This hand-made Hilux is the third scaled-down build I’ve featured here, but this one differs slightly from the others. While it’s still a 1:10 RC car, this one doesn’t limit itself to plastic materials and resin, the builder has gone to the extreme effort of making his own metal panels from hand-made wooden bucks. There’s so much detail in this awesome little rock crawler, I don’t know where to begin.
BMW E46 V8 Drift build
I saw a video of this beastly creation a couple of weeks ago and the first thing that struck me about it was the appearance of the car without it’s rear bodywork. I love how the builder has almost created the car in a ute/pickup fashion, making the bodywork rear of the b-pillar detachable for easy access to the rear section of the chassis and driveline. To my delight, a Latvian reader submitted a link which showcases the build of this unique BMW (or what’s left of it), read on for more details…
RWD VW Golf MkIII
From the same forum that brought you the Viper powered Saab 93 Wagon comes another frankenstein build. Function-over-form readers will be pleased to notice the absence hectic stance, bags vs static arguments, ground clearance measurements or rusted body panels. This Golf is different…very different. I’ve featured a few MKIII Golfs before, each with their own impressive qualities, but none as all-out as this one with it’s Volvo T5 power, a change in driveline direction from FWD to RWD, and a whole lot of one-off fabricated goodness. I think I’ve made up my mind, when I die I want to be reincarnated as a Scandinavian car builder. Race quality fabrication, bodywork, carbon fiber…is there anything they can’t do?
Hand-built LS1 MR track car
Attention tech-heads, here’s one for you. If you like CAD drawings, stress-tests, loading simulations, suspension pickup point design, and a whole bunch of other stuff that’s way over my head, then you’ll enjoy this build. This is one mans quest to design and build his own mid-mounted turbo LS1 powered track car over in Germany, reminding me a bit of the previously featured Bentley Speed 8 replica build.
Thanks to James from carthrottle.com for submitting.
VR6 MK1 Cabby 16-day build
Remember the Eurowise AWD R32 powered Mk1 rabbit? Well it’s still in progress, but the team responsible for the build decided they wanted a sweet ride of their own to debut at the recent H20 show. So with that in mind they locked themselves in the Eurowise compound and built a VR6 powered Mk1 Cabby in 16 days. That’s an engine swap, bodywork, paint, interior, suspension…all in just over a couple of weeks. Anyone else feeling very lazy and incompetent at the moment?
Layed-out Datsun 620
I need to be careful about what I post on the Facebook page, I seem to have created more work for myself! Today I found a picture of a car I thought looked pretty cool, edited it slightly, then posted it up. I didn’t realise it would prompt a handful of the 1700+ followers to request a full build thread. Well, who am I to decline such a request? Although, I’d hate to imagine what would happen if I couldn’t provide a thread to go with an image in the future, I’m imagining an angry mob with home-made TIG’d pitch forks and high-octane gas powered torches.
So, by poplular demand, here’s a Datsun 620 pickup with a very funky oldschool paint job, having it’s undergarments torn out and replaced with fresh metal and airbag suspension.
73 Plymouth Cuda
Aaron Beck is a concept designer and die-hard car guy from New Zealand, and if you’ve ‘liked’ the Build Threads Facebook page you would have seen me post a link to his amazing E-body photoshops a while back. Aaron contacted me to tell me all about his Cuda project that he’s been documenting, so I’ll let his words give you a quick rundown:
I’m currently building up my ’73 Plymouth ‘Cuda into a tough street/track car. It’s old-school mopar through and through, with a 440 big block and 4 speed. It’s my first car, first build, and I’m doing all the work myself. Here’s a bit of detail about the plans: – Fully stitch welded body, lots of custom bracing, including 8 point half cage. – Fiberglass fenders and hood. – Hotchkis suspension. – Lots of custom touches, including steering quickener, hood tach, handbrake, camera mounts etc…
Interested? Read on…
LS3 S13
What happens when you work for a major car magazine and share a fully equipped communal garage with your sister titles? You build a badass car, that’s what. Fresh black paint, OEM aero, all the good bits underneath, and an LS3 V8 swap to supply the power makes for one very tasteful and effortlessly powerful S13. And what better way to test the limits of your freshly built and swapped car than with a 2400 mile road trip?
MK2 Golf GTI
Imagine my delight when Canadian photographer, Matt, emailed me to inform me he’s been shooting a local MK2 Golf build for a friend of his. A photographer, documenting a build? Sounds like a match made in heaven to me, I only just managed to refrain from squealing like a schoolgirl. The build is a mixture of the owners images and Matt’s, showcasing the 2-door Golf’s transformation from almost stock and problem-ridden into a (yet to be run-in and re-tuned) 300fwhp animal.
MX5 Comic Book build
Recently I created a new post tag called “People who get it”, for those occasions where an owner or builder will put extra effort into their threads to make for an enjoyable and informative read. But where to from there? Is that as good as it gets? Is it possible to take it a step further than slick photos and well-structured posts? Yes, my friends, yes it is. Let me introduce you to Wil and his foray into the roadster life. Wil decided to document his new found obsession in a light-hearted comic-book style format, much to the delight of his audience. Is this the future of build threads? I can’t wait to see what other ideas people come up with, the bar has been set!
More MX5 builds here.