The 89 MattMobile Build Thread.

MattMunson

Master Member
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.

car2.jpg


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
 
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Re: My Largest Prop Purchase EVER.

And so it begins. This must be the reason why you don't answer your phone or return missed calls...
 
Re: My Largest Prop Purchase EVER.

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.
 
Re: My Largest Prop Purchase EVER.

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!!!! :lol ) 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.
 
Re: My Largest Prop Purchase EVER.

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?
 
Re: My Largest Prop Purchase EVER.

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.
 
Re: My Largest Prop Purchase EVER.

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?
 
Re: My Largest Prop Purchase EVER.

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. ;)
 
Re: My Largest Prop Purchase EVER.

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 :lol

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.
 
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