Even if you’ve never heard of Blastolene (or the Blastolene brothers), chances are very good you’ve seen its products in various YouTube videos. The Blastolene Special, for example, is a vintage-Indy-racer-styled roadster, powered by a V-12 engine liberated from an M47 Patton tank. Owned by Jay Leno, the car even appears in the Gran Turismo 4 video game.
Founded by artist Randy Grubb, Blastolene is “a group of autonomous artists that are helping each other along their creative path through the application of expertise, not the exchange of monies.” In other words, its about the art and the craftsmanship, not about the profit. Art plays a major role in every Blastolene creation, and all seem to be equal parts sculpture and function.
One of Blastolene’s latest projects is the Decoliner, which blends a 1950 White Model 3000 wrecker cab with a GMC motorhome chassis. It boasts a fly bridge for open-air motoring, and can be driven from either the bridge or the cockpit. Grubb got the idea from a houseboat, and as Farah puts it, “there is nothing about this that isn’t fun.”
Like all Blastolene products, the Decoliner is for sale. Grubb doesn’t talk about the price in the video, but its best to think about it as art, not just a customized bus. If you’ve got the money (and a tall enough garage), the Decoliner is truly one-of-a-kind.
Kurt Ernst has been passionate about automobiles and driving nearly his entire life. His early years were shaped working in the family service station, though his real passion was auto racing. After graduating from the University of Colorado, Kurt spent a year club racing with the Sports Car Club of America, before focusing on a business career in marketing and project management. Later, his passion for writing and the automotive hobby found him freelancing for a variety of automotive news sites, including Automotive Addicts and Motor Authority, where his work was syndicated and appeared in several national publications. Recognized as an expert in the automotive field, Kurt joined Hemmings Motor News as an Associate Editor in 2013, and in the years since has progressed to Editor, Hemmings Daily; Managing Editor for Hemmings Motor News, Hemmings Classic Car, Hemmings Muscle Machines, and the Hemmings Daily; and now, Managing Editor, Hemmings Auctions. Kurt was instrumental in organizing the Hemmings Motor News Concours d’Elegance from 2013-2019, and has served as a judge at this event and The Vintage Racing Stable Concours d’Elegance. A Skip Barber Racing School graduate and prolific writer, Ernst is also skilled in copyediting, project management, brand development, and public relations.
