Whenever Wes Creager pulls up to the barbeque joint on 7th Street or shows up at any restaurant or fast food joint in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, crowds flock around his dreamy hot rod.
Creager seems to always spark impromptu car shows.
His fiery red sports car is a true fantasy machine. Fifty percent of its parts come from Cadillac, so it’s registered as one, but it boasts hybrid genes: Camaro doors, Mazda pop-up headlights, and a GMC grille. But it’s so much more, as evident by the name he gave it – the Creager Hybrid, undoubtedly a racing car.
In special occasions, he’d nonchalantly take it out with his grandchildren or great-grandchildren for a spin, but it always turns into a special event.
“For example, we went out to dinner yesterday, and then hopped into that car,” 95-year-old Creager told Epoch Times, “Wherever we go, it turns into a car show, with people taking photos of it while we’re eating. I almost drive it out to dinner or anything else every week. I like to do it in style. I drive my little red car.”
When the Creager family hops in this convertible onto the streets, the doors close as smoothly as butter, driving silky smooth like a Cadillac, and handling like a dream.
The Creager Hybrid is a one-man masterpiece, a product of Mr. Creager’s dreams.
He says it houses parts from “about 10 different cars”, with the hood and trunk originally from a 1970 Cadillac Eldorado, and the frame pieced together from a Chevy Malibu. “The top is from a Lincoln Continental,” he said, with subtle “Creager” markings appearing throughout the convertible.
His dream of having a race car was the beginning of it all.
He said, “I’ve been involved in Indianapolis races for years, fascinated by their cars.” All the amazing big engines he saw were in the back of race cars, rather than in the front like regular road cars. He mentioned to a racer his idea of implementing this concept in a convertible: “Why don’t people put big engines in the back like Indianapolis race cars?”
Wow, they thought that sounded great.
The next day, Creager’s phone rang. The racer said he had a car.
(He asked,) “How much?” The racer said, “On the house for you, Doc.”
Born in 1928, Creager was around 65 when he built this car, now possessing one of the largest legal road engines, an 8.2-liter engine. He is a professional doctor with a woodworking background, but also knowledgeable about cars, spending years building custom cars in Porterfield, California in his younger days.
Creager knows how to transform cars.
In 1992, he got the keys to his Cadillac car for the first time. “At that time, I had an airplane and a large hangar,” Creager said. He was a pilot, and still is. “I moved the car into the hangar and built the car there.” He used his own woodworking tools to transform the car.
The engine juts up high in the rear of his understated race car, with the carburetor protruding from the hood, while Creager found a Continental car kit to serve as a decorative spare tire cover to keep off dust. He installed gauges, classic layered wood interior, and a Ford pickup windshield, all suspended on a Mustang Ford kit suspension.
In 1996, the Creager Hybrid was born.
When he finally showcased his Cadillac (customized car), many initially laughed. Who wants a Cadillac? That’s so ’90s.
“Now I’m laughing,” he told Epoch Times.
The Creager Hybrid later made appearances on the Indianapolis track and wowed in many official and countless impromptu car shows. Just weeks ago, the manager of O’Charley’s restaurant and bar came to visit, saying he had never seen such a car.
The car also became an internet sensation, garnering millions of views.
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Creager shuns fame and attention, avoiding all the limelight. Just standing back, watching the crowd admire his fiery red sports car, he is content. He says his two-seater is perfect for cruising the highways of the small town in Kentucky with his granddaughter, settling there after losing his wife of 64 years to reunite with family.
He dedicated the Creager Hybrid to her.
“It feels great when you’re going 60, 70, 80 miles per hour, the wind keeps the car hugged to the road, it’s an amazing driving experience,” he said.