Category: Build Threads

BUILT from eBay [video build x4]

So, I’ve become a bit of a YouTube junky lately. My almost nightly ritual consists of plonking myself down on the couch with a hot coffee, firing up the iPad, plugging in my over-ear headphones, and catching up on all of my favourite subscriptions. Some of those include /DRIVE, HoonTV, Jay Leno’s Garage, Marchettino, Mighty Car Mods, Motor Trend (Roadkill and Dirt Every Day), and of course Petrolicious. For too long I imagined YouTube’s sole existence catered to wannabe celebrities uploading videos of themselves doing something stupid in the hope of going viral. Now I’m more than aware that it’s become quite the replacement for television, with professionally produced channels releasing regular content aimed at specific demographics, making their viewers crave new content just like you would for Breaking Bad or Game of Thrones.

It was during a browsing session that I stumbled across a 10-part series called “BUILT from eBay”, which chronicled the process of four different shops (aligned with 4 different magazines) building four different cars using parts bought only from eBay. While the concept is pretty transparent as being one big commercial, the content is quite entertaining. Hell, you get to see four completely different cars being built without having to read a single word, what’s there to complain about?

Click here for more video builds.

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Porsche ’83 targa to 993 RSR coupe

When I was a kid, Porsches were only owned by doctors or business men, or plastered on bedroom walls of kids like me. Now it’s more than obvious that the once unreachable German exotics are firmly in the grasps of people like you and I who like to tear things apart and put them back together any which way we choose. I like that, very much.

This Porka started it’s life as a 1983 targa-top, which at some point had a hardtop roof grafted on to it. That’s how Petter from Sweden found it, in a sorry state but with the roof swap already done (even though he would tweak it later to make it perfect). A full rebuild then took place, set off by an RSR body kit and some big Fuch’s to seal the deal, along with the face-smacking bright green paint. I think what I love the most about this build is the crystal clear photos that Petter takes, it makes me feel like I’m right there with him along the way. Strangely, my favourite phase of the build is seeing the car in all different colours before it was painted, what the hell is wrong with me?!

Click here for more Porsche builds. Click here for more Scandinavian builds.

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’91 Subaru Legacy RS Type RA

While this build itself is very impressive and highly detailed, it’s the other automotive work that the owner partakes in that will really pique your interest. His car of choice is a 1991 Subaru Legacy RS, a love affair that started while serving an apprenticeship with Subaru, working on race and rally cars for Possum Bourne in New Zealand. This chassis started life as a Legacy Sport, but is now on it’s way to becoming an RS Type RA thanks to a ground-up rebuild and a selection of high-end additions. As for his other work? Well, let’s just say his duties include rebuilding Formula 1 cars, IndyCars, IMSA racers, and exotic road/race cars, so you know his personal car is going to be of a very high caliber. Make sure you head to the bottom of the post to see these bonus images.

Thanks to Robert for submitting. Click here for more Subaru builds.

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Triumph TR6…or Z06?

Firstly, I feel I need to apologise for the amount of LSx builds on the front page, as I generally like to aim for a bit of variety on the site. But hey, if people keep stuffing them into cars in interesting ways, I have to keep featuring them! This one is a bit more than just an engine swap, though, because the owner has transplanted a lot of the underpinnings of a Z06 Corvette into his unsuspecting Triumph TR6. The most significant part of this build is that we learn the owner and builder is actually wheelchair bound, yet this proves no boundary to him as his enthusiasm and dedication to his car shines through, making the most of his situation and enjoying his passion to the fullest. So next time you’re feeling lazy or making excuses about your own project, have a read of this thread. My hat is tipped to you, Sir.

Thanks to Peter for submitting.

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AWD Ford Fiesta Cosworth

It’s been a while since we’ve had one of these completely bonkers builds. You know the type; pedestrian fwd hatch, completely gutted, filled with a skeleton of tubing, a north/south facing engine conversion, race-quality suspension and a change of driveline orientation? Yeah, one of those! While I could make up some story about how this car changed my life and waffle on for 1000 words about it, you know I leave that fluffy stuff up to the other blogs, so here’s the stats: MK6 Fiesta, formerly turbo diesel, now Cosworth powered all wheel drive, JWRC wide body kit, WRC rear cradle, full cage and tube front and rear ends, and heaps more. I think the pictures will speak for themselves, enjoy!

Fun fact: This is the 5th time I’ve used the word ‘bonkers‘ to describe a car (yes, I checked). Click here for more Ford builds.

