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Theme Tuesdays: Car Art and The ELTA Summer Bash

By
DaveT
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3

As the years have rolled by the odometer my love for nostalgia and the way things ‘were’ has only increased. I’m not a pessimist who hates modern cars by any stretch, but older cars just have a certain presence that’s hard to replicate. They drive different, smell different, look different, they just plain are different.

Pedestrian safety hadn’t ruined designs, fuel mileage was an after thought and cars were for the most part fun. One of the things I like most about car tuning, from days gone by (and why I keep going to events like the ELTA Summer Bash and Big Go Drags) is the unique ways people personalized their cars.

Wraps and stickers are all the rage now, but in these circles, then and now, paint is still king.

Perhaps a dying art, my respect goes out to those who are still learning to sign paint an pinstripe. In my opinion having an artist add their touch to your car gives the work an extra layer of depth that just can’t quite be replicated by a machine. An extra bit of paint here, a small error there just brings the work to life.

Truth be told I’ve been meaning to do a Theme Tuesday like this for a while and with so many examples present at the ELTA Summer Bash I really couldn’t resist putting this one together.

If you like paint, and art like I do, enjoy this week’s Theme Tuesday.



Also sincerest apologies for the Theme Tuesday drought. I am going to try to hold myself to at least a bi-weekly schedule moving forward.

Motor Monday: Steeped In Nostaliga

By
DaveT
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0

I’m back! Well, really I never left, just hit another busy spell. Regardless I’ll have some new content hitting the site very soon. The Jalopy Jam Up and Northern Showdown are this weekend, and two weekends ago I was at the 2018 ELTA Summer Bash and Big Go Drags.

As I race to slice and dice those photos up before the weekend hits, here’s a cool project I saw for sale while cruising the pits at St. Thomas Raceway Park.

This ’69 Corvette funny car isn’t a car that is entirely unfamiliar to me. I’ve seen the car in the ELTA shop and they even dragged it out to the 2018 Detroit Autorama.

However until the 2018 ELTA Bash I wasn’t able to get the car’s full story. It was clear a survivor but I knew it had to have some sort of historical significance for the ELTA guys to hold onto it.

The abridged version of the car’s history is as follows; it was originally build in California by Drag Racing legend Lou Gasparelli. In its original guise it was a blown big block direct drive car.

Eventually the car was retired, for the first time, and later found in an outdoor storage compound. From there the car was given it’s new flares, new stance and recognizable paint job.

Both a show and go car the Corvette actually appeared briefly in a movie called “Hot Rod” in 1979.

Sometime after that the car dropped off the radar only to pop up on eBay then eventually in the ELTA shop.

Since it’s rediscovery the car has undergone a partial restoration and a 427 big block once again sits between the frame rails. The project is once again for sale at an asking price of 18k.

Can anyone lend me 17.5 k and some garage space? I feel a bad idea brewing.

Event Coverage: Drift Jam 2018 – Throwdown Round 1

By
DaveT
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0

Have you ever been part of a happening? I’m not talking about some weird M Night trainwreck with killer trees and plot twists. I’m talking about being at the jump off point of something new and exciting.

Prior attending Drift Jam, when asked if I’ve ever been a part of a happening I would have said no. I’ve been to plenty of first time events sure, but never one that’s shown so much potential.

Drifting is a form of Motorsport and therefore isn’t cheap. Driving in any event requires some level of capital investment.

Tires are blown through in rapid succession, parts break, there are trailer fees, and so forth and so on. Competing in an event also comes with it the potential risk of destroying a car you spent untold hours building.

As a result driver’s are rightfully particular about the events they attend.

If you’re a new series you better prove that you know what you’re doing if you want to survive.

With their first event being a resounding success word obviously spread because Drift Jam had a very respectable field for their first competitive event.

From the gates open to gates closed it’s clear to see that the organizers, Devo and Jover, care about their series the drivers and the spectators. Heck they even care about us media folk as well.

