Thomas “Cupcake” McElroy has been wrenching on cars since he was a kid, thanks to his father’s love of the classics like a 1956 Cadillac Coupe or 1968 Fleetwood. “I was more into the smaller, faster things like the ’60s Mustangs,” Cupcake told me. “I do appreciate the big stuff more now. Have two Cadillac Hearses now myself.”
McElroy says he got into the whole post-apocalyptic scene because he doesn’t believe that every single car is worth a frame-off restoration. “With a trailer queen car you don’t get to play with it once it’s done. I like cars I can take out and drive and not worry about a scuff on the paint.”
Some of Wasteland Weekend’s most iconic cars were built by Cupcake, including the 1967 Mustang Fastback 4×4 that Spud Innit citied as “the standard of post-apocalyptic perfection” in our previous interview with him. And although Cupcake acknowledges that his cars all seem to have a theme (rebodied onto a 4×4 chassis), he says that he’s been branching out more lately. “Most recently I took an old two-seater race buggy and outfitted it someplace between a bug-out vehicle and a military desert buggy.”
But it always comes back to those iconic four-wheel drives. “There was the ’99 Toyota Camry we put on a ’96 full size Bronco chassis for an episode of Top Gear USA. I heard that the Roadkill guys have it in their collection now. We built the video game Borderlands truck out of a mid ’80s Suburban for a live action commercial a few years back. Now owned by a couple of friends of mine. A long time ago I put a ’53 Pontiac on a full size Bronco chassis for a customer. Don’t know if that one still exists.”
And Cupcake’s favorite build is still that ’67 Mustang. “There is my everyday driver car, a ’67 Mustang fastback on a lengthened ’60s Bronco chassis. It’s been used in a couple of music videos and an off-color feature.” He names it his favorite build mainly because he built it 100% himself. “All the other builds were with friends or on a crew. Start to finish this one is mine. No one else had anything to do with it.”
With that Mustang being so loved by the Wasteland community, Cupcake repays the love with respect for a few favorites of his own. Lockjaw, Spud Innit’s ’57 Chevy Bel Air body on a ’96 Silverado chassis, strikes a certain nerve with Cupcake. “Something about a classic muscle car done up the way you want to. Not like every other tri-5 Chevy out there.”
McElroy is also a big fan of Ted Thompson’s latest project: a 50’s Cadillac sitting on a 6×6 deuce-and-a-half frame. “Can’t wait to see that one in person.”
At this year’s Wasteland Weekend, Cupcake hopes to bring a few new projects he’s working on. “Actually have three going on right now,” he mentioned.
“Proceeding slowly at best. Another 4×4 Mustang I bought that needs a bunch of work to make it safe. The work is really bad on it. A ’67 Cougar for my wife. Not sure how PA it will be. Maybe a PA street car of sorts. And a 4×4 Hearse that I had to lengthen a Chevy truck chassis over two feet.”
With all of these body swaps and monster builds, Cupcake is no stranger to making a badass car. While everyone has a different view of what actually makes a post-apocalyptic vehicle, it’s that classic car with big tires ripping through the desert sand that gets us right in the feels every time.
So what type of advice does a man with Cupcake’s experience have for the rest of us looking to get started? “There are so many places now to get inspiration from. And don’t be afraid to do something different. Do things you want no matter what others may think.
“This genre is not for everyone and there will always be someone that hates it no matter what you do. With that being said, I find there are 2 ways to build a PA car. Cheaper is either find a car (or your current ride) and do stuff to it. More expensive and harder are to build something specific. Like, ‘Hey I want to build a Mustang like yours!’ That (as well as trying to copy a movie car) can get stupid expensive. And don’t be afraid to talk to car builders and pick their brains. Most all of us are very open to share ideas and processes and even help on your build if it works out.”
