Elmsford resident Glenn Preiser’s 8-year-old son, John, is a Batman fan. “He has Batman clothes, toys, everything,” his father said.
The next logical step? Build the Batmobile from scratch.
“I own a couple different repair shops and I own a body shop,” Preiser said. “So I decided to build him the real thing.”
This is not the hulking, tank-like behemoth from the recent Christian Bale films, but the sleek, classic 1966 Adam West Batmobile (pic related). Preiser said that the decision to double down and build the retro design goes back to a Christmas gift he gave his son.
“Two years ago for Christmas I was able to buy the fully entire set on DVD of all the original Batman shows when we were kids and we gave it to my son,” he said. “He actually watched them so much the DVDs wore out… It brings back my childhood a little bit by building the car with him.”
Preiser said his son is fully involved with the construction and customization, too, which might be necessary considering they’re building the car from the ground up. Although there are kits available online—“if you’ve got the money, you can buy anything, obviously,” Preiser said—they decided to buy only a Batmobile shell for their version. All the other modifications will be custom built around a 1977 Lincoln Continental.
“He can’t wait for me to drive him to school in it and all that stuff,” Preiser said.
The plan is to finish the Batmobile in around a year, but Preisder added it might not stick around for long—he’s planning on raffling his creation off for charity.
“What I actually hope is, I might even actually raffle [the Batmobile] off next year for Blythedale [Children’s Hospital],” he said. “My little guy had seizures when he was two years old—he’s fine now—so, you know, those children’s hospitals touch a place in my heart.”
How disappointed will John Preiser be to give up the awesome ride?
“We’re creative guys. We know how to have fun and there’s always something new you can do,” Preiser said. “We’ll just build the next project.”
