0:00
/
0:00
From $300 LeBaron to Time Machine: Andy McFly's Dream
From $300 LeBaron to Time Machine: Andy McFly's Dream
To All The Cars I've Loved Before: Classic Car Restoration, JDM, and Automotive History
Nov 12, 2024
41 min
0:00
0:00
0:00
0:00
About this episode
Andy McFly shares his journey from owning a $300 Chrysler LeBaron to running a successful DeLorean rental business. He discusses the life lessons learned from his first cars, the passion that led him to acquire a DeLorean, and how he transformed that passion into a business that brings joy to others. With anecdotes about memorable events, including a touching birthday party for a young fan, Andy emphasizes the importance of pursuing dreams and the joy of sharing his love for cars with the community.
Click here to share your favorite car, car story or any automotive trivia!
What happens when a 10-year-old sees Back to the Future 2 at a drive-in and decides he MUST own a DeLorean someday? You get Andy McFly and RentDeLorean.com.
Andy's first car was an '85 Chrysler LeBaron—hand-me-down from grandma for $300, complete with holes in the passenger-side floor and the Flash symbol painted on the side. After upgrading to an '89 Buick Century (with power windows!), Andy never forgot his childhood dream.
In 2012, that dream became reality—and a business. Now an elementary art teacher by day and Doc Brown impersonator by night, Andy brings joy to countless events with his time machine. One birthday party still makes him tear up: an 8-year-old boy with a cochlear implant, dressed as Marty McFly, meeting the DeLorean of his dreams.
Andy's met Christopher Lloyd (as a Doc Brown Klingon, naturally), given Claudia Wells a ride, and created Minnesota's #1 geocache spot—a full-sized TARDIS free library outside his home.
His message? "If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything." Dreams don't have to stay in 1989—they can become your future.
Andy's favorite episode is "Camaros, Convertibles & Coming of Age – Lisa’s Automotive Memoir" https://pod.link/1733902541/episode/5bc9d53f678ee65d4a046abf4e0b46cf
*** Your Favorite Automotive Podcast - Now Arriving Weekly!!! ***
Listen on your favorite platform and visit https://carsloved.com for full episodes, our automotive blog, Guest Road Trip Playlist and our new CAR-ousel of Memories photo archive.
Don't Forget to Rate & Review to keep the engines of automotive storytelling—and personal restoration—running strong.
Filter:
|
Technical
Too Afraid to Ask
Company
rent DeLorean.com
"...I found out about rent DeLorean.com, which was started by Andy McFly."
This website lets you rent a DeLorean car for special occasions. It's run by a fan who helps connect people who own DeLoreans with those who want to drive one.
rent DeLorean.com is a service that allows people to rent DeLorean cars for events and gatherings. It was started by an enthusiast who connects DeLorean owners with those interested in experiencing the car.
Car
Chrysler LeBaron
"...I got the hand me down 1985 Chrysler, the Baron, the Baron and that was my first car as a, as a late teenager."
The Chrysler LeBaron is a car that was made by Chrysler. It was popular in the 1980s and 1990s and was known for being a good option for people looking for an affordable vehicle.
The Chrysler LeBaron was a compact car produced by Chrysler from the 1970s to the 1990s. It was known for its affordability and was popular among budget-conscious buyers during its time.
Car
Buick Century
"...my mother's mother was selling her car. It was an eighty nine. What was it? An eighty nine. View it. View it century. That's what it was. I was a little bit sky blue."
The Buick Century is a car made by Buick, a well-known American car brand. The 1989 model is one of the older versions and is recognized for being comfortable and roomy inside.
The Buick Century is a mid-size car that was produced by General Motors under the Buick brand. The 1989 model is part of the sixth generation, known for its comfortable ride and spacious interior.
Car
DeLorean
"...I knew I needed to own a DeLorean. It was just that's the car that's the one thing I think about all the time..."
The DeLorean is a unique car that has a shiny metal body and doors that open upwards. It became famous because it was used as a time machine in a popular movie.
The DeLorean is a sports car manufactured by the DeLorean Motor Company, known for its distinctive stainless steel body and gull-wing doors. It gained immense popularity due to its role as a time machine in the 'Back to the Future' movie franchise.
Brand
Ferrari
"...you can ask me lots of questions about Ferraris and Lamborghini,..."
Ferrari is a famous Italian car brand that makes very fast and expensive sports cars. They are often seen in races and are known for their sleek designs.
Ferrari is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer known for its high-performance vehicles and success in motorsport, particularly Formula 1. The brand is synonymous with speed, style, and exclusivity.
Brand
Lamborghini
"...you can ask me lots of questions about Ferraris and Lamborghini,..."
Lamborghini is another famous Italian car brand that makes super-fast sports cars. They are known for their bold designs and powerful engines.
Lamborghini is an Italian manufacturer of high-performance sports cars, recognized for their aggressive styling and powerful engines. The brand is a symbol of luxury and speed.
Brand
Cadillac
"...I know the DeLorean, I know the Cadillac community,..."
