Category: Build Threads

Bucket List Studebaker

Chris aka Hechtspeed from MyRideisMe.com is one of the OG buddies of Build Threads. Not long ago he emailed me a very humbling story that he published with a build thread to go with it.

To give you a brief description, the owner of this land speed Studebaker has previously beaten cancer but sadly is fighting the disease once more. Number 4 on his bucket list is to “drive a Studebaker at the Bonneville Salt Flats.” The Studebaker community comes together to help Dan realise his dream, loaning him a car to drive and even donating money and parts to the build.

I urge you to click here to read Chris’s article to get the full story, as it is truly inspiring. Plus it’s refreshing to read such a positive tail instead of trawling through the usual forum bickering about poke vs tuck, function vs form, jdm vs euro, etc etc. You’ll also find a link to the build thread at the bottom of his article.

It always seems to be the hot rod guys with the heartwarming stories, like this one I published a while ago. Maybe it’s because generally they’re of a more mature age, they’ve been through the ups and downs of life, and they know what’s really important so they’re more inclined to help those in need. I’m not too sure, but I really like the way they operate, and we can all learn something from them.

Sliding throttle bodies + DIY metal casting

I’m pretty sure this is the most extreme and creative use of DIY I’ve ever seen. Sure, some people have access to CNC machines, or they might be handy with a lathe, but have you ever seen someone CAST their own parts? The owner is even creating his own 16V head and a sliding throttle body setup, everything from the linkages to the carbon fiber plenum, all done by hand. Not enough, well what about a scratch-built head-skimming machine? I think you get the point, and I didn’t even mention the carbon fiber spoon…wait, what?

If anyone has the right to call themselves a “builder”, it’s this guy. The tech-savvy and fans of home-built cars will love this one. All of the hard work is being put into a MK2 Golf, but this is more about the work and parts than the car itself. If you’re a bit like me and found yourself scratching your head when you heard the term “sliding throttle bodies”, check out this link for a bit of information. Update: Or you can click here to see a Youtube video of some sliding throttle bodies in action. Fast forward to around 1:35 (Thanks Tilman)

Thanks to “Chester Rumble” from my favourite Honda forum, NWP4LIFE for bringing this build to my attention.

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World Time Attack 2010

Last weekend, myself and 3 friends drove over 800km north to Sydney, Australia, to attend the 2010 World Time Attack Challenge. It was well worth the drive, with 2 days full of local and international cars battling it out for the fasted time around Eastern Creek Raceway. Here are some of the images I took over the course of the event…

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Porsche 993 – C2 RSR clone

I get the feeling that Thatcher Shultz is a bit of celebrity in the VW world. I don’t know much about him apart from the fact he built/owned the gorgeous silver/blue MKIII Golf which c0-adorned the cover of the October 09 issue of PerformanceVW (the same issue that featured Build Threads as site of the month). Well he’s back again but this time he’s stepped up in the V.A.G. world to a Porsche 993. Watch this already impressive and desirable machine receive the “Thatcher” treatment.

Submitted by dieselstation.com

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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.

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Projekte 36

Carbon specialist Andrew emailed me his E36 coupe project not too long ago, an E39 M5 powered show car with race inspired styling. I love the Super-Touring influence of the centre-lock wheels, and the E46 face lift is something I’ve never seen before. There are some tasty parts lined up for this build, hopefully some future updates will show it all coming together.

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E30 M3 Restoration

I’ve featured a few E30’s now, and I’ve said numerous times that they’re universally loved the world over, I don’t know what it is about them but they just seem to push everyone’s buttons. VDubbin recently submitted this one to me, a full and very thorough restoration including detailed rust-repairs, acid dipping, lots of bodywork, cavity waxing, a super-detailed gearbox overhaul, and some Simpsons quotes thrown in for good measure – all adds up to an automatic win in my books.

Note: There seems to be a limited amount of pages you can view on the forum as a guest, I found myself having to sign up to continue reading, but you should be able to view the whole thread from start to finish if you do it in one go.

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Garage Condo – occupied

I’m sure most of you remember the Garage Condo I posted 2 months ago, especially considering the amount of sites that linked to it including one of my favourites, Jalopnik. Well it looks like it now has a project car lucky enough to grace the freshly sealed floorspace. A Factory Five Cobra kit car has just been delivered to the lucky owner…life just can’t get any better for some, living the dream to the fullest.

Head back to the build thread here, the ride arrives at page 18.

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Electric Honda N360

Whaaat? An electric car on Build Threads? Well it’s not the first time, check out the AWD Pontiac Fiero Hybrid, the Electric Mighty Boy, or even the gorgeous hand-built Electric Hot Rod.

This electric powered Honda N360 was submitted by Tengku who comes all the way from Malaysia. It’s interesting to note that the shop behind this build, Hectors Chop Shop (Santa Rosa CA), is also behind a few Datsun 510 projects that I’ve seen around the traps before, most noteably their VG30 powered wagon.

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