Star Wars fans turned an old Jeep into a Star Destroyer for the 2018 Houston Art Car Parade.
Life can be bleak for old vehicles, especially those worn down by years of commercial duty. Many end up in junk yards. Others may be snapped up and then, for one reason or another, left to rot in a driveway or field. This 1984 Jeep DJ-5M we found on Craiglist was once used as a delivery vehicle for the U.S. Postal Service. These days, it’s in rough shape, but some crafty Star Wars fans have managed to keep it on the road…technically.
For the past 30 years, vehicles in various states of dress-up have been rolling through Houston, Texas as part of its annual Art Car Parade. According to the event’s official website, the parade includes more than 250 vehicles from 23 states, Canada, and Mexico which are seen by more than 250,000 spectators.
This year’s parade included several automotive oddities, including this Jeep-based creation. The main man behind it has been attending the Art Car Parade for years and previously took a Death Star-influenced vehicle to it. This year, he decided to show up in another Vader-grade craft: a Star Destroyer. It appears in the first 50 seconds of the following video and at the 37:50 mark:
Although this Jeep is still rolling, don’t expect to see it outside of parade routes any time soon. It’s up for sale now and the description of it on Craiglist is brutally honest about its mechanical condition. The seller doesn’t provide a mileage figure, but they do state that this rear-wheel-drive Jeep “runs like crap,” “burns and leaks oil,” and advise that whoever ends up buying it should “bring a TRAILOR.” This becomes evident once you watch the below clip of the engine trying to shake itself to death:
“Using The Force” is great for fighting the Dark Side, but it’s clear that only wrenches and elbow grease are going to get this craft flying right again.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
