It's Back to the Eighties for Michael J Fox wannabe Glen as he shows off replica DeLorean
[Source: Daily Mail]
Glen Hale's DeLorean takes him on a journey through time, just like Michael J Fox's in Back To The Future.
But the vehicle only takes Glen to one era - the Eighties - because it's a precise replica of the souped-up car driven by Fox's character Marty McFly in the classic 1985 film.
Engineer Glen, 30, who bought the car for £20,000 five years ago, reckons it is now worth five times that at £100,000.
The vehicle has been kitted out with smoke machines, movie sound effects, and even a replica Flux Capacitor like the one McFly uses to travel through time in the hit trilogy.
Cinema buff Glen, 30, from Walsall, West Midlands, bought the car from a fellow member of the DeLorean fan club.
It is one of only eight Back To The Future DeLorean's in the world - and the only officially licensed one in Europe.
But he put most of it together himself after being sent parts and gadgets from the actual movie car at Universal Studios in Florida.
The Back To The Future trilogy, directed by Robert Zemeckis, sees McFly travel back and forth in time using the garbage-fuelled DeLorean to alter events in his family's lives and his home town.
Married father-of-one Glen, who claims he has seen each film in the trilogy more than 1,000 times, said: 'I've always been a fan of the car since 1985 when the first film came out and I always said I'd own a DeLorean.
'When I heard someone at the fan club was selling the car half-built, I knew I had to have it.
'Most of the equipment on the outside is from the original car. I was sent the parts and I did the work on the car myself, which took about a year. I loved every minute of it though, especially knowing I was going to drive my dream car.
'In the film it runs the DeLorean runs on plutonium, but we're just running on plain unleaded petrol.
'It does get to 88mph just like in the film, but I usually only keep it to 40mph just to be safe.
'It's a brilliant car - it hasn't broken down on me once yet.'
A good thing, too - since few garage mechanics know what’s what in Glen's car. He said: 'When it needs an MOT they don't even know where to start on a DeLorean. With the car being so rare they ask me how to do it myself.'
Glen hires the DeLorean out for charity work and also shows it off at car events with his friend Clive Priest, 57, who poses as Doc Emmet Brown, the boffin played by Christopher Lloyd who builds the car in Back To The Future.
But Glen even managed to get the real Lloyd in the front seat at a recent event.
He said: 'I've got a written certificate from Christopher Lloyd to say it's one of the best cars he's seen in Europe.
'The car promotes itself, and it always brings a smile to people's faces.'
The only drawback is that Glen can't take his road-legal car out for a spin on the nearby M6.
He has to keep it hidden away because it is a potential road hazard for fellow motorists, who inevitably gawp at the DeLorean on the road.
He said: 'When you do take it out you can get a lot of people try to stop you, pull you over, taking photos.
'It can cause a lot of problems because people will slow down to take a picture, which is quite dangerous.
'We now transport it in a trailer after being advised to by police.'
• Marty McFly's hover board from Back To The Future is up for auction on eBay today - with a reserve price of £15,000. Californian based Profiles in History is selling it in an auction of Hollywood film props. But Back To The Future fans be warned: the film relies on visual effects, and the hover board has never actually hovered.
Glen Hale's DeLorean takes him on a journey through time, just like Michael J Fox's in Back To The Future.
But the vehicle only takes Glen to one era - the Eighties - because it's a precise replica of the souped-up car driven by Fox's character Marty McFly in the classic 1985 film.
Engineer Glen, 30, who bought the car for £20,000 five years ago, reckons it is now worth five times that at £100,000.
Cinema buff Glen, 30, from Walsall, West Midlands, bought the car from a fellow member of the DeLorean fan club.
It is one of only eight Back To The Future DeLorean's in the world - and the only officially licensed one in Europe.
But he put most of it together himself after being sent parts and gadgets from the actual movie car at Universal Studios in Florida.
The Back To The Future trilogy, directed by Robert Zemeckis, sees McFly travel back and forth in time using the garbage-fuelled DeLorean to alter events in his family's lives and his home town.
Married father-of-one Glen, who claims he has seen each film in the trilogy more than 1,000 times, said: 'I've always been a fan of the car since 1985 when the first film came out and I always said I'd own a DeLorean.
'Most of the equipment on the outside is from the original car. I was sent the parts and I did the work on the car myself, which took about a year. I loved every minute of it though, especially knowing I was going to drive my dream car.
'In the film it runs the DeLorean runs on plutonium, but we're just running on plain unleaded petrol.
'It does get to 88mph just like in the film, but I usually only keep it to 40mph just to be safe.
'It's a brilliant car - it hasn't broken down on me once yet.'
A good thing, too - since few garage mechanics know what’s what in Glen's car. He said: 'When it needs an MOT they don't even know where to start on a DeLorean. With the car being so rare they ask me how to do it myself.'
Glen hires the DeLorean out for charity work and also shows it off at car events with his friend Clive Priest, 57, who poses as Doc Emmet Brown, the boffin played by Christopher Lloyd who builds the car in Back To The Future.
But Glen even managed to get the real Lloyd in the front seat at a recent event.
He said: 'I've got a written certificate from Christopher Lloyd to say it's one of the best cars he's seen in Europe.
'The car promotes itself, and it always brings a smile to people's faces.'
The only drawback is that Glen can't take his road-legal car out for a spin on the nearby M6.
He has to keep it hidden away because it is a potential road hazard for fellow motorists, who inevitably gawp at the DeLorean on the road.
'It can cause a lot of problems because people will slow down to take a picture, which is quite dangerous.
'We now transport it in a trailer after being advised to by police.'
• Marty McFly's hover board from Back To The Future is up for auction on eBay today - with a reserve price of £15,000. Californian based Profiles in History is selling it in an auction of Hollywood film props. But Back To The Future fans be warned: the film relies on visual effects, and the hover board has never actually hovered.
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