Cadillac is a brand that makes luxury cars in the United States. They are known for being stylish and comfortable.
Cadillac is a luxury vehicle division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors. Known for its high-end vehicles, Cadillac has a long history of innovation and luxury in the automotive industry.
Car
Deloreans
"... you know, just be in the presence of a couple of DeLoreans. Sure, come on over. Awesome."
The DeLorean DMC-12 is a unique car that looks very different from most other cars because it has shiny metal sides and doors that open upwards. It's famous for being in the 'Back to the Future' movies, where it was used as a time machine. Many people find it cool and interesting because of its unusual design and movie connection.
The DeLorean DMC-12 is a sports car that was produced by the DeLorean Motor Company from 1981 to 1983. It is best known for its distinctive stainless steel body and gull-wing doors, as well as its iconic status from the 'Back to the Future' film franchise. The DeLorean represents a unique chapter in automotive history, combining futuristic design with a short production run.
Term
plastic
"...and the handle cracks off in my eye, yeah, yeah. Because it's plastic and cold and plastic don't do well."
Plastic is a type of material used in many car parts because it's light and can be shaped easily. But when it gets really cold, it can break easily.
Plastic is a synthetic material commonly used in automotive components due to its lightweight and moldable properties. However, it can become brittle in cold temperatures, leading to breakage.
Term
stock
"...it wasn't all time machined up. It was all stock DeLorean."
'Stock' means that the car is just like it was when it was made, without any changes or upgrades. It's in its original form as the manufacturer intended.
In automotive terms, 'stock' refers to a vehicle that is in its original factory condition, without any modifications or aftermarket parts. This is often used to describe cars that have not been altered for performance or aesthetics.
Select text to request an explanation
Welcome back, cars love nation, to, to all the cars I've loved before your podcast where
we talk about life lessons through cars and the cars that you've owned from the beginning
of your life straight to the end, sometimes as in today's episode, cars become a business.
Not, not to, not to bury the lead here. All right. So as we move through season three and
everyone's batting down for the hurricane, I am on Florida's Gulf Coast. So accounting
lucky, lucky stars as well as boarding up the windows will be in my near future. Yes,
we move into autumn, but everybody's out there, stay dry, stay safe, keep everybody
in your thoughts who's in big bend in Florida as we move through this week. And
you look high and dry up there, partner. How are you doing?
Good, good. But I will say for the next five days, I think it's going to be rain and
gloom, not, not a hurricane, but
Yeah, exactly right. My son in your neck of the woods has said the same. Yeah, for
sure. He's going to go into college in your neck of the woods. Yeah. So as, as
football is upon us,
Indeed.
We mentioned before our, our downloads keep increasing, our outreach extends. My
name is Christian. You can reach me at Christian at carsloved.com. C A R S
carspluralloved.com. He is at Doug at carsloved.com. C A R S L O V E D dot com.
Also, check us out online at carsloved.com. All sorts of features,
holes, pictures. You can dive deeper into the episodes. And as we always say,
call to action. So please get involved. This, this show, we get everybody from
auto royalty to your pal, the tailgate who has a story about cars to your
local cars and coffee, people who say, Hey, we'd like to be a part of what
you do. So, Hey, feel free to reach out, check us out at carsloved.com. Feel
free to, to email Doug or myself. And let's see.
And we're on Facebook, Instagram. And if you know somebody who's would have a
great story, maybe it's not you, maybe it's your neighbor, maybe it's your
dad, right? We'd love to have family members. We had a sibling episode. We
had a husband, wife episode. We're going to have a father son episode shortly.
Just drop us a note. There's a form on our website, carsloved.com, or just
shoot us an email. As Christian said, we're easy to find.
Yeah, that's, that's well put. And when you go to your podcast streaming
platform of choice, I always go and follow the shows that I'm interested
in, go to your favorites. And then when we drop a new episode, we queue
to the top and you're able to never miss anything, get involved and feedback,
crucial, download the episodes also. We appreciate that. And let's see. I think
that's all the housekeeping. Really excited about today's guest. And I
will let Doug do introductions, but you know it's going to be a great
time when this is how your guest bought his, the house he's in right
now. Picture, if you will, real estate agent and our guests here today. Roll
up on this house. And he sees from the outside, I think a three bay garage,
he pokes his head inside and he says, let me sign real estate agent says,
well, I haven't, you haven't seen the kitchen. You haven't seen the
bedroom. You haven't seen anything. He says, no, no, the garage is
most important to me. And that's when you found the true car guy. And
as we look at him on today's week, we have video just for so that we can
see the, the, our facial cues as we talk. And he is from one heck of a
garage automotive museum, if you will. And I will lead the formal
introductions over to Doug, but very excited about who we have today. So
how, how did you come upon this, this gentleman?
