VP at El Rey’s Garage and Television Executive Producer
So-Cal born and raised, Lexi learned how to appreciate the classics from her dad, who’s car collection was always changing.
His automotive stable was constantly rotating through Lincolns, Studebakers and Chryslers, but his true love was with the Packard. It was his own father who professed the Packard to be the top of the line of cars and always made sure he was driving one. Although Lexi’s Dad had owned more than 100 cars over the years, it’s his 1942 Packard convertible that he’s had for over 50 years that she has her eye on. Hopefully, all of the weekends as a child chasing down “numbers matching” parts with him and polishing chrome….so much chrome, she may get the first shot at that car, if he ever decides to sell it.
In the early nineties, when Lexi met her husband, Brother JD, she was introduced to the exciting and creative world of customization which truly changed the way she previously viewed car culture. The stuffy world of classic car restoration was replaced with the imagination and artistry of custom car culture. It was then that she decided to take auto shop in college and learn more about how to repair and build them. That knowledge proved invaluable to a young wife and mother who even though she didn’t choose to be a mechanic, could perform basic maintenance on her truck as well as know she wasn’t going to get ripped off by a shady repair shop.
Although JD had been flipping rides for years, they officially started El Rey’s Garage out of their small backyard in Venice in 2009. In 2012 they had to move to a bigger location for the filming of JD’s reality show, “Turn N Burn” which aired the next year on the Discovery Channel. Lexi was perfectly happy working behind the scenes as Brother JD, the face of El Rey’s Garage, took the lead on all projects. That is, until Betty came along.
Betty was a 1951 Chevrolet Business Coupe with patina to die for. As Lexi helped JD clean the car out to build the project he was envisioning, she started to feel the spirit of the ride speak to her. With the extra bumper guards, fancy horn cap, and detailed chrome dashboard features, it was clear to see that this car was actually quite a starlet back in the day. Lexi quickly named her “Betty” and insisted that her patina must be celebrated. It was Lexi’s idea to design the interior with tan and brown naugahyde to match her beautiful coat of many colors and also to match the interior with light green accents. A split manifold was installed for the straight six, dual exhaust was added, and then she was dropped for just the right sound and stance. Betty was ready for the stage! Lexi’s cool creation was now the focus of Brother JD’s segment on the TV show “Garage Dreams” which was filmed at El Rey’s Garage. The shop also served as a set for other shows like, “Der Trödeltrupp”, “Self-Made” and even Lexi & Brother JD’s very own reality car show, “Wrench Wars”.
Wrench Wars is a three round competition car show that pits two backyard builders and their completed rides against each other to win sponsored prizes and money for their chosen charities. It’s a television show that specifically highlights the blue-collar nation and celebrates the home builders who create incredible rolling works of art with limited tools, space, and cash. As executive producer of Wrench Wars, it was very important to Lexi that women are represented as not just pinup models and eye candy but also as serious builders who have skills and knowledge just like the guys. The panel of three judges always has at least one female resident judge and every season features an entire episode titled “Ladies’ Night”. This special episode always features female contenders who built their own rides. During the filming of Ladies’ Night there were young girls in the audience who got to see women as contenders, industry judges, a ring girl, and Lexi, who they called “Boss Lady” on set. This scenario didn’t happen overnight or without the help of brave women who wanted more and the men who encouraged them to get there.
The latest executive produced automotive content from Lexi del Rey can be found on Wrench Wars Season 3 which is currently airing on MAVTV as well as streaming on lucasoilracing.tv. Season 2 is scheduled to be on Amazon Prime and the Chassy Network (PlutoTV) early 2020 and Season 1 can be found on Amazon Prime & YouTube.