For a long, long time, I’ve wanted to clean up the Datsun’s engine bay. It definitely isn’t up to par in the aesthetics department compared to the rest of the car, and makes me hesitate to open the bonnet when people ask to take a look. I’ve always had specific plans for the look I want to achieve, but it would require removing the engine for a full do-over, hence the task being constantly shifted to the “too hard basket”. But the longer I left it, the longer it irritated me, so I came to a compromise; do a quick refresh with the engine still in place, removing all the parts that are easy to detach. Here’s how it went…
Honda CB350 “The Brat”
Not only does Rex Havoc have an insanely cool name, he also makes up one half of the bike building duo Garage Project Motorcycles. Just yesterday he sent me a link to a bike they call “The Brat”, which was completed a in a few short months at the beginning of the year. An accidental eBay bid saw a standard CB350 fall into their possession, so the only ethical thing to do is strip it down and build it back up to be 1000% cooler than it ever could have dreamed, right? Every time I see a stunning classic-styled bike like this, it fuels the fire inside me that burns for one of these two-wheeled pieces of art. One day…
Click here for more bike builds.
1967 Mitsubishi 360
This next project belongs to Build Threads reader, David, who resides in Nagoya, Japan. David decided to restore one of the more obscure cars previously available to the Japanese domestic market, a Mitsubishi 360. After saving it from the clutches of mother nature, he set about restoring the nostalgic kei car one step at a time, but things took a turn for the worse when it was time to give it a fresh coat of paint. After returning home with a substandard paint job, mismatched colour, over-spray, and sections of rust merely hidden under body filler and fiberglass, David made the gut-wrenching decision to tear the car down a second time and have it repainted at a better shop. It all paid off in the end, since he is now the proud owner of one minty-fresh Mitusbishi 360 (with custom iPod connectivity), and not many people can lay claim to that!
LS1 996
1. Buy Porsche 996 with fire-damage.
2. Remove flat-6 engine.
3. Insert LS1.
4. ???
5. Profit Get featured on Build Threads.
Thanks to Raiss for submitting.
Nissan Patrol Duramax V8TT
And now for something completely different, a twin-turbo Duramax powered Nissan Patrol 4wD built for street/strip duties, aiming for 1200rwhp and an 8.XX second ET…wanna read that again? This chassis has been through a few different incarnations during it’s lifetime before being torn down for its current rebuild, so it’s fair to say the owner has definitely made full use of this rig. If this isn’t enough Duramax action for you, check out this previous feature of a Chevelle using a similar powerplant.
Thanks to Kriss for submitting.
V12 BMW E30
When I look back at the 4 BMW E30s I’ve featured on the site in the past, it’s interesting to see that only one of them retained it’s original motor. The other three were powered by an RB26DETT, an E39 M5 V8, and an E60 M5 V10. So that means we’ve had 4 cylinder, 6 cylinder, 8 cylinder, and 10 cylinder E30’s, so where to from here? Well a V12 is really the only natural progression…
Thanks to Archie for submitting.
Jun’s Datsun 510 Wagon
This next build has been a favourite of mine since I first laid eyes on it, I’ve read it countless times and it always makes me want to run out to the garage and start working on my own car. Jun is one of those people who gets it, his modification technique is very detailed yet not too mechanically intense, anyone with a vision and some elbow grease can emulate it, he even inspired me to ‘do work’ on my own engine bay instead of continually delaying it. This 510 wagon gets a serious dose of Japanese style, helped along by it’s owners visits to the motherland, bringing home swag on the return-flights home.
There’s no need to feel disappointed when you get to the end of this build, as you’ll see that Jun has recently picked up a Datsun 620 4WD, and he’s working his token magic on that ride, too.
Project 510: RB20DET gearbox
I was standing in the garage today, looking at my car with a bunch of the engine bay torn apart, planning in my head how I was going to document the activities in my next post. Then it struck me, I still hadn’t posted about the last thing I did; retrofitting an RB20DET gearbox to the FJ20. The FJ20 uses a 5-speed gearbox which has one niggling problem, they have a tendency to crunch when changing gears in higher rpm. Apart from that, there was nothing wrong with it, no whining noises, never hard to find a gear, never popped out of gear, but that didn’t stop me from upgrading when I learnt that the RB20 gearbox bolts up with minimal mods…
Audi A3 Turbo
When it comes to piecing together a build thread there are some people who love it (us!), and some who don’t really care too much about it. A few camera-phone images, some vague descriptions, and maybe, just maybe they’ll maintain enough enthusiasm to keep updating it until their project is finished. But hey, that’s their choice, it does take a lot of effort to put together the threads we love. Then there are people like Alex; people who enjoy putting down the tools to take that perfect shot, people who want to show you the intricate details, people who take the time to turn their thread into a story. Basically, there are people who get it, which is why I’ve created a new post tag for these types of threads. I’ve gone back and added the tag to a few older posts, and I’ll keep doing so as I remember more of them.
Alex bought this A3 with the intentions of keeping it as a standard daily driver, but we all know how that goes! Read on…
’51 Ford pickup
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.