SUMMARY:
In Angel Grove High School's Auto Shop, Carlos & Ashley are working on a car engine. They've tinkered with it for an assignment, unsure of the results, but time is up and the shop teacher checks on their work by putting his head in the hood while Carlos attempts to start it up. It fails to, spouting out blackened smoke right into the teacher's face, he asks the class if anyone knows what they did wrong, all raising their hands with the answer. Ashley wonders why she even took this class in the first place if she's no good at it. Meanwhile on the Space Base, Divatox becomes annoyed with her Periscope not working. She yells, asking who touched it last, Elgar is nearby and she turns the blame on him, warning him of the rules of nobody touching it but her! He grovels for a moment, quickly reaching for an Intergalactic Phone Book and flipping through the yellow pages in search of someone to fix it. He comes across an ad for the Maniac Mechanic, it states he can fix anything and right after ripping the page out, the Maniac appears out of nowhere! He boats he can fix anything bent, broken, busted or blasted, just ask anyone, he's not just mad he's a maniac! She likes the way he presents himself, pointing him to the Periscope and asking him to fix it. She has another project in mind for him as well, something that will keep the Rangers very bust. All three monsters then laugh evilly, Elgar particularly busting a gut in the background.
[opening credits, The Fall Of The Phantom version]
Ashley drives home in her car by herself, as the generic background song Tommy did his Risky Business impression to in "Another Song & Dance" plays on the radio. Her car, by the way, is actually Tanya's yellow VW convertible seen earlier in the season and will be seen again as Ashley's car all the way up until the end of PRIS! Suddenly, the engine coughs up smoke, Ashley frustrated at her shoddy work giving out again, this time on the road. Back on the Space Base, Maniac Mechanic does a super-fast job in adjusting the Periscope with his oversized wrench. Within moments, a new mirror & lens and a guarantee and it's good as new, much to Divatox's delight. She then asks him if he can build her a battle wagon, he tells her all he needs is parts and it's a can do! She tells him he's her kind of maniac, giving him permission to touch her leather gloved hand for a second before exiting the scene. Meanwhile, Ashley searches her auto shop book for help on fixing her car, but not knowing where to start as the engine exhaust causes her to cough. She hears a tow truck honk its horn, pulling up alongside her she's grateful to see the roadside assistance appear at such a perfect time. Unfortunately, the two come to her aid are Bulk & Skull, their new job as tow-truck guys bringing them to the right place at the right time. Skull backs the truck up too far and smashes Ash's headlights, Bulk promising to fix them right away. Ash feigns a smile as Bulk climbs under the car with a hook, trying to rig her vehicle up to the tow-truck. Suddenly, Elgar and a few Piranahtrons teleport onto the scene, targeting Ashley's car to strip for parts! Skull locks his door and rolls up his window in fear, Bulk having no clue what's going on while Ashley prepares to do battle. Elgar begins to take everything that's on the Mechanic's list of things needed for the battle wagon, while Ashley shows off her impressive unmorphed fighting skills on the P-Trons. Having stolen all he can, Elgar teleports away with the items just as Bulk comes up from under the car, oblivious to the recent events. He turns around and witnesses Ashley's car in shambles, asking what happened to it as Ash sighs in disbelief of the rotten day she's having.
[commercial bumpers Dune Star/ Star Racer]
Soon at the Juice Bar, Bulk & Skull drop Ashley off to see her friends, calling her another 'satisfied costumer' despite the obvious lack of them fixing her car. Ash sits down at a table with her entire Turbo Ranger teen teammates, TJ saying since she was brave enough to take auto shop they bought her a present. He presents her with a wrench, she doesn't seem too thrilled by it, as she complains of not being able to use it correctly. Justin calls it a lucky wrench, Cassie admires Ash for taking auto shop, saying she didn't know she was into cars. Ashley admits she's not, her dad is really great with cars and doesn't think girls should work on them and she wanted to prove him wrong. Carlos says he's not doing much better than she is, being a guy or girl doesn't have anything to do with it, Ashley soaking in the advice of her friends. Bulk & Skull get a page from someone in need, it says it's urgent, but they've got more urgent matters at hand. They sit at the Juice Bar, ordering two milkshake lunches from the silent Lt. Stone, obviously not paid enough to speak this episode. Ashley whispers the details of her carjacking to her friends, saying Divatox had Elgar steal half the parts from her broken down car she couldn't fix. Teej tells her they'll help her get her car back in shape in no time. The next day in auto shop class, Ashley is working on the shop vehicle again, showing the teacher, who's name is revealed to be Mr. Decker (of Black &... fame) that she took apart the carburetor and can't seem to put it back together, getting a gas leak. He tells her to think, bringing up you can't put two metal surfaces without a certain item. She remembers she forgot to put on a gasket (not related to the prince), returning to Carlos with news of her dumb mistake. Decker opens up the garage door, as Bulk & Skull drop off an old car frame from the towing truck rather abruptly.
