The 89 MattMobile Build Thread.

[MattMunson]

I have updated the title of this thread now that the big reveal has been made. Settle in, stay tuned, and watch me spend the next year making this dream a reality.



This is the first movie car I have ever purchased. It's a 1995 Caprice Classic that was used in a number of movies as a cop car. The only movie I could get confirmation of that it was in is called "Bad Cop", co-starring David Carriadine.

For those of you who are saying "Why the heck would he buy such a big purchase from a movie that is so obscure?" That is an excellent question, dear reader.

Allow me to direct you to my blog for the big reveal of the project I am about to begin

Read All About It Right Here!!


Be sure to subscribe to my blog if you want to get all the up to the minute updates on what is sure to be a really fun and interesting project for me.

mattmunson.blogspot.com

[Jedifyfe]

And so it begins. This must be the reason why you don't answer your phone or return missed calls...

[MattMunson]

And so it begins. This must be the reason why you don't answer your phone or return missed calls...

I swear, on my whiteboard, there's a note that says 'Call brad'!! lol. Sorry bro!

[Rocker]

Well we'll never see you again. Thats one big project. just remember to come up for air sometimes and use a respirator 'cause your gonna be inhaling alot of bondo and resin dust. Just a suggestion, but if you feel like you've bitten off more than you can chew, you can always change your project to the police car at the begining of die hard. You know the one that looks like swiss cheese after being shot up and drivin off that ledge.
heck, the cars half way there already.

[Amish Trooper]

And so it begins. This must be the reason why you don't answer your phone or return missed calls...

Blame Laamberry. Excited to see your updates MM.

[MattMunson]

Well we'll never see you again. Thats one big project. just remember to come up for air sometimes and use a respirator 'cause your gonna be inhaling alot of bondo and resin dust. Just a suggestion, but if you feel like you've bitten off more than you can chew, you can always change your project to the police car at the begining of die hard. You know the one that looks like swiss cheese after being shot up and drivin off that ledge.
heck, the cars half way there already.

lol. Good suggestions! I love it!!!

Honestly, I feel that with dedication and consistency, I should EASILY be able to finish this within one year. (please feel free to quote me on that, four years from now when I'm selling off the half finished parts to the project!!!! ) My plan is to commit to doing a certain amount of hours of work per week on the car, no matter what. Maybe like 12 hours. So if I do an hour each weeknight, and then a full day on the weekend, that will be a good chunk of time per month. I may totally be talking out of my butt here, but what makes this project so interesting for me is not just the final result, but also all of the learning I will do along the way.

But honestly, assuming the car doesn't have any significant mechanical problems, I don't see this build as more complicated or complex than my R2. Sure, it's bigger, and it's a whole different scale, but I don't think it will be more difficult. And a lot of what I learned from R2 is transferrable to this project, along with some of the tools.

[Amish Trooper]

If you don't mind me asking but why this specific caprice? I mean it was a movie car. So why not get another caprice that has no movie history? Are you going to mod the interior with gadgets etc?

[epilepticsquirl]

If you don't mind me asking but why this specific caprice? I mean it was a movie car. So why not get another caprice that has no movie history? Are you going to mod the interior with gadgets etc?

lots of bat related gadgets!

[Amish Trooper]

Wouldn't a regular caprice have the same though?

[epilepticsquirl]

probably, but how many people get to say they turned a cruiser from Bad Cop into the batmobile.

[Amish Trooper]

True... Either way look forward to the build. Gives Laamberry a reason to make a Catwoman costume

[dexter1138]

I hope you have experience stretching the chassis on that caprice, it's not the same wheel base as the Burton Batmobile. Plus just cutting away and reinforcing the body during construction will be a daunting task.

[slave1pilot]

I just watched the trailer for "Bad Cop"
I think the money Matt paid for this car is more than the Box Office Gross.

[jasonw2112]

If I remember correctly, they were built on a Impala chassis, which is very similar to the Caprice. However I think it was a earlier model.
So I guess your buying a fiberglass kit, to fit over the chassis? If so, will the company that makes the kits ship to Ohio?

[slave1pilot]

If I remember correctly, they were built on a Impala chassis, which is very similar to the Caprice. However I think it was a earlier model.
So I guess your buying a fiberglass kit, to fit over the chassis? If so, will the company that makes the kits ship to Ohio?

Why would they need to ship to Ohio? That's a long way from Orange County.

[EvilRocketeer]

you sir have too much time and money on your hands

i call dibs on being robin!!!!!

[Amish Trooper]

you sir have too much time and money on your hands

i call dibs on being robin!!!!!

You would want to be Dick

[Risu]

I think I pooped a little.

[MattMunson]

If you don't mind me asking but why this specific caprice? I mean it was a movie car. So why not get another caprice that has no movie history? Are you going to mod the interior with gadgets etc?

Honestly, I hardly even consider this a "movie car". It's a stunt car used in a few B-Movies. It's not like I'm tearing apart one of Magnum's Ferarri's to make my go-kart

With that said, it's still a good question, and here's my answer. In my mind, the PERFECT donor car for this project is one that has excellent mechanics, but a horrible body. Most buyers tend to go the opposite way. They'll take a pretty car that runs "ok". So the prices are higher. But when you find a beat up eye sore, the price is rock bottom. This one is in immaculate shape when it comes to the mechanics, though the electrical system is pretty shot too. Because I will be removing pretty much every trace of the body and interior, none of those things were of interest to me, so it did not matter that it is beaten up and low quality.

But like Han Solo says, She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts.

[MattMunson]

Wouldn't a regular caprice have the same though?

Probably, but this is the one I found that was in my price range, and happened to run really good.

[Amish Trooper]

Makes perfect sense. I was just curious. I do hope you get this done in your timeline. This is by far my favorite Bat mobile.

[Risu]

Yea, sometimes you can actually get screen used stuff from B-movies for cheaper than you'd find it anywhere else.

[MattMunson]

I hope you have experience stretching the chassis on that caprice, it's not the same wheel base as the Burton Batmobile. Plus just cutting away and reinforcing the body during construction will be a daunting task.

In my opinion, this is the single most daunting task in the entire build. After this, everything else is either pretty straight forward, or well documented. I have never really worked on cars before, so this will be all new ground for me. However, I do have a lot of friends over at a builders forum that have not only done it before, but are happy to offer advice and photos for the newbies.

The plan with the caprice is to strip it down to the frame, then lengthen it. The wheelbase of the Keaton car was 141". I forget how much longer than the Caprice that is, but I of course will figure that out before I do any cutting The car does not need to be widened. in fact, you need back spacers on the Rims to bring them in a little bit.

I've been researching this for many years now, so please don't think I just ran out and purchased htis car on a whim hoping it would work. There are a number of successful and finished builds that use this model Caprice as the base. I have complete confidence in my choice of donor car, and am very happy to have found one in such great condition for the price.

[MattMunson]

Makes perfect sense. I was just curious. I do hope you get this done in your timeline. This is by far my favorite Bat mobile.

No worries man! I'm happy to talk about this thing all day. I'm just so happy to FINALLY have gotten it started. I've wanted one of these things for more than 20 years.

[E-Wan]

Cannot wait to take this bad boy to the drive thru!