Duct tape, zip ties keep it on road
Backstrom beater runs — sometimesBy Owen Chute
Published March 17, 2023 Justin Backstrom, a junior at Aitkin High School, bought his first car from his uncle in May of 2022. It is a 2000 GMC Yukon that Justin calls a suburban daily because he wishes it was. Justin's car is so rusted out you could walk up to it, kick it, and pieces of metal would fall all over the ground. Because of this problem, you can often see Justin driving into the school parking lot with an entire roll of duct tape covering the rust on his car. According to Justin the reason for this is because it covers up the “stage four cancer.” Justin is also an enthusiast of The Red Green Show and uses duct tape and zip ties for many things, such as his deer stand, his bed, brake lines, his hunting rifle, and more. Backstrom’s future plans for his vehicle's rust is to fill in the wheel wells, cab corners, rockers, and doors with spray foam. He says he has two reasons for this. One is to increase his gas mileage because “the wind gets in there and makes it less aerodynamic.” The second reason is to “make it look better.” After asking Backstrom about why he plans to use spray foam to fill in where he is supposed to have metal, he said, “If the women don't find you handsome they should at least find you handy.” Justin's car likes to run when it feels like it. For example, his car will not start if it is under 10 degrees below zero. Justin's car will also die when approaching a stop or going up a hill. One time when Backstrom’s Yukon broke down, he drove his brother's Pontiac Grand Am in a snowstorm. During this storm, Justin put the vehicle deep into a ditch. His plan to get pulled out was to call his brother Jon. However before he got a chance to call him, a dump truck came along and offered to pull him out. Justin agreed to this, hooked up the chain, and got pulled out. But in the process the car's frame got bent so now it badly fishtails down the road. Justin’s final plan is to take his car to the scrap yard next year and buy a better car, but in the meantime he is proud of his old junker car. |