Not all of the builds I like and feature have to be huge feats in fabrication or difficult engine swaps, I like the simple builds too. Especially if it has been documented with quality photography and the end result is just a cool car. There’s something soothing to me about reading a build in which every photo posted is a pleasure to look at.
Come and see this humble EF Civic sedan be transformed from a rough grocery-getter into a slick little cruiser with some crazy wheel fitment.
Here’s another classic body on top of a modern chassis build. I wonder if this style of building will be the way of the future, keeping classics alive on the surface with modern drive-trains and suspension powering them from underneath.
This one combines the shell of a classic Vauxhall Cresta with the guts of a 2001 Jaguar XJR.
Thanks to Peter from petrolthreads.co.uk for submitting this one.
Wheel gap is bad…
Time to get the Golf’s suspension sorted! After browsing around VW Watercooled researching my options, I seemed to keep being pointed into the direction of one person, Robin. Robin is the Australian distributor of HotTuning Coilovers, and the more I looked into it, the more I thought that these would be perfectly suited to my application. The Golf is soley my daily driver, and will never see a racetrack, so I was after something street-friendly at a reasonable price that would still enable me to enjoy the odd twisty road. My main goal was height adjustability, as I’ve given up on spring/shock combo a long time ago after never being able to get my old cars to sit at the height I wanted.
Each year, Grassroots Motorsports Magazine holds the “$200X Challenge”, a competition for budget-built custom cars to compete in a series of challenges, where the build cost must not exceed the monetary value of the year it is held in (hence the $2009 limit for 2009).
This particular entry is a Pontiac Fiero, a car known for being used as a base for Ferrari 355 replicas. This one has a different destiny though, and receives an electric motor slotted between the front wheels to accompany the factory standard mid-mounted V6, essentially converting it into a twin engine hybrid.
Thanks to Mike for submitting this build, and a big congratulations goes out to him and his fiance Vica on their engagement.
I threw this little flyer together for Dom who’s organising the 2010 South East Dub Fest. I thought it came out pretty nice, although I’d love to do a more intricate one for another event when I have more time to spare. Any Melbournians who are interested in the VW/Audi scene should come and check it out.
I can’t help but imagine how some of the more modern Japanese sports cars would be so well suited to having a naturally aspirated V-configuration motor instead of their straight turbo’d powerplants. For example, I always thought my old S15 would be perfectly suited to having a VQ35DE with individual throttle bodies in the engine bay. I think it would bring them closer to the sportscars of yesteryear, before we were obsessed with big turbo’s and high power outputs and the sound of highly strung engines with roaring induction filled the air.
This build sort of touches on the above subject, where a home-grown Aussie slips a 1UZ V8 into a JZA80 Supra. In a world where so many people are putting 2JZ’s in to anything and everything, this guy pulls one out of a car that comes equipped with one as standard. To me that proves that people just have that unexplainable urge to modify anything and everything. Thanks to Stoney for submitting this one, a great technical build with heaps of detailed information, diagrams, and step-by-step photography. Plenty of good stuff in here for you tech-heads.
Note: You will be required to sign up to v-eight.com to view the full build thread.
I found this build in a post on Racer86, so firstly thanks to Rob for putting it out there. I’ve seen pictures of this particular car before in full drift flight, it looks so cool slammed on Work Equip 03’s (one of my favourite wheels). It’s just one of the many MX5/Miata’s built on the west coast of America that are making these little car’s appealing to a whole new generation. They used to be synonymous with balance, poise & pure driving enjoyment (among other less-positive analogies). Nowadays, though, people are slamming/stretching/drifting them, earning a level of respect and lust from a new, younger crowd.
This particular build thread focuses on the engine & drivetrain swap, showing the ITB’d 1.8L 4cyl being thrown out in favour of a 13B Turbo rotary. Along with the engine, it also receives S5 RX7 transmission & diff amongst other upgrades.
Finally got some tint installed. I’ve never actually had any of my cars tinted, as most of them just came with some light tinting already on the windows, or I always thought the money could be better spent on other modifications. But these windows were so clear that I really had no choice, and now that it’s been done I’m really happy with the results. Dark windows really set off a dark car. (Modern cars only, I’m not a fan of tint on older cars)
Build Threads clicked over 200,000 hits last night, BOOYA! Hasn’t even been 1 year yet.
Thanks for reading, everyone 🙂
Every now and then, someone will submit a build that has already been featured, but it is far from a wasted effort as it can open up an opportunity for another story. Jani-Matti from Finland email me a build from Mäkelä Auto Tuning previously featured here, the immaculate restoration of a Group B Toyota Celica rally car. Even though I had already featured that particular build, I had another look at the site and remembered that MAT have more than one intricate build on the go.
Keep reading below and you will find a list of the projects documented in their galleries. I have listed all of them instead of releasing each one as separate features. Does this mean I can take a couple of weeks off now? Didn’t think so 🙁
MAT is truly at the top-end of the car restoration spectrum. Not only are their builds pure quality, but they also take the time to create and update a clean and informative website complemented with superb photography.
