Detroit man crosses border in minivan with 2 front ends – 1 made in Canada, 1 in the US
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When Zach Sutton drives down the street in his Chrysler minivan, it’s hard to tell if he’s coming or going.
A Detroit man drives Bak2Bak, named for what he used to do when he joined the front ends of two cars together. The front is an old 1993 Dodge Caravan, the rear is a 1991 Plymouth Voyager. Together, they look like two compact cars that can drive anywhere.
The Clincher: The former half-car was built in Canada, the latter in the US
For Sutton, who works in the Detroit auto industry next to Windsorites across the border, it’s unexpected automotive diplomacy.
Detroiter Zach Sutton talks to CBC Windsor about his unique car made from two halves of a ’90s minivan.
“It’s a model of what we would want to be, in a way,” Sutton said, after driving to Windsor to speak with CBC News.
“We work well together as brother and sister countries.”
Sutton crossed the border for the first time with his car on Tuesday. No joke, the 29-year-old mechanical engineer is part of the Detroit Freakbike Experience, a group that builds bikes using unexpected parts and designs.
In addition to “crazy bike creations,” he does sewing, woodworking, metalworking and “anything I can do with my hands.”
Sutton says he thought of building a car with two front ends because he likes automotive projects, but they tend to be “a bit insular, so I wanted something that everyone could like and understand.”
“Foolishness and swagger are universally known.”
He built the car for three days at the i3detroit community workshop in Ferndale, a makerspace where engineering-minded people create creative projects. There, Sutton used a laser to split the cars in half.
When he put the two earlier pieces together, “they fit together almost perfectly,” he said. “It was very satisfying.”
Bob Katovich, a fellow builder at the community workshop and a member of the Detroit Freakbike Experience, assisted Sutton on the unit.
“We had to move everything inside and dismantle everything,” Katovich said. Once the vans were cut in half, “we had to figure out what to do with the back halves.” They loaded themselves into a van, “which was a series, and it was ridiculous.”
Sutton removed everything from under Voyager. Its lights are the taillights of a car. The rear car steering wheel is locked out, so everything works like a normal car. The fuel tank is located in Voyager’s engine bay.
There are only two seat belts, Sutton said. Four people could fit in an off-road vehicle, but it would be difficult.
At the border, he says, the route was easy. The guards just asked him “general questions.”
When people see it, he says, they are “very confused” or “laugh and take pictures.”
“The second day I was carrying it on the street, someone took it and put it on Instagram and it was viewed by millions,” he said.
“Actually, I didn’t build it for anyone else but myself, I wanted to drive it and have fun with it.“