Yeah. So, of course, I own a DeLorean. And through friends of the show,
who've been on the show, I found out about rent DeLorean.com, which was
started by Andy McFly. McFly is not his real last name, but it's
pretty good. And Andy, Andy gets people together. He does events. He's
located in the Midwest, but he has a community of DeLorean owners,
myself on the list as well. And if there's an event he can't do due
to his time or location, he reaches out to a DeLorean owner. That's
how I found out about him from Brian Peony, one of our, one of our
guests from season two. And, you know, it's, it's always full circle
because Brian knows about Brian and Andy know each other. You know,
the world keeps giving. But, you know, Andy, Andy took, you know,
I'm just, I love the fact when somebody can turn a career,
whether part-time, full-time, turn their love into a career. And
if you can make people happy, even better. And, you know,
I think that's what Andy does. But, you know, I want to give Andy a
chance to introduce himself because I can't give him full justice,
but I'm happy to have him on.
Welcome, Andy.
Thanks, guys.
So tell us a little bit about, tell us a little bit, should we start
with the business or should we go, should we step back into the
literal time machine and go back to, to Andy's first few cars?
How would you like to start, Andy?
Well, that I own a time machine, so let's go back in time to my
first car.
Love that. Yeah.
Yeah, so go ahead.
To the, the year.
No, please continue.
Yeah.
1996, Andy.
Yep, that sounds about right. I graduated high school in 97,
so about 96, end of 96.
I got a job at a grocery store. My mom would take me back
and forth until I hit about 18. I got my permit when I was
16, took my time until I was about 18, got the actual license.
So I got the hand me down 1985 Chrysler, the Baron, the Baron
and that was my first car as a, as a late teenager.
And that car taught me some things
because it had some holes in it and it needed some love.
But being that I knew that I needed to get to back and forth to
work, back and forth to my friends, whatever.
I learned how to change oil, keep your eye on the tires
and, you know, little maintenance, things like that.
So that car, it was a clunker.
I lived in my house that I grew up in was kind of on the top of a
hill. Yeah.
And sometimes, you know what?
It didn't feel like getting up that hill.
Hell, you know, so literally I had to, you know,
done it to get up some of these hills and stuff.
But I learned a lot from that car.
That was a really cool car.
In fact, it was like I said, it was my first car and I was a big
comic book hero fan.
So this was back in the American online days
when you hung out with your friends and then you came home
and you logged on to American online and everybody had their own little
you know, their fake name or whatever.
So I was the flash and I painted on that side of the car.
I would never do this today as an adult, but, you know, when
you're a teenager, whatever.
So I painted the flash symbol on the side.
So my buddies and we always called it the flash mobile.
Nice.
So so the artistic streak in you and a bit of the
rebellion in you comes out early.
Yeah, I like that.
Yeah. So that car got me from point A to point B.
I remember my first job as a grocery store and then they,
you know, paper plastic, paper plastic.
And apparently I was too good at that.
So I remember one day the boss came and said,
we're putting you in the meat room.
So I, you know, worked in the butchers and stuff.
And I was basically their cleaning guy.
I had to go in after school.
I went to school and then straight to work.
But that car got me back and forth, you know, from home.
And then Saturdays, I remember it was six a.m.
was starting time.
So I don't remember if it had a heater or not.
If it did, it didn't work.
But in the winters in Pennsylvania, right, it was cold, you know.
So I was just happy in the morning that it started.
And that's yeah, that's what I was thinking.
When you said, and you've really been all over the United States
kind of crisscrossing back and forth.
But when you said Pennsylvania and if it's yeah, right.
And now I've also heard a rumor that maybe this car had the option
package that didn't include a floorboard or so the passenger side.
I remember if I wanted to see the street,
think Fred Flintstone here, I would lift up the carpet and boom,
there was a big hole, you know, and I literally sometimes I had the thought
that, you know, if I can't make it to my house,
I might literally have to put my foot through the through the floor and push.
You know, luckily it never came or at least if you had a date,
you know, the date could help.
Just be careful, honey, don't put your foot through the floor.
No such thing as a free ride, my dear.
Nope. Yeah.
So where did this car come from?
Oh, I'm sorry. Go ahead.
Oh, no, go go ahead.
It was my father's mother's car.
So she was probably getting a new car and stuff.
So it was kind of a hand me down.
So I think my dad threw 300 bucks for this car that just again,
your first car, I got to know what a dipstick was.
You know, I figured out where to put the gasoline.
It was not kids today.
They they've got all the bells and whistles
and they don't realize how important it is to understand
that there's no such thing as wiper or what are they called?
Blinker fluid.
You know, you ever see those jokes that float?
They go in and ask for new blinker fluid.
You have an old car like that.
You learn a lot about cars.
It's it's there's a lot more than just putting your foot on the gas.
There's a lot more that goes on.
And why is three hundred dollars?
I bought either bought or had bought it.
Three hundred dollars was the magical price in the eighties
and in maybe early midnight.
What is with that?
You know, that's a good question.
I don't ask my dad.
Yeah. Yeah.
It was just, you know, hey, we're going to give you this car.
And whatever it's Andy's first car, so good luck.
Yeah, that was my first one.
And three hundred and a lot better than two ninety nine.
Sure. Yeah. Right.
So that was the first car.
Had that for a few years.
