I Turned A Boat Into A Car | RIDICULOUS RIDES
IF you’ve ever found yourself in Spokane, Washington, the chances are you’ve come across La Boata - the city’s famous car. Tim Lorentz, the owner of this unique vehicle, bought himself a speedboat for $100 and a Chrysler LeBaron for $700 and merged them together, creating a ride so remarkable that you barely notice La Boata’s tyres when it’s cruising down the highway.
Category
🚗
MotorTranscript
00:00 Outrageous, fun, it's unique.
00:03 It's different. I've owned a lot of cars,
00:14 but I think there's something about creating your own car,
00:18 and in this case, even more than that.
00:21 (music)
00:24 If I was to describe Loboda in 3 words,
00:33 it would be outrageous, fun, in the sun.
00:37 I can't count! Can we do that over again?
00:41 laughs
00:43 A lot of people ask me where the idea for Loboda came from.
00:48 I really don't know. I guess I just thought it would be cool
00:52 to put a boat on top of a convertible.
00:55 The original car had to be inexpensive,
00:57 because my wife wouldn't let me spend the money.
00:59 I found that convertible LeBaron for $700,
01:02 right around the corner, in fact.
01:04 And once I had procured that, then I went and looked for the boat.
01:08 I ended up having to buy this one for $100.
01:11 And when I had them both, then that's when I started the project.
01:14 It only took me 3 days to actually complete it.
01:17 I knew that I was going to have to cut
01:20 all around the bottom of the boat
01:22 so that I could just have the shell.
01:24 It was not fun, it was hot out,
01:27 and those 2 days of cutting, it was long and itchy.
01:32 laughs
01:33 The LeBaron is the basic power plant underneath there.
01:37 It is a front-wheel drive V6 3-liter engine,
01:41 20 miles a gallon around town, 25 on the highway.
01:45 Speed-wise, I think I got it up to 100 miles an hour.
01:49 Don't really think I need to or want to go any faster than that.
01:54 Handles like a boat, pretty much.
01:57 You've probably added 4 or 500 pounds on it.
02:00 It's a foot wider on each side,
02:03 but you kind of just get used to driving it.
02:06 It's fun.
02:07 People either laugh at me 'cause I'm crazy
02:10 or just laugh because it's just a fun thing.
02:13 I put an out-drive on the back.
02:16 Recently I hooked up a windshield washer to that
02:19 so the water shoots 30 feet.
02:21 I can turn the out-drive this way and that way,
02:24 and that way I can escort people on both sides of the sidewalk.
02:28 I drive La Bota almost every day.
02:36 It has a top that you can put up
02:38 so it can be self-contained and heated,
02:41 but most of the time I like to drive it when the weather's nice.
02:45 It's very reliable, very dependable.
02:48 My wife doesn't like riding in it
02:50 because it does attract too much attention.
02:53 If I go into a store, I can leave it out in the parking lot,
02:56 and usually when you come back, you find a small crowd of people
02:59 looking at it or taking pictures.
03:01 Never seen anything like it.
03:03 It's so rad.
03:05 I think this vehicle is awesome,
03:07 just the way it's put together,
03:09 just a work of art.
03:11 When I was driving it, it looked like it was literally on the water,
03:14 like going down the road.
03:16 My wife tolerates the car.
03:21 She does not like getting in and out of it
03:23 because there's no ladylike way of climbing over the side.
03:27 It's not her favorite car.
03:30 I've done rides for charity,
03:32 and that's kind of my main thing to keep my wife happy
03:36 because she thinks it's all about me.
03:39 The question I get asked most is, "Does it float?"
03:42 It may float once.
03:44 You want to go try it with me?
03:46 [laughs]
03:48 [BLANK_AUDIO]