Scooby Doo's classic ride is right here in Lansing

LANSING - The rusted out 1970 Dodge A100 van was in rural Wisconsin, sitting in a yard next to a weathered barn, but it could be had for a steal.

Its owner hadn't driven it in years and wanted $300 for it. Jerry Jodloski couldn't pass it up.

The vehicle's make and model was the closest he'd ever seen to the iconic Mystery Machine van driven by the members of Mystery Inc. on the cartoon he grew up watching, "Scooby-Doo." 

Jodloski has spent the last 10 years bringing recognizable pop culture vehicles to life — the Batmobile, Jurassic Park's theme park SUV, and last year, with the help of car enthusiast Aaron Aikman, the Ghostbusters' Ecto-1. 

Jodloski, owner of Jammin' DJs and the founder of Lansing's How-to Halloween event, said re-creating Scooby Doo's van had been in the back of his mind for years. Now, with the Craigslist find, it was possible.

That was nearly a year ago.

Today that banged up, forgotten, dark blue Dodge van with a cracked windshield and no engine has been transformed. Now the cartoon ride has been brought to life, and will be the centerpiece for this year's How-To Halloween event at the Lansing Center later this month.

Jodloski and Aikman teamed up on the project, investing $2,000 and about 10 months of labor and creativity to make it happen.

They say it's proof nothing from your childhood has to stay there.

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Re-creating a cartoon favorite

The 45-year-old van was a shell when Jodloski and Aikman hauled it to Lansing and into Aikman's garage. Its brakes, brake lines and engine were gone. 

But the body? Jodloski thought they could work with that.

"It was in decent shape," he said.

Aikman, the brains behind rebuilding the guts of the vehicle, stops short of agreeing.

"It was destined for the junk yard."

Today you'd never know it. The duo's creation is a light vibrant blue and lime green, accented with bright orange flowers and cartoon-inspired lettering.

Simply put, it looks exactly like the real deal.

Open the double doors on the side and you'll find a carpeted interior, a flower-shaped pillow resting on brown leather seats and a flat-screen TV — the perfect spot for Scooby and Shaggy to hang out when they're taking a break from solving spooky mysteries.

Jodloski said they re-created the Mystery Machine on a shoe-string budget.

"This project could have cost thousands," he said. "Maybe $40,000, if you had the money, but we didn't."

So they got resourceful instead.

Aikman had the daunting task of rebuilding the van's guts and getting it to run again. The engine and transmission once belonged to an old Chevrolet truck he'd purchased. The new engine uses a fuel injector that doesn't belong in the Dodge, he said. It takes a high pressure electrical fuel pump to make it run, so Aikman worked around that. He bought a used, two-barrel carburetor and hand-fabricated an adapter plate.

"I was told by so many professional mechanics that she would never run, and yet the engine runs better than it ever did," he said.

Jodloski used spray paint to color the exterior and layered lime green and orange vinyl cut outs of his own making on top to replicate the van's well-known cartoonish-look. He duplicated the van's round headlight plates not with the real thing (those cost $80 each, he said) but with plastic pie plates purchased at Target.

And the "spare tire" fixed to the front of the van? That's actually a metal barrel Jodloski cut to fit the space, and spray painted to match the vehicle. 

The finished product?

"It's as Frankensteined-together as it could possibly be."

Celebrating Halloween creativity

The Mystery Machine debuted for the first time this past summer, during Lansing's Fourth of July parade, and Jodloski and Aikman's mad-scientist approach to the project didn't temper people's reactions to it.

"The kids who saw it got a grin from ear to ear," Aikman said.

Adults were just as smitten, he said.

"It's a generational thing," Jodloski said. "People see this going down the road and lose themselves in that moment. They raise their arms and say, 'Yes.' Everyone has a connection to it."

During How-To Halloween, a celebration of creative and homemade Halloween costumes, props, decorations and creations, the Mystery Machine will be center stage.

Jodloski said those who pay the $7 entrance fee to the two-day event Oct. 28-29, sponsored by Celebration Cinema, can walk right up and have a look.

They'll also get the chance to enjoy the 50 different groups displaying or showcasing their creations at the Lansing Center.

Participants can try their hand at the creation of a Captain America shield or play a life-sized game of Operation. They'll also get the chance to experience a "Star ship Enterprise bridge simulator," walk through haunted house displays and take a photo with a costumed Ghostbuster or Storm Trooper.

The event pays homage to homemade creations, Jodloski said.

"It's the building of things that are the most memorable moments of Halloween," he said. "This encourages people to roll up their sleeves, get their hands dirty and just do something fun."

The duo's Mystery Machine is a prime example of what you can end up with if you do, Jodloski said.

"It's something special, and this event is a huge show and tell for things just like it."

Contact Reporter Rachel Greco at (517) 528-2075 or rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @GrecoatLSJ.

How-To Halloween

Lansing's fourth-annual How-To Halloween event is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 28-29 at the Lansing Center. It will feature various Halloween displays, props, costumes and decorations, along with "make and take" decoration and prop sessions, and trick-or-treating for children. The Lansing Zombie Walk, during which an estimated 200 to 300 participants in zombie costumes will make their way to Lansing's Capitol, will start at the event at 4 p.m. Oct. 28.

Tickets to the event are $7. Children, age 2 and under, enter for free. For more information visit "How-To Halloween" on Facebook.