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.

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L98 V8 FD RX7

Yes, yes, I know! “Another LS-swapped RX7!?” I hear you scream. I only need to say the names Hert, Vargas, and Dahm to explain that rotaries are the darling of the internet at the moment, and don’t get me wrong, I love rotaries too. However Luke doesn’t care for dorito engines or premix, Luke just wants to go fast around race tracks. Great handling car + reliable engine that makes easy power = lots of roundy-round laps at high speed. There’s only one problem. Luke is tall, VERY tall, and he doesn’t exactly fit into little Mazdas, so you’ll need to check out how he goes about rectifying that situation in his very detailed thread.
Click here for another V8 RX7 build.
Click here for more LS swaps.
Or, if your jimmies are rustled and you need to restore balance to the universe, click here for something really unique.

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Isolation Hero: Iain Kelly

Not all heroes wear capes, some drink beer.

In this strange situation we all find ourselves in (COVID-19, for anyone reading this in the future), most of us are turning to our digital devices even more than usual, trying to find every last crumb of automotive content to keep us sane and distracted while we’re staying indoors.

In times of desperation, heroes emerge, and one such hero is Iain Kelly. You might know him from his musings in Street Machine Magazine, or the LSX Tuner magazine that he collates, or maybe you’ve seen him swilling beer and swinging spanners on Mighty Car Mods. He has an affinity for big body Pontiacs, loves deep diving into car history, and knows how to string a sentence together.

Iain has used his time in isolation to bring salvation to the car world through the elaborate story telling of automotive folklore, crossing over many genres, decades and personalities. To give you some quick examples, amongst his 30 or so posts, he’s covered land speed record chasers, monster trucks, Japanese touring cars, Le Mans, Pikes Peak, and even some hilariously ugly VW Beetles made to look like Porsche 911s that have spent a bit too long in a microwave.

Iain’s posts show no signs of slowing down, so make sure you head on over to his instagram, read his back catalogue, and keep an eye out for future posts.

Follow: @aka_marv

Thank you, Iain! Keep it up mate.

Project 510: Interior Refresh

With this site now into it’s tenth year, that means my ownership of Project 510 is into it’s 11th. In the early years I pushed hard to knock out a lot of the “big ticket” items, like wheels, suspension, ECU, FMIC, etc. Now that I’m older and (questionably) wiser, I’m trying to tidy the car up, make it a nicer place to be in, and consider what I want it’s “final form” to be. Apart from seats and a steering wheel, I’ve neglected the interior, until now…

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Zakspeed MkII Escort

While it’s not uncommon to have a few of the same build type appear on this site (chassis-swap, anyone?), one style that I didn’t think I’d double up on (letalone triple!), is the Zakspeed Escort, but here we are. What I particularly like about this one is that not only does it reside in my own home town, but it’s owner, Matt, informed me that the other two Zakspeed’s featured here inspired his build. I hope I get the chance to see it in person one day.

Click here for more Ford builds.

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BMW M1 Sauber Group 5 Replica

Sweden; where else would you find someone building an M60 V8 (twin turbo, of course) powered BMW M1 Group 5 replica? The owner/builder has already built an AWD Turbo V8 Volvo Amazon that was completed rather quickly, so this considered his long-term project, with a track-ready date of 2020 on the cards.

Thanks to David for submitting. Not enough M1 for you? Check out this previously featured build. Want more insane builds from the Scandinavian region? Klicka här!

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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!

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1985 Chevy G20 Van

Let’s kick off 2019 with something a bit different, shall we? How about a bitchin’ 70s van made for drift car towing duties – with more style than a Tacoma or F-truck could ever dream of. It gets a minor refresh of the mechanicals but a massive style injection in the way of paint, period-correct body kit and oh-so-dished American Racing wheels to set-off that perfect 70s look.

I stumbled upon this thread while browsing Ziptied one night. It’s so great to see people still flying the build thread flag in 2019! Follow Jason Turner Drifting on Facebook and Instagram.

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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

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