I thought it made it to dry land and won or almost won that event. well here are the specs and some pics from that show.
Episode 3: Swamp Buggy
Get the skinny on the Buggy below, and don't forget to check out our behind-the-scenes interview with Ronnie Thibodaux.
The Team
• Jesse James, custom-bike builder/designer, Long Beach, Calif.
• Ricky Hsu, car designer, Gardena, Calif.
• Brian Jendro, car customizer, Temecula, Calif.
• John Krawczyk, welder and sculptor, Malibu, Calif.
• Tom Prewitt, custom painter, Damon's Motorcycle Creations, Brea, Calif.
• J.D. Streett, special-effects supervisor, Shadow Hills, Calif.
• Christy Sumner, special-effects technician, Los Angeles, Calif.
• Ronnie Thibodaux, boat designer/builder, Centerville, La.
• John Uribe, auto-mechanics instructor, Reseda, Calif.
2000 Volkswagen Beetle Specs
• 4-cylinder 2.0-liter engine
• 115-horsepower
• automatic transmission
Monster Machine Specs
• chrome-plated VW air-cooled 110-horsepower engine
• aircraft propeller
• rudders
• liquid closed-cell foam (lots of it)
• House of Kolor paint
Transition Technique
In order to turn the VW Beetle into a working swamp boat, the team needed to install an airboat engine; to create the room for this additional engine (no easy feat!), they modified the car's interior, eliminating the rear seat and most of the trunk panels. They then installed the second VW engine, with a small aircraft propeller attached. They also filled the car's body panels with liquid closed-cell foam (and a lot of it), which hardened, providing buoyancy for the vehicle.
Once its functional transition was complete, the car received a white primer sealer coat, followed by a white base coat. Then the custom painter blended three different orange-pearl base coats and one hot-pink pearl base coat and applied the mixture. Two coats of gold-ice pearl were added, and a clear coat concluded the process.
The result? A swamp buggy ready to mingle among the bayou's many gators ... well, sort of.
Well maybe he didn't make it
jon