What would happen to that car?
I think there's an interesting story and maybe it ties into the flash.
I don't know.
So from what I could recall, my my mother's
mother was selling her car.
It was a little bit better.
It was an eighty nine.
What was it? An eighty nine.
What did I write to do it?
View it. View it century.
That's what it was.
I was a little bit sky blue.
So it was a little bit of an upgrade.
The windows actually had power windows.
So we got rid of the old car, you know,
I was constantly having to pour oil in it and keep it, you know,
just keep it going.
So I think my dad must have just sold it
to somebody he knew or I can't remember exactly all the
the technicalities of it.
But he found out about a month later
that the gentleman who bought it off of him,
probably for a hundred bucks, you know, two hundred dollars.
I can't remember exactly how much he sold this thing to him.
He found out about a month later.
I think the guy took it to a let's say an old Riley's or something.
And the teller said, excuse me, sir,
your your car is on fire in the parking lot.
So he looked out and it already had just so I had already kind of
washed my hands of the thing.
But it was like I said, it was a clunker, you know,
so I was living it up in the in the eighty nine car
with the the power windows and stuff.
And I took that car to college.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
At least that car had the good good sense to self emulate
once it had left your garage.
Thank goodness. Yeah. Yeah.
It was a flash fire sale, if you will.
Flash very good.
Don't don't don't.
And but the Buick lasted you some time in college.
Yeah, you know, it introduced me to what cars are made of and stuff.
So I and it's a shame back in the I don't have a lot of pictures of it.
Oh, I wish I would have taken more fit.
I mean, I had it was just it was a fun car, you know, it was an old.
The interior was red like velvet, you know, the 85.
Yeah, it was just and I.
So I had the so I had a CD player that was detached.
Mm hmm.
Play CDs.
I had to use the cassette to put it into the cassette player
with the wire that's connected to the CD player.
So I thought I was pretty cool.
What listen to my old, you know, early 90s bands.
Oh, yeah. Every time I hit a bump, it would skip.
Yeah, it would skip.
But I remember I used, you know, just tape or something
to just kind of keep it in the center.
Console, you know, so I was taking a turn or whatever resourceful, resourceful.
So what we had to do back then.
Yeah, yeah.
But.
So that was so that was the 85.
So then when I went to college, I took the 89 to college.
And then I've had that for a couple of years.
And then I literally totaled it.
Learned real quick that yellow lights mean slow down, not.
Hmm.
So I got T-boned and completely destroyed that car and that killed me.
No, I mean, sorry, it didn't literally kill me, but it hurt that I was carless.
I was living on the Penn State campus.
So the my parents are like, well, you're carless, like not our problem.
You know, so I had to bike everywhere I went.
So I lived off campus.
So I had to bike back and forth to college campus Penn State.
And I remember I worked.
I worked all throughout my college career.
But yeah, riding a bike really changes your
a yellow mount lights mean slow down.
They don't mean try to speed up.
And, you know, but when you're I guess it would have been twenty twenty one,
I don't remember you learn a lot more about.
Adulting, you know, that your car, your parents are going to just keep
throwing cars at you, you know.
So that was it for a while.
Great.
So how does the dream car, how does your dream car from
was it at that point in your life that you sort of started to kind of
in your mind, revisit what you would want it?
Or maybe there were a few more cars, but it's very interesting to me
when people fixate on a certain car and then by hook or crook get there.
So so 1989 back to the future, two came out.
And I remember seeing it in a drive in movie theater.
And so I was about ten years old and I realized I need to own one of those cars someday.
And, you know, when you're a ten year old, you can dream big,
but you don't realize there's money attached to the dream, you know.
So at that point in my life, I knew I needed to own a DeLorean.
It was just that's the car that's the one thing I think about all the time.
So my best friend growing up, he was a science guy.
I was kind of the outside Marty McFly guys.
So we had the dock and the Marty and that was just my relationship
with my still to this day, my best friend.
We got to know we met each other, I think in first grade.
So years and years later, we still talk on a daily basis.
But he was the dock and I was the Marty.
So it kind of like, yeah, we were.
He was always coming up with ideas on, you know, creating a device
that could do this, that and the other, you know, that kind of thing.
So it was like, it just kind of falls into place with the whole time machine thing.
And then when you get older, obviously, you have adult money,
you're going to buy adult toys, you know.
So that's where kind of the DeLorean kind of landed in my brain.
Like, this is the coolest car ever.
And it's interesting.
So I'm one of when people say, are you a car guy?
I am not, you know, you can ask me lots of questions
about Ferraris and Lamborghini, I don't really know.
But I know my car, I know the DeLorean, I know the Cadillac community,
all that kind of stuff.
So am I a car guy?
Yes, to one car.
I don't care about anybody else's.
And how. Yeah.
How did you procure it?
So I'm very, how did you take the dream
and then really commit to making it reality?
How did that happen?
It was kind of a negotiation.
So back in the in 2006, I think it was.
I I was living in Las Vegas
and I really wanted to get to know the DeLorean.
