00:01I'm working on this stuff just for the fun of it.
00:04And you know, sure, I get a kick at it, a jaw drop.
00:07That's what makes it worthwhile.
00:30I built Tankenstein and restored the monster trike.
00:47This is car enthusiast Sean Cormier.
00:50He has spent years building, altering and creating unique and eccentric vehicles.
00:55I don't know if I have a passion for cars, it's kind of a sickness.
00:59I guess I could still say Tankenstein is still the world's only rat rod tank.
01:04Right up until someone says, hey, no, I have another one.
01:08Tankenstein is a mixture of old car parts and different vehicles put together.
01:14It's kind of like Frankenstein where they took the different body parts from one person and put it on the other.
01:19Well, this is the same thing.
01:20So it's just a combination of parts stuck together and made to work.
01:29This marvelous car creation is a mixture of many different vehicle parts, dating back as far as World War II.
01:35So this is Tankenstein and this is basically a World War II Bren gun carrier chassis.
01:42And what we have here is a 47 Mercury tow truck cab.
01:48She's got bullet holes all over the place.
01:51These are 22 holes here.
01:53And it's got a shotgun slugged through the door over there.
01:56We've thrown them all together into Tankenstein.
02:00When I pull in with Tankenstein at a car show, people come running over to watch it get unloaded off the trailer.
02:06And there's a lot of people interested in it.
02:08What is it?
02:09I mean, what isn't it?
02:12It's Tankenstein.
02:13And it's not just the vehicle that lends its name to fiction.
02:17Sean also likes to drive in costume.
02:20So when you drive Tankenstein, you have to be in character.
02:24So that's why you get the helmet.
02:26And it's the Thompson.
02:29Do you think it's not a real one?
02:31I'd be crying right now.
02:32It's full of mud.
02:33For now, Tankenstein is powered by a 305.
02:36It's got roughly about 175 horsepower.
02:40She'll do about 45, 50 mile an hour top end.
02:43That's red line.
02:45Who needs air conditioning or windows when you have, like, original glass?
02:50This is original glass from 47.
02:52Everybody tells me I should take it out because I could get cut.
02:55But no, I think it adds character to it.
02:58I don't use any blueprints or drawings.
03:00It's all done by eye, what looks good.
03:03If you stick to plans, like life, plans change all the time.
03:07So why bother making plans?
03:08Just go with the flow.
03:10The total cost of Bill Tankenstein, I think, is right around $2,000 or $2,500.
03:14I kind of lost track.
03:15I try to use recycled parts, like old stuff, but it still costs you money to buy it.
03:20I think it's been five or six years now since I started Tankenstein.
03:24When you're living in Canada like I do and it's minus 30 out and then you have the windchill,
03:28so it's minus 40 something, you don't really want to go outside and work on this stuff.
03:32I keep adding things to it and changing things a little bit.
03:35And the cooling system should be changed soon.
03:37It's never going to be done.
03:39You'll always be adding a little bit more to it.
03:44And it's not just Tankenstein that Sean has been tinkering with.
03:48Now I'm the proud owner of the Black Widdle Monster trike.
03:52I didn't build it.
03:53The Black Widdle Monster trike is a collaboration of different parts, like Tankenstein.
03:58It has a early 80s Chevette 1.6 engine and transmission.
04:03It has a shortened up rear end of an S10.
04:06The gas tank is custom built.
04:08It's a shock factor from people when they see it.
04:12It's, oh, that's cool.
04:13But in reality, there is a reason why they stopped making three wheelers, because they're dangerous.
04:17I think my favorite of the build was Tankenstein.
04:32I didn't really build the Black Widdle Monster trike.
04:35I took it and got it fine-tuned so it would run and added brakes and stuff.
04:40But I think the favorite by far is Tankenstein, just because of the reaction it gets.
04:44So that's my funnest thing to drive right now.
04:47Sean's mechanic hobby has been further documented through his YouTube channel,
04:51which has amassed quite a following, giving Tankenstein a dedicated fan base.
04:56I'd never really probably sell Tankenstein.
05:00I've been offered a lot of money for it before.
05:03But, I mean, there's only one.
05:05So if I sell it, what do I have after that?
05:07I'll have a bunch of money?
05:09What good's that?
05:11Like, there's only one of one thing.
05:13There's only one of me, or one of Tankenstein.
05:16So if I sell it, what am I going to do then?
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