V8 Torana Hatch with the lot

While the writing has been on the wall for car forums for a long time, there are still a few people out there flying the forum flag for us tragics. One of them is a talented young bloke by the name of Heath, who has been building his dream car for over 8 years, taking it from a daily driver to a show-stopping and track-attacking stunner. Like most people in 2013, he started to document his progress on a model-specific forum. The difference is, he stuck with it, and still keeps that thread updated, even up until the present day.

Continue reading “V8 Torana Hatch with the lot”

FrankenFerrari – V12 Ferrari 308

Well this one is waaaay over my head, so I’m just going to spit out some facts from the build thread:

  • 1984 Ferrari 308GTS qv
  • 5.4l V12 swap from a Ferrari 400i
  • Testarossa 4-valve heads
  • Head stud locations, water passage location, oil passage locations, all welded/modified
  • Custom made cams from 8620 billet
  • 54mm Ducati 999 TBs
  • + a whole lot more (I should also mention that OP made hovercraft from a disused lawnmower engine when he was 11 or 12, make sure you check out the build thread to see the amazing picture!)

If you’re an engineering genius, or a mere mortal like myself who looks up to said geniuses, you’ll enjoy what you’re about to see..

Thanks to Jerome for sharing the link to this build in the Build Threads Communal Garage discussion group. Feel free to join if you’d like to connect with like-minded individuals!

Continue reading “FrankenFerrari – V12 Ferrari 308”

What I’m watching – The Mongrel (MX5 – FORD 100e)

How many cars are subjected to the MX5 running-gear swap? Well, on this website alone, we’ve seen it done to a Mini Clubman Estate, a Volvo P1800, a Saab 96, a Datsun 411 wagon, a Datsun 520 ute, and now we can add a Ford 100e to that list! This project by Urchfab has seen multiple uploads coming at us in close succession (over 35 videos in 2 months!), and shows no signs of slowing down until it’s complete.

The Justang (Subaru Justy/Ford Mustang)

A few minutes ago, I don’t even know what a Subaru Justy was. But now I can tell you that it’s a small, light hatchback and would be a pretty great recipient to have the innards of a 4.6L Mustang Cobra stuffed into it. Wait…what?

Thanks to Robert for commenting on the last post and adding a link to this project. The Justang was built by Circuit Motorsports.

Want to read about more projects like this? Try One Very Swift Lemon, the V8 tube frame Pontiac Firefly or the Chevy Lumina/Pontiac G6

Continue reading “The Justang (Subaru Justy/Ford Mustang)”

InZanity – the fabricated s30Z

InZanity is a build by fabricator/artist/magician, Kyle Kuhnhausen. No stone has been left unturned, with pretty much every part hand fabbed by the man himself, with styling inspiration from Rampage Camaro. An LSx nestled between the braced and dimple-died engine bay ensures this Z will be as fast as it looks, and it looks damn fast. Calling this build “detailed” is selling it way short, so make sure you check it out for yourself and peep what an untold amount of man-hours and skill can do to a car.

Click here for more 240z builds.

Continue reading “InZanity – the fabricated s30Z”

Citroen Saxo Super 1600

Every now and then I get a bit of a “wow” moment when a build finds it’s way to my inbox, and this rally car restoration is definitely one of those moments. The thread first takes you through the competition history of the car, before we begin the build with a very tired and damaged shell. With a donor car brought in for parts and panels we get taken along for the ride as years of automotive archeology are uncovered with every layer of paint sanded and spot weld drilled out. The owner/builder shows off his skills in everything from body work, fabrication, painting and composites. The car doesn’t look to be finished just yet but the thread is up to date.

Thanks to John for submitting. Not enough small French hatchback action for you? Try the Citroen and Peugeot tags.

Continue reading “Citroen Saxo Super 1600”

1940 SS Knucklehead Chopper

It’s been a minute since I’ve featured a bike build, that’s for sure. This one was sent in by Grant, and is chock full of highly detailed and very intricate home-built fabrication. The owner mixes a great amount of DIY fab work, from sand casting to CAD, and even creates a wooden forming die to bend stainless steel. I’ll admit, most of it goes way over my head, but it looks damn cool and I’m jealous as hell of the bucketload of talent on show. If you like machining, welding and lots of shiny metal, you best get in here.

Continue reading “1940 SS Knucklehead Chopper”

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.

Continue reading “Volvo 360 F1 Time-Attack”

Peugeot 205 Endurance Racer Prototype

One of the things I enjoy about this site is keeping in contact with some of the great craftsmen out there who grace these pages. One such person is Cameron, the man behind the 205 Hillclimber I featured way back in February of 2013. Cameron got in contact recently to tell me that he’s now working for himself, having started SaloonLibre, and is now part-way through another race-spec Pug build. If you remember his previous work, then you’ll need no incentive to read on, but if you haven’t, well, I’ll let Cameron’s own description be your guide: “The basic spec is a mid-engined RWD 2-seater using a Formula Renault engine (192bhp F4R) and Sadev sequential transaxle, carbon-kevlar T16 silhouette body, some Clio suspension & brake bits, and around 750kg kerb weight”

Follow SaloonLibre on Facebook. Click here for more Peugeot builds. Click here for more builds with fabrication.

Continue reading “Peugeot 205 Endurance Racer Prototype”

Builder Spotlight – It’s Ben Modified [videos]

Hailing from our very own Build Threads Communal Garage is a very creative chap who runs a channel called It’s Ben Modified. The ‘about’ page says “Anything with Wheels and a Motor”, and to be honest I can’t think of a better way to describe the types of automobiles being pieced together in this shop. The projects range from (but aren’t limited to) 400 Hp V8 VW Truck, an electric conversion of a VW Bus, a pedal electric motorcycle and even an Autobianchi Bianchina being converted to bike-power. Long-term readers might remember one of these unique creations from a previous post, the Hayabusa Reverse Trike. Don’t forget to join the discussion group if you haven’t already, you never know what you might find or who you might meet in there!

Click here for more builder spotlights. Click here for more video posts. Click Here to follow It’s Ben Modified on Facebook.

Continue reading “Builder Spotlight – It’s Ben Modified [videos]”