Long time Mad Max enthusiast Ron Griffith has gone all-out in his post-apocalyptic creation.
At first impression, Ron Griffith seems like an ordinary man. In the heart of the Mojave Desert, in California City, he runs an auto repair shop. On an average day, he can be seen under the hood of a tourist’s automobile that is headed to Vegas but didn’t quite survive the desert heat.
But you’d never guess that Ron and his friends had a secret obsession. It’s a movie with a 1979 release date with Mel Gibson as the leading man. a film about the wastelanders, treacherous land pirates who steal gas in a post-apocalyptic world. Mad Max is the greatest. They are Mad Max fans so deeply that they have established the Wasteland Weekend, an annual celebration in the Mojave.
This is not your ordinary desert festival where you build an art installation and barter for your necessities. This is a full-on role-playing experience where once you step through the gates of Wasteland you are 100% in the Mad Max world. The attendees don’t even have to act in character, they come as themselves. Spikes, mohawks and weapons ado the regulars, who slip into this world as one might pull on a well-wo, perfectly fit leather jacket.
Mad Max and The Wasteland have a lot in common. And there are lots of vehicles in the Wasteland. To storm past the gates and invade other tribes, tribes construct their own Wasteland vehicles months in advance. There is even a competition to discover who has the best vehicle of the year. Previous recipients of that prized award include Ron Griffith and the Monte Carlo.
“After watching Mad Max in 1979, I knew I wanted to own a car that could survive in that setting. It was incredibly exciting to make one that looked like hell because we’re so used to making cars seem brand new, adds Ron. I’ve wanted to construct something similar ever since I watched “The Road Warrior.”
The mechanical nature of the car is nothing to write home about. It’s a stock Chevy 350 with a stock automatic transmission. The V8 350 motor hails from the day when vehicles ran without computers, when just popping the hood gave you access to everything you needed to repair. Fifty years and still running.
“The car still uses points,” says Ron. Points work and when you are scavenging through the wasteland you want to keep things easy to maintain. Besides making sure the car runs, Ron has also outfitted the car with offensive and defensive equipment that is both practical and menacing for this wasteland world. For example, a crossbow that shoots saw blades sits on the top of the car.
The body is covered in several sharp protrusions that are useful for slamming opponents. In addition to the armaments, the interior of the Monte Carlo is caged in, providing the driver with excellent defense against additional assailants. In order to protect him from the scorching desert sun while he and his crew are looting and beating each other up, Ron created a table and umbrella that can be quickly set up off the trunk. Ron smiles and continues, “I like to relax and read my most recent issue of Nuclear News.”