Great Scott! Local Engineer Takes Drivers Back in Time

  "Time stands still for no one," so the old saying goes, but there's still one man who has time on his side, even after the closure of Dr. Emmett Brown's Institute of Future Technology at Universal Studios: Bruce Coulombe. Mr. Coulombe and his wife Mary are the founders of Coulombe Enterprises, a company specializing in the production of DeLorean time machines. The time machines run on either the latest model of Hill Valley Industries' Mr. Fusion or a 1.21 gigawatt Plutonium reactor. In addition to these standard time machine facets, the company affords customers the chance to purchase a hover conversion as well, an add-on sure to make time fly.

  Inspected by "Doc Brown" himself, as well as actor Christopher Lloyd, Coulombe's accurate and meticulous construction of these time traveling vehicles surpass expectations, carrying a stamp of approval from screenwriter Bob Gale and Film Trix Special Effects Supervisor Kevin Pike, both key figures in the movies' development and filming. After years of use, most cars requisitioned for the retrofitting process run well, albeit following a few tweaks and repairs. Their resilience in one sense mirrors the timeless themes found in the Back to the Future trilogy; themes that have attracted many to the franchise over the years: the idea that, for the most part, "the future is what we make it."

   Bruce Coulombe and his wife Mary found their density in 1996 when the nascent enterprise completed its first DeLorean conversion. However, Coulombe enjoyed an impressive career even before his current occupation. Coulombe spent his formative years at the University of Florida as well as Disney University. Among his first jobs, Coulombe served NASA as a contractor in 1983 designing security systems.

    Following his time at NASA under the employ of the Computer Science Corporation, Coulombe continued his work with computer and security systems for the theme parks and branched out on his own, establishing an alarm company. Coulombe gave a brief overview of his story to The Orlando Local News when we met with him in March: "I had a friend through the space center that was a supervisor at Universal Studios in entertainment. [At the time], I was laid off [temporarily] after the Challenger disaster. We were talking, and he said, 'they're going to build a Jurassic Park ride and put some dinosaurs out there. Maybe you want to do it on the side.' I said, 'sure why not?' I didn't design the dinosaurs but my team and I put them all together," Coulombe explained. "I would come in late, when the union guys didn't work, and go from 9 PM through the early hours of the morning, fixing rides like Jaws, King Kong, Earthquake.... they broke down a lot."

  The Back to the Future ride opened at Universal Studios in 1991, accelerating a demand for all things related to the trilogy. Coulombe's "red letter date" in history came when a friend asked him to make one of the vehicles: "When the film came out I was 26 and I loved it. I had joked with a friend then that we should make one of the cars, but it was too expensive at that time. Over the years, I would build different kit cars in the garage and sell them to make extra money. In the '90s, a friend told me, 'I bought a DeLorean.' He wanted to bring it to some of these Comicons. He said, 'Can you help me?' I said, 'sure.'"

  To his surprise, Universal gave the go ahead and his venture took off at supersonic speed. Although he asked to buy the rights to the design of the time machine, an official explained to Coulombe that the vehicle as a whole could not be claimed by the company: "Because they don't own 80% of the rights on the car (i.e. the components), they can't stop anybody from making it."

  Since 1996, Coulombe Enterprises has constructed 34 DeLorean time machines. In addition, Coulombe also furnishes other Hollywood science fiction  paraphernalia, including props from the films Jurassic Park, ET and the robot from the Lost in Space TV series.

  The cars often draw stares from pedestrians and tail-gating drivers as well, with some nearly pushing the car off the road, though Coulombe now uses closed trailers for transporting the vehicles. But the fanaticism over the cars also extends to the locations of display as well, including a recent dental convention, where several bystanders stood atop the car without permission (apparently caught in a nostalgic time warp). The experience may have been ecstatic for these oblivious and bad-mannered fans, but Coulombe did not share in their amusement as they trampled one of his classic DeLoreans. Despite the bedlam, Coulombe said no dental services were needed following their removal.

  We recently met "Doc" Coulombe and Marty (Rob Sims) during an "experiment" at their Oviedo headquarters, testing the effects of time travel on pizza delivery (a commercial). The good news: the pizza seemed just as fresh after time travel. The bad news: re-hydrating pizza in the future doesn't turn out so well. Just take a look at this 2015 USA today article below.

  Aside from the dangers of pizza re-hydration, much fun and amusement can be gained from the adventure of time travel in one of Coulombe's DeLoreans. In addition to owning a DeLorean, Marty's doppleganger, Rob Sims, conducts specialized videos and commercials on Cameo for fans seeking a timeless and memorable encounter with Doc Brown's loyal friend and sidekick. For those who can't afford to buy a time machine outright, Coulombe now leases the cars as well for events, special occasions and conventions.

  His unique knowledge of all things time machine related attracted the attention of directors for the new documentary Expedition Back to the Future, out on Discovery+ March 15. The filmmakers selected Coulombe to advise in production and search for the original collection of Doc Brown's clocks from Back to the Future Part I. One of the seven film versions of the DMC-12 resides in the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. The documentary series features Christopher Lloyd on a journey to find the "perfect DeLorean time machine" as a gift to Michael J. Fox.

  You too can own this iconic vehicle, and experience the timeless legacy of the films for yourself firsthand. The rapture and excitement of driving a DeLorean time machine will give goose bumps to Back to the Future accolytes, and leave onlookers with only two words: "Great Scott!"

  To find out more about how to purchase your DeLorean time machine, visit deloreantimemachines.com/.