I’m a member of many different forums, but I’m not much of a poster. JDM Style Tuning was one of the first forums that I really got involved in, posting regularly and attending meets. While I don’t post there much these days, I still like to read the forum almost daily and make the odd post every now and then. There are a number of great builds on the forum, so I thought I’d do a little spotlight on some of my favourites in no particular order. Please note, this is not a “best of”, it’s just the ones that tickle my fancy. There’s a few builds to get through, so I’ll split them up over a few different posts over the next couple of months in between regular build features.
Tag: turbo
Holden HR Ute – Pro Street build
This next build was found via Instagram of all places. I noticed a new follower pop up in my feed, clicked on his profile and I was greeted with images of this Pro Street ute build. After a few comments back-and-forth I located the build thread online and now I want to share it with you. The car in question is a 1966 HR Holden – an Australian car manufactured under our local GM banner – being transformed to a full chassis drag car in the owners garage. By the way, there is no official Build Threads Instagram account, but feel free to tag your projects with #buildthreads to share and connect with other readers.
Click here for more ute builds.
Another WRX powered Porsche 914?
You might recall in July of last year I featured a tube framed Porsche 914 with a WRX engine transplant. While title of this post may have you thinking this is a similar build, they’re actually quite different. This particular car starts out as an already competent Auto-X car, with the owner, Britain, wanting to ditch his Porsche powerplant in favour of a turbo flat four from the Subaru stables. The build thread closely details the process of the engine conversion, followed by the tear-down and re-work of the suspension using Lotus geometry, with a lot of home-grown fabrication from Britain (the owner, not the country).
Click here for more Porsche builds.
Niscort – MK1 Escort CA18DET
Many years ago I remember seeing what I still think is one of the best looking CA18DET’s ever put together. It was posted on a forum, and I liked it so much I pm’d the person who’d posted the image. That CA18DET wasn’t bound for the usual S13 Nissan or Datsun 1200 ute, it was built for Glenn’s MK1 Escort, hence the name “Niscort”. Apart from the crossbreed engine conversion, the little Ford receives a full rotisserie build with plenty of rust repairs and custom suspension work. Unfortunately it’s not quite finished yet, but I’ve been checking for updates for so many years I thought I should just go ahead and feature it, enjoy!
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.
4-cylinder Turbo ’68 Mustang
Wait…what? Yep, a 1968 Ford Mustang on any automotive website (or magazine for that matter) would have you assuming that a stove-hot V8 would be hiding under the bonnet, and 99% of the time you’d be right. When Beau submitted me his ’68 Stang, he pointed me to a certain page on his build thread, and when I got to it I knew why it had to be featured. Beau neglected the 302ci V8 he had waiting to drop into the car and instead opted to go down an unorthordox route, slotting in a 2.3lt turbo 4 cylinder from a Ford Merkur (Sierra). Make no mistake though, this car is more than just an engine swap, with attention paid to suspension, brakes, and interior, stereo, and many other details.
WRX-powered tube-framed Porsche 914
It wasn’t that long ago that I featured another Porsche with a Subaru engine swap, but while the titles may seem similar at first glance, they are two completely different cars. Here we have a Porsche 914 with a Subuaru WRX engine swap, and while that might seem interesting enough on it’s own, this car is about much more than the motor that powers it. Dana, the very talented man behind the build, has had is paws on every part of the car, creating removable tube frame front and rear sections that can be quickly detached from the tub via a trick coupler system, enabling the car to be split into 3 pieces at will. Be sure to check it out in detail.
Midmounted Mazda Minitruck [video build]
![Midmounted Mazda Minitruck [video build]](http://build-threads.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/072.jpg)
This following build was part of the teasers I placed in my “Best of 2010” guest-post on Speedhunters last year. Out of the 5 teasers, I have only managed to do a follow-up feature one of them, The Widow Maker. Well, here’s number two!
This minitruck is like no other I’ve seen. It might be bagged and body-dropped like many others, but what sets it apart from the rest is the Lexus V8 sitting behind the cabin. Another element of this build that strays away from the norm is that Nick, the owner and builder, has chosen to document the build in video format, creating his own YouTube channel to showcase the progress. The updates are always informative and entertaining, with some choice Kiwi wit thrown in amongst the tech stuff. Head below to find all the links you’ll need to get acquainted with this unique creation.
The Adventures of Mystery Machine
Earlier this year I made two consecutive posts about the automotive exploits of one Retro Rides member by the name of Bruce (aka Mystery Machine), a person who truly understands the appeal of a good build thread. Bruce not only built a very cool MX5 along with a number of other awesome rides, but he also spearheads and bankrolls a communal garage space known as Area52. You should already know what type of guy he is (a die-hard car nut), so it’s no surprise to learn his hands have been less than idle since the last time he graced these pages. I thought I’d do a little ‘catch up’ piece on his latest projects (a Land Rover and a Lotus, can’t get more variance than that!), since I’m enjoying reading them so much myself, it’s only fair to share it with all of you…
E46 M3 Road-to-Race
How many times have you caught yourself daydreaming about turning your road-going pride and joy into an all-out race car? A stripped interior, beefy roll cage, some fixed bucket seats, sticky rubber, top of the line suspension, and of course some engine upgrades to round it off…sound accurate? Come and take a look as a lucky E46 M3 road car gets the race car make over we all desire.
Thanks to Jaime for submitting.