Can you build a Mad Max Tribute Car for under $10,000

[Jettoymaker]

Hi Everyone,

I have a question that has been circulating in the mind for a few years now, so I was wondering if anyone has considered why there aren't as many tribute cars being built by more individuals? That said, I've had a few thoughts as to what Barry would be putting together using his stellar method of "a ppppiece from here and a ppppiece from there" after Max skipped town and before the Apocalypse took the MFP and everyone out of the picture who were making purpose built road going cars- not just Roadkill predecessors? I've only noted three projects to date; one of them being the Tribute Van by Vannin here that tackle the subject as a post Max tribute instead of just trying to emulate through other vehicles of a similar profile. Is it me or could we not be continuing Barry's work along the same lines as Vannin has, as done on the Pursuit Special/Interceptor (Barry's work you have to admit) and still make awesome cars in the same vein that carry on the Interceptor legacy as the MFP of the day would have used? Wouldn't this make things a lot easier for anyone wanting a Mad Max vehicle (proper) and allow for the creativity of Barry to be characterised within a date range and vehicle type that is within the grasp of we individuals of limited resources and time? Any thoughts?

[Jettoymaker]

I didn't expect much response to this initial question, but lets press on with the idea anyway as it still has merit I believe mostly due to the fact that XA-XC Falcons built in Australia, along with the Monaros and other vehicles of the day and used in the movie franchise are fast disappearing. Additionally, as most people are happy to play make believe with vehicles that "sort of almost kinda" look a similar shape to the Interceptor/Pursuit Special: then what is the reason we can't just move on to what would have been a natural progression in type usage within the MFP and it's controlling bureaucracies? So I'm going to press on with the idea and see what can be built that isn't just an attempt to replicate vicariously via a car sorta kinda shaped like maybe the one in the movie and go for the places that Barry was aiming for, with cars that Barry would most likely have had at his disposal and see how close I get to what he and the MFP would have rolled out the door of that dark underground facility.

A little bit about me: I'm an obvious fan of Mad Max vehicles and have dreamed for some time of having one of the cars as seen in the first movie...time marches on and 30 years on a disability pension wakes you up to the fact that you can't afford to hang onto the initial dream. The answer: do what Barry does. As I've had a bit of practice making do and making things from bits here and there, it hasn't been too much of a stretch to see what lays about the Australian landscape that can fit the bill, so for the moment I have a car I got for AUS$600 at a local scrapyard and am going to have a go at producing a 500-600hp MFP vehicle of the same type and spec as Barry would have produced for AUS$10,000 or less. Anyone think this is not possible or why it shouldn't be done and if not why not?

[themanw/oaname]

im not sure i understand what you mean by "tribute car"

like, a car that is not the model used in the movie but has some details from ones in a movie?
here's an example:


this is the most famous ecto 1 dodge magnum. it's not a 59 cadillac mm ambulance ecto 1, but the wagon features emulate it. the top details (the term escapes me) are accurate for the movie car.

some people slap on a logo that's 50 bucks and call it a finished project. others go those lengths. it really depends on the condition of your base car, if you have the base car, and how much effort you want to put into it. so, in summation to think what was an incredibly long and wordy question: yes. you can. people do it all the time.


PERSONALLY, i'm very slowly restoring my 1998 mustang gt. after the interior and paint is finished i'll be very slowly adding details to make it look like the interceptor; if a 98 mustang was the base car. i dont imagine it being more than 6k in the long run.

[Foxtrot X-Ray]

PERSONALLY, i'm very slowly restoring my 1998 mustang gt. after the interior and paint is finished i'll be very slowly adding details to make it look like the interceptor; if a 98 mustang was the base car. i dont imagine it being more than 6k in the long run.

As a Mustang Man myself, I'll want to see pics of the progress on that.
Wanting to do a '94-98 with a bit of an intercept special theme to it.


Thought about it with my 2000 Mustang, but it just doesn't fit in my mind.

[themanw/oaname]

As a Mustang Man myself, I'll want to see pics of the progress on that.
Wanting to do a '94-98 with a bit of an intercept special theme to it.

LOL, i will when anything substantial happens. but for a visual of what it looks like now, just look at any one that's running on the road with the hood's paint oxidized and peeling from the top body line up; and tears in the front leather seats. i love my car, it's been very good to me; it makes me sad it's in this condition right now.

