RidiculousRides

MEET the father-and-son car restorers who turn rust to riches by buying, selling and fixing some of rarest cars in the world. This week Lance's metalworking skills are being tested by a crash-damaged 1960s Porche which has been stripped back to bare metal by its owner. Merlin has taken on a 1984 Mercedes 380SL - and reveals the pros and cons of buying cars on the internet.

A TENACIOUS mechanic has converted a $400 rust bucket into America's best custom car. JF Launier, 39, spent 22,000 hours and $300,000 pimping out a 1964 Buick Riveria - even remortgaging his parents' house as well as his own to finance the project. But the risk paid off when the finished article - named Rivision - won the Ridler award for America’s most creative and innovative custom car at the 2014 Detroit Autorama. Its value has also jumped with Mr Launier estimating it to be worth at least $1.65m in man-hours alone. Mr Launier runs JF Kustoms in Osoyoos, British Columbia, Canada.

MEET the father-and-son car restorers who are turning rust to riches by buying, selling and fixing some of the world's rarest cars. Lance, 52, a former panel beater for Rolls-Royce, is the go-to guy for bespoke classic car restoration - while Merlin, 20, specialises in sales and acquisition. Some of the rarest cars treated at their businesses in Brentford, west London, can be worth upwards of £15m. This week Merlin has two Chevrolets in stock, and while one is barely roadworthy, the other, a 1969 Chevelle, is one of the best examples in the country.

A car shop in California USA is creating custom lowrider cars that defy gravity. With just a flick of a switch, 3,000 pounds of metal bounces up and down eight feet in the air. Alex Tuason, 25, builds these cars at his fathers shop, Hoppos Custom Suspension Works in Ontario, California. Alex removes the coil springs from the car and replaces them with hydraulic cylinders. The hydraulic system is switch operated and controlled with a remote or dial on the dashboard.

LANCE and Merlin look at two Aston Martins in very different conditions. One is a rare V8 Vantage X-Pack 580X, one of only a few hundred made, which despite only having 30,000 miles on the clock is having some engine trouble. The other is a shell of a 1960 Aston Martin DB4 which Lance will be using as the base for a Zagato replica, an 18 month project that will test his skills as one of the country's leading metalwork experts. It cost £250,000, the engine is being built by Aston Martin at a cost of £100,000, and the finished car should fetch over £1 million.

WHILE millions of film fans dream of owning Bond’s Aston Martin or Bruce Wayne’s Batmobile, Ollie Wilkey has turned his movie car fantasy into a reality. The self-employed inventory clerk, 25, from Keynsham in Somerset, is the proud owner of a DeLorean Time Machine – the iconic vehicle made famous in the Back to the Future series. The car was built in Florida by an ex-NASA engineer and Universal Studios constructor, and later bought by his friend Luke, from Leeds, UK, who sold it to Ollie in February 2014 for a five-figure sum. Although sadly not capable of traveling back to 1955, the “screen accurate” DeLorean features everything from a flux capacitor to a Mr Fusion Home Energy Reactor. And when the souped-up vehicle reaches 88mph, it activates a special time travel sequence, including lights and sound effects. Ollie runs a business renting the car out, but still finds time to take the DeLorean for a spin - and the car never fails to attract hordes of appreciative onlookers.

MEET the father-and-son car restorers who are turning rust to riches by buying, selling and fixing some of the world's rarest cars. Lance, 52, a former panel beater for Rolls-Royce, is now the go-to guy for bespoke classic car restoration - while Merlin, 20, specialises in sales and acquisition. Some of the rarest cars treated at their business in Brentford, west London, can be worth upwards of £15m. This week Merlin's classic car dealership Duke of London needs a permanent home, and Romance of Rust is running out of space and has a two-and-half-year waiting list for restorations. To cope with demand, Merlin has ambitious plans to expand both businesses

SUPER-sized pick up truck designer Chris Walker makes giant cars up to TEN FEET high. The sky's the limit when it comes to customizing a giant ride at Extreme Super Truck in Augusta, Georgia, USA. Owner Chris Walker, 53, has been building super trucks for 13 years. It takes between five to 50 weeks to complete one of the trucks that can cost up to a quarter million dollars.