Actions speak louder than words and the actions they took to make the day run better went a long way.

Here’s an example; initially the day started with one track layout. After running it for roughly an hour Devo and Jover modified the layout based on driver feedback. I absolutely cannot understate the importance of this.

If you’ve ever watched a competitive event (of any sort) where the course doesn’t work you know it isn’t fun. It’s much more enjoyable to watch driver’s go all out on a course they love versus cruise through course that doesn’t work.

The result of a quick layout change, along with utilizing the main track, the Fabi track, and the skid pad was a day of near constant action.

The main track was for the primary competition and Fabi and the skid pad were kept warm by those who wanted to drive without the pressure of judged runs.

As you can tell from the photos plenty of people took advantage of the copious amounts of track time and tire smoke filled the air all day.

The Drift Jam competitive events have two classes. Street and Pro. The street class is run more like a jam session. These car’s don’t run tandems and instead compete for awards like most aggressive entry, best car style, and best driving style.

Pro, is as the name describes, for professional drivers. The cars are a little more serious, and the competition a little more traditional, but there isn’t as strict a rule set as other competitions.

In the end this series is more about than it is rules and awards.

From the outside looking in the Drift Jam format appears to have worked really well. From am to pro the driving was exceptional and it looked like everyone was having a great time.

In terms of tandem battle’s the one’s at Drift Jam are some of the best I’ve seen in recent memory. The wide variety of driving styles and cars made each tandem battle quite different from the next.

It was controlled mayhem and quite frankly it was awesome.

There were a couple of offs, and minor break downs throughout the day, but every car managed to roll out mostly in one piece which is what you always want to see at a drifting event.

Nothing is more gutting than seeing someone’s hard work spread all over the track as a pile of unrecognizable debris.

The wildest battle of the day was between Josiah Fallaise and Pat Cyr. Neither driver wanted to give up so much as an inch and as a result they ran incredibly close.

In the end Pat Cyr would up on top followed by Josiah Fallaise (who I promise was more excited than the photos make him seem) and Franky Becerra.

As if that wasn’t enough immediately after the award ceremony local clothing company Screvvface held an event called King Of The Ring.

King of The Ring rules were simple, go out and get the crowd hyped. Do that, and you win a prize pack.

A true showman leaves people wanting more and that’s what Drift Jam did with King Of The Ring. Thankfully more in this case is just around the bend. Throwdown Round Two takes place August 12th 2018 at Toronto Motorsports Park Cayuga.

For more information on the next event and the entire series visit DriftJam.ca

Another Saturday At Binbrook Speed & Custom

By
DaveT
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0

A few weeks ago Keith (the owner of Binbrook Speed & Custom) had one of his family and friends BBQs at his home shop in Binbrook. I rolled through (camera in hand obviously) for a good time and some good food.

Much like last year taking photos wasn’t my main goal but with so many awesome hot rods in attendance how can a guy resist?



Keith’s BBQs are always a great way for me to meet some noteable characters among the hot rod community and surprisngly I met two from my neck of the woods here in Durham.

The first rolled up in this super cool Pontiac, it’s a small block powered car that sounds mighty healthy. Apparently it had a bigger motor previously and the current is a compromise for the sake of drivability.

With slot mags in the rear, and factory wheels up front it’s got a bit of an understated presence I really dig.

Bart Smith, a local illustrator I’ve wanted to meet for awhile, showed up riding shot gun in the Pontiac to pick up his four banger powered Model A. It’s a simple little hot rod, but for what it lacks in size and power it makes up for in sheer fun.

The spartan Model A was at Keith’s shop for a little front end work. Keith addressed a few niggling issues in the front end and Bart drove the car the over 2 hour track back to Durham.

Can’t wait until the next BBQ, or my next chance to shoot a Binbrook build.