Thanks to Maarten for submitting. Continue reading “AWD Ford Fiesta Cosworth”

LSx powered E36 BMW

Ahh, the humble LSx swap. Some people might think that LS-swaps are overdone, played out, or whatever your buzzword of choice is. But I guess if you provide a range of compact, affordable, reliable, and easy to tune engines, people are going to use them! Personally, I’m all for them, they look great and appear more than willing to accept power additions, either naturally or artificially aspirated. The LSx in this build is being used to power an E36 BMW, and while the swap itself is interesting enough, it was a small detail of the build that drew me in, and by small I mean one little accelerator bracket. Yep, that’s all it takes! It’s a small part but it was done so neatly that it gave me a feel for the rest of the build and made me want to read more, and I was rewarded with a whole lot of attention to detail.

Click here for more BMW builds. Click here for more LS-powered builds (there’s over 10 of them!). Continue reading “LSx powered E36 BMW”

Mercedes V8 Unimog

Anyone else wondering what a Unimog is? If you are, like I was, I’ll do the Wiki-ing for you…

The name Unimog is pronounced [ˈuːnɪmÉ”k] in German and is an acronym for the German“UNIversal-MOtor-Gerät”, Gerät being the German word for machine or device.

The more you know, hey? This Mercedes Unimog (we can pretend we knew what that meant all along now) was bought sight unseen, with what turned out to be a blown motor. The owner sees to break it down from it’s ex-military looking guise, throw an assortment of parts and fabrication at it (over the course of 2 rebuilds), and ends up with a mud-ready 347ci Ford V8-powered off road assault vehicle, perfect climbing steep trails, dashing through the now snow, or being covered in sweet, glorious, dirty mud. All this while seating 5 people in open-air (somewhat) comfort.

Thanks to Chris for submitting. Click here for more off road builds.

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NA MX5 nut-and-bolt OCD rebuild

Imagine for a second that you just bought a car, but that car was located 1800 miles away, meaning you had to travel that distance to collect the car, and then drive it all the way back home. Now, keep your imagination going, and ponder how you’d feel if that same car got stolen from your driveway less than one week after you bought it. Pretty shattering, right? Well, what if it wasn’t just stolen, but also crashed, flipped, and completely totaled by the theif? I think I’d curl up in a ball and just cry. But not Jeff, the owner of this turbo’d Mazda Miata/MX5. After taking a week to grieve, he sought about buying a replacement car and rebuilding it piece by piece, ensuring no dirty or unpainted/polished product so much as touches the car. It culminates in one of the cleanest MX5’s on the planet, better than when it rolled off the production line.

Click here for more MX5/Miata builds.

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VR HSV Senator LSX454

I always love when an Australian car shows up in my inbox, I have a soft spot for our local product (even though our industry has all but shut down), and I even owned a Commodore some years ago. This particular piece of Aussie machinery is a VR Holden Commodore of the HSV variety, HSV (Holden Special Vehicles) being Holden’s tuning arm, much like AMG is to Mercedes. For the international readers, you can read up on HSV here.

What I love about this car is the incredible attention to detail and the no-expense-spared attitude given to the build, it’s not often you see these cars receiving this type of attention. If the details don’t get you, I’m sure the bright orange LSX motor with individual throttle bodies will melt your eyeballs and warm your soul. Another really neat touch is the rear wheels, they’re CNC machined to look exactly like the factory cast alloys, except much wider. It’s a subtle touch, but speaks volumes of the owners taste direction with the car.

Thanks to Ismail for submitting. Click here for more builds of Australian cars.

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Diesel GC8 Subaru WRX

Talk about thinking outside the square. If you bought yourself a dead-stock GC8 Subaru Impreza to attack Pikes Peak, what engine choice would you go for? A single turbo EJ20 as found in the WRX? Or maybe the twin turbo version from a JDM Legacy? Perhaps you’d be more inclined to go for the bigger capacity 2.5 EJ25 from the later model Impreza? Or, if you wanted to be really different, you could step up to the EZ30 or EZ36 flat 6 engines?

Well not Gregoire, he went for a flat four Subaru engine that I didn’t even know existed, it’s called an EE20 and it’s diesel powered! Rolling coal in what looks to most people like a 22B? Yeah, that’s very cool! Don’t forget to check out the build summary video at the bottom of the post.

Click here for more Subaru builds.

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