And I went on the Internet and looked up the local DeLorean club
with a road only about three guys in the club.
And I messaged that email of them and said,
hey, can I just hang out with you guys on the weekends?
Tinker on your car, hang out with, you know,
just be in the presence of a couple of DeLoreans.
Sure, come on over. Awesome.
Every other weekend and come and hang out with these guys.
You know, so then Craigslist at the time,
because we didn't have Facebook Marketplace or anything like that.
A DeLorean pops up.
These guys send me a message, Andy, you need to get this car.
Now, this is pre marriage, pre like I'm living in a hotel or not.
I'm living in an apartment.
I'm a school teacher.
I'm not making any money.
But I got to get this car.
The guy said, yep, let's do it.
You know, so I got this car.
I had it for about a year. DeLorean.
And I felt like I was in over my head financially.
I could not keep up with this thing.
And one of my friends at the time was having a birthday party
and it was in January, I think it was.
And he's like, yeah, you know, come to the we're all meeting here.
So I, of course, got to bring the DeLorean down.
And at the time, like, you know, I was I was using my credit card
to fix this, to fix that, fix this, whatever.
I bring the car down and it's cold.
And I brought to this birthday party and I opened up the door
and the handle cracks off in my eye, yeah, yeah.
Because it's plastic and cold and plastic don't do well.
And at that point, I thought, all right, well, there's another thing
I need to fix, came home, realized it was three hundred some dollars
just for a handle. You can't buy one.
You got to buy both left and the, you know, the left and the right.
And that was the decision that was like, well, you know what?
I can't afford this.
I'm going to get myself into more and more debt.
So that's when I put it up to sit for sale, sold that car.
And it hurt, you know, when the truck came in and it brought it
over the dream on and, you know, and it went actually to
if the owner is still out there, he lived near Allentown, Pennsylvania.
So this was in Las Vegas.
So the truck, like a was it wasn't a FedEx truck, but some kind
of a big car hauler truck came took it away and left.
And I just thought, ah, a piece of my heart just gone.
But, you know what?
The dream was still inside of me.
So a couple of years later.
Another one popped up and actually.
That original club that I started hanging out with.
The guy that ran that club, this was his car.
So this car was the car that's sitting behind me is the car
that I first sat in.
I never sat in to learn before.
First to learn his car was the first car
that I ever got to sit in and just like many other
to learn people that get in their car for the first time.
I got in, sat in.
Oh, I love this thing.
I got out, banged in my head really hard.
Oh, well, never did it.
Never did it be after that because I learned my lesson.
But he put it up on his Facebook and it said time to say goodbye
one evening.
And I thought, well, well, well, because his car was beautiful.
I mean, he worked on it every single weekend.
You knew the car really well.
I knew that car and I knew the owner
and I knew that he took care of it because many DeLorean's
they sit for years and years and years and everything's rotting.
No, I knew this car was good.
So, you know, I messaged him up and I said, what's happening?
He's like, well, I'm moving and getting married.
I'm kind of, you know, I'm over it kind of thing.
And I thought, well, so we talked.
And I said, let's keep it in the family, you know,
the friendship world kind of thing.
So at the time I was married, I told the wife, I said,
I'm really thinking about getting this.
However, I'm not going to just buy a DeLorean
to drive around and look cool.
I want to start a business with this.
So I kind of proposed to her that this wouldn't just be a car
that's going to sit and look cool with,
but it's going to actually be a business.
So that's when I kind of thought I can rent out.
I can rent this out to 80s parties, birthday parties,
corporate events, whatever, you know, big parties,
events that happen today are 80s parties.
When I was growing up, a lot of people were having 50s.
Now everything's 80s parties.
So it's only what's the icon of that era of the car, the DeLorean.
So I thought I can start to try to, you know,
so I started looking for every car show that I could find
in Las Vegas free car shows just to get my name out there,
you know, just to kind of get a name for myself.
I showed up to some scary car shows
like Biker Car Night, you know, Biker Night and some rough stuff,
you know, and I didn't have, it wasn't all time machined up.
It was all stock DeLorean.
So as an art teacher, I just had to use what I had
and I grabbed some pool hoses and some cardboard.
I mean, it was janky.
It was really just scary.
But you know what? That's all I had.
That's all I had to work with.
So I try to make it look a little DeLorean time machine.
You know, because that was my thing. I loved Back to the Future.
A lot of guys out there, some guys that they buy the cars
because they look sexy, you know, that DeLorean looks sexy
without the whole lights and sounds and whistles and all that kind of stuff,
which is totally fine.
But when you take it to the gas station,
people aren't going to ask about the Galwing doors.
They're going to ask, where's the flux capacitor?
You know, so that question came up so much that I thought
I need to make this into something
that looks like something from Back to the Future.
Well, that's that's so interesting
that you have made this car, you make your living by your art.
And this is this is a piece of performance art.
That's I mean, I'm looking at it right behind you.
It's striking. It totally is.
It's your creative talents, your passions, your dreams.
And yeah. Yeah.
So as a as a teacher, I'm also a bit of an actor.
