Home Blog Page 33

The Pantera Reborn By Filip Malbaša

By
DaveT
-
2

I hinted at it in yesterday’s Theme Tuesday, but here is the final result of Filip Malbaša’s take on the DeTomaso Pantera.

Filip Malbaša if you recall is quite the digital artist and his take on iconic platforms is always interesting and creative.

I’ll let Filip describe his work here as he’s completely got the car planned out in his head right down to the rear view camera.

‘The DeTo as I like to call it is still powered by a Ford V8, but instead of the carbureted version, it’s a modern twin-turbo unit, giving it both power and reliability. The long tail rear end is home to a huge carbon diffuser from the latest 911RSR, while the intake is a hint to the “finned” modern LM racers. For the suspension, KW provided a fully adjustable set at all 4 corners and for the braking, a carbon ceramic compound is used, making traction with the 6 pot calipers all round. Gearbox is a 7 speed sequential, operated using paddle shifts, and being a rear engine, rear drive car, it’s a trans-axle, meaning the electronically controlled diff is in the same housing as the gears.

There are no rear view mirrors, since the rear fin is also host to a camera, which projects an image to the on-board display, which is also used for giving the driver much needed info on the car(fuel, various temps, rpm, speed). Steering is done from the full carbon bucket seat, which is snugly mounted in the 6 point cage equipped race trim interior and turning the three spoke deep dish SPARCO steering wheel with some buttons and switches mounted on it.

Traction issues are solved using TC(can be switched off or regulated) and super sticky slick tires measuring 18×9 in the front and 20×11 in the back with 02turbo tire lettering. Wheels aren’t center locks as you’d expect, rather, they are regular 5 bolt, making it easier to find ones that look good, since this would be used for the street as well(yes, it’s street legal).’

Thanks Filip for induldging me in giving a Pantera a go. Check out more of Filip’s work here on 02turbodesign.

Theme Tuesdays: DeTomaso Panteras – 2

By
DaveT
-
0

DeTomaso Panteras are one of my favorite cars, at least visually and conceptually. I have never driven one, or been in one for that matter, and I don’t see them all that often but despite all that they remain in my top five.

In fact I like them so much that when Filip Malbaša asked what car, off all the possibilities in the world, I wanted him to render a Pantera was my first response, and the rendering he did was actually the sole reason for today’s Theme Tuesday.

I will be posting said rendering tomorrow as it deserves a post of its own, but today we will take a look at cars the exist in the real world.

This car comes via Madwhips.com and is one of several up skirt Pantera shots to appear today
I found this car on wildpantera.com which is a site you should visit if you are into Panteras to any degree
Turns out the car is 100% real and –cliché I know– spectacular
This one I spotted on Seventh Wing it is a restored model with GR4 flares it sold for 78.9k a few years back
The engine bay of the car above is mighty tidy
This beautiful red Pantera sits on Foregline center lock wheels, this car and the car above really emphasize the wedge shape of Panteras which I think is a big, big reason why I like them so darn much
Big booty girls put every guy in debt -picked this one via reddit.
What is not to like about the rear end of these cars? Honestly. – via Rallyways.com
I’m including the Gas Monkey Pantera just so you don’t think I forgot it. Visually I’m actually not a huge fan of this car, the engine cover is imposing IMO and the wheels too sunk.
I had issues with this car the first time I saw it too as it smoothed out a lot of what I like about the Panteras admittedly dated design
Looking at it now, and in comparision to the Gas Monkey car, I’d say it works as a modern interpretation of the Pantera
Pinterest coughed up this image, remember when this was the go to style for all car posters?
Keeping the low resoloutiion pinterest time machine going here’s a Pepto colored car with a very happy model
….just wheels and a drop
This is actually the first Pantera I’ve seen on more pro street looking wheels. I actually don’t mind it but the rear looks a hair high
*heart eyes emojii* – via The Escape Road
Pantera alternative to a Ferrari that Miami vice vibe via roosterteeth.com
I honestly had no idea Group C Panteras existed before this car.
This was apparently the last one ever build and bringatrailer.com has a lot of information about the car on their site
It is actually impossible for me to do any Pantera post and NOT mention Team Pantera of Japan
Funny enough WordPress glitched when I uploaded these photos originally and dated them February 8th 2036 which means until 2036 permanently affixing them to the top of my uploads list
Team Pantera of Japan consistently delivers some of the best looking Panteras ever

Along with some of the wildest…

Event Coverage: The 2017 Motorama Custom Car & Motorsports Expo

By
DaveT
-
4

Any show occupying Mississauga’s International Center has big shoes to fill, but even in its first year it was evident that the Motorama Custom Car & Motorsports Expo was up to the challenge of filling said shoes.

