Well, it’s the silly season, aka SEMA season, so a bunch of huge builds have been wrapped up just in time to make it through the doors of the Las Vegas Convention Centre. One of those builds is this evil looking, black on black, twin turbo, 1970 Pontiac Firebird built by the team at All Speed Performance. I was lucky enough to catch the build thread a couple of weeks ago when the car was in the body shop, so I was excited to check up on it’s progress now that some SEMA coverage is starting to flow, and thankfully it was completed in time. Build thread link after the jump.
Tag: V8
XDRFT2 – XD Falcon Drifter
I was reading up on this thread a while ago, however I stupidly forgot to note it down and in-turn forgot about it until very recently when Christian submitted it via email and brought it back to my attention. This car interests me for a few reasons. Firstly, it’s different, which always makes for a good feature. Secondly, it’s Australian, and I love featuring home-grown builds. Third, it’s an un-orthodox choice for a drift car, it’s always good to see people trying something different. And lastly, because when I grew up we had one of these (albeit stock) as our family car.
The XD Ford Falcon, an early 1980’s square edged family truckster, built like a tank and usually heard labouring up hills with the 4.1ltr inline 6 sounding like a giant exhaust fan. Not this one though, XDRFT2 is the second incarnation (hence the “2”) XD drift car to emerge from the Mobile Mayhem stables, powered by a 410ci Cleveland V8 and sitting atop a complete coilover set up from RSS. Builds like these are extremely interesting because you get to read about all the issues that need to be overcome when developing such an un-proven platform to a competitive level, not to mention the amounts of clever weight reduction needed when starting with such a heavy base. This is one of those great tech-filled threads with lots of images and information, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.
LSX Ford Focus
Here’s another car that’s a bit left-of-field. Daniel submitted this one, a little Ford Focus packing some GM V8 grunt with a healthy sized turbo hanging off it for some extra fun. Unfortunately there’s quite a few dead pics in the thread, hopefully they come back online soon.
V8 Volksrod aka Lexibug
Let’s kick off this new blog with a build, shall we? VDubbin submitted this one to me last year, and it’s one of many builds sitting in my drafts waiting for a feature.
VW Beetles have been chopped and changed many times over the years in countless different styles, and there seems to be no sign of this trend slowing down. This one isn’t much of a Beetle any more, with a hand made custom chassis and Lexus V8 sitting up front. The thing I like about this build apart from the fact that it’s home-made, is that there are plenty of clear pictures showing the details of the intricate custom fabrication, including how the body was mounted to the chassis…very interesting and informative. Just wait ’till you see the custom seats!
Fesler Built 1970 Chevy Nova
When you see the words “Fesler Built” in the title of a build thread you know it’s going to be something special. Here’s a 1970 Chevy Nova that’s worlds apart from Axel Foley’s ride. The Pro-Touring boys certainly know how to piece a car together.
Civette LS1 Powered Civic
Here we have another crazy builder transforming a bland front wheel drive hatchback into a custom rear wheel drive monster. This time its an EK Honda Civic being chopped up to fit an LS1 Chev V8 of all things, crazy to say the least. This is a build that has been doing the internet rounds for a couple of years now, so many of you might have already seen it. Regardless, its definitely worthy of a post.
Ford Granada + Koenigsegg CCX V8
An engine swap of truly epic proportions, this Ford Granada is receiving a new power plant from a Koenigsegg CCX. Before deciding to tear the car down for a full rebuild, the owner had already been enjoying 600bhp of Cosworth power. To go along with the supercar engine transplant, the rear end is being replaced with 2004 Mustang Cobra R parts.
CLK63 Black Series
Heres’s something exotic for a change. The Mercedes CLK 63 Black Series was based on the F1 Safety Car, it’s powered by an AMG 6.3-litre V8 pushing out 373 kw. For most people that would be more than enough, but stock cars are boring and we are modifiers so we have to mess with everything, and even a top of the range Merc can’t escape.
E30 M3 + E39 M5 V8
This car is an insant favourite wherever its posted on the net. It seems everyone has a soft spot for E30 BMW’s, and this one is definitely praiseworthy.
I’m not one of those people who turns up their nose when a person chooses to use a motor from a different manufacturer for an engine swap. I like the way people stuff LS1’s, 2JZ’s, SR20’s and 13b’s into all different kinds of cars, but I always think it’s more appealing when a motor from the same stable is used, it just seems “right”.
That premise applies to this E30 which has had an S62 V8 from an E39 M5 shoehorned into the engine bay, and then a turbo strapped to each side. When you see an example like this it’s easy to see why E30’s are universally loved by most car enthusiasts. It doesn’t get much better than this.