You know, you have to get up to perform in front of students
and all that kind of stuff. So I'm an art teacher.
I teach K through five.
So that's five to six year olds up until about 10,
10, 11 year olds.
So when I am performing teaching in front of kids,
I'm, you know, you're an actor.
So with this, when I do events, not all the time,
but I love doing Doc Brown, I will get up in front of people.
And just recently I did Back to the Future,
the musical came through Minneapolis
and they were here for two weeks.
So for three different times, I was able to bring the car down
and perform in front of the public.
You know, I have the Doc Brown outfit with the hair and all that.
Great Scott, what are you doing over that?
You know, that kind of thing.
So I enjoy that because in our community, there was a man.
His name was Paul Nye, passed away almost a year ago.
I think I can't remember.
But he was kind of one of the inspirations for me.
Any time he did an event, he did a lot of events
with kids present with he was always mindful of who his audience was.
He was a delineation machine owner.
He would show up as soon as he would show up.
There would be kids that were coming up to him, you know,
and just want to see the cards and and Paul got out and he was Doc Brown.
And, you know, he was there was no swearing.
There was no drinking.
There was he was in front of kids performing.
And it was so sad when he passed away.
But what an inspiration he was.
He did lots of events for him.
He was a big with the was a cannonball run, I think it was called.
But he did a lot of things with missing kids, too.
He did lots of charities and stuff with searching for missing kids and stuff.
But he kind of, you know, he started this.
So when I do an event and stuff, I'm kind of Paul is,
you know, in the back of my mind kind of thing.
But he literally he grew his hair out, too.
He never did the wig. He had his hair.
So I'm kind of, you know, I mean, I'm not there yet.
I've got a couple of grays, but I think I'm just going to let it grow out
and just be the Doc Brown, because people love that.
I've done events with because I'm not a sports person.
I'm a bit of a nerd, dork and stuff.
So I never really got into sports.
So when I do events for sports things, I did something for the hockey team here.
The baseball teams, they'll park me on the concourse and stuff.
And I'll dress as Doc Brown.
And when I did something for the hockey team, you know, people would hard core
sports people would come out with, you know, see the car and Doc Brown.
Did they did they get a field goal yet?
You know, that kind of thing.
And people looking like, what's wrong with this guy?
You know, but again, it's Doc Brown.
He doesn't it's not a sports guy.
He doesn't know his thing. And that's kind of me, too.
So and you're throwing yourself in the park.
Yeah, yeah, I'm playing acting, acting. Yeah.
So but that's that's what I got.
Is is there a youth?
How long have you been doing the rent to Lauren?
Officially 2012. OK, that's what I thought.
You know, my first car, I did a couple of events here and there,
but I didn't really know that Lauren community yet.
So I started reaching out to the community to try to rent out their cars
because, you know, there's nothing like getting your car out
in the public eye and getting a little money for it.
You know, I've gotten a lot of flack sometimes through
some community members to think, oh, you charge for somebody sitting in your car.
Well, you know what?
It's nice to do what you love,
but it's also nice to be able to pay that electric bill.
Yeah, and it and it helped.
Well, but parts. Yep. Parts, everything.
It does, you know, it this car is paid off a lot.
It's paid itself out a few times.
And yeah, it's enjoyable, you know, but is was there any event?
I know this is a hardball here.
Was there any event that that you did that really?
You know, just hit me.
You can't forget, right?
It's like it really, you know, it might have been your 10th event.
It might have been your first might have been your hundred.
Might have been last week.
I believe this was a birthday party.
I believe the kid was eight and I showed up.
This was in Las Vegas.
I showed up with this hunk of bolts behind me and this kid.
Except eight year about eight years old.
He was dressed as Marty McFly,
his favorite movie in the world's back to the future. Oh, wow.
He was he had like a cochlear implant in it.
He was very hard of hearing.
So he had a little bit of a, you know, a speech impediment
and all that kind of stuff. And, you know, I have three boys.
I've been blessed, they're healthy.
That kid had some issues, you know, health issues
and that kind of thing.
And when he showed up and when I showed up,
I mean, and he just lost it, like the DeLore and all that stuff.
I started balling.
It was powerful because here I am dressed as a fool,
you know, dressed in the dark doing the whole thing.
And here's this kid.
It was very powerful.
And I I let that kid get in the car and touch any button
that, you know, only because it was like, kid, I probably made me.
I mean, he may I made his year and all I never forget this thing.
And he'll never forget that.
And I still have his photos with me.
And this was like I said, this was good Lord.
This had to be about 2013, 2014.
And that was one of the events that I will always stand out
because I mean, I made his parents happy.
But those are the kind of events that are huge.
I don't even remember what I got paid.
You remember if I did get paid, I don't really care.
But that was the powerful and it's stuck and it's stuck with you.
Yeah, it really did.
We put you on the spot.
But yeah, no, I know I said before that first event I did
just seeing how happy people were just to see the car like in a line.
It I would have done it for free.
It was so awesome because it made my day.
