Yesterday I published a “What I’m Watching” post about a likeable young fella who goes by the name PneumaChris and his two Subaru project cars. Well, since he also has two up-to-date build threads about the same cars he vlogs about, I thought I might as well do a separate build thread post for them, too! As usual you’ll find the links to the full build threads at the bottom of the post.
Tag: retro rides
Fiat 850 Abarth Replica
There are some cars that just blast their way straight into the cockles of my heart. I’m not sure why, but they always tend to be old Fiats and Alfa Romeos, and if you add the word Abarth, you can bet it’s going to take the direct route. It might have something to do with this image and the effect it’s had on me ever since I first saw it. Anyhoo, this little rear engined corner-carver has an interesting tale, starting out as a Serbian Zastava 750 , before receiving a complete rebuild and being reborn as a very convincing Fiat 850 Abarth replica. The restoration is surgical-grade, and ends in a truly hand-built, brand new condition finished product.
Click here for more Fiat builds.
“If only you were nearer” – a road trip tale
If you’re a long-term reader of the site, the name Mystery Machine might ring a bell. I’ve covered a variety of Bruce’s exploits over the years, starting with his Teenage Dirtbag MX5, then the Area 52 communal garage space, and finally a general look at some other projects he was working on. Bruce has been a little quiet over the past couple of years, with work and general life taking a front seat to his car tinkering, but now he’s back. Oh boy is he back! A childhood love affair with the iconic aircooled Porsche saw him make the pretty huge decision to travel across the Atlantic Ocean to acquire a sight-unseen project P-car. Many of us can relate to the good ol’ road-trip-to-pick-up-a-new-car story, but have you ever flown to another continent to collect your ride? Bruce did, and he’s slowly but surely documenting the whole trip with his trademark sharp photography and poetic wordsmithing, authoring a thread on Retro Rides that is just a visual and mental feast for the senses. The thread is about more than just cars; it’s about the discovery of new friends, new surroundings, and a new appreciation for a land never seen before, documented through Bruce’s natural talent and gifted ability to capture the mood through his lens. The journey isn’t over yet, so I’ll be sure to update this post when the chronicles of the trip are concluded, but it’s up to 19 pages already and growing, so there’s plenty of content for you already.
You might want to warm up/chill your favourite beverage for this one.
Continue reading ““If only you were nearer” – a road trip tale”
A Tale of Three Lotii
Colin Chapman, James Bond, Formula 1, Pretty Woman. These are some of things that you might associate with the word “Lotus”. But what about air ride, engine swaps, wide wheels and interior re-trims? I’ve mentioned before how much I love seeing once pampered classics being torn down and fettled with as they become more affordable, and these three examples truly embody the guiltless “modify everything regardless of the badge” train of thought. You might not agree with some of the styles of modification, but I’m not here to convince you one way or another, I just like seeing people modify cars, especially cars that are rarely messed with.
All three builds reside together on the Retro Rides forums, and whilst enjoying their threads individually, I thought they’d make a great combined post to showcase how these vintage British sports cars are being re-imagined by the DIY crowd. I’ve added some captions to the images to make it easier to follow, I hope you enjoy.
Want to read more “A tale of …” posts featuring multiple cars? Click here.
The Adventures of Mystery Machine
Earlier this year I made two consecutive posts about the automotive exploits of one Retro Rides member by the name of Bruce (aka Mystery Machine), a person who truly understands the appeal of a good build thread. Bruce not only built a very cool MX5 along with a number of other awesome rides, but he also spearheads and bankrolls a communal garage space known as Area52. You should already know what type of guy he is (a die-hard car nut), so it’s no surprise to learn his hands have been less than idle since the last time he graced these pages. I thought I’d do a little ‘catch up’ piece on his latest projects (a Land Rover and a Lotus, can’t get more variance than that!), since I’m enjoying reading them so much myself, it’s only fair to share it with all of you…
Area 52
To follow on from the last post about his MX5, I thought it was only fitting to continue with another creation from the hands of Bruce. But this time it’s not a car, it’s a place where car guys come together and work on their projects as a community, forging bonds that are thicker than oil and stronger than steel. I present to you, Area 52.
This garage feature differs slightly from the others, as it doesn’t involve the actual build of the garage itself, but the automotive activities that happen within the walls and the new toys (hoist, anyone?) and tools that slowly trickle in. The site was transformed from your run-of-the-mill factory space to a character-filled hideaway where friends spend days and nights wrenching on their cars, helping each other out, and learning new skills. The monthly “play weekends” have an open door policy and go from Friday afternoon all the way until Sunday, with members traveling from all over Europe to be a part of the action. All of this is solely funded by Bruce for his love of cars and the community that comes with it.
The world would be a better place if there was an Area 52 in every town.
Teenage Dirtbag – NA MX5
If there’s a person who embodies the spirit/mantra/black magic of Build Threads and the people who get it post tag, it’s definitely Bruce aka Mystery Machine from the Retro Rides forum. He’s someone who lives and breathes cars while also enjoying the challenge of taking cracking photos whilst wrenching, and documenting his actions as clearly as possible with an intent to educate and entertain his audience (not as easy as some may think). Having owned and modified more cool cars than I’ve had hot dinners, his MX5 project was the first that caught my attention, a thread that I happily read numerous times for my own enjoyment (a rare treat these days, as my usual priority is to find stuff that everyone else will enjoy). I hope you all take as much pleasure in reading as I have, and I look forward to keeping an eye on – and later sharing with you – his new project, already firmly planted in my bookmarks.
RWD Mini Clubman Estate
This is yet another build I’ve had stashed away for a while, one that I keep checking on for updates, hoping to see a bit more progress before I feature it. But with these builds there always comes a time when I realise that enough is enough, you all need to see it, no matter if it’s finished or not. The essentials are: 1978 Mini Clubman Estate (wag0n), rear mounted 20V turbo Passat VW engine, flat floor and raised suspension mounting points.
Fiat 850
I’m posting this for the simple reason that I love these little cars. Always having been a fan of the Fiat 500, it wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I saw one of these slightly larger models on Speedhunters while browsing through their Cars & Coffee coverage from late August. Since then, I’ve been obsessed with the little Italian sedans, and they have a prominent place very high up on my wish-list.
During my routine browsing on the Retro Rides forum, I was excited find this build along my travels. Lots of great DIY in this one, including a turbo conversion and some liberal use of motorbike parts.
Chronicles of the Crazy Octopus
Remember the Crazy Octopus FC RX7 from a few years ago? Well he’s back, and this time armed with an S30Z, providing us with a very productive build with some sharp photography to go with it.
Shout-out to **** from Jtype for submitting this one.