Category: Build Threads

Exclusive look: Peasnell Racing Designs

I know for the most part that Build-Threads.com is kind of a one-way thing. I post, you read, that type of deal. But the truth is that I love hearing from readers via email, Twitter, the Facebook page, and the new Facebook Discussion Group. Whilst everyone’s projects can’t be featured, I still love seeing what people are up to. Most of the time it’s regular guys like myself, tinkering away at their project in the garage, but every now and then something far beyond the reaches of us common folk greets me. Just the other day, Lewis from Peasnell Racing Designs sent me a Facebook message with a few images of his work, letting me know very politely that he’d love to see his work on the site if I ever had a ‘slow news day’. What I saw left me gobsmacked, and I couldn’t wait to share it with everyone and hopefully give Lewis a platform for his work via this humble website. Before we start salivating over the fabrication and design, I’ll leave you with this quote from Lewis to remind us that, although his work might be otherworldly, deep down he’s just a normal guy like you and me…

“Growing up I loved LEGO and drawing, this is just my grown up version, I’m sure.”

Visit Peasnell Racing Designs on Facebook and give them a like to stay in touch with their future work. I’d like to thank Lewis for allowing me the opportunity to share his work with the world on Build-Threads.com.

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Building a Morgan 3-wheeler replica

A common theme that I notice with build threads and the people who create them, is that if you want something that is out of your reach, you make it yourself. That’s exactly the kind of attitude I found when perusing the non-Datsun area of The 510 Realm and stumbled across this build. The owner of a very well-sorted 510 that I follow had embarked on a new project, but it wasn’t another Datsun, hell, it wasn’t even another car. His latest build saw him decided to create his own version of the newly released Morgan 3-wheeler – and by “create” I mean make the whole damn thing from scratch – in a true exercise of garage DIY.

Click here for more 3 wheeled builds (yes, there are more of them!)

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Project Honda City Turbo II – Engine refresh

This Honda City Turbo II seems to be a hit with you guys, and it just goes to show that it’s not all about big horsepower and expensive cars. In the previous post you saw the engine being removed and torn down in preparation for a refresh. While the whole engine won’t be receiving a rebuild, the head will be getting some special attention, along with a fresh set of seals and gaskets. Oh, and a nice new turbo! On we go with another very detailed installment…

Part 1: Introduction
Part 2: Teardown

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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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Project Honda City Turbo II – Teardown

A few weeks ago I made a post about my visit to a friends place to check out their new Honda City Turbo II build (which you can read here). I promised I’d post their build progress here if there was enough interest, and boy was there ever! There was a resounding “YES” to my query about you guys wanting to see more, so here it is. In this post I’ll be showing you the initial condition of the car and subsequent teardown in preparation for an engine re-fresh. All words and images are straight from Ryan, one of the founding members of The-Lowdown. The car is owned by Tony, a staff member over at The Motor Report, and the two of them are sharing the build. These are two of the most stand-up guys I’ve ever met, I had a ball at the Winton track day with them, and they’ve even traveled across town to lend me a hand with my garage build, so I hope you’ll check out their respective sites and have a browse around. Without further ado, it’s time to get our Honderp on… Continue reading “Project Honda City Turbo II – Teardown”

Renault Espace / Lexus LS400

When people think Renault Espace, they either think of it in it’s basic form as a vanilla people mover, or, if they’re anything like you and I, they think of the completely insane F1 version. But what if modifying one wasn’t left to the devices of a motorsports company, what if a car guy got his hands on one, what would they do with it? How about cutting out the floor and dropping it over a Lexus LS400, complete with 1UZ-FE V8 power? Not enough? what about a central driving position, just like the McLaren F1, and a bottle of nitrous in the boot for good measure. Sounds like I’m making it up, right? Not even my imagination could come up with something this left-of-field. Head below to see this awesome chassis swap build with your own eyes.

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V8-powered Fiero (355 Replica)

When thinking of a suitable intro for this post, I wanted to share my opinion of some replica builds without offending anyone, then I read the owners own intro and realised he summed it up for me with this gem: “The problem I’ve seen with many rebodies though, is that too many of them end up looking like accidental explosions.”

Regardless of what the body style is trying to emulate, the simple fact that we should be concentrating on is that this car is a mid-engine V8 sports car with a host of intricate fabrication. The base car, like many Ferrari replicas, is a Pontiac Fiero. To get the right proportions, it’s been amended by 3 inches, and a Cadillac Northstar all aluminium V8 and 6 speed transmission will take care of the momentum. Make sure you check out the plethora of technical drawings and DIY’d inbound suspension setup when you get to the highly detailed build thread.

Thanks to Youn-sok for submitting. Click here for more replica builds.

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’69 Karmann Ghia, powered by Subaru.

This feature has been a long time coming, and to be honest I’m not sure why I didn’t do it sooner. You see, Mike is one of the few people that liked to share updates of his build on the Build Threads Facebook page, and every time he’d post an image, readers would love it. Just last week I posted an image of his, and again, people flocked to it in droves, so I thought it was time to share it with the whole audience on the website. Mike is obviously great at taking photos, and the fact that he is stuffing a Subaru engine into a naturally patina’d Karmann Ghia doesn’t hurt. If you have your own build thread, then you know the struggle of wanting to get your work done versus picking up your camera and documenting your steps. Sometimes – and I’m guilty of this too – you just forget about taking photos to git-er-done, but not Mike, he’s turned his thread into a virtual gallery of awesome images filled with playful use of light and shadows.

Click here for more VW builds. Click here for more Subaru builds.

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Project Honda City Turbo II – Introduction

A couple of friends of mine (the same guys I went to Winton with) have embarked on a joint project car. The car in question is an obscure little Honda, and it’s not a Civic. Nope, it’s even better, it’s a City Turbo II. If you’re unfamiliar with these awesome little cars, you can read up about them on the Wiki page here. All you really need to know is that it’s small, it’s turbo, and you can fit a Motocompo in the boot. The other night I popped around for a visit while Tony and Ryan were wrenching away and took some photos of the goings on. As usual, click for larger versions.

I’ve been toying with the idea of posting the progress of this build on Build-Threads.com in installments, much the same way I document my own project. What are your thoughts on this? Are you interested in another site-hosted build?

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Willys Pickup / ’08 Cherokee

I guess you could kind of call this a chassis-swap, even though the original chassis is retained, albeit highly modified. This Willys pickup is based on a combination of two cabs (’48 and ’58), being widened to fit over the subframes and floorpan of a 2008 Jeep Cherokee, complete with a 5.7l Hemi. I have to say, this is one of the most informative build threads I’ve read. Even by breezing through it like I usually have to (because I want to get it up ASAP on the site for you guys!) I’ve managed to learn more than a few tricks. The owner shows off a plethora of DIY garage skills, such as tweaking and straightening the frame using combinations of heat and pressure, panel beating, welding, metal folding/shaping, and more. He really goes out of his way to share his techniques with his fellow forum members via well-written and documented posts. The whole thing is closer to a hot rod build compared to what you’d usually expect from a Jeep. Don’t forget to catch the rust removal technique towards the end of the thread, definitely one I’ll be bookmarking for future reference.

Thanks to Jarrod for submitting. Click here for more Jeep builds.

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