Ginger Billy might look like a cross between Hulk Hogan and a ZZ Top roadie, but this sticks-dwelling dude sure has a wild imagination, especially when it comes to hacking down the foliage on his lot. It's not clear where he got his inspiration to create his unique John Beer lawnmower, whether it be Honda's V-twin grass cutter or one that used a Michael Jordan sneaker as a model, but this one's a real beauty. Seriously, it's not every day that someone from South Carolina creates a mobile lawnmower made from the body of a Ford Festiva.
Briggs And Stratton Provides The Power
First, it's hard to imaging Ginger Billy would need a lawnmower in the first place, since he has the physique of a backwoods behemoth that could shred all the turf on his property within seconds. But heck, even he has needs. Those seem to include shade, air conditioning, radio, and a steering wheel that you can still manipulate with a beverage in one hand while cutting all that grass. It turns out his latest contraption has all those amenities and more.
"This ain't no regular lawnmower, okay?" bellows Billy. "This is a Ron Beer and you know what they say. Nothing runs through you like a beer!" You can't deny this sucker runs as it's got a Briggs and Stratton 600cc motor ("The same thing them Apache helicopters has got!") providing all the mobility and grass-cutting. The front half of the vehicle is an old Ford Festival with the rear hacked off and replaced by a makeshift bed that houses the engine.
More Convenient Than A No-Turn Mower
Starting the two-seater is an ignition tucked away in a partition between the seats, where a kill switch is also handy. And Billy likes the idea of a steering wheel since other ride-'em mowers like zero turns require both hands on the handles.
"It's pretty hard to drink a darn beer when you ain't got no hands," says Billy, "but you see over here in the Ron Beer you drive it bad-boy one hand and drink you a beverage with another." Smartly in this video, Billy's guzzling from a water bottle instead of a beer. Safety first!
Two-Seater Advantage
No argument that he's got a cool ride, with the roof shielding him from the sun and the air conditioning on full blast. But the radio isn't loud enough to drown out the noise from the motor. Now since Billy's a pretty sociable dude, he likes the fact that a two-seater doesn't prohibit him from cutting the lawn solo.
"When you cut grass with a zero-turn you can't have a buddy ride with you," he notes. "But if you cutting grass with a Ron Beer, you can have your buddy ride with you. Y'all hang out and cut the grass."
With this John Beer, it looks like Ginger Billy has it made in the shade.
Source: Ginger Billy