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.

What I’m Listening To: Overcrest

For the past year or so, I’ve been driving a 1-hour commute to-and-from work, so naturally I started seeking out some great automotive podcasts to listen to. I’ve been following Kris Clewell around the internet for many years now, and have even featured his work on the site multiple times (first the Manilla Green Mk1 Golf belonging to he and his wife in 2010, followed by his previous and current 911s in 2014).

Kris, along with co-host Jake Solberg, are the guys behind Overcrest, a podcast centred around cars, car culture, and the past, present and future of motoring.

You can find them on all the usual podcast haunts, along with the below links. Enjoy!

overcrestproductions.com
Instagram | Facebook

 

2017 Year in Review

Has it been a year already? Wow! Definitely a slower year for posts, with not only my personal circumstances changing (new job + new arrival in the family), but also the dreaded Photobucket scandal putting another nail in the coffin for the forum platform that we all know and love. With all things considered, even though the quantity might have been down, the quality and breadth is still what we’ve come to know from this site which is now in it’s 9th year, thanks to all the talented builders out there continuing to swing spanners late into the night. Build-Threads.com still has a strong and loyal readership (that’s you!), and for that I’m very thankful. This is a specific corner of the automotive media realm that we call our own, and we’re all on the same page.

Click here for last year’s list. Follow Build-Threads on Instagram, Facebook page, and Facebook group.

Continue reading “2017 Year in Review”

12 Gauge Garage Video + the current state of YouTube

There seems to be a new trend on Youtube of people ripping off every image from a build thread (many of which are plucked from this site along with my post introductions) and uploading them as a slide-show in their entirety. They are generating thousands of views and reaping advertising dollars from other people’s hard work without so much as listing their source (unless they are forced to). I find this very opportunistic, dishonest, and downright rude.
I never once pretended to be an original content creator, but what I have never done is rip people off. Since 2009 this site has always been about being a ‘preview’ to a build thread, giving you – the reader – an introduction to the build and 10-20 summarised photos, before linking you to the original source if you are interested in reading more. The only exception to this rule was the F40LM restoration, of which I personally contacted the owner and asked his permission before re-posting his build here.
At the end of the day the decision is yours, but I hope you understand the difference between what I do, compared to what these (yes, there’s more than one) channels are doing. I hope you join me in celebrating the creators, the hard workers, and the people who care enough about what we love to stop mid-way through working on their car, bike or garage to take photos or video. One man who’s praises I’ll never stop singing in this regard is Jack Olsen, and he’s just released a new video about his ever-popular 12 Gauge Garage. So please, don’t take the lazy way out, find the real-deal guys and girls out there like Jack and make them the ones you give your attention, respect, and your views to.

2016 Year in Review

Usually at the start of a new year, I’ll put together a “Top 10” post, listing the highest viewed builds for the previous year. You can read some previous ones here: 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015. This year, I thought I’d do something different, since I’ve found that the rating system isn’t really fair for the builds that get posted towards the end of the year. So, for 2016, I’m going to simply list every build that was featured for the year! I hope you enjoy this retrospective look, and maybe even discover a build or two that you might have missed. Thank you all again for your support, and here’s to many more builds over the next 12 months and beyond!

Continue reading “2016 Year in Review”

Top 10 Posts of 2015

I’m back after having a little break over the Christmas/New Year period, so I’d like to thank you for your patience during the down-time, and hope everyone had a great end to the year. I’m feeling refreshed and ready for another great year of builds! I thought I’d throw together a quick post to get things moving, showing what were the most popular builds of the last twelve months, according to the stats…

10. 1962 Ford Falcon 2.3 Turbo
Aside from the exceptionally cool car and unique engine choice, this build was a delight to read due to not only the car and work surrounding it, but also the owners own anecdotes that were well-writen with a great amount of humour.

 

9. GT3 Powered Porsche 962 Replica 
A classic endurance racer replica being built in a garage, complete with a slathering of CNC machined parts? It’s not hard to see why this one mad the top 10. With a GT3 road-car being used as a donor, it’s builds like this that give us all that “maybe I can do that” feeling of enthusiasm.

 

8. Peugot 106 Hillclimb build
From an iconic vintage race car to a humble little hatchback, it doesn’t matter what the base car is on Build-Threads.com, and this just proves it. This Pug is being built to a high calibre by it’s owner, with updates still being posted in the thread as recently as the last few days.

 

7. Makela Ferrari 308 GTB Group 4
I’ve featured the goings-on of Makela before, but when I re-discovered the complete build of their 308 Ferrari, it just had to be featured on it’s own. From the intense build quality to the incredibly retro brown stripe livery, everything about this car is spot-on.

