In late September 2023, one guy in the town of Deputy, Indiana had just wrapped up a build of epic proportions. Called "Big Dill," his pickle-themed, Harley-Davidson shovelhead-powered BMW Isetta show car was finally complete after a whirlwind 37-day work period.
Both exhausted and exhilarated, Brown didn't have time to rest. Instead, he had to get all four pieces of his Pickle Pack ready to head to Phoenix, Arizona for the September 2023 round of the Hot Wheels Legends Tour.
There's the Big Dill, which his buddy Trent shot this very cool documentary film about. Then there's the Pickle Jar, the Pickle Packer tilt trailer, and a custom bicycle called the Pickle Slicer.
While the Big Dill took 37 days to build on its own, Brown constructed every last piece of this entire set in under ten months. He started on January 1, 2023, and documented the whole thing in short daily posts on his Instagram.
When we first learned about this project, Brown was on his way to that Hot Wheels Legends Tour stop. Amazingly, he went on to win the event, and was then invited to compete in the final.
This video is a showcase of one incredibly determined and creative builder's heart and soul. He's the kind of person who's able to look at a pile of parts and see exactly what they could become. Part of that is because he's had to, but part of that is also because he's the stubborn type of creative who's not going to let a lack of cash get in the way of his dreams.
Although Brown had a little bit of engineering help from one of his buddies to get the chain drive/rear axle situation on the Big Dill sorted out, he did just about all of the physical labor himself, from fabrication to paint to upholstery. However, as he makes absolutely clear throughout the video, it couldn't have happened without the belief, encouragement, and advice of the friends and family who helped him out along the way.
To hear Brown explain it, while a rattle-can paint job on the Pickle Jar was just fine, it just wouldn't do for the Big Dill. In his vision, the Big Dill was a no-compromise show car. So, he had to do the paint right.
The tale of how he brought the supplies and the skills together to accomplish that gorgeous paint job is something you have to see to believe. It's also extremely good motivation for anyone who thinks they can't make their dreams come true just because funds are tight.
Very few people probably have all of Brown's existing skill sets. But his eagerness to listen, to learn, and to teach himself new skills as he needed them is deeply inspiring. If you've got the vision, and you can sit still long enough to write it down so you'll remember it, you can find a way to make it happen. All you have to do is want it badly enough, and then it's just a matter of always moving forward.
We're talking about a guy who went to the Hot Wheels Legends Tour, hauling projects he built out of scrap, stubbornness, and talent. Not only that, though; he had the audacity to win.
In all, Brown estimates that he spent about $10,000 and nearly went broke during the course of this project. And yet, he successfully competed against professionals with much stronger resources than he had.
After winning in Phoenix, Brown then went on to compete in the final. There, all the custom cars that had won Legends Tour events around the globe competed in an event that was held on November 11, 2023.
Unfortunately, he didn't win the final this year. However, it seems almost certain that this won't be the last we see of the man's creations. If you've got a soft spot for underdog stories, Mikey Brown's build process on this project should absolutely be on your radar.
Gallery: Mikey Brown's Big Dill Harley-Powered BMW Isetta Build
