An expert car customiser has transformed a 94 Corvette into a stunning replica of the Mach 5 from the iconic 1960’s cartoon Speedracer. Jerry Patrick, who owns car replica extraordinaire AKA Junk, has been transforming cars into classic cartoon and movie vehicles for over a decade. After falling in love with the Mach 5 in the 60’s, 51-year-old Patrick had to fulfil his lifelong dream of driving the real deal.
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00:00 (dramatic music)
00:02 (tires screeching)
00:05 (upbeat music)
00:31 (car engine roaring)
00:33 - Straight out of the 1960s cartoon,
00:36 this incredible Mach 5 Speed Racer
00:38 is the handiwork of car customizer, Jerry Patrick.
00:42 - The Mach 5 started off as a '94 Corvette,
00:44 a really nice '94 Corvette,
00:46 and we kind of destroyed it, for lack of a better word.
00:49 The whole back of the car and front of the car,
00:52 it was totally taken off.
00:54 We fiberglassed the new body back on it,
00:57 and it takes about 90 to 120 days to complete one.
01:01 We gut the interior,
01:02 put the correct red leather interior inside.
01:05 Obviously, custom paint, custom decals,
01:09 the emblems, the steel wheels, in fact,
01:12 we custom make them here at home.
01:15 - The whole process began with Jerry customizing
01:17 his own cars to Sabon mechanic builds.
01:20 - We started customizing the old school Camaros
01:24 and Mustangs probably 15 or 20 years ago,
01:27 and that kind of parlayed into doing the TV and movie cars.
01:31 I'd say the love the most is definitely
01:33 doing the TV and movie cars.
01:34 When we go out and do car shows,
01:36 you see gobs of the Mustangs, Camaros, Chevelles,
01:40 but you don't see too many Mach 5 Speed Racers.
01:43 - Growing up with the cartoon as a kid,
01:45 Jerry couldn't resist building his own Speed Racer.
01:47 - The inspiration behind the Mach 5
01:50 was straight off the cartoon from a 51-year-old guy
01:53 back in 1967-ish is when the cartoon came out,
01:57 so I was really enthralled as a kid to watch this,
02:00 and I thought, you know, one day,
02:01 I'm gonna be driving a Mach 5.
02:03 The cost of building the Mach 5
02:06 is another one of these classified things,
02:08 and I've gotta keep that a big secret from my wife.
02:10 - The build also posed some problems
02:15 for the veteran customizer.
02:16 - The biggest challenge on building the Mach 5
02:19 was building the first one.
02:21 I mean, we started off with a body
02:23 that was a sculpt from someone else,
02:25 and we had to kind of morph it into what we wanted
02:28 for our own car, where it'd actually fit right,
02:30 look right, do right,
02:32 and now we're actually building our own bodies.
02:34 When you hop in the Mach 5,
02:39 it can just go broil the tires
02:41 and just go have fun with it,
02:42 just like you would see in the cartoon.
02:44 I get asked generally sometimes
02:50 from some specific questions
02:52 on how fast the Mach 5 can go.
02:54 Must just say it's unlimited.
02:55 (upbeat music)
02:59 (dramatic music)
03:02 (upbeat music)
03:04 (upbeat music)
03:07 (upbeat music)