LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- In the garage at Jefferson Community and Technical College, "car guy"-turned-instructor Grant Inge is spreading knowledge about a passion that's always fueled him.
Inge is fascinated by the inner workings of an automobile and he's taking that love to the next level with a car he often describes as a clunker. He and his buddies just recently rolled out the 1999 Monte Carlo and started driving around town. The response they get is priceless.
"There's two reactions," Inge's friend Jon Price said. "The first reaction is they look at it, and they don't know what to think, and that it's weird, and they immediately look away and avoid eye contact. Or, they can't stop looking. It's like a train wreck."
The car was never meant to be a convertible. It looks the way it does for a contest.
"It basically involves cutting the roof off your car at the bottom of the windshield," Inge said.
It's called the Chop Top Challenge. Everyone taking part from across the country will drive their beater or rust bucket, sans roof, to Key West, Florida, in mid-March.
"I've seen snow around here in March," Inge said.
He, Price and two other friends, who all work in the industry, plan to dress in layers and take the more than 1,000-mile journey for a "bro-cation," the breeze in their beards, cars on their minds and hopefully no legal issues. They're not exactly sure if not having a windshield could get them pulled over.
"I've gotten a few students out of doing stuff like this," Inge said.
Finding new ways to enjoy and spread automotive culture is why he's taking part in the challenge.
"A car like this certainly spurs that conversation," Price added.
After the trip to the southern most point of the country, Inge and company are having someone else drive the Monte Carlo back, if it makes it.
"We're going to fly home," Inge said. "By the end of it, we'll have probably had enough."
Copyright 2020 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
