TA22 2JZ

Karey emailed me his tough as nails TA22 Celica, powered by one of Toyota’s best, the mighty 2JZ. Built in true drag racing fashion, it features all the trademarks of a straight-line racer, like a tubbed rear end with 4-link, Weld Racing wheels, and a Ford 9″ diff, textbook stuff. It looks like the car is almost ready for paint, so hopefully some extra attention from Build Threads readers will push Karey to get it in the booth!

With so many older Japanese cars concentrating maintaining the nostalgic JDM look, it’s refreshing to see a return to the quarter mile style that was so popular in the 90s & early 2000s.

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Dedication… Datsun 610

Many aspects of the car scene are subjective, whether it be the style you choose to modify in, the brand of car you desire, or the purpose you use it for. One thing that can’t be argued about is the bond between a man and his car, and how hard it is to break. Jon drove a Datsun 610 that was the recipient of an unfortunate T-bone accident, but he didn’t give up and chose to re-shell his pride and joy in the driveway, one piece at a time.

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More DIY Casting

If the last DIY metal casting thread wasn’t enough for you, Jesse from Driven Daily emailed me another link that was doing the rounds a few years ago. This time it’s a home made EFI intake manifold being created for an L-series powered 240Z. There sure are some talented people out there. Click here to find the thread.

IND E92 M3

We’ve had a few DIY home-built specials lately, so now it’s time to flip the script completely and check out a high-end workshop build. When you’re building an M3 for a customer who already boasts an impressive fleet of cars bearing the names “Enzo”, “Veyron” and “Zonda”, you know that nothing but your best effort with suffice. IND knew this, and went to town on an almost box-fresh E92 until it was deemed fit enough to share floorspace with the existing garage occupants. The build itself is impressive enough, the stuff dreams are made of, but the beautiful photography makes it a joy to view. Thanks to Raiss from JDMST for the link.

Enjoy…

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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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