In 1996, two engineers by the name of Phil Weicker and Duncan Forrester attempted to turn an ’82 Chevy Malibu into a hot tub car. They failed, but they weren’t ready to give up so easily. So in 2008, they tried again. This time, they chose a 1969 Cadillac DeVille mainly because of the classy platform and the huge trunk space which would become essential in the inner workings of this “Carpool”. Their goal was ambitious. After all, they had to turn this massive vehicle, which was built for size and power, into a mobile hot tub that would likely never hit its original top speed. Were they able to do it? Start reading and find out.The tow truck wasn’t here to tow it to a junkyard. It was going to tow it into Duncan and Phil’s garage for a major hot tub makeover.
After all, who needs a back seat or a car radio when you’re trying to create a bathtub?
Duncan and Phil would then be able to add steel reinforcements to support the large amount of weight the water would produce on the vehicle’s framework.
It may not look mean but it’s certainly lean and clean!
A plywood mock-up of the interior was built to ensure that everything actually fit. It also provided the basis for MDF tub mold, which requires several days of sanding and then chemical spraying before they can form the fiberglass tub.
The body of the vehicle is decades old so the boys have to fill holes and make repairs on the body of the car.
You certainly wouldn’t want it looking like a rusty old bucket on the outside. So the boys gave it a cool blue paint job to bring the otherwise dull exterior back to life.
They had a lot of reinforcing, repairing and the oh-so complicated plumbing to do under the Cadillac too and it was necessary that it not interfere with the car’s mechanical parts.
The trunk would house the heat exchanger which uses heat from the engine to warm up the water.
So all the chrome in the interior was polished and a few final custom-made components were added.
Fortunately, the water held and there was no leakage, which must have been a huge relief for the boys.
Now it was time to take their mobile tub for the ultimate test drive.
Riding in style, indeed!