Motor Monday: V10 S2000

By
DaveT
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0

Full disclosure, I’ve been trying to track down Francis Gosselin’s s2000 for years. I’d seen photos of it before at events like Topp Drift, but I was never able to make it to an event that the car was present at.

Our game of Polkaroo finally ended at Drift Jam’s Throwdown event. There not only did I get to see the car, but I got to watch it turn tires into smoke.

The car is beat up, the motor is dirty, but such is the life of a drift car. The most important part is that the swap works, and it works well.

Surprisingly the v10 doesn’t even look all that uncomfortable in an engine bay that was originally designed to fit a small four cylinder.

I was in a desperate hunt for water when I caught the car in the pits, so I’ll have to do a better job of bringing you details and more photos the next time I see it.

There’s two more drift jam events this year, so I feel pretty good that I will come across the car again.

Theme Tuesdays: Exploring The Details at the Majestics BBQ

By
DaveT
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2

I’ve been going to at least one lowrider BBQ a season for the past six years. If you think I’d get tired of the events you couldn’t be further from the truth.

I absolutely love them, still. The atmosphere, the music, I’ve gone over all of this before. If you’ve never been you ought to go. Because I’ve covered the event so many times this year I’ve decided to take a macro approach and post just detail shots here on SIE.

It’s a bit different than how I normal present every coverage, but detail shots work great in a lowrider space. It’s also a great way for me to package up some event coverage into a succinct little Theme Tuesday.

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If you want to see my more traditional coverage of this event I did two posts over on Speedhunters. A general event one, and one breaking down the science of hoppers.

Theme Tuesdays: Ford Econolines

By
DaveT
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0

A few days ago, while I was watching Noriyaro’s most recent Dagiban video, and it occurred to me that I have not done a van related Theme Tuesday in years. But, not wanting to directly steal from Noriyaro I’m going to go left and focus on Econlines instead of Dodge Vans.

Why Econolines? Well, why not? Early Econlines were designed in an era where it was incredibly common for axles to sit under occupants and the motor between the driver and passenger. This configuration created a unique look common between VW busses, Corvairs, Dodge A-100s and of course the star of today the Ford Econoline.

That drive-line positioning can make lowering thse vans a bit of a mission, but, where there’s a will there’s a way. Thankfully all of these owners found both the will and the way.

We’re going to start this one of tame and get crazier as we go. This one looks pretty good dropped over one of the most common wheels of the early 90s
Note sure if this local project was ever finished, but the Corvette wheels certainly made it an intriguing project
The “Tinman” from Vanfest 2018
I feel like I let all of you down but not realizing there was a wheel standing Econoline in Ontario while this site has been in operation

While, not technically a van, I couldn’t leave this one out, it looks sick
Steel wheel (widened in the rear), pinstriping, and some low and these vans look way better than they did from the factory
Judging the by the wheels and the watermark I’d wager a minitrucker had a part in this one
I absolutely love this Econoline shot by Tyma Photo
The wide slot mags really make it Photo: Tymaphoto
The darket accents around the bodylines work well on this van, gives it a cool kustom vibe
The added vintage lettering just puts the whole thing over the top
Pro Street Econolines scratch an itch I honestly didn’t know I had
Especially the 454 packing variety
American Muscle Photography spotted this very American wheel stander in 2013, sadly I can’t find video of it running
This is a later van, obviously, but the only of its kind I have seen this low
A little SEMA style thanks to Rob McJannett and Performance Improvements
Perhaps the only traditionally styled lowrider econoline?
In the world of custom vans, Vango is unquestionably one of the best – Photo: Wheelsareverything.com

This video from Hoonigans breaks down the iconic van extremely well.

A Unicorn Hits The Streets

By
DaveT
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0

Imagine working on a vehicle on and off for twenty years? Sounds a little crazy right? Well life happens, and once life happens to you, you start to realize how one year can quickly slip into several.

James is an Ontario minitruckin’ OG and twenty years ago he took his truck off the road for an overhaul.

