Almost 2 years ago to the day I featured a hand-built aluminium hot rod named Emerald Tide which took it’s styling inspiration from an artist’s painting. Well the same artist has many more paintings and the same builder is creating another awesome car to match one of them. This time it’s a chopped and channeled ’51 Ford pickup going by the name of Lit Up. I know I say this about many builds but the fabrication work in this one really is simply amazing. The word “talent” doesn’t even come close when trying to describe the one-man, metal-morphing, killer-shop-owning, car-building machine they call Jimmy. The custom chassis rails made from laser-cut sheets of flat metal on the first page should give you a fair idea.
Category: Build Threads
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!
The Orbitron
I’ve posted a video once before about Ed “Big Daddy” Roth which I urge you to watch (if you haven’t seen it already), especially before reading the build I’m about to show you. I’m not here to give you a history lesson, but I think it’d be pretty cool for the younger guys who might not be into the older stuff to get yourself up to scratch with the early days of custom car culture and familiarise yourself with names like Roth, Barris, and Winfield.
So anyway, the story goes that one of Roth’s crazy creations from 1964, the Orbitron, was recently found in an almost abandoned state in Mexico with it’s iconic triple-light nose chopped off. Apparently it had changed hands a few times after it left the spotlight before being used as carnival transportation and finally finding it’s resting place outside an adult book shop. A car restorer found the car and negotiated the sale from it’s current owner, bringing the car back to SoCal to be restored to it’s former glory by the guys in the know.
I’ve barely touched on the story so please make sure you hit the link at the bottom of the article to get the full lowdown, there’s a lot of information on the site and I hope you find the time to read through it. Kudos to all involved for saving this bizarre bubble-top beauty from what might have been it’s ultimate demise.
’65 Harley Ironhead Cafe masterpiece
I can’t beleive it’s been almost 4 months since the last bike build. Well let’s get back on two wheels again, shall we, and take a look at an incredibly detailed cafe racer build based on a 1965 Harley Ironhead. Yep, you heard right, a Harley Davidson built in cafe racer styling, affectionately titled “War Crimes”. Just take one look at those bespoke fabricated motor mounts in the first image below – which took over 40 hrs of work alone to create – and you’ll get a feel for how this build takes shape. Read on…
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.
BMW 2002 restoration
I’m noticing more and more BMW 2002’s popping up on forums and blogs lately, and I finally got to see two fine examples in the flesh at the recent Stance|Works Melbourne meet. To say I’m a fan would be an understatement, I love these little things, so maybe the increased exposure is all in my head because I want to see more of them. Regardless, I was fishing through my submissions folder and became disgusted with myself after noticing this build just sitting there, waiting to be featured. This build is just that little bit more special considering it was the owners first car. After being in storage for 10 years, he dusts off the cobwebs and begins a very detailed restoration, bringing it back to better than factory condition. I’m really in awe over just how much work the owner takes on himself, dabbling in just about every aspect of the build, my hat is tipped!
Thanks to Sebastian for the link.
VW Fox ute conversion
Take one VW Fox 2-door wagon, wield your choice of cutting utensil around some structural pieces of metal rearward of the B pillar, mix in a bit of hard work and welding, and you end up with your very own US version of a VW Saveiro. That’s exactly what Shawn did, and he was nice enough to shoot me a link to his build thread to share with everyone. One thing is for certain, all the custom fabrication work wasn’t done so it could sit pretty and hardpark it’s whole life, this little truck was built to work!
To see more ute conversion builds, click here.
Alfa Romeo Hot Rod
Yes you read that right, an Alfa Romeo Hot Rod. Who would be crazy enough to put something like this together? The Swedes of course!
Thanks to Mikael for submitting.
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Porsche 356 back from the brink
Not many people can lay claim to bringing a car back from certain death. Yes, there’s plenty of skilled guys and girls out there who have saved cars that might have otherwise been shipped off to a wrecking yard if no one else claimed them, but what about an old rusted and twisted shell that wouldn’t even be used as parts by most? That’s how I’d describe this depleted and distorted 356 Porsche which had been sitting idle for 30 years, I just can’t fathom how anyone would look at it and think to themselves “Yeah, I can work with this”. But that’s exactly what the guys at Kustom Coach Werks did by beating, heating, and caressing this 356 back to life. You’ve seen the preview image, now come and see what becomes of it…
Thanks to Alex for submitting.
(and someone else who submitted it a long time ago but I accidentally deleted their email, oops!)
Innovator ’67 Nova
The Roadster Shop are back again with another incredible build which just oozes copious amounts of talent. The last time I featured one of their metal sculptures it was an award winning ’62 Corvette. This time they’re keeping it in the GM family and are back with a ’67 Nova. The fabrication work in this build is completely mind blowing, it doesn’t even matter that the car isn’t finished yet, your jaw is still bound to drop once you see the new custom body-lines, all-metal interior work, subtle roof chop, the customised bonnet (hood) with clearances for airboxes built into the engine bay, and of course their Fast Track chassis. This build is just rife with details, make sure you check out the full thread.
This isn’t the first time a Nova has been featured, click here to see the others.