At the Space Base, Maniac Mechanic has the parts he needs but still requires a frame and a place to work. Divatox has the auto shop on her Periscope's sights, it's coincidentally perfect for this job, Mechanic tells her the battle wagon is as good as built! He teleports down to the school, morphing into a human disguise to blend in. He dresses like the maniac he is, resembling more like a blonde Skull or the guy from Prodigy with loud clothing. Mr. Decker is easily fooled into letting the monster-boy into his class when he says he's the new student, Decker introducing 'Manny' to the class. He races around shaking everyone's hands before stopping when he comes to Ashley, admiring her large, well-shaped... wrench. He snatches it from her to get a good long grope of the cold hard steel, but she takes it back as he hops away maniacally. Mr. Decker talks to Ashley for a moment, saying he understands she's been having trouble in the class. He mentions her spending some extra time after school, as the garage is open late. she thanks him for the concern (although my paranoid mind thinks he's being a little too helpful). Manny bends a large wrench in his hand as he listens to Ash planning to drop by after 6th period lets out at 3:30pm.
Later at 3:35, Ashley tells Carlos of her plan to spend extra time working in auto shop while at her locker. He offers to come with her, she giddily agrees and tells him 'let's do it!'. Up on the Space Base, Rygog looks through the Periscope and reports the Power Teens are heading for the shop, Divatox asking if Maniac Mechanic is done with her battle wagon yet, Porto telling her he hasn't. She knocks Rygog out of the way and scopes for herself, ordering up some Piranahtron to keep the two Rangers busy while Maniac finishes his task. The P-Trons puddleport outside the garage, forcing Carlos & Ashley to engage them in sudden combat. While Ash does high kicks in a short skirt, the Maniac Mechanic tinkers away on the battle wagon inside the auto shop at breakneck speed. The two Ranger teens smack the fishdrones around the cemented lot until they drain away, Ash & Carlos running inside under the assumption Divatox is looting the school for more car parts! They get inside only to find Manny using Ash's lucky wrench to work on a car that's under a sheet. She recognizes her wrench (how is anyone's guess) as she & Carlos attempt to peek under the sheet, Manny warning them if they look they'll regret it. Both teens stop for a second to give Manny a strange stare, when he suddenly morphs into his monstrous Maniac Mechanic form, laughing at the stunned Rangers!
[commercial bumper Desert Thunder/ Thunder Loader]
[commercial bumper Dune Star/ Star Racer]
Manny becomes Maniac Mechanic again, this time Ashley & Carlos give not surprised looks but determination as they both Shift Into Turbo! The Morphing time gives Maniac Mechanic enough time to hop into his finished Battle Wagon, taking off from the garage with a blue Chromite at the wheel! Yellow Ranger isn't going to let him get away, calling on her Turbo Cart and catching up to the road raging monster within minutes. Green Ranger stayed behind at the auto shop eating the wagon's dust, but Blue Ranger is there with Storm Blaster as per Alpha's warning, so he hitches a ride in the back. The Yellow Turbo Cart rides alongside the Battle Wagon, Maniac standing up in his seat and offering to give Ash's cart some repairs with his new wretched wrench. She says that's her wrench he has, but he claims it as his own when he morphs it into the giant mangled one he had earlier in the episode! He reaches down with it and unscrews her Turbo Cart's wheel, sending her spinning into some bushes and flying out of her seat! The Battle Wagon pulls to a stop, Maniac apologizing for not destroying the whole cart with her in it before spotting Lightning Cruiser driving towards him in the distance. The Wagon takes off again with Cruiser giving chase, Storm Blaster pulls over to pick up the tossed Yellow Ranger before hitting the road once more. Maniac Mechanic uses his wretched wrench to adjust some bolts on the Battle Wagon, causing a giant tail pipe to pop up and spew noxious gases toward Lightning Cruiser. Pink & Rangers get a whiff of exhaust, as Maniac does some more adjusting and creates a couple of cannons which fire some blasts at our stinky heroes. Storm Blaster's finally caught up with the rest of the race, just in time for Maniac to create a saw blade firing gun that attacks the sentient vehicles! Lightning Cruiser takes to the air and dodges them, but Storm Blaster isn't so lucky, taking a fatal blow to it's engine and coming to a screeching halt. Maniac Mechanic creates a rocket launcher on the back of the Battle Wagon, firing into the sky and blasting the Cruiser from flight. TJ & Cassie land safely, but as the Battle Wagon approaches for a demolition derby, Teej finds the Cruiser got its power zapped from the rocket attack and won't start!