Though it took, perhaps quite a bit longer than expected, he did managed to get the truck done this year.

Additionally it’s played and on the street and he plans to make up for 20 years of the truck being off the road by driving it as much as he can.

For a truck started twenty years ago, it doesn’t really look dated at all.

The gunmetal paint and simple chrome was a great choice to give the vehicle longevity. Wild paint is nice, but tends to age quite fast.

In a switch on the norm James’ truck also rides on a Pro Hopper set up, not, bags. Pretty cool to see and something a bit different.

His truck being back out on the road makes me very excited for Northern Showdown that’s rolling into town August 25th at Country Heritage Park In Milton Ontario.

Man In Motion

By
DaveT
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5

I’m sure you all have noticed that Stance Is Everything hit a bit of a lull last month. As the tumble weeds blew by the front page I was caught in a bit of a personal, or more accurately professional, whirlwind.

As I alluded to when I shared photos of Mike Livia’s Apache, I’ve decided to ramp up my freelance endeavours for 2018. I am doing this in part to pay for Project Why Wait –hey, I’m honest if nothing else– but also because I love producing automotive media and all the experiences that come with it.

Automotive Customization 2018: Nothing Is Sacred – Speedhunters.com

Meeting new people, seeing new projects, learning more about automotive niches, I’m in for all of it. Each article I write, or photo I take, just sends me deeper down the rabbit hole.

Now nearly ten years deep I’m eager to continue down following the hole all the way through to Wonderland.

Spec’d Right: A Perfectly Balanced Silvia S15 – SpeedHunters

In the time I’ve been clacking these keys I’ve learned that while I thoroughly enjoy writing here, I love the challenge of writing for new audiences. Writing about hot rods one week, drift cars another, and whatever else may follow the week after that isn’t easy, but it helps me grow as content creator.

It also makes me a bit more versatile within the industry, and it’s a skill I’ve used to unlock a couple of doors I assumed un-pickable. One of the achievements I most recently unlocked is an official spot on the Speedhunters roster.

To say I’m stoked to be joining one of the largest online automotive publications in the world is an understatement. I’ve been chipping away at this goal since 2014 and finally, finally, it’s a reality.

I can’t speak to everything I’ll be doing at SH just yet, but I hope that each of you who read, like, comment, and share my posts here will do the same to the ones I write over there.

Diamonds Are Forever: Mid-Engined, Hot Rod Diamond T Truck – Rod Authority

Doubling down on good news, Canadian Hot Rod Magazine has also given me some more rope to do features and Rod Authority is also interested in more Canadian content.

Don’t worry, as busy as I get elsewhere I’ll always keep the porch light on here. Stance Is Everything is my home, it’s where I can be unfiltered, and it’s where I’ve forged plenty of long-lasting friendships.

So, thanks for sticking around and hanging with me as I see where 2018 and beyond takes me.

Yes this means I’ve missed another Theme Tuesday.

WTF Friday: Falcon Punched

By
DaveT
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1

The creativity of individuals when presented with a bushel of lemons never ceases to astound. Skyler Bethel had single owner, low km 1964 Ford Falcon roll into his shop and usually that would be a good thing but that wasn’t the case with this bird.

This particular Falcon has a tree fall on top of it creating significant damage.

Unsure of what to do with his twisted metal the owner sold the car to Skyler on the cheap.

Skyler parted out what he could of the car, but kept the running gear because it had quite a bit of life left in it.

Starting with he drive line, he made an interesting sort of transaxle out of the motor, a very short drive shaft, and the transmission.

A lot of creativity, a coil spring, and some square tube later and Skyler was one tractor seat away from a very custom trike.

He built the car, or bike, or whatever it can be registered as, in a mere 18 days. It’s mostly completed but he plans on finishing up the handle bars a bit better and adding some more tasteful tail lights.

For 18 days work of work though, this trike isn’t all that much to scoff at. Probably won’t win any beauty pageants but imagine it’s one hell of a drive.

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