It’s time for another memory test. Who remembers the rear-engine V6-swapped Geo Metro Lemons racer that was featured almost 5 years ago? Well, the same guys are back again with a new death trap, this time a Subaru 360 micro-car packing a Honda Fireblade bike engine (sadly no longer eligible due to new rules implemented mid-build). I present to you, the Firebug!
Click here for more engine conversion builds.
It’s time to kick off 2016 with a new build! The Honda NSX is a bucket-list car for many people, whether you’re a Honda fanboy, a lover of 90’s JDM, or maybe you have a case of the feels from the original Need for Speed game. This one takes quite the transformation, starting off as a stock automatic it quickly gets torn down and receives a track-ready overhaul. Huge brakes, wide-body, carbon panels, flat floor, air jacks, intricate roll cage with floor bars, bespoke centre exit exhaust, and plenty more. Towards the end of the thread we learn that a HPD LeMans-style engine looks to be in the car’s future, with a couple of turbos to really get things moving, I can’t wait to see how that turns out!
Thanks to Maarten for submitting. Cover image by Jessy Penelon.
Has it really been over a year since my last post about the then-completed Build Threads garage? I’m actually a bit stunned at that fact. I wish I could tell you that I’ve been cutting, grinding, and welding my days and nights away, but the truth is I’m still a little ways away from being able to do that. Let’s catch up with what’s been going on and why I’m not quite there yet.
Previous posts: Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3 – Part 4
Continue reading “Build-Threads Project Garage: Plumbing & Driveway”
Sure, you could buy yourself an STi Impreza, but where’s the fun in that? What about taking an all original, low-milage 1986 Subaru Leone, converted to AWD thanks to an XT6 (Vortex) donor, with an engine consisting of a built EJ22T bottom end and STi Version 8 Type RA heads? Yeah, I’d choose the Leone too. The initial build is done and dusted quite quickly, but the car continues to evolve throughout the thread. Unfortunately it meets a guard rail towards the end, but is thankfully repaired swiftly and with OEM parts back to better than new condition.
Thanks to Rodd and Tom for both submitting separately. Click here for more Subaru builds.
A little while back I received an email from a member of the Clarion Builds project about advertising on this very site (more info here if you’re interested). Well their first project car is now complete, and don’t I feel like an idiot for sleeping on this, especially when it was introduced to me at the project’s inception! It’s great to see a big company whose main game isn’t restoration getting in on the subculture we love so much; tearing cars down and building them back up. Corporate-backed promotional vehicles generally used to be based on modern cars with a body kit and wheels (maybe some light engine work too), but lately the act of classic car restoration seems to be in the spotlight, and I’m damn happy to see it.  I recently saw a video on my YouTube feed of Chris Forsberg driving this very car, which made me go back to the channel and realise there’s a heap of videos of the build process that I missed. I tip my hat to Clarion and their Clarion Builds project, and I can’t wait to see how the next car (Honda NSX!!) turns out. Apart from the 16 videos posted below, you can see an image gallery of the project here.
Click here for more video posts. Click here for more BMW builds.
If you’re a long-term reader of the site, the name Mystery Machine might ring a bell. I’ve covered a variety of Bruce’s exploits over the years, starting with his Teenage Dirtbag MX5, then the Area 52 communal garage space, and finally a general look at some other projects he was working on. Bruce has been a little quiet over the past couple of years, with work and general life taking a front seat to his car tinkering, but now he’s back. Oh boy is he back! A childhood love affair with the iconic aircooled Porsche saw him make the pretty huge decision to travel across the Atlantic Ocean to acquire a sight-unseen project P-car. Many of us can relate to the good ol’ road-trip-to-pick-up-a-new-car story, but have you ever flown to another continent to collect your ride? Bruce did, and he’s slowly but surely documenting the whole trip with his trademark sharp photography and poetic wordsmithing, authoring a thread on Retro Rides that is just a visual and mental feast for the senses. The thread is about more than just cars; it’s about the discovery of new friends, new surroundings, and a new appreciation for a land never seen before, documented through Bruce’s natural talent and gifted ability to capture the mood through his lens. The journey isn’t over yet, so I’ll be sure to update this post when the chronicles of the trip are concluded, but it’s up to 19 pages already and growing, so there’s plenty of content for you already.
You might want to warm up/chill your favourite beverage for this one.
Continue reading ““If only you were nearer” – a road trip tale”
Let’s take it waaaay back to the start of 2011 (that’s over four and half years ago, wow!). That’s when, at the end of my Speedhunters guest post, I posted a teaser image of an upcoming build. That image was a GC Impreza with an SR20 sitting neatly between the strut towers. Rob is the owner of that car, and he and I have been in contact since well before then, waiting for the perfect moment to feature his car. Well, things change, like engine swap choices, and that same Impreza now finds itself with double the cylinders and 100% less turbochargers. It’s been a long road for Rob and his Subaru, but the time is finally here to share his build with the rest of the world.
Click here for more Subaru builds. Click here for more engine conversions.
This build has been sitting in my drafts folder for two years, TWO WHOLE YEARS! I’m always fighting with myself over posting builds before they’re complete, but this one is just too good to sit on, so I figured it was finally time (plus I like posting follow-ups on popular builds as they evolve). This pro-touring Pontiac Firebird resides in Sweden, and is being transformed with great attention to detail and craftsmanship during a love affair spanning 16 years. There’s plenty of fabrication and CAD design to keep you more than entertained, from big suspension components to the smallest detailed bracketry, and the photos are all top notch. Apart from the build thread you can also follow this extremely thorough project on it’s dedicated Facebook page, which you’ll find at the bottom of the post.
Click here for more Pro Touring builds. Click here for more Scandinavian builds.
Don’t forget, Build-Threads.com is now on Instagram. Buy Build Threads stickers here.
This build came to my attention via it’s eBay auction, of all places. A friend linked it to me and within the description was a build thread link. Now who of us here would be stupid enough to NOT click that link? What I found was an obscure little 70’s Honda whose body shape I was not familiar with. Reading a little further into it, I was delighted to see fabricated parts, various body modifications, a motorbike engine conversion and a narrowed Mazda Miata/MX5 rear end to top it off (there’s also a funky transmission setup that goes way over my head, so I’ll let you read about it yourself). It’s been a while since I’ve featured something bike powered, and this just might be the best one yet.
Click here for more engine conversion builds.
In much the same vein as the recently updated Bentley EXP Speed 8 and BMW M1 replica builds, we have another 2-seat endurance racing type vehicle being hand built by an enthusiast putting their own spin on things. This one starts with a blank canvas composite body and a drive-train donated from a 997 GT3, what a way to keep it in the family! Aside from the obvious appeal of this build, there’s also an abundance of CAD machining going on, for all you CNC freaks out there.
Click here for more Porsche builds. Thanks to Mathew for submitting. Continue reading “GT3 powered Porsche 962 replica”