I mean, honestly, that the trilogy
hands down, in my opinion, is the best trilogy ever written.
And it's it's a movie that you a teenager or a kid could watch today.
And it still, yeah, makes sense.
You know, a kid goes back in time and hangs out with his parents.
Like that's something kind of cool to think about.
So it's not like it's a movie that you would watch today
that would be like, ah, that aged terribly.
You know, because there are a lot of 80s like that didn't age well.
But back to future age very well.
The perfect story perfectly.
Oh, and Bob. Yeah.
Bob Gale came home, saw his dad in his
his dad's high school yearbook, and he's like, my dad was kind of cool.
Maybe I could travel back.
That's for the inspiration for the story.
Yeah. So and so and the neat thing is like kids,
this was an 80s movie.
So you have adults now sharing them with their own kids
and then they get to see this.
You know, and that's what I'm doing with my own kids.
We just watched all three movies recently.
And then I took them all to the back to the musical.
And it was like it was really cool to see your kids see
because they don't call this my kids don't call this the DeLorean.
They know it as the data car.
They call it the data.
The car that they remember, you know, is the moment they could see.
It was like this car has been in their life.
So they don't know.
I mean, they know DeLorean, but they know data car.
And they also know all the toys that I have and stuff are my toys.
They don't touch those toys.
They have their toys and I have my toys.
Oh, man.
So he's
let's see, is is doing all these events
and sometimes they're corporate events.
Sometimes that might be a comic con, I'm sure.
Have you met anybody from the original movies?
So I've had Jennifer Parker, first Jennifer Parker,
Claudia Wells, I've given her in Las Vegas.
I met her and I got her a ride in the car
and stuff. We were doing a big charity event.
No, it was kind of cool.
This past summer.
I finally got to meet Christopher Lloyd.
So Christopher Lloyd, many people don't know Christopher.
I'm a Star Trek fan, big Star Trek fan.
Christopher Lloyd played a Klingon in Star Trek three.
Correct. Every year I fly to I try to fly to Las Vegas.
When I lived there, I used to go every year.
Now, out of the Minnesota, I try to go every year
to the to the Star Trek convention.
Christopher Lloyd was there this year.
So I finally was able to meet him,
but I didn't just meet him dressed normally.
I I love cosplaying as a Klingon,
but this year I cosplayed as a Doc Brown Klingon.
As an art teacher, I made a headpiece, a Klingon headpiece,
but I had white hair hanging out all over it.
And then I walked around with a flex capacitor shirt,
shirt, like a paper, you know, and and I would do the whole Doc
Brown impersonations as a Klingon.
And it was fun to see people get it.
You know, if you know that, you know that, oh, yeah,
Christopher Lloyd played a Klingon in Star Trek three.
So when I finally got to meet him,
it was one of those, OK, I got his autograph.
And but I'll never forget when he looked up at me,
you know, because Christopher, I don't really know his age.
He's he's up there.
He looked at me like, what is wrong with this guy?
Because I'm in full Klingon, white hair, the whole deal, you know,
but it was cool, you know,
it to finally meet Christopher, this guy that I impersonate
all the time that I do events, you know, under the
just thinking about him and stuff.
I've never got to meet Michael J. Fox.
I've just not in the right place at the right time.
I think that would be awesome.
And I really love to meet Biff, Tom Wilson.
I've watched a lot of videos on him.
He is just a great human being.
And so I haven't.
But Harry Waters, Jr., he lives in Minnesota.
And when I first moved here, he was the gentleman in Back to Future One
in two, who sang Earth Angel to everyone.
So that actor actually lives in Minnesota and he is a
I believe he's a professor for theater school or something.
So we did an event when I first moved here.
I got the whole DeLorean Club, Minnesota Club
to do an event with him.
So he's the other guy and he was awesome to just super nice.
I love when you meet an actor who knows that
the only reason they're famous is because of their fans.
So they take they're very thankful to meet the fans.
So they're not standoffish or anything like that.
But that's about all the celebrities that I've met.
Yeah. Well, that's, yeah, fulfilling your dream.
In others, right?
And then, you know, meeting meeting these people that,
you know, they're part of your part of your childhood.
I've already told people this kind of morbid.
But I told people there's two celebrities that I know
that I'm going to be taking a sick day for
just to kind of, you know, I can't believe he's back.
Christopher Lloyd is one of them and William Shadner.
And those two go.
Then OK, I need a day.
I need a day of good morning.
Yep, I've thought the same about about Bill.
Yeah, he's up there, but the man has been to space.
So yeah, he's awesome.
Yeah, he's the captain for sure.
Though as we as we conclude here, Andy, is there
what's one thing you'd like everybody to know
about your business that maybe they wouldn't think?
You know, when I meet a lot of young people, I'm around,
you know, in my profession, I past years, I've taught high school as well.
And I bring I'll bring the car in and show them and stuff.
And some kids think that what you see is impossible.
And I go back to like, how do you have that?
How do you, you know, all that kind of stuff?
And I go back to the back to the future theme of if you put your mind to it,
you can accomplish anything.
