If I ever have the opportunity (and I hope I do) to travel down the air cooled VW path, my weapon of choice would definitely be a Type 3 wagon. I just love the shape, ever since I first saw one back in highschool with deep black paintwork and brightly contrasting chrome, I’ll never forget it. But enough reminiscing, there’s an interesting story about the wagon in this feature. From what I can gather, apparently it started it’s life as an Australian Delivered model which was imported at some point during it’s lifespan over to the United Kingdom. The story picks up in the present day with the wagon being restored with the utmost detail to show-standards, before being sold to a lucky buyer back in, you guessed it, Australia.

Thanks to Chris for submitting.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cD4XiNFjx0

CLICK HERE for the full build thread.

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When you start off your build thread with a picture of a stonking great big turbo, you’re sure to grab peoples attention. The sizable huffer in question belongs to an Audi Quattro that started it’s life as a long-wheelbase model before being stripped to a bare shell, shortened, and built back up into a full-house race car. What’s with the title of the post? Well this project started out on the second floor of a garage, using a large trap door to raise/lower the car, hit the pics below to see for yourself.

Thanks to King for submitting.

CLICK HERE for the full build thread.

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Fredrik, from the build-thread-rich forum known as Zatzy, emailed me his project late last year. A Volvo 480 is a car I’ve never seen or heard of before, but after learning that this specific car was converted from FWD to RWD with a B234 engine and BMW ZF gearbox, I was more than interested.

For more RWD conversion builds, click here.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4GiEd-NrYI

CLICK HERE for the full build thread.

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I arrived home from vacation yesterday (apologies for the lack of posts) to find a nice surprise waiting for me. Late last year I was contacted by Fast Fours magazine in the form of a feature offer, which I excitedly agreed to, and the finished product is now in my hands…

To say I am ecstatic would be an understatement. It was this very same magazine that made me fall in love with Datsun 1600s at the tender age of 12 years old, so to have my own car featuring in the same publication is a dream come true. Maybe there’s another 12 year old out there who will read this issue and decide a 1600 is the car of his dreams, too?

This issue hits the shelves on February 8th, so be sure to pick up a copy. You can also order it online via http://shop.magstore.com.au/product-p/ff61.htm

We haven’t had a good ol’ hot rod on the site for a little while, so here’s one that’s been patiently waiting in my archives. A classic looking Model A, low to the ground, in a gorgeous combination of blue and gold, stunning in it’s simplicity. Notice the distinct lack of rust, skulls, or goofy body proportions. This is my kind of rod.

Thanks to Chris for submitting.

CLICK HERE for the full build thread.
There are some pin-up style model shots in the thread which may be NSFW, so please express caution.

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To follow on from the last post about his MX5, I thought it was only fitting to continue with another creation from the hands of Bruce. But this time it’s not a car, it’s a place where car guys come together and work on their projects as a community, forging bonds that are thicker than oil and stronger than steel. I present to you, Area 52.

This garage feature differs slightly from the others, as it doesn’t involve the actual build of the garage itself, but the automotive activities that happen within the walls and the new toys (hoist, anyone?) and tools that slowly trickle in. The site was transformed from your run-of-the-mill factory space to a character-filled hideaway where friends spend days and nights wrenching on their cars, helping each other out, and learning new skills. The monthly “play weekends” have an open door policy and go from Friday afternoon all the way until Sunday, with members traveling from all over Europe to be a part of the action. All of this is solely funded by Bruce for his love of cars and the community that comes with it.

The world would be a better place if there was an Area 52 in every town.

CLICK HERE to read about Area 52 in full, and see all the action that goes on inside.

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If there’s a person who embodies the spirit/mantra/black magic of Build Threads and the people who get it post tag, it’s definitely Bruce aka Mystery Machine from the Retro Rides forum. He’s someone who lives and breathes cars while also enjoying the challenge of taking cracking photos whilst wrenching, and documenting his actions as clearly as possible with an intent to educate and entertain his audience (not as easy as some may think). Having owned and modified more cool cars than I’ve had hot dinners, his MX5 project was the first that caught my attention, a thread that I happily read numerous times for my own enjoyment (a rare treat these days, as my usual priority is to find stuff that everyone else will enjoy). I hope you all take as much pleasure in reading as I have, and I look forward to keeping an eye on – and later sharing with you – his new project, already firmly planted in my bookmarks.

CLICK HERE for the full build thread.

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What better way to kick off the new year than with one of the most popular platforms in the word for modifying, the BMW E30. This E30, concocted by the team at Vorshlag, was built to compete in the Grassroots Motorsports $2010 Challenge, and then went on to win the $2012 event the following year. Watch as it goes through three engine swaps and two paint-schemes, all while being cleverly modified by the Vorshlag team to be competitive while keeping under the budget limit.

CLICK HERE for the full build thread.

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The latest issue of Aussie mag Performance Imports features a list of their choice of the 30 best automotive blogs and websites (which pretty much resembles my bookmarks folder). I was very excited to see my own humble site sitting proudly at No 17…

Thanks to the team at Performance Imports for the kudos, a great way to end the year.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the Build-Threads readers for their support in 2011, and look forward to bringing you even more builds in 2012.

Have a safe and Happy New Year, keep wrenching!

- anth

So, I heard you like CNC machined parts? Check out the astonishing amount of work being poured into this 1-off bike by Shaun Wainford, the man behind SW Engineering. Having a CAD/CNC setup in your home would deinitely come in handy for hobbies like ours, and Shaun definitely makes full use of the tools on offer.

Thanks to Matt for submitting.

CLICK HERE to see more.

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