MEET the father-and-son car restorers who are turning rust to riches by buying, selling and fixing some of the world's rarest cars. Lance, 52, a former panel beater for Rolls-Royce, is the go-to guy for bespoke classic car restoration - while Merlin, 20, specialises in sales and acquisition. Some of the rarest cars treated at their businesses in Brentford, west London, can be worth upwards of £15m. Today, Lance and Merlin show us the features of a historic Ferrari, which has been brought into Romance of Rust to have its leaking windscreen resealed.

A REAL-LIFE superhero has turned down six-figure offers for his home-made Batmobile - so he can continue helping sick children. Batman fanatic Zac Mihajlovic, from Camden, Australia, hand-built his very own street legal version of the car from the 1989 film starring Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson. The 29-year-old turned his comic book fantasies into a high-octane reality by constructing a replica of the iconic vehicle. And the car has whipped up a reaction wherever it has been seen. Businessmen from across the world, including a Sheik in Dubai, have offered Zac big bucks for the Batmobile - and he has also seen his share of bizarre requests. And rather than cash-in on his dream machine, Zac decided to use his powers for good by teaming up with the Make-A-Wish foundation, who make dream’s come true for terminally-ill children.

A PAIR of father-and-son car restorers are turning rust to riches by buying, selling and fixing some of the world's rarest cars. Among the classics Lance, 52 and Merlin McCormack, 20, have worked on included John Lennon's iconic white 1965 Rolls-Royce Phantom and motor's worth £15m plus. Testing their mechanical know-how, Lance and Merlin have found themselves the go-to guys for bespoke classic car restoration. Other rarities to have been treated at their garage in Brentford, west London, include Captain America's shield used in the 2011 blockbuster, and a scratched windscreen of a 1950s Ferrari. Their current project is one for Merlin - pulling his dad and their business into the 21st Century and getting themselves on Facebook, Instagram and other social networks around the world.

A nautical fanatic has turned a once sunken boat into a road legal, drivable car. Mark Ray designed and built his dream motor after his wife Robyn bet him that he could not do it. Robyn, 49, had been diagnosed with breast cancer and felt that Mark needed a project to take his mind from being her full time carer. He spent a total of £6,000 on merging a GMC Jimmy with a sunken and recovered Sea Ray Bow Rider. After stripping the boat of its motor, out drive and interior – including the floor – he built it into the car that had been taken apart and left with only its chassis, seats and motor.

THIS is one car that can dodge traffic - as it is a street-legal DODGEM. The purple vehicle, which looks more at home at a funfair than on the roads, is a fully converted bumper car that runs on petrol. And its owner, 69-year-old Tom Evans, is more than capable handling the unusual motor as he used to run a fairground. The tiny car has working lights, indicators, a petrol gauge and even a tax disc to prove its legality to incredulous onlookers. His wife and two sons bought the dodgem car for the young-at-heart driver two years ago.

A TENACIOUS mechanic has converted a $400 rust bucket into America's best custom car. JF Launier, 39, spent 22,000 hours and $300,000 pimping out a 1964 Buick Riveria - even remortgaging his parents' house as well as his own to finance the project. But the risk paid off when the finished article - named Rivision - won the Ridler award for America’s most creative and innovative custom car at the 2014 Detroit Autorama. Its value has also jumped with Mr Launier estimating it to be worth at least $1.65m in man-hours alone. Mr Launier runs JF Kustoms in Osoyoos, British Columbia, Canada.

CAR FANATIC Corey Jones has customised a brand new Chevrolet Camaro with a giant set of 32-inch wheels. Featuring ultra-fine leather seats, three speakers and two 27-inch TV’s in each door, Corey’s latest design also boasts a convertible top that can be manoeuvred with an Xbox One controller. 36-year-old Corey resides in Illinois and has managed Crusader Customs for the past 10 years, building all sorts of outlandish custom rides. But his latest masterpiece is by far the most extravagant yet, turning heads wherever it goes.

A TEAM of film fanatics have built their very own car equipped with machine guns and an RPG. Inspired by the 2008 movie Death Race, which starred British actor Jason Statham, the car started life as a Chrysler 300. Angelo Zannin, 47, and his team Z Montagen, a group of shop fitters from Braunschweig, Germany, managed to build the vehicle in just a few months. The car conversion cost the dedicated team €20K (£15,754) to build as it was in terrible condition when it arrived at their garage. Similar to its movie counterpart, the car boasts an arsenal of weapons and gadgets and can even emit smoke from the back and has a push button ignition.

