Carmageddon: Part 2

After buying the first car for my buddy’s bachelor party, we set out to find a second. Demolition derbies need at least two cars, after all.

We found another car on Craigslist; an early 2000’s Chevy Lumina. This one was also in Tacoma…yay. It seemed that fate wanted us to take some Chevys off the road.

Just the bachelor and I headed down for this car. We pulled up to an apartment building, parked a few buildings away, and walked up to meet the owner. The car was in great shape cosmetically. A short drive up the road and back sold us on the car.

As we pulled away, I imagine the former owners celebrated, despite only getting a few hundred dollars for the car. About 10 minutes down the freeway, the car started to sputter, and we broke down. I was not about to leave that car on the side of the road.

Despite being about 40 minutes away, our super friend, and hero, drove all the way out with his truck and trailer to pick up the car. It must have been comical watching the three of us trying to push that car onto the flatbed trailer on the side of the freeway. Twenty minutes of fighting with the car was all it took to secure the car and head back home.

We had to find another car now. The Lumina would now be fodder for other things.

 

Thermite

While we were looking for cars, I was thinking of crazy things to do with the cars, especially the broken Lumina. My most ambitious, borderline criminal, idea was thermite. Too many YouTube videos and MythBusters episodes, I guess. It was now my mission to see if I could melt through the hood of the Lumina.

Having no idea where I could buy thermite, I decided I would make some. How hard could it be?

From what I could surmise, it was super easy to make thermite from things around the house. One of the ingredients was basically rust. My process felt spot on. Just combine water and metal, then dry it out using a little gas hibachi grill.

At the time, I lived in a brand-new house, in a brand-new neighborhood, and we were the only house on our side of the street. In the morning, I would soak some foil in some water so it would rust. When I got home from work, I would go into my back yard and “cook” the rusted metal so I could scrape the rust dust into a cup.

It was ridiculous; me squatting over a tiny grill in my back yard, looking like some savage meth head. But it fit the theme of this bachelor party well.

 

Another car

The bachelor party was just around the corner, and we needed another car quick. I managed to find something on Craigslist the day before the bachelor party. The owner wasn’t available to meet that day, so it would have to be the day of the bachelor party.

Everybody met at super friend’s house to consolidate vehicles and pack up the RV. While we were packing things up, some of our kids decided to take turns beating the Lumina with a pickaxe and a real axe. They put some pretty nice dents, and even a few holes, in the car.

All packed up, we set off. Two of us went ahead to check out the other Craigslist car before meeting back up with everybody along the highway.

Of the three cars, this one was the best. It was a late 80’s Oldsmobile 88…Royale. Yes, a Royale. The engine was rock solid, which was enough to overcome the electrical issues, cosmetic issues, and broken speedometer. Plus, I’m a sucker for the color “old people blue”.

We paid just south of $200 for the car, which was a steal.

About 45 minutes later, we were all headed up an old logging road for some carmageddon. It was finally time.

Continued in Carmageddon: Part 3