And that's really a true theme to live by, you know, because
if you're 17, 18 years old, something like this, you think,
ah, that guy must be a billionaire and all this kind of stuff.
And no, I started collecting.
I was a fan since I was about 10, 11, 12 years old.
And I had it in my mind.
I'm going to own one of his cars one day.
And you just have to push on with that goal, you know?
Yeah. And now that I have it, it's like, OK,
what else can I do with this thing?
I don't want to just have it sit in the garage all day.
I love sharing this thing.
So as a side note, I actually have a so I'm also a Dr.
Who fan. I have a Dr.
Who TARDIS outside of my house.
And it's a little free library.
So if you've ever heard of no way when you open it up,
there's a whole library in there.
And then there's also a geocache.
I don't know if you guys know what geocaching.
Yeah, absolutely.
So when I put that up, a gentleman found me on the Internet and said,
hey, can we put a geocache in there?
And I said, sure, what's a geocache?
So him and I have become really great friends.
We put this geocache in there.
I have a camera in there where I can speak to people
because people come to my house all the time just to geocache or get books.
Well, I have a ring camera in there.
So when I talk to them, I kind of feel them out and say, you know what?
So I'll go on the camera now.
Sometimes I'll mess with people that are in the box and I'll say, you know,
do you who was open, who was awake in the TARDIS?
You know, and they'll know somebody's in here and I'll ask them,
do you realize you're standing in a time machine?
You know, yeah, OK, you know, Doctor Who, whatever.
And I asked them, she'd like to see another time machine,
you know, and then I'll bring people over and they'll check out the garage.
And I always asked, just give me some favorite points, you know,
because so so far because of that, from last we checked,
my TARDIS geocache has become Minnesota's number one favorite spot for geocache.
Wow. So you are a marketing machine, my friend.
I'm always trying. Yeah.
ABC always be closing.
That's one of the things I learned.
But I love entertaining guests.
I've met so many strangers, so many complete strangers.
But again, as a teacher, you have, you know,
you have to become a people person.
So you never know who's showing up outside.
But the TARDIS is all out there and it's full size TARDIS.
Well, up at night, I've got all that.
But I will say you you have met your calling and your calling has met you.
I don't know if I just you guys have got to check out his business.
We're in DeLorean dot com. Great website, by the way.
Been checking out here as we speak.
And just one of the coolest guys out there.
Andy is an art teacher at elementary at the elementary level.
He has a TARDIS little library.
He has a dream car that makes dreams come true.
He didn't give up on a boomerang dream.
And as you say, you know, if it can be conceived, it can be created.
And that's that's a great message and that's powerful.
So I just want to thank you for taking time, Andy, and being on the show.
I had a great time getting to know you.
Thank you so much. This was awesome. I love that.
Yeah, thank you. Thank you, Andy.
Yeah, there's so many stories there.
And, you know, that that boy probably won't forget the birthday party,
but you don't either. And I'm thinking about it.
So as Doc said, you know, your future isn't written yet, so make it a good one.
Exactly. Well said. I like that.
I like that. Yeah. Christopher Loy. Great job.
Well, that's another episode in the books, partner.
So again, thank you to Andy.
Check out rentalorian.com.
Go there immediately. Great.
Great website. Lots of fun.
Charismatic leader in Minnesota area.
Who knows? Stop by and check out the little library and the geocache.
You know, and rentalorian.com cars all over the U.S.
Yep. Yes. Yeah, exactly.
Another good point. Check it out.
It is all on the well-appointed website.
So we will get this up as quick as we can.
We will link to all of his website.
Yeah, resources, social media, et cetera from ours.
All you got to do is go to carslove.com
to get all the information you need to about rentalorian.com
or your check us out on your podcast streaming platform of choice.
This is Christian. He's Doug.
I'm Christian at carslove.com.
He's Doug at carslove.com.
Thanks, Andy. Take care. We'll see you all next time.
Thank you, guys.
Thank you.
Request an explanation for:
3 cars
3 cars featured
Request an Explanation
Heard something you'd like explained? We'll add it to this episode.
Sign in to request explanations for terms you heard.
Want to learn more?
Browse our glossary for plain-English explanations of automotive terms, jargon, and concepts.
Help improve this episode
See something that's not quite right? Our annotations are AI-generated and can sometimes miss the mark. Click the flag icon on any annotation to suggest a correction.
Report incorrect info
Suggest better explanations
Flag missing cars
More from To All The Cars I've Loved Before: Classic Car Restoration, JDM, and Automotive History
🏎️ 🏁 Brad Phillips on The Great Race, Cross-Country Ferraris, and Vintage Porsches
May 26, 2026
C7 Corvette, Porsche 930 & Car Trailers: Towlos Startup 🏎️🔧
May 12, 2026
🏎️ BMW E46 inspires Building an AI-Powered Podcast Platform for Car Junkies
Apr 28, 2026
2011 Subaru WRX & 1986 Honda Accord: Ethan Banks on Manual Transmissions 🏎️💥
Apr 14, 2026