Tag: fabrication

Jet-powered land-speed motorbike

Just when I think I’ve seen it all, when I think I can’t possibly be surprised at what pops up in my inbox, along comes Anders with his gas-turbined powered motorbike. When I actually figured out what I was looking at, all I could do is sit back and laugh in amazement. I consider myself so lucky that people like Anders want to email me their amazing projects, built using techniques that I can’t even begin to comprehend. To get to the point, I’ll let him explain what he’s got cooking…

I just found your website and thought I should show you my little project that has been going for 4 years and counting, it is a scratch built gas turbine motorcycle with which I aim to set a land speed record in the APS/Omega class at Bonneville Speed Week.

The turboshaft gas turbine is built by myself around a Garrett TV94 rotor with everything cast, turned and milled on my manual tools at home, I´ve spent three years on it and now I am about to test it for the second time in the bike frame. It should be capable of producing somewhere between 150-180hp on the rear wheel once everything is tuned in.

If you like milling, machining, lathes, jets, flames, welding, casting…hell, if you like anything mechanical, you’re going to love this. Don’t forget to check out the test video at the end of the post, and another bonus video of something else Anders and his crazy Swedish mates have added jet propulsion to. All hail the Scandinavians.

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W12 powered VW Fridolin

What is this I don’t even? Apparently the VW Fridolin was designed as a postal service car, something I never knew (thank you Wikipedia). Somehow I think this particular one’s mail hauling days are over, especially considering it’s W12 (yes, W-freaking-twelve!) power-plant and Touareg rear end.

Thanks to Henning for submitting.

Click here for more VW builds.

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1975 BMW 2002

Do you guys even read these intros? Probably not! I mean how many times can you hear me say that this is one of my favourite types of builds, that the owner/builder is a craftsman, that the photos are great, etc etc? Well, you’ll have to hear it again, because this is one of those builds. What I really love about this BMW 2002 is that it was originally purchased as a daily driver, so the owner could keep his E46 in good condition, but the ’02 ended up being the main project and the E46 used to haul parts for it! Make sure you check out the custom solution the builder creates for adjusting the dampers in the front struts, it’s on page 25,+ very clever.

Click here for more BMW 2002 builds. Thanks to Archie for submitting.

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Audi S1 V8 TT

Does anyone build normal retro Audi’s? Or are they all completely bonkers? For a car company that emits a rather subdued tone, churning out understated luxury cars with a few sports models in between, their fan-base sure do like to turn up the wick on their own 4-ringed vehicles. This S1 comes courtesy of Dave at EPS Motorsport, an Australian living in the UK, who saw fit to put his Quattro atop a a space frame chassis, with early Formula 1 control arms, composite body panels, and a twin turbo V8 thrown in for good measure.

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1UZFE 1986 MKII Supra

What can I say about builds like these? High quality mods, high quality images, and high quality documentation, everything we all love in a thread, steered by my favourite kind of builder; one with OCD! Another thing I love about this particular build is watching the owner’s skills progress and improve as time goes on. The choice of car is something we haven’t seen on the site before, we’ve had Supra’s, but never a MKII, so it’s refreshing to read about a platform that can sometimes go unnoticed within the nostalgic Japanese community. There’s so much quality here, from fiberglassing, wiring, welding and CAD design – and over 50 pages of it – so get comfortable!

Thank to Zac for submitting.

Click here for more Toyota builds. Click here for more of the best builds on the site.

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LX Torana GTR

If you’re an Aussie, like I am, then you’d be well versed in the Holden vs Ford debate, even if you don’t fancy either marquee, it’s an argument with no expiry date. Almost as well known as this red and blue rivalry is the tale of the Nissan Skyline GTR dominating the touring car races of the early 90’s, a story regularly re-told by many a Skyline owner with a smirk on their face. It’s fair to say the Skyline was not liked by Holden and Ford fans of that era. So what do we make of this, then? A Holden LX Torana fitted with an R32 Skyline GTR engine and AWD system. Two ex-Bathurst legends which would have been fierce rivals on ‘The Mountain’ were it not for the age gap, now combined into one machine. Personally, I love it, and I thank you for following that very drawn-out intro that possibly makes little sense at all.

Thanks to Travis for submitting.

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1960 Aston Martin DB4GT ZAGATO

Well here’s another first, a car featured on Ebay, of all places. This isn’t a build thread as such, but there are some great behind the scenes build images of this gorgeous Aston Martin that I thought would be a shame to lose when the auction is over. I have re-posted all of the text and images in the post below. Sadly, the $2.4mil USD asking price is just sliiiightly out of my range.

Thanks to Michael for submitting.

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Mini Clubman Estate

After featuring a few big-time builds in a row, I thought it was time we get back into a regular car-guy’s project. I’ve been following this thread on and off for a while, and it’s been nothing short of a weld-a-thon and a true exercise in DIY modifying. For someone like me who has recently picked up the MIG welder, it’s been a priceless source of information and inspiration. Each modification is tackled individually, broken down into basic shapes and processes, making it very easy to follow and learn from.

Click here for more Mini builds.

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4-Rotor Volvo 142

Those crazy Swedes! I don’t think I’ve ever featured a build from the Nordic region that hasn’t been absolutely bonkers. This time it’s a Volvo 142 that has received a hand built custom chassis beneath a gutted floor pan, with a minor engine upgrade to go with it. Wait, did I say ‘minor’? I meant to say ‘completely custom designed and machined quad-rotor 26B’. The pictures speak for themselves.

Thanks to Tony from Mooseville Performance (the owner/builder) and also reader Matthias for submitting on separate occasions.

Click here for more Scandinavian builds (seriously, they’re all amazing). Click here for more Volvo builds.

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1969 AMX

I don’t know if it’s just me, but I love seeing pictures of cars that are in various stages of assembly, even more than the finished item. I just love seeing that raw metal, with missing panels showing off the mechanical underpinnings, the car sitting low to the ground with an abundance of tyre tread on display due to lack of guards/fenders, and the combination of factory parts with hand-made additions. It’s that very love of tough-looking yet incomplete cars that drew me to this build, with it’s “minimal metal/maximum tyre” appearance. The builder of this AMX has actually graced these pages before, being the man behind the $5,000 budget Mustang (another great thread for those of you who’ve never seen it).

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