ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Few people are apt to having three deconstructed motorcycles in their living room, but Bryan “Bree” Parsons, is among them. And the bikes are just one symptom of the 42-year-old mechanic’s tendency toward deconstruction and reconstruction.
If you spend much time in West Anchorage, odds are you’ve seen Parsons — or, more specifically, his car — roaming around the city. It’s not hard to spot, given it’s a bright red 1999 Suzuki Swift, mounted atop the frame of a 1994 Suzuki Sidekick and lifted high off the ground on 38-inch-tall, 15-inch-wide tires. Parsons calls the mashed-up rig his “Swiftkick.” Recently it’s been making the rounds on link-sharing website Reddit as “Possibly the most Alaska car ever,” with users recounting sightings from around Anchorage.
It’s a shocking sight, but it’s not even the first time Parsons has created such a vehicle. Despite his habit of cobbling together various parts into never-before-seen modes of transportation, he’s hesitant to call himself the Dr. Frankenstein of Alaska cars.
“I just like to build weird things,” Parsons said outside his Spenard trailer. “This is just one of my weird toys I build.”
The cars, much like the deconstructed motorcycles he keeps in his living room — one has a leather-coated body that he calls his “Second Amendment” bike because of the bullet casings he embedded on the front — are just a hobby of the mechanic, who also owns a mobile auto repair business.
Parsons, who describes himself as an Army brat who has lived in Alaska since 2002, is self-taught when it comes to putting the cars together. He attributes his interest in auto modifications to coming from a family of mechanics, coupled with his time working as a welder in the Army.
Parsons built his first souped-up car two years ago, a dark green 1994 Saturn SL2 he put on a 1981 Chevrolet LUV diesel frame. That frame didn’t last long, with Parsons wanting to go even bigger. So in January 2014 he upped the ante, putting the Saturn on a 1976 K5 Blazer frame. Now he’s adding an extension on the back of the frame for the car to go from four wheels to six.
But even that wasn’t enough. When the transmission on his Swift went out earlier this year, Parsons figured he could either just fix the little car, or he could stick it on the frame of the larger Suzuki Sidekick he had. Considering it only took him 47 hours to put the first car together, he decided he might as well do it again.
He’s now driving the red Swift while he finishes turning the Saturn in to a six-wheeler. He did note the Swift won’t be red for much longer, since he plans to paint it bright green. It will be his “baby hulk” complete with a the license plate “BBYHLK” to complement the Saturn, which bears the license plate “INCHLK,” shorthand for “Incredible Hulk.”
Parsons said there are some downsides to driving the car around. People hoping to pose for pictures often chase him around town. His personal Facebook page is flooded with friend requests from strangers intrigued by the weird car. But in his mind, it’s a small price to pay for being able to cruise around Anchorage in a one-of-a-kind ride.
“It doesn’t matter to me,” Parsons said. “It only gets annoying after the thousandth time.”
Parsons insists the rigs are street legal — though he admitted he was waiting for mud flaps to arrive to bring his latest creation up to code. He said he’s been pulled over by police many times, mostly out of their own interest, and has never been issued a ticket.
And if someone else wanted to soup up their own rig, Parsons said he’s happy to do it. Just so long as you provide the body, frame and cash to cover the costs — and if you’re willing to accept the societal pressure that comes with driving such an amalgam of auto parts.
“It kind of is redneck,” he said.
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Information from: Alaska Dispatch News, https://www.adn.com
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