Forget gas, fuel up with bourbon

The bourbon-powered homemade vehicle.

• From The Daily Load

LOUISVILLE, KY -- 62-year-old Mickey Nilsson of Bardstown, Kentucky, finally found a way to make his tinkering hobby pay off. Inspired by the film "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang," Nilsson transformed a collection of "junk" into a motor vehicle that does not rely on foreign oil as it’s fuel source. His car is entirely powered by Kentucky bourbon whiskey.

"I was always a fan of Caractacus Potts (the Dick Van Dyke character) from 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'," said Nilsson. "He was pretty good at re-purposing junk. Always admired that."

Nilsson had his fair share of junk, too. Most of it was just rusting when last October he had a knock at his door.

"Them two knuckleheads from that TV show 'American Pickers' (Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz) stopped by here trying to steal from me. Offering me $200 for my old still. Said I had no use for it since making moonshine was illegal. After that smart-mouthed remark, I shot at em,” declared Nilsson. "Although I did sell the chubby one with the beard an old oil can for $40 before they ticked me off."

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