The Roadster Shop are back again with another incredible build which just oozes copious amounts of talent. The last time I featured one of their metal sculptures it was an award winning ’62 Corvette. This time they’re keeping it in the GM family and are back with a ’67 Nova. The fabrication work in this build is completely mind blowing, it doesn’t even matter that the car isn’t finished yet, your jaw is still bound to drop once you see the new custom body-lines, all-metal interior work, subtle roof chop, the customised bonnet (hood) with clearances for airboxes built into the engine bay, and of course their Fast Track chassis. This build is just rife with details, make sure you check out the full thread.

This isn’t the first time a Nova has been featured, click here to see the others.

CLICK HERE for the full build thread.

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Well here’s a first, I don’t think I’ve ever featured an audio-centric build on this site. Building an intricate competition-spec audio system might not be everyone’s preferred flavour of fabrication, but it takes just as much planning, patience and technical know-how to do it all properly. Am from Blade Ice sent me a link to his Japanese import 1997 Chevy Astro which packs over £50k and 4000kg worth of ear-bleeding audio equipment, I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many speakers, amps, batteries, and wiring in my life. If the sound of your loud exhaust pisses off your neighbours, imagine what you could do with this!

CLICK HERE for the full build thread.

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Here is my second and final guest-post for Speedhunters in 2011. You can read the actual story by clicking here. As usual, I like to post it on my own blog as well for archiving.

There are some teaser shots of new upcoming builds to be featured in 2011, so make sure you stay tuned for those, regular programming will commence soon. I apologise for the lack of content but the guest-posts take a decent amount of time to put together.

While discussing possible ideas for my 2011 contributions to Build Month, Charles proposed that I could piece together a post highlighting the ‘Best Builds of 2010′, so I’ve been digging through my archives and statistics to find which builds drew the most attention in the year just past. I’ve also included a few teasers of some upcoming content for 2011 as a little treat that you’ll find after the jump. On with the show…

First up we have the hybrid creation known as the Volksrod (or Lexibug) , which earns it’s moniker from the combination of a hot-rodded Volkswagen Beetle receiving it’s driving force from a Lexus V8 powerplant.

The project started out with a regular Beetle shell in a very bare state, but condition wasn’t an important factor since some serious cutting was soon to be in order to give it that hot rod look.

A custom RHS chassis was built from scratch for the shell to sit on, with raised sections at the each end to get the body sitting nice and low, just the way we like it.

Back to the shell, it was time for the modifications to begin, with the main focal points being the severely chopped roof and lack of any metalwork forward of the A-pillars. Notice all the metal rods tacked inside the shell, this provides bracing and ensures the body doesn’t tweak when the roof is temporarily removed.

With the body sitting atop the chassis and some fat wheels bolted on, the vision of the project starts to take shape. The icing on the cake is the rare oval rear window section that was grafted on.

If you prefer fabrication to body mods, then check out these elaborate mounts that were conjured up to mount the body to the chassis. There are many more trick mods like this in the full build thread, so click here to read up on it.

Another popular build from 2010 was also a mix-&-match project, Bob’s MX520, a Datsun 520 pickup with an NA MX5 engine/gearbox/suspension package swapped in. Starting with a stock 520, the driveline was removed to make room for the Mazda replacements.

Instead of simply making some custom engine mounts to hold the new engine in place, the whole front crossmember was modified to fit under the Datsun, including the struts, suspension arms and hubs. Parts of the Mazda firewall and floorpan were even welded in.

It’s a similar story for the back end, where more custom work was undertaken to house the complete rear crossmember from the donor Miata.

After a lot of measuring, cutting, and welding, you end up with a Datsun 520 with an MX5 engine, gearbox, diff, steering and suspension.

With everything bolted in and wired up, the MX520 was ready to hit the track and surprise many unsuspecting people.

Once the car proved itself mechanically, it was taken back off the road to receive a fresh lick of paint, giving the outside a finish to match the awesomeness of what’s hiding underneath. To read the complete story of how this pickup was built (and see some burnout videos!), click here.

This next build earned it’s spot on the radar due to it’s peculiar engine swap. The last few years have seen a massive surge in Chevrolet V8s being swapped into many different platforms, one of those being Mazda RX7s, so to see someone doing the exact opposite caught a lot of peoples attention.

That’s right, a Chevy Nova was the recipient of the Mazda 13B turbo rotary engine you see above. Even if you don’t agree with the swap, you have to love the irony and individuality.

Even though the small size of the 13B might make things seem easy in the engine bay, there’s still plenty of custom one-off work that needs doing, such as engine mounts, intake plumbing, intercooler placement, oil pan, exhaust manifold and countless other items.

The above image highlights two key elements of the car, one being the striking Lotus Exige orange hue, and the other being the extreme lengths the owner went to lighten the car, the aim being 2700lbs.

How do you like them welds?

One thing I’ve come to notice about peoples reactions to various projects is that if the build follows a well trodden path, you hear complaints about it being like every other car. Or, if it’s something out of the ordinary they might question the builders motives and say “Why didn’t they just buy X-car in the first place?”. Personally I think unorthodox projects like these are awesome, we need more people out there willing to do something completely different, regardless of the outcome, just for the sake of building something that no one else has. If you share my views then you should click here to read about this one-of-a-kind Nova in full detail.

The most popular build of 2010, by a long shot, wasn’t even a car, it was a garage, and there’s a pretty good chance you’re already familiar with it. Once the Garage Condo was featured, the hits just kept piling up, and news of the project spread like wild fire. You can understand why, since a decked out space like this is probably every car lovers dream dwelling.

Like any building, things had to start off with a plan. Keen eyes will notice the upper level blueprint to the right of the image.

