LS3 S13

What happens when you work for a major car magazine and share a fully equipped communal garage with your sister titles? You build a badass car, that’s what. Fresh black paint, OEM aero, all the good bits underneath, and an LS3 V8 swap to supply the power makes for one very tasteful and effortlessly powerful S13. And what better way to test the limits of your freshly built and swapped car than with a 2400 mile road trip?

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1978 Sleekcraft speedboat

Over the past few years I’ve posted countless cars, some garages, a few bikes, and even a trike. I understand that cars are the main reason you check the site (and the reason that I started it), but I’m always on the look-out for different builds that gear-heads will still enjoy, so I was very pleased when Rob emailed me his retro-tastic ’78 Sleekcraft restoration. It’s got all the trademarks of a great build, the process is exactly the same, except this automobile spreads it’s wings on water, not tarmac.

If you’ve seen or own a different kind of build that you think Build-Threads readers would enjoy, hit me up!

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Pure Vision Anvil Mustang

Late last year, shortly after I posted the heartfelt story of the FreedomBird, a gentleman named Matt contacted me to tell me about his own muscle car project. You see, Matt’s company  Anvil Auto was responsible for the carbon fiber work on the FreedomBird, so when the attention was turned to his own build, you knew it was going to be slathered with that glorious woven composite material. As you can see from the preview image, when it comes to styling this ‘stang takes a slightly different path from the norm by tweaking the Pro-Touring blueprint and borrowing cues from race cars of a bygone era, albeit with a modern twist. Enlisting the expertise of master car builder Steve Strope to orchestrate it’s transformation from render to finished product, the completed car screams American Muscle with whispers of classic European and Japanese influences. I’m a big fan, especially of those retro-inspired and drool-worthy wheels, not to mention the trick inboard suspension both front and rear.

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’69 FJ40 Rock Crawler

Keeping things off paved roads just like the last post, we’ll now turning our attention to an FJ40 Landcruiser build. Born out of necessity after his last FJ was written-off in an accident, Jon took the opportunity to build the dedicated rock-crawler that he’d always wanted, complete with LS1 power. This is a great build for those of you who like a lot of detail and enjoy a good read.

I’ve featured a modern FJ cruiser build from the same forum, back when Build Threads first started, you can read about that one here.

Thanks to Dickson for submitting.

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’31 Ford Model A

It’s been a while since the last hot rod build, so I think it’s time we sink our teeth into some vintage American iron. I can’t help but be extremely jealous when I see such talented folk create a car with their bare hands from such a depleted starting point. Scooter, the talented fabricator behind the build, certainly knows how to piece together a good ‘rod and document with very nice photography. Make sure you keep your eye out for some text links posted on the first page of the thread, which will take you to some other (earlier) threads of the build process.

Thanks to Pingar for the submission.

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Bentley EXP Speed ​​8 replica

One very dedicated Swedish builder has been spending the last 3 years creating his own Bentley Speed 8 replica. By taking a 1:18 scale model and having it scanned in 3D, he was able to recreate the body shape in full-size and drape it over a hand fabricated tube-frame chassis. With a 4.2lt Audi V8 sitting behind the two lucky occupants, this home-made creation will surely have the performance to back up supercar looks. At the start of the thread there appears to be a twin-turbo setup in the works, but sadly it disappears later in the thread, so let’s hope it makes a return somewhere down the track. After you see the home-made CNC machine & plasma cutting table, you’ll agree with me when I say “chalk up another build to the crazy Scandinavians!”

Thanks to Ger from Ireland for the submission.

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Red Victor 3 – Vauxhall VX4/90 FD

I haven’t featured many drag cars in comparison to other build styles on this site, but Slinky from Red Victor 1 Racing over in the UK sent me the teams latest build and I knew it deserved a post. This style of drag car is usually the domain of American builders who focus their attention on the quintessential muscle cars from Detroit, so it’s good to see the same treatment being given to a unique car in a totally different part of the world.

The car in question is a 1972 Vauxhall VX4/90 FD being built for the NHRA/FIA Pro Modified class, with a twin turbo methanol slurping 540ci V8 shoehorned between the towers. The team are intending to make this the worlds only street-legal, NHRA legal, Pro Mod car. I guess that all depends on your definition of street legal!

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Miura Replica

I should be playing GT5 right now, but it’s been a bit too long since the last post for my liking, and I hate keeping you guys waiting. If you remember about 6 months ago I made two separate posts about some Miura builds that I had found after searching around the ‘net. Well, I still haven’t shaken that Miura obsession so another quick Google search led me to this replica build. It might not be the real thing, but you’ll be impressed when you see how much hard work the builders have put into this Fiero based replication, with plenty of attention given to the fiberglass body to ensure it fits perfectly over the beefed up framework. In my opinion all it needs is some more authentic wheels to compliment the quality in which the build was executed. Now, let me get back to GT5, because it’s the only way I’m going to get a Miura of my own!

Source: thesmokingtire.com

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RTR-X Mustang Speedhunters

If you’re a regular Speedhunters reader, then you would have already seen this monster being built over the last couple of months. For those of you who aren’t, here’s the lowdown…

Ford, Monster Energy Drink, and Team Need For Speed teamed up with Formula D driver Vaughn Gittin Jr. to build a street/drift styled ’69 Mustang to debut at SEMA 2010. Using a brand new Dynacorn body and an Art Morrison chassis as bases for the project, numerous sponsors came on board and threw their own catalogue of desirable parts at the build, culminating in one awesome ‘stang.

The best part is that Vaughn plans to hit the track in this beast in the future, so keep a close eye on Speedhunters because this ’69 won’t be confined to car shows. Find the links to the build after the jump.

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