51-year-old Scooby Doo fan builds the ultimate replica Mystery Machine. Jerry Patrick, owner of the car customising company AKA Junk, has recreated classic movie vehicles for the last 10 years. From the likes of the Batmobile to the Delorean – Jerry takes pride in constructing the most iconic cars that everyone can relate to. And one of his most recent masterpieces is none other than the cartoon Mystery Machine.
00:00The main reference we use when customizing the Scooby-Doo Mystery Machine is what luck would have is watching tons of cartoons.
00:30For over 10 years, AKA Junk has created incredible replicas of TV and movie cars.
00:53This is our Scooby-Doo Mystery Machine. We do everything in house. We do the paint, the bodywork, the decals.
00:59Everything is done right here at our shop. As we walk around, we try to get it as accurate as we can, cartoon accurate that is.
01:08We come around back and we get to see Scooby and Shaggy peeking out the back window looking down.
01:13A Scooby-Doo tag for the back handle. The famous purple front and back bumpers try to be as cartoon accurate as we can.
01:24Owner Jerry first started customizing classic cars before moving on to TV and replica vehicles.
01:30Over three months, the team transformed the 1967 Dodge van into this well-loved mystery-solving machine.
01:37Every detail was painstakingly planned to match the iconic cartoon.
01:42As we come around to this side of the van, we get to open up the side doors to reveal the secret compartment inside that is rarely shown in the cartoons.
01:52We kind of took some creative liberties on the inside.
01:55About 100 feet of LED lighting and we get to hang out with the gang on the inside of the van.
02:01And a project this size didn't come cheap.
02:07I get asked from time to time how much certain cars cost to build.
02:12With my wife sitting in the other room, I'd hate to say the true figure.
02:15So let's just say that I've got a stack of paperwork this big on most builds
02:19and I don't ever run a total on any of it for fear of what my wife might actually say to me.
02:24The biggest challenge is on building a mystery machine is sheer size.
02:29I mean, that's a big van.
02:30And when you're talking about doing inside and outside, the roof, the side panels,
02:34overall, I mean, it's just hard to describe something that's that enormous to work on.
02:38Because when you do an older car, you're talking about doing two doors.
02:42And this car, this van, has six doors.
02:45So when you take six doors off and have to replace the door rubber, the paint, the body, and do everything,
02:50I mean, it's a challenge.
02:51It's a big project to undertake, but it turns out really, really awesome.
02:56I mean, I'm a guy that grew up with Scooby-Doo, and who wouldn't want to have the Scooby-Doo Mystery Machine?