From plan to reality, you can see the internal structure starting to take shape, with plenty of insulation stuffed into the walls for those cold winter months.

With some plaster on the walls, the overall look, feel and scale of the garage started to come together. The area under the mezzanine is where the tool cabinets will call home.

What kind of ultimate man cave would be complete without a gaming rig? The warm flooring on the upper level gives off a homely feel, a stark contrast to the utilitarian concrete in the working area downstairs.

The completed garage is nothing short of amazing, and with the owner building a Factory Five Cobra in there, you can take solace knowing it’s being put to good use. To get the full lowdown on the build of both the garage and the Cobra, click click here.

So now that we’re up to speed, who’s interested in what’s coming this year?…

You’ll find these projects, and many more, on Build-Threads throughout 2011. Many thanks again go out to the Speedhunters team for allowing me the privilege of guest-posting for the second year in a row.

Keep wrenching!

Anthony Crivelli
Build-Threads.com

I don’t know if you guys have noticed but I like to feature a bit of everything here, from big dollar to small budget, high power to electric, cheque-book-built to DIY, fabricated to bolt-on, and so on and so on. If I had to put my money on it, I’d say the most popular builds would have to be a combination of the following elements; DIY, engine swaps, and some fabrication thrown in for good measure. This build features all of those plus some wow factor, a ’74 Chevy Nova with a 13B turbo Mazda rotary powering the wheels, submitted via email by Daniel. If this isn’t enough Chevy Nova action for you, check out another one featured previously on Build Threads by clicking here. On with the show…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEbgSb63GBo

www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcGZgz0yRbg

View the full build thread at http://www.rx7club.com/showthread.php?t=727207

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This build comes courtesy of Ben, a mechanic with a love for Hondas. It’s not hard to see why he submitted this car, an LS7 powered NSX. The build is a truly multicultural affair, starting with a Japanese car, adding an American engine, transferring the power through a German transmission, stopping the whole thing with Italian brakes , and at the end of your track session it gets raised into the air courtesy of some English air jacks. We can only hope that the owner updates his website so we can see more of this amazing project.

The homepage for this build is http://www.ls7nsx.com/ but like I mentioned earlier, it is in need of an update.

Okay, I’ve waited long enough and I’ve made an executive decision. I’ve been watching this build for a while, waiting for it to be finished but I can’t wait any longer. It’s going to be debuted at the upcoming SEMA show, where I’m sure it will be photographed by numerous websites, so I wanted to show it to you guys first. Just take a look at the Solid Works renderings of the parts built for the project and you’ll see why I’m such a fan of this build. I wonder if the people who built cars at the factories back in the 50/60s/70s would ever dream they’d be getting this much love in the new millennium. We have the pro-touring crowd to thank for that (and their deep pockets!)

Some quick stats:
LQ4 6.0L V8, 4L80E transmission, custom chassis, air-ride, C4 Corvette suspension, rear mount twin turbo, C6 Z06 Corvette brakes.

Make sure you check the full build thread at http://www.pro-touring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=54980. This is just one of those builds that needs to be read! I’ll be sure to post an update when the car is completed.

You’ve heard of crate engines, but what about a whole crate car? For a few years now, Dynacorn Classic Bodies have been producing all-steel replacement bodies for the ’67 & ’69 Chevy Camaro, ’47-’50 & ’52-’54 Chevy pickup (cab only), and the 67-’70 Ford Mustang.

This means no more buying rusted out shells from the junkyard or a second hand car full of suprises and spending thousands of dollars and man-hours on restorations, you simply start with a brand new shell and build from there. Prices start from $8,995 for the pickup cab, up to $16,500 for the ’70 Mustang (USD).

So which would you prefer, an original muscle car with history or a brand new re-make? Each have their pros and cons, but are they really classic muscle cars?

You can visit Dynacorns website at DynacornClassicBodies.com

Or you can see Hot Rod Magazine build there own Dynacorn Camaro here:
http://www.hotrod.com/projectbuild/113_0512_hot_rod_crate_camaro_project_build/index.html

Thanks to Hot Rod Magazine for the images.

Traditional hot rods, rat rods, and kustoms command huge respect, if only for the sole fact that the builders will only use a combination of used and custom made parts. When I say used, I don’t mean a few years old, I mean decades old. It’s hard for most of us to grasp the idea, as we’re too used to jumping online and ordering that next part we need.

This 1941 Chev comes from the H.A.M.B., an awesome community of people who love anything and everything to do with traditional hot rods, including lifestyle, culture and artwork. I will be featuring a few builds from these forums in the future, including cars made from what most of us would consider scraps of metal, so keep an eye out if you dig this sort of thing.

Full build thread:
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=202530

Remember the Syborg Twin Turbo Mini Truck? Well here’s his dad’s car. It seems that good taste runs in the family. As they say, “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”.

Not wanting to let his son have the only killer car in the family, Marty’s dad decided to purchase an un-finished project and then went about having it transformed it into a gorgeous piece of rolling 1950′s artwork. From rendering to finished product, the whole project screams class & quality.

Visit the full build thread here:
http://www.pro-touring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=23595

I can’t remember how I stumbled across this build way back in 2007, but I’m sure glad I did. A talented guy named Mike over in Oregon has been cutting, chopping, and welding his 1969 Chevy Tahoe wagon into a work of art. It’s been converted from long-wheelbase to short-wheelbase, had an extra door added, custom suicide hinges, one piece tailgate, rust repairs, airbag suspension, the list is endless!
The most amazing thing about this build is that he’s doing it all himself in his garage.

If you like metal fabrication, this is one build you can’t afford to miss.

CLICK HERE for the full build thread.

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