It’s already been four years since Tom brought us the perfectly documented Project Thunderbolt LS3 Miata build. While he’s been keeping busy with his Figaro and AZ-1 projects, the time has finally come for the Turbo Garage to start another full build, this time an LS-turbo powered Toyota Tacoma. I can’t wait to see this one unfold with Tom’s token humour and build quality.
Tag: turbo
Volvo 360 F1 Time-Attack
I’m not sure what to say about this one, I’m pretty gobsmacked! If you like Formula 1, engineering, and…uh…old Volvos, then this one’s for you. What we’re looking at is a Volvo 360 with a turbo AND supercharged power-plant, peppered with an assortment of genuine F1 parts like wings, diffuser, wheels, hubs and wishbone suspension, built by a Mr Peter Schmidt. If you’ve seen Speedhunters latest post, you might have seen the finished product already, but I think the build thread is worth a mention too. I’m sure they’ll do a spotlight on the car soon, so we can see the completed car in detailed hi-res shots. I’ll be sure to update this post with a link once that happens.
Thanks to Jasper for submitting. Click Here for more Scandinavian builds. Click Here for more Volvo builds.
4G63 EVO 8-Powered MX5
On this site alone, we’ve seen more than a few different types of MX5 engine swaps, including a 13B turbo, 20B PP, 2x LS3 V8s (here and here), and of course the standard engine converted to turbo (here, here and here) and even supercharged. More often than not, though, it’s the MX5 that becomes the donor vehicle, with many vintage chassis swaps using venerable Miata’s for their drivetrains. This build there, though, is one of the first times I can honestly say I’ve seen something entirely different applied to a Mazda roadster, in the way of a Mitsubishi Evolution 8 engine converted to rear wheel drive. Along with the very interesting engine choice comes a stack of gorgeous home-built fabrication work to set off the rest of the car, transforming it into a formidable track beast.
Click here for more Mazda builds. Click here for more MX5 builds. Click here for more engine conversions.
1952 GMC 9700 Truck
A home-built ex fire truck, now fitted to a bagged S10 frame, powered by a 7.3L IDI International turbo diesel…this truck is cool as hell! Not to mention it gets driven hard over long distances. I’m not sure who submitted this, as it’s been sitting in my drafts for a while, but about 20 pages into the thread I noticed my buddy Dave from Stance Is Everything had featured this very truck on his site. I highly recommend heading over to his post to check out not only the fantastic photos he snapped (some which are featured below), but also the story he put together which sums up the build way better than I can.
A Fabricator’s Project – Audi A4
Let me start out by saying this build is not yet complete, but the quality levels are through the roof, and as usual you can expect updates to be posted when it’s further along. For now, though, I’ll think you’ll be as gobsmacked as I was when I first saw the 3D scanning, CAD work, 3D printed parts, and fabrication already taking place. Rest assured, when it’s complete, this will be one VERY sorted A4. If only all fabricators had project cars, what a world that would be…
Click here for more Audi builds. Click here for more fabrication-based builds.
Zakspeed MkII Escort AWD
I’ve featured a few Escorts over the years, along with one other Zakspeed inspired MKII, but none of them were converted to AWD! The car uses a Ford Sierra front and rear clip welded onto the Escort’s center section to allow the AWD drivetrain to bolt up. The thread takes a retrospective view of the car’s different combinations over the years before getting to the oily bits of it’s latest rebuild in the famous Zakspeed livery. Sadly the thread has died off a couple of years ago and ends in a negative light, here’s hoping it somehow starts up again in the future.
Click here for more Ford builds.
Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo Ute – Part 5
Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo Ute – Part 4
Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo Ute – Part 3
In the third instalment of the Nulon / Impossible Fabrications XR6 Turbo Ute, we see the front end converted to a tube frame setup, and a special one-off exhaust fabricated all the way from manifold to side-pipe.
Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo Ute – Part 2
In Part 2 of the Nulon / Impossible Fabrications XR6 Turbo ute, we see the car rolling around on it’s new 300ZX rear end, allowing it to have it’s intricate roll cage fabricated.
Click here for Part 1.