But most of all, Cupcake wants to make sure, as a new builder, you don’t get overwhelmed with the tiny details that might be confusing in the beginning of each build. “There is no one answer that fits all the different builds. Learn and figure out things as you get to them. You will start looking at things differently, too. Like making that piece of discarded guard rail on the side of the road into a bumper, etc.”
Header image credit: Jeff Vaillancourt Photography, 2014
“When I first started out all I really had to work with was a hacksaw and a hammer,” he recalled. “But I’ve gotten smarter about it now.”
“Screwloose: This massive people mover is a tribute truck built after Max’s camel truck in Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome,” he said. “It started life as a 1987 Ford F250 diesel that was owned by our good friend Matthew Nelson, a member of Deathguild who approached us to build the truck in 2015. We stripped it of all the body work but the cab and set to work building a custom steel exoskeleton with long bench seats running down either side where the bed used to be. It has four removable steel ribs which support the canvas shade that covers the back of the vehicle, giving it that iconic ‘covered wagon’ look. We then found 36 15×15.5 flotation tires to carry this behemoth across the desert. This required extensive work on the truck to get them to fit. It is now an unstoppable, all-terrain people mover, and carries our camp mates across the desert at both Burning Man and Wasteland Weekend. Screwloose took “Best Survival Vehicle” at the Wasteland World Car Show in 2016.
“Rapture: What looks like an unassuming, flat black golf cart, is really a roaring beast on four wheels. Underneath the golf cart body work is the motor and full suspension of a Raptor 660 quad. The motor is held in place by custom fabricated motor mounts, and it may well be the fastest and scariest golf cart that ever was. (Seriously, somebody is probably going to get injured on this thing someday). Rapture also boasts a custom fabricated shifter by Cupcake and my own custom steering wheel and controls.
“Lockjaw: A 1957 Chevy Bel Air, which has been mounted on a shortened 1996 1500 Silverado Chassis. (We cut 26 inches out of it!) This rust riddled monster boasts 42-inch super swamper tires on the back, and 37s on the front, giving it an aggressive rake, reminiscent of the vehicles in ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’. We removed the trunk lid and welded in a reinforced standing platform in the back, perfect for screaming ferals to hurl thundersticks from, and threw a nice cushy futon in as a back seat. (Soon to be replaced by the bench seat out of an old Suburban). The electronics and fuel injection were immediately removed to keep it as simple as possible and replaced with a two-barrel carburetor and HEI distributor. This vehicle goes to Burning Man as well as Wasteland Weekend, and playa has a notorious reputation for ruining electronics. It also boasts twin vertical exhaust stacks, and a custom tunnel ram. Like Rapture, it has a signature custom steering wheel and shifter, along with a custom steering column and Blazer seats. We co-own this baby with Nathan Cox of Deathguild, and while she made her debut and was well-received at Wasteland Weekend 2016, we are not done with her yet. Lady Ares has been planning some aesthetic upgrades in conjunction with Nathan Cox, and plans have her completely finished by Wasteland Weekend 2017.
“The most notable bike would be Beastie, a custom GPZ700 survival bike built for my good friend Doug Corbin. It’s my signature style that has followed me from England, with wide bars, a huge fuel tank, low seat, and knobbly ATV tires. It is built to go anywhere, anytime, and has no issues with any kind of terrain. Beastie won ‘Best Technical Motorcycle’ at the first ever Wasteland World Car Show in 2016.
“Maggie O’Monster is a pair of Suzuki GSX600s welded side-by-side and electronically synchronized to power a custom-built dual-sport chassis. Nothing on this vehicle is stock. From the suspension, to the brakes, to the steering, every inch of this vehicle was fabricated from scratch. She seats two but does have a standing platform directly behind the passenger and driver’s seats. It was built in conjunction with Matthew Jane, who is also part of the Wasteland Weekend build crew.”
I want to give a special thanks to Spud for this wonderful interview, which I hope helps a few of you with your own vehicles. Next up on the car-builder interview agenda is the Godfather of the Wasteland himself, Ron Griffith. Look for that interview coming soon!