[Jettoymaker]

Thanks for the reply. As I figured the questions would be kicking off a more broad-ranging subject, I thought the opening questions/statements should be a bit expansive plus I'm old-school and old farts tend to waffel on so this is going to be long

Yes; like a car that is not the model used in the movie but has some details from ones in a movie. What I'm trying to establish is to what extent in the case of Mad Max vehicles, that the formula begins to run out of relevance and starts to stagger into the ridiculous. I also figured it may be time to start to establish some rough guidelines on what should or could constitute a worthy vehicle along with the valid alternatives to try and prevent what is the Mad Max equivalent to the current "Ricer" theme. I count myself lucky that I live in the middle of where it all happened back then as I lived just up the road from where the cars were being built for the first movie, but I have kept seeing pretty ordinary attempts over the years by most people to have a Mad Max related car. MFP quarter panel stickers on a stock modern yellow Civic is a sad sad sight. I also figured that a few interesting timelines have been overlooked and may be worthy of further exploration. The one that springs first to mind is the interval between when Max drove off into the sunset and the days leading up to and a short period beyond the war that brought the Wasteland into being.

I'm also thinking that even though a Mustang/Torino/Camaro or the like would probably look good in Mad Max styling (all have the classic stance along with the XC Coupe) that the opportunity to have an MFP styled car from the same place the first ones came from may have more appeal to some...more importantly in a styling family directly linked to MFP requirements of the day and post first iteration of what we saw in the first movie. How would you guys feel if I built an Eleanor Mustang out of a locally built Holden Torana? 2010 Mustang yes: Holden Torana no As XC Falcon Coupes, HQ Monaros and even XC Falcon sedans and Mad Max purpose built kits are now ridiculously out of the question even for us poor souls in Australia, it may be time to make things a little easier for true believers and allow for more satisfactory outcomes than is currently available. This is why I posed the question of what Barry would create (as he would still have been doing his thing for many years), what he would have had access to and what was MFP inventory policy at the time? All of this in line with what is currently, easily and very cheaply available here in Australia.

Lets face it: all of the MFP cars we love and want to have are supposed to be the brainchild of Barry and his team's works. 'All' the standard MFP patrol vehicles are the result (supposedly) of a bureaucrat in a sterile office somewhere. Although if I had the money and time, I would still like to build a base model MFP example as a comparative Vannin as I would define it has built his Ford panel van in a believable way that would most likely have been MFP inventory with Barry influence as the timelines and requirement are within reason. I just have a huge problem seeing a Toyota Lexus painted up as a yellow Interceptor particularly when I see very cheap XD-XF Ford Falcons that could benefit from a modified Phase 6 body kit with additions and a good V8 fitted for half the cost and none of the embarrassment. The XD-XF would have logically been next in the MFP catalogue and with Barry's touches would have been a weapon.

So far I've applied the theory to Goose's motor cycle and have come up with this for the moment https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWt9Pf3oY8s which unfortunatly wouldn't fit into a Kawasaki frame, but applying the "Barry" principle would have fitted into the likely scenario of an evolusionary requirement for more improved models of local manufacture, of the apporopriate timeline, to combat the escalating tensions that were developing in the years after Max was gone. I currently think that the MFP would have been able to be a functional entity along with the local car industry until 2005 but what I think is only what "I" think and it would be good to start a dialogue on whether or not this is worth pursuing. 2005 is also the year when locally built examples stopped being simple/modifiable and reliable from a guerilla mechanic's point of view, so anything that survived up to and after the years of the Wasteland wouldn't have been able to have been easily used/modified/run at all as they are not easy to repair outside of dealer constraints or get parts for that can be readily re-tasked than vehicles before that date. That said, I'm starting this current project with a 2000 model Holden VX Commodore S four door sedan, but I would have gotten a Monaro if they weren't so damned expensive and hard to get. The bike is a long term project that is another story in itself.

Last thought on this very lengthy blather...we all want a Mad Max/MFP car because they stand out as AWESOMELY different not "just" different. What do you think?

[Jettoymaker]

This is the vehicle type I will be using.

VX generic.JPG (12.22 KiB) Viewed 13542 times

Not the actual car as ours is scruffier and seeing as I still can't afford a camera will have to do for now. It's pretty much identical to this. It has lines that can be easily adapted to a Barry type application and parts are abundant for them.
So far I've managed to source the side skirts I'm going to use and modify from this supplier.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/VE-style-con ... 2668170760
And as you can see from the photos he has of a VX Commodore with these fitted, it is a beginning that offers scope.
The front air dam/bumper from these guys
http://carmate.com/product_details.php? ... RACECSVXFB
is reasonably cheap and with further modification should stand out above the usual.

[Artemis Flow]

Paint it black put a skull on the hood
$100
Your welcome

[Jettoymaker]

Thought about it but has already been done

[themanw/oaname]

where are you from?