising number of circuits going back there. It was a remarkably reliable car though, easy to work on too.

Best quote. “Workers wheel the back half away from the front half.” Never could have guessed that’s how it all started.

I never knew that limousines are just normal cars cut in half and extended! I’m gonna go build a Yugo stretch limousine. After that, the Reliant Robin stretch limousine!

What about showing the modifications to the suspension that handle all the extra weight? Good video 👍

Surprising how all the measuring is done by hand with simple tape measure and level and not computers. Shocking that it could actually drive straight down the road

I made this car all by myself when I was 11 years old with my dad's panoramic camera.

2:11 "...which is made of galvanized steel..." and they're just welding that without any breathing equipment? good way for your employees to get metal fume fever

I remember first seeing this as a kid and showing my mom this. For over a month I asked her if we could turn our car into Limo. Good times.

GALVANIZED STEEL

The first stretch limousines usually transported bands and their musical equipment; currently they transport bands and their erm...other equipment.

This is so simple, I cannot believe they literally *_stretch_* an already complete sedan!

It seems so... flimsy? Plus as others have said don't they need to completely redo the suspension and wheel bases? You just added hundreds of kilos of weight??

I drove a Lincoln stretch limousine for many years in Southern California. They are a lot of fun to drive! I believe my company purchased their limos from a custom builder in Las Vegas.

I always had something in my mind i wanted to watch but couldnt rememenber and boom there i got this vid on my recommandation 🤣🤣🤣

“A luxurious sedan” 😂 riiiight. Either way it’ll break down before 50k miles….it’s a Chrysler after all

wait how do they extend the fuel lines, brake lines, sensors, wiring, etc? they skipped a lot lol

Thin single sheet support rails that are only tack welded. Looks strong and safe to me 😒

Wait galvanized steel and screws borrowed from your aunt 😂

Thanks How It's Made, you never fail to answer questions I didn't have.

i like how they welded it back together at 1:05 but cut the weld to get that shot haha

Use to work at great lakes limo in Michigan! Fun job forsure and this is exactly the process missing a few 100 little things tho! My job was 100% underneath, had to weld, seal and undercoat then extend brake lines, wire harness, fuel lines and drive shaft! Pretty much all day lying on a roller!!

In my 35 years of life I’ve never thought about how limousines are made until RU-vid recommended this video. I watched it and was surprised and educated.

Never in a million years would I expected a limo to be built this way.

No wonder accidents are catastrophic in these death trap, never been in one and never will.

Losing my mind over the fact that the first step in this process is “cut a car in half”

The steel-frame rails are used to attach the middle of the limousine.

The fact that the limousine isn't made from the ground up like a normal car, and it's just "Dismantle a car, cut it in half, add the stretch, rebuild the interior." is amazing.

Top 10 Weirdest _How Its Made_ episode nominee! “Let’s just _stretch_ an existing vehicle.”

The new season of the Red Green Show looks great!

blows my mind to see that some ppl didnt assume this is how limousines are made

“I just cut this car in half, but with flex tape, I’m arriving in style.”

Amazing! I had always wondered whether the manufacturers originally build a few of those...turns out its a modification of the ordinary ones

For some reason this made me motivated lol. I thought the process of building a limo would be very diificult, but seeing how they did it, like just start doing things step by step and you'll end up with great results haha

Awesome!!! Best five minute craft video ever, you guys really outdid yourselves this time!

Oh I always thought they were just manufactured stretched like that. I never knew they were preexisting cars cut up and put back together! :o Respect! 👍

Watching this I realized that Jeremy Clarckson with his Panda limo trully is a genius.

Seems fairly straightforward I’ll give it a go on my car tomorrow

I miss my Dad, we’d always watch how it’s made every evening

After watching this, I realize Red Green was way closer than expected when constructing stretch vehicles.

Easier way to obtain a Stretch Limo. Step 1: Find car Step 2: Stea.. Obtain two scrapyard magnets Step 3: Drive car between both fully powered magnets Step 4: .................