Battle Wagon is primed for ramming speed, just as Lightning Cruiser regains power and takes the Rangers off to a secluded rock quarry. The Battle Wagon the one doing the chasing now, Maniac firing bolts from his wretched wrench at the fleeing Cruiser. Back at Storm Blaster, Justin, Ashley & Carlos check under the ancient sentient machine's hood, trying to get it back into action. As luck would have it, the carburetor got blown out and Ash has become an expert in that area of late! She whines about it likely not being like the carburetor of a normal car engine but will give it a try, as Carlos' communicator goes off. TJ is calling from Lightning Cruiser, needing Storm Blaster's help right away. He informs him it's out of commission, Ashley telling Carlos & Justin to go assist them while she stays behind and works on the Blaster's engine. They run (since Teleporting is way overrated) towards the scene of the battle, as Lightning Cruiser gets shot at like crazy from the Wagon's engine blaster. It finally takes too much, tosses Cassie & TJ from their chairs and explodes a little bit. Green & Blue Rangers show up, firing their Hand Blasters & Thunder Cannon at the oncoming Battle Wagon to no avail as it plows through all four of them. While the Wagon unloads some firepower on the weary heroes, Ashley completes repairs of Storm Blaster, the sentient vehicle that needed not a tune up for several thousand years blinks its headlights in thanks. She hops in and races to the quarry, just in time to stop the Battle Wagon from running over the Rangers with some well placed blasts.
Yellow Ranger jumps from Storm Blaster onto the Battle Wagon, engaging Maniac Mechanic in battle. He attacks with the wretched wrench, but she hangs on while the Wagon's in motion and takes a beating for enough time to finally use a Star Charger on him, grab the wrench and leap off. The Wagon racing her way from afar, she decides its time to send him back to the shop. Ash locks together the Turbo Navigator & Auto Blaster into the duel Defender Mode, aims and unleashes a direct blow that destroys the Battle Wagon (and the poor Chromite)! The wretched wrench suddenly reverts to its original mode in her hand, happy to have her lucky wrench back (not like she couldn't get a new one). Her teammates rush over and cheer her on for saving the day, she thanks them and thinks she did okay, giving an oddly timed 'okay' hand sign. Up on the Space Base, Divatox yells in her most whiniest voice about the Rangers trashing her new wagon, ordering the torpedoes launched, but too fed up with the repetition and just giving an 'ahh, you know the drill' to the rest. Torpedoes streak towards Earth, crashing on the Maniac Mechanic (who survived the Battle Wagon destruction, apparently) giving him a Micheline sized tuned up. Yellow Ranger calls on Rescue Megazord, the Zords quickly brought together. Maniac tries attacking the Megazord with two giant wrenches, but the Rangers remove them from his hands and use them on him, twisting his ears with the wrenches! Smacking him on the head with the wrenches before chucking them and him aside, Maniac Mechanic recovers just in time to witness the Artillery Cannons loaded on the Rescue Megazord. Ash calls for the Artillery Power to fire, the last thing he sees before going boom is the flames of hot tempered justice! The Maniac Mechanic is no more, nothing left to salvage or send to the junkyard, but I wonder where those huge wrenches went...
[commercial bumpers Dune Star]
Later on the Space Base, Divatox can't believe that miserable excuse for a mechanic ever helped anyone take over three galaxies as he claimed. Porto finishes going over the fine print on the Maniac Mechanic's guarantee, telling her it expires in two seconds. Right on cue, her newly rebuilt Periscope falls completely apart before Divatox's eyes, she figures nothing less of a maniac, knowing their kind well. Meanwhile on Earth, Ashley is driving her apparently repaired car with Justin & Carlos along for the ride. She tells them that Storm Blaster's carburetor worked like a carburetor for a normal internal combustion engine, blabbing off fancy shmancy big mechanical words that go right over the Ranger boys' heads. Her attempt at showing off her newly discovered brainpower is ignored, as Justin spots Bulk & Skull on the side of the road. Ash pulls over and finds Bulk having no luck fixing the tow-truck's engine. Skull mentions their boss said they're fired unless they get to their next towing job in the next ten minutes. She figures she can fix it on time, Bulk (covered in grease) begins to speak up about her trying, but she shushes him on the concept of sisters not being able to do it themselves. Using her lucky wrench, Ashley discovers the problem and with a little tweaking, has the engine running in a jiffy. Carlos says they can keep their job now, Bulk saying no they can't, Justin mentioning their boss said they had ten minutes, Bulk saying he called an hour ago. Everyone begins laughing, even Bulk & Skull, Skull taking off his towing head and tossing it as he sure doesn't need it anymore! Ashley giggles like a maniac now that she's a mechanic.
[end credits]
_BLOOPERS:_
Ashley tells us Storm Blaster's carburetor works like a carburetor for a normal combustion engine. But, but the uhhh.... the line is flubbed (and I decline to comment on her butt); The Auto Shop Teacher tells Bulk, and the sound of the car parts smashing is heard offscreen. Bulk gets angry with Skull, but turns around and begins to attack the Shop teacher!; Ashley tries doing a jump kick but falls down and goes "Ahh!"; Carlos laughs at Bulk's oiled-face for an extended time, before stopping and telling us that is it!