A COMPUTER genius has managed to build a full size remote-controlled Corvette that wouldn’t look out of place in the latest Fast and Furious film. Two years ago, 34-year-old Bjorn Harms decided to pursue his childhood dream by creating a full-scale vehicle that can be manoeuvred with just a small remote. Bjorn grew up watching the Back To The Future movies and was mesmerised by Doc racing around the DeLorean without anyone sitting in the driver’s seat. Wanting to emulate this fascinating scene, Bjorn, a computer technician from Urmond, Netherlands, decided to apply his knowledge and expertise to a 2006 Corvette C6 – and he hasn’t looked back since. Bjorn has also built full-scale remote controlled Knight Rider and Back To The Future replicas. Follow: https://www.youtube.com/user/blade00021/videos

A movie-loving petrolhead has spent $125,000 to create his dream car – the Mad Max Interceptor. Michigan born Dale Walter, 50, fell in love with the powerful vehicle when he watched George Miller's seminal film over thirty years ago in a tiny theatre, where he told his friend 'someday I will own that car'. The famous car has featured in three of filmmaker Miller's four pictures, including the latest Mad Mad: Fury Road, starring British actor Tom Hardy in the title role. In 2008, Dale commissioned specialist company Mad Max Cars to convert his 1972 Australian Ford Falcon into the iconic Interceptor – a process which took five years and $125,000.

QUIRKY car designer Mark Ray is flying high on America's roads - driving a converted light aeroplane.The 56-year-old was the brains behind the Plane Car, a fusion of a 2003 Cirrus SR22 and a Chevrolet Tracker - costing $10,000 (£6,500).Mark, of Atlanta, Georgia, who owns a paper shredding company, was already turning heads in a homemade Boat Car, which made headlines earlier this year.But his daughter Brianna, 17, thought he was getting bored with it and encouraged him to start a new project.It took five months to build with Steve West of Flex-Fab, Mike Rivera of Rivera's Upholstery and Brandon Geddings of Controlled Motors.

DRIVERS need to be careful to avoid a concussion when getting in and out of these pint-sized cars. The Dwarf Car Museum, inMaricopa, Arizona, showcases the life's work of mechanic Ernie Adams.The 74-year-old, fromWalthill, Nebraska,built hisfirst road-legal dwarf car in 1965 - out of nine oldREFRIGERATORS.Each metal car is hand-built from scratch and takes between3,000 and 4,000 hours tocomplete. Ernie has been offered as much as $450,000 for one.

TWO BROTHERS are building and driving custom cars straight out of the MOVIES.Marc and Shanon Parker have a street-legal Batman Tumbler, Optimus Prime and Ecto-1 parked inside their shop in Port Canaveral, Florida.The duo started their business four years ago, and already have an incredible fleet of cars straight out of movies like Batman, Transformers and Ghostbusters.

An expert car customiser has transformed a 94 Corvette into a stunning replica of the Mach 5 from the iconic 1960’s cartoon Speedracer. Jerry Patrick, who owns car replica extraordinaire AKA Junk, has been transforming cars into classic cartoon and movie vehicles for over a decade. After falling in love with the Mach 5 in the 60’s, 51-year-old Patrick had to fulfil his lifelong dream of driving the real deal.

51-YEAR-OLD Scooby Doo fan builds the ultimate replica Mystery Machine. Jerry Patrick, owner of the car customising company AKA Junk, has recreated classic movie vehicles for the last 10 years. From the likes of the Batmobile to the Delorean – Jerry takes pride in constructing the most iconic cars that everyone can relate to. And one of his most recent masterpieces is none other than the cartoon Mystery Machine.

A MAN with no mechanical experience has fulfilled his childhood goal of building his dream car. Taking inspiration from when he read car magazines in his youth, Moses Ngobeni, has managed to build his ideal car - all by hand. The electrical engineer from Giyani, South Africa, spent three years building the car he had dreamt of for decades. Building the car cost Moses 240,000 ZAR ($12,742) and was made using parts from a variety of different car models.

AN ITALIAN coachbuilder has designed and built two supercars from scratch without the use of a computer or sketches. Moreno Filandi relies solely on his skills as a mechanic to build handmade custom cars from metal work with two incredible supercars already finished. Moreno’s second and most recent creation, the Moreno Ever S, was built on top of a red 1990 Mercedes.