I always thought of these vehicles as glamorous but now... seeing this video.

What a concept.

I really wanted to see the drive shaft. I wonder how many support bearing's it would need?

I didn’t see where they upgraded the brake system to handle all the extra weight from both stretching it and quadrupling the passenger capacity.

Muy lindos los limosinas,que sigan adelante con sus trabajos exelentes.👍💪❤️🇨🇱

I’ve always thought limousines were a sign of no class, rather than luxury. 🤣

I'm shook. I thought they were made in a factory, not it a garage. And I'm pretty I'm not the only one curious on how they removed the major components of the car before cutting it in half

Am I the only one wondering about how many driveshaft carrier support bearings are needed? Additional suspension? Secondary HVAC installation? Second alternator installed for additional current draw? And otherwise the litany of other details that were beyond cutting a car and half and welding some sheet metal between the two?

This video was oddly soothing to watch lol

So essentially.. they take apart a car and put it back together lol

Ironic that, while the car was lengthened, the information provided to the viewers was reduced. How could you omit the mechanical additions to the vehicle? Where’s the info on the suspension? There no way all that extra weight is being supported by the original suspension.

LOL, lap of luxury? More like lap of tacky as hell.

thanks for the vid, very insightful

To show you the power of flex tape... I SAWED THIS SEDAN IN HALF!

never knew building limos was so skuffed lmao

They use the original suspension, springs an all?

Muy buen limocina,es exelente como carro que sigan adelante con su trabajos.👍💪❤️🇨🇱

I lived in Fort Smith Arkansas in the 80's. We had an Armbruster stretch limo plant there. Even then they made $20 an hour and up. I can't imagine what they make now ...

*"Car is cut away in half"* Tesla battery pack:- _"You can't do this here."_

Looks like an easy DIY project! I'm going to totally do that. Update: Um, not so easy. Update 2: Now I no longer have any vehicle.

Okay, this is the only (how it's made) video that surprised me.

So cool, I can make one with my friends as soon as possible.

How it's made is one of those shows that's mesmerizing

I thought they are manufactured in the companies.

Very fascinating.💚💚

I never questioned why I thought the fronts of limousines were the same shapes of normal cars, and now I don't have to.

What about a Stretch Smart Car? How big would it be?

It all seems quite crappy really. Non bevelled glass, insufficient strength, untidy wiring. Even the spray job looked iffy.

Amazing limousine

Awesome limousine car 👍🏻

Y'all are beautiful!🦋

Galvanized steel😂

this is exactly how I assumed a limousine was manufactured

Brilliant ❤. So nice of you ❤.

How smooth is that drive train ? What about the weight capacity of the tires and suspension ?

I did this with my daughter over the weekend! Great bonding experience. Would highly recommend!

I was thinking of doing this to my '97 Corolla.

When I watched that episode of TopGear I didn’t realise they were following the actual process…

As a limousine lover, I love limousines and yes.

😎It is cool to see a luxury car, but it's cooler to see how it's made😎👷

The way the host says, _"A worker blah blah blah"_ makes my week.

I would like to see crash test and side impact test to see how it would hold up on an actually crash

TL;DW - Get car. Cut in half. Fill gap with car frame substitute. Add rich people stuff.

I’ve been in a limousine in New York a few times and it was a really nice experience.

Nice videos they made it look so simple

Would be interesting to see the new brake lines, and fuel setup. Must be one hell of a fuel pump needed if the tank is still above the rear wheels.

Top gear has created an accurate tutorial on how to make limo’s without me knowing wtf!!!

Woow, just took 5 minutes and 24 second to build a limousine, I just knew it, now I will made limousine from my 1992 toyota Corolla

So nice work.

Awesome!

This looks kinda… flimsy…. I definitely don’t wanna get on one anymore.

Imagine someone cutting it in half the wrong way. Like, from front to back.

I remember learning Limos were just cars that were cut in half and extended from TopGear, but it’s interesting to see it done by professionals

Can you do off-road with this? Mountain climbing to be exact?