a tale of – Build Threads

A Tale of Three Lotii

Colin Chapman, James Bond, Formula 1, Pretty Woman. These are some of things that you might associate with the word “Lotus”. But what about air ride, engine swaps, wide wheels and interior re-trims? I’ve mentioned before how much I love seeing once pampered classics being torn down and fettled with as they become more affordable, and these three examples truly embody the guiltless “modify everything regardless of the badge” train of thought. You might not agree with some of the styles of modification, but I’m not here to convince you one way or another, I just like seeing people modify cars, especially cars that are rarely messed with.

All three builds reside together on the Retro Rides forums, and whilst enjoying their threads individually, I thought they’d make a great combined post to showcase how these vintage British sports cars are being re-imagined by the DIY crowd. I’ve added some captions to the images to make it easier to follow, I hope you enjoy.

Want to read more “A tale of …” posts featuring multiple cars? Click here.

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A tale of two 911s

Do you remember when I made the ‘people who get it‘ post tag? I created it so I could tag the best quality builds, the one’s that you never want to end, the ones that make you go back to the beginning once you reach the last page. Kris is a perpetual offender of such threads, who has his ramblings and beautiful photos not only featured on websites, but also in various forms of print. You may or may not remember a previous build of his and his wife’s that I featured; the highly detailed and jealousy-inducing (for me!) Manilla green MK1 Golf. Well, Kris has kept himself busy since then, turning spanners on not one, but two classic 911’s. The first being a white mid-80’s model, and the most recent seeing him finally snag one of his dream cars, a longhood 911. In a world where 911’s (especially classic ones) are all the rage and plastered all over the internet, it’s refreshing to see a regular car guy like you and I have his way with them. He doesn’t have a warehouse full of Porsches, he doesn’t travel the world bolting on bodykits for cashed-up clients, and he doesn’t charge 6-figures for mil-spec side indicator wiring. This is how a regular person, with a regular budget, works on (and DRIVES!) a Porsche.

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A tale of two Silvias

I always bang on about the elements that make a good build thread, and having nice photos is usually top of the list. But another key element to a great thread is using it as a platform to tell a story, as a reader you want to get lost in the journey and feel like you’re along for the ride. That’s how I felt when I read both of Laurence’s threads a few years ago, first about his S14 and the other about his S13. I remember briefly reading about some of his exploits on another forum – including being busted, interrogated and fined by Japanese cops for street drifting – so I was excited to see he took the time to write his stories in full on JDMST.

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