 

6. Project Thunderbolt LS3 Miata
One thing I pushed more of this year was video builds, especially with the What I’m Watching series of posts. That didn’t stop me from featuring complete video builds on their own, and Tom’s Miata proved to be a hit with everyone. It wasn’t hard to see why, as Tom’s Turbo Garage is one of the best in the business when it comes to documenting builds via moving image. I can’t wait to see what he brings us next.

 

5. Project Ugly Horse
With my affinity for Fox Body Mustangs more than obvious, Project Ugly Horse was a shoe-in for a feature. This one differed from the usual forum-based builds, as it was housed on a various automotive blogs, so the writing and images were above par. Sadly, after bouncing around from blog to blog, the project has trailed off into the distance without any recent updates.

4. The World of Sakurama
The only non-car build to make the list, Sakurama’s garage and house build are what dreams are made of. Mid-century modern architecture, professional photography, attention to detail, and a few motorbike builds thrown in for good measure. Some new up-to-date photos have recently been posted in the thread, just incase you were wanting an update.

 

3. Ferrari F40 LM Restoration (Part 5)
The fifth installment of this series just scraped it in, being posted right at the beginning of 2015, so it was always going to make the list. The F40 LM build as a whole has lit up the stats on this site, constantly being linked on forums and websites everywhere, so I will forever be grateful for the owner giving me permission to re-post the whole build here. If you’re feeling game and want to read all 5 parts again, you can find the index by clicking here.

 

2. Mk1 Caddy 24v AWD Turbo
I was very happy to see a local car make the list. There aren’t many Mk1 Caddy’s that made it to Australia in the first place, so to see one torn apart like this is even more impressive. A VR6 conversion with an all-wheel-drive swap will certainly wake up this little ute when it’s complete, and with the owner recently renting out a workspace I’m hopeful that the updates will be coming soon.

 

1. RAMPAGE – 2nd Gen Camaro
Topping off the list is one of my personal favourites, the Rampage Camaro. This build blurs the lines between muscle cars, pro touring, hot rods and race cars. Every image in the thread shows masterpieces of metal fabrication. My love for the Roadster Shop is obvious, as I believe they are not only one of the best car builders in the world, but also one of the best at actually documenting and sharing their work with the world, which is what you and I both love. I’m confident that we’ll be seeing more of the Roadster Shop’s builds right here in 2016.

What was your favourite build of 2015? Feel free to comment below 🙂

“If only you were nearer” – a road trip tale

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”

Social Media Round-up v8

Catch up with the recent postings from the Build Threads social media feed…

Facebook Page | Facebook Discussion Group | Twitter

Goodwood Festival of Speed through the eyes of our buddy LUKE FINK.Video by Bandana boy

Posted by Hoonigan on Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Source: Hoonigan

 

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Source: Justin Fox

 

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Source: I Love Berg Cup (Facebook group)

 

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Source: Motordaily (Facebook page)

 

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Source: 1320Video.com

 

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Source: Garage Journal Forums

 

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Source: Fabrication Life

 

Audi RS3 atingindo 365Km !!!#CurtaCanalD2M

Posted by Canal D2M on Monday, October 19, 2015

Source: CanalD2M

 

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Source: Engineered To Slide

 

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Source: Slam’d Mag

 

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Source: RTR – Road Track Rally

 

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Source: Rallye Magazin

 

 

 

Social Media Round-up v7

Catch up with the recent postings from the Build Threads social media feed…

Facebook | Twitter

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Source: Hot Rod Magazine

 

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Source: The Chronicles Part 1, Part 2.

 

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Source: Mini Truckin Coalition (Facebook)

 

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Source: Ken Oath Customs (Facebook)

 

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Source: Bamse’s Turbo Underpants Facebook / Youtube

 

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Source: The Lowdown

 

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Source: Motordaily (Facebook)

 

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Source: Noisy Ninja

 

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Source: Pro Touring Forums

 

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Source: Build-Threads.com Facebook 

 

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Source: Stance Is Everything

 

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Source: Unknown

 

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Source: Retro Rides

 

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Source: Zen Garage

 

Social-Media Round-up v6

Catch up with the recent postings from the Build Threads social media feed… (now with video!)

Facebook | Twitter

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Source: Iron Hydroxide

 

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Source: The Escape Road – Facebook / Instagram

 

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Source: Build Threads Store

 

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Source: Fox Body Mustangs Tumblr

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Source: Zen Garage

 

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Source: Roadkill – Facebook / Youtube

 

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Source: Seongbae Kim

 

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Source: Holographic Hammer – Facebook / Webstore / BikeEXIF Feature

 

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Unknown Source

 

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Source: Team Lovetap – Facebook

 

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Source: Killer Fabrications – Facebook

 

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Source: Motordaily – Facebook

 

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Source: Import Bible

Source: Nori Yaro

 

Mind blowing hot-wheels collection… but then you see his real hot-wheels… what… ***Video courtesy of David Uhl Studios

Posted by Dallas Karting Complex on Friday, June 26, 2015

Source: Dallas Karting Complex