Crazy car body swaps are fun. They aren’t overly practical, responsible, financially sound, or even always that cool. However, they are fun. Take this BMW/checker cab swap/conversion; it not only makes no coherent sense on the surface but the further you dig, the less amount of sense it makes. This BMW-7 Series is next-level bananas.
“Why does the Checker Cab sound like a V12?”
We cover many custom builds on this site. We love them. Custom builders are the force pushing the new car market into more interesting places. This check cab body conversion thing is probably not one of those builds. This kind of custom car build falls into a different camp – the fun camp.
The Drive calls this build the “Holy Grail of bad decisions.” While I like to make a little more room for silly builds like this, The Drive’s summation is not only probably more accurate; it’s a funny take.
This Checker Cab body was slapped onto a BMW E65 chassis and powered by a V12. And before this road goes any further, it’s worth noting now that this Franken cab is for sale on eBay. Proceed with caution.
What is going on with this BMW check cab mashup?
Let’s get the facts straight. The listing says this monster mash mobile is a 1981 Checker Cab body on a 2001 BMW 750 chassis. If you know BMWs, your BMW senses may be tingling. The problem is that the BMW 750 came from the factory with a V8. It was the BMW 760 that came with the V12. However, this yellow cab from Hell most certainly has a V12. So, there is a little more here than meets the eye, and a lot is meeting the eye.
If the odd motor swap didn’t send off any alarm bells yet, the listing notes that the BMW’s six-speed automatic transmission is slipping, yet the write-up says that the BMW still runs and drives.
Who made this Bavarian cab?
The Drive sleuthed around and discovered that the yellow beast is being sold in the U.S. However, it seems the Doom Custom in Quebec is responsible for the build. The shop documented the process on its Facebook page. Though, now, Doom Custom’s site shows the business went under. The Drive attempted to reach out, and their efforts were in vain. This part of the saga only matters in terms of how the car got here. We aren’t likely to know.
Bump the new car market, and get a cab. But maybe not this one
To be clear, MotorBiscuit does not suggest buying this V12 mashed potato. However, it is undeniably fun. At the end of the day, despite this car’s fuzzy lineage and clearly overly complicated build, if tuned up, this would certainly be the belle of the backwoods ball if you could only get it there.
This is a perfect opportunity for us automotive blowhards to sit back and enjoy. There’s no need to flex about why this car is stupid or messy; that much is obvious. Instead, maybe the takeaway should be, “whoa! What a wild ride. I’m glad this pile was built. We aren’t going to see another one of these.”
