Casey Putsch has done it again! This time his prized Jet Turbine Powered Batmobile is for sale! The car mentioned in an earlier 'Fan Created Ride' post is now on the auction block over at eBay. At the time of writing the car sits at $620,000.00 with 16 offers. Casey went on to write on his blog about the fame the car has caught and that it must be time to move on. I love his quote "Replica? I think the movie cars were replicas of this!" It sure is. Any On Screen Car fans got deep pockets? If you happen to read this later and own the car. Please let us know!
GM decided to celebrate a little bit by creating a tribute to the Blues Brothers. A special edition Chevy Cruze was decked out like the classic Dodge Monaco Police Cruser used in the movie. Note the small bull horn on top, more than likely to scale, considering the size of the Chevrolet Cruze. The crew featured to jazz guys who called themselves the Cruze Brothers. Their mission from God was a one of a kind party at the Ace Cafe just outside London. So what are they celebrating? Well it's Chevrolet 100th year. See ya next time.
Having trouble finding a movie to watch? How about a classic car movie? How about a classic car movie you can watch for free? Well that's the idea behind OnScreenCars.com's Free Ticket category. A group of posts about legal public domain classic car movies found on the net. Thanks to several online providers we can enjoy many classic car films for free. We're gonna start off this new segment with a classic car film called The Choppers.
"...it's the Choppers alright...they're getting as regular as a tv show..."
The Choppers released in 1961 tells the story of a teenage gang terrorizing a small town with rash car jacking. The crew lead by a guy name Cruiser, whom steals and strips down any car they can get their hands on. A crooked local junkyard owner is always standing by to buy whatever the boys dish up. However local authorities looking out for the gang as they plot to trap them. Watch as it all unfolds in this high action B movie thriller of it's day. The movie is roughly an hour long in black and white and features many cool cars of the day. Not to mention. . .
One car that really stands out is a modified Ford Model T, also commonly known as a "T-Bucket." This T-Bucket is powered by a Buick Nailhead 322 V8 bored to a 402 with long tube headers going to side pipes. The whole unit is topped off an array of 6 Stromberg 97s carburetors. What makes this car even more special is the car in real life it belong to Tommy Ivo aka TV Tommy.
Tommy was a known as an actor and professional NHRA driver in the 50s and 60s. Whom in my opinion was obsessed with Buick Nailhead V8s. He built several dragsters that featured the motor. Some even had multiple motors. His first dual Nailhead dragster broke the 9 second barrier in the late 50s, not to mention setting records in the 170 - 180 mph hour in the quarter mile. No surprise his prized hot rod had a Nailhead huh?
Now on to the show...
Take time to enjoy this movie. It might be a little cheezy, but I think it's worth a watch. My brother and I found this movie a few years ago with a bulk pack of classic car films called Born to be Wild - Four High Octane Movies. I would high recommend this pack of movies even though the movies are public domain. Below is embeded from Youtube. Special thanks to AMPOP Films and Isotope Guerrilla Cult Theatre for posting many public domain films on the net!
It's not everyday that someone can turn science fiction into reality. That's exactly what Casey Putsch of Putsch Racing in Dublin, Ohio did. When he merged a 1989 Batmobile replica with a turbine engine. Something that even Hollywood didn't attempt to do. Not only did he successfully merged the two, but it's functional. Not to mention street legal at that! Casey just 29 years of age is a 2005 graduate of Ohio State in fine arts, aspires to be a race car driver. However he isn't able to move forward without additional sponsorship. Looking to prove to the world his talent, Casey set out to build this car. How did he do it?
The power plant is a military spec jet turbine engine from drone helicopter built by Boeing. Casey self taught, rebuilt the engine and fabricated the parts to make it work in a car. What's even more amazing is the fact the car works just as normal street car. The power is transferred directly from the engine through a semi-automatic gear box to the rear wheels. What's it run on? According to the YouTube video it runs on kerosene, diesel, or jet fuel. Nice to know you can pull this thing in to just about any gas station and find something to run it on (minus the jet fuel). If you watch the videos closely notice Casey is wearing ear protection. This thing is loud!
Looking over the pictures and a YouTube video you can see how cleanly Casey put this package together. It all looks stock and straight-out of the movie. There are a lot of neat buttons to control the engine and other car functions. Including the guns that popup out of the fenders. There are a wealth of gauges to monitor engine stats. I would imagine the iPad may have some additional monitoring apps on it, plus something to take notes. If nothing else it looks really cool with the Wayne logo. Time to build was five months. I could imagine that being very intensive. Jet engines aren't exactly easy to work on.
Since construction was completed (June 2011) Casey has already won several awards at the very prestigious Ault Park Concours de Elegance in Cincinnati, Ohio. This car competed against some of the most valuable cars in history. An amazing story. Casey was very prompt and was happy to grant us permission to run this article. We wish the very best for Casey and Putsch Racing. We hope he get's to live his dream of being a driver. You sure have wowed us all. Readers see ya next time, same OnScreenCars.com time same OnScreenCars.com channel!
Gotta monster of a eBay Find for you readers this week. The Monster Garage Volkswagen Beetle Swamp Buggy has been spotted! An Ebay seller from Thurman, OH has listed this one of a kind ride recently at a price of 10K or BO. Nice a bad deal, especially if your looking to wow the folks at your local car show or cruse in. If you remember it does travel on land and water (kinda, sorta). For those who may not be familiar with this ride. Let me fill you in.
On the show's third episode, Jesse and the team put together vehicle capable of driving on land and floating on water much like a bayou swamp boat. They started with a 1999 VW Beetle for the base. They were given just a week and a small budget of just $3000 (not including the cost of the car). They hacked up the rear deck hatch and squeezed in a fan boat motor on tracks. Body modifications were made to help create a shell/hull. The empty hull was filled with foam to help make the car float. A long tall pipe was added to direct the exhaust up and out of the water. The team was successful in making a functional vehicle to meet the challenge while keep it relativity stock looking.
According to the eBay auction the car has been in storage for quite sometime. After the first season aired, the car along with other vehicles from the show went on tour. It eventually wound up in the Peterson Museum for sometime before being returned to the set. After the show was canceled the car was stored in warehouse in Burbank, CA. At some point most of the Monster Garage cars were sold at Barrett Jackson Auto Auction. However this lucky bug didn't go up on the auction block. Later the car was sold to the current owner and housed in Ohio out of public view. Which brings us to where we are today.
Now it can be yours! Head over to the auction and place your offer or buy it now. Be ready to pick it up locally. If you do. Please let us know! We'd love to feature your new OnScreenCar! See ya next time folks!
. I would high recommend this pack of movies even though the movies are public domain. Below is embeded from Youtube. Special thanks to 
