Man Builds Lamborghini in Cellar, Forgets To Build a Way Out 10
Ken Imhoff's life changed the day he watched the movie Cannonball Run. It was after that cinematic masterpiece that he fell in love with the Lamborghini. Ken spent the next 17 years building his own version of the car in the basement of his home in Wisconsin. When he was done he realized he had overlooked one simple thing: a way to get the sports car out of the basement. An excavator had to be hired to slope his lawn and dig into his foundation before the car was towed out. Mr. Imhoff said, "I was like an expectant father watching it come through the wall. I was literally shaking and running the supposed plan over and over in my head. 'Have I overlooked anything? Is some of the wall going to fall on my work of seventeen years?... As the last blanket and car cover were removed I knew at that moment I had accomplished what I had dreamed about so many years ago and to see it sitting there in front of me was surreal. The next day we filled the hole in the basement with new blocks. In no time it was good as new."
?FTW (Score:2)
Smart enough to build a fuckin' car but dumb enough to build it in a place where you can't get it out? What?
He didn't "Forget" (Score:4, Informative)
"The idea to build the car in the basement is pretty simple really. I recalled back to my childhood again and remember my Dad's car projects always being put on hold during the winter because we couldn't afford to heat the one car garage. Sure I could heat my garage and do the work in there, but then my cars would have to sit in the driveway. I live in Wisconsin where winters seem to last six months out of the year, so that would be a long time with no place to put the daily drivers. This was going to be a long project and I figured the house had an unfinished basement with plenty of room and was heated anyway, what a perfect scenario. There would be no excuses not to work on the car right? Before I started off on the project, I had a neighborhood contractor take a look at it and he was confident I wasn't losing my mind. I will admit, the one thing I didn't think beforehand was how everything was going to either go down the stairs or go through a small basement window. There were times I wondered how well those 50 year old stairs were built, but thankfully I never did have an incident."
that jalopnik interview is better (Score:1)
But this guy fabricated much of it himself. A hand formed aluminum body. Wow. (although I would have considered fiberglass, wouldn't aluminum acquire rock dings?) The engine is a 351 Cleveland (Ford), alot less expensive to buy/build/maintain than an authentic Lambo engine, and still a beast.
Nice work Ken. Need more pics though
Re: (Score:1)
Nice work Ken. Need more pics though
Here's the original article [jalopnik.com] with a bunch more pics and a video at the bottom. They did this feature first and interviewed him after, so it kinda makes sense to browse this before clicking the original link I posted :)
that's nothing (Score:4, Funny)
In his situation... (Score:3, Insightful)
If I could be bothered building a whole car, I'd probably build it in the inescapable basement because I simply wouldn't believe it would ever be finished. No point planning beyond 40% of the build for me.
Re: (Score:2)
Agreed.
Also the article is wrong. The guy built it from aluminum parts he made [jalopnik.com]. This isn't a real Lamborghini. This is equivalent to someone building a PC case out of scrap metal and calling it Antec or Coolermaster.
don't get me wrong it looks nice, but "Lamborghini" is a real brand name. What he did was custom build a car that looks like a Lamborghini.
Re: (Score:1)
NCIS... (Score:2)