Now, three events deep, the Motorama staff have focused their efforts in all of the right places, and never spread themselves too thin in an attempt to grow too quickly. The result is a show that continues to be enjoyable for both spectators and competitors.

Vehicle wise Motorama has consistently delivered, yes it is predominantly a classic show, but it isn’t exclusively so, and for the second year in an import was placed in the prestigious front hall.

Recognizing that a well built car is a well built car, regardless of genre, is a significant hat tip to the import community and I’m really interested to see if the trend continues next year.

As a turbo B series, rear wheel drive converted, race ready machine, this Rukus Motorsports Accord isn’t your run of the mill Honda.

For those of you who might be skeptical of the project, the car does run and drive, so I imagine it will be seen at Cayuga once or twice this year.

Will it hit the six seconds it is certified for? Only time will tell.

Just as imports are somewhat new to the front hall so are lowriders, looking back through my coverage I think only one other lowrider has been there before.

Known as the Sun King this ’51 Bel Air came out of Quebec via the Luxurious Car Club, and the classic Chevy was detailed top to bottom and front to rear.

Engraving, paint, chrome, everything was thrown at this car at literally every angle.

One might assume, based on the lack of brake pads and chrome rotors, that this car isn’t driven but I have it on good authority that those rotors come off, new pads go on, and this car cruises like a true lowrider should.

1936 Copperhead owner Mike Livia debuted his Taylor’d Customs built ’59 Chevrolet at Motorama and the eagle eyed among you have probably noticed that this is the same truck from a shop visit to Taylor’d earlier in the summer.

Looking for a vehicle he could feel comfortable driving more often than his show winning Ford Mike’s goals for “Lowmater” were a presentable, reliable, driver.

The exterior has been left alone, and the frame has a Mustang II front end conversion and custom back half. The interior was also repaired and re-trimmed, and under the hood is an LS permanently on loan from a Corvette.

Boot Hill Automotive Resurrection is no stranger to Motorama, or the front hall, and this one stop restoration shop debuted their 1960 Corvette build at the 2017 show.

Now an LS powered car, and on a Roadster shop chassis, I imagine this C2 is going to be a riot to drive on the somewhat secluded streets in Erin Ontario where Boot Hill is located.

One never has to look too far for traditional hot rods at Motorama and Slade Customs had one of the standouts in 2017. A five-year build this Y-block powered car is known as the Blue Baller Hauler.

I feel like there’s a really good possibility that this car will be at the Jalopy Jam Up in August where it would fit right in.

Speaking of the Jalopy Jam Up it was great to see this Ford pickup at Motorama after I saw it complete for the first time at last year’s ‘Jam Up.

Debuting a few years ago –as a work in progress— the builder, Dylan, started the truck at the age of 15 when many kids are still building model cars.

To have a car in the front hall at such a young age is incredibly impressive and that feat is further impressive when you consider that the truck was built in a style that few Dylan’s age set out to emulate.

However, when your dad is one of the key members of the Lead Kings I guess style doesn’t fall far from the tree.

The Lead Kings actually had a pretty cool display in the center hall of the show.

They pulled a few campers in and created an impromptu type of camp ground where they could be found hanging out all weekend long.

It was a pretty unique idea for a display, and really suits this club’s style because ultimately I don’t think taking things too serious is what they are all about.

The Lead Kings recently dropped some new merchandise, that I somehow managed to completely forget to buy at the show, so hopefully I see them later this year to grab some swag.

Circling back to the front hall this ’23 T bucket was from Quebec as well, and I’m not sure what’s in the paint guns out that way but they really take things to the next level.

While not particularly my style, it was impossible to not appreciate the amount of work put into this car and it was totally deserving of its spot literally right near the main entrance.

Fit and finish wise the Ford above was one of the best in the venue. The emerald-green hued paint looked great under the lights as did the fresh interior.

The Grand Champion award at Motorama went to Enzo Covello and his 1936, 427 big block Chevy powered three window coupe above. Dangerous in Red the car has the stance, the chrome, and the attention to detail of a proper street rod.

Blair brought his Dodge, fresh off its lowest car in at Autorama Extreme, to Motorama and the car proved a winner two shows in a row taking home the best rat rod award for 2017.

Now to set up that photo shoot in the summer with a little tire smoke…

The Tucci Hot Rods Model A below has received quite a bit of exposure since it was completed in 2015, but this is my first time seeing the car in the metal.

The car is chopped five and a half inches and has a small block Chevy under hood. It also has quite a few pretty slick details hidden all over it including an extremely different windshield trim you see in the photo above.

If there’s one car I regret not elbowing my way to the front of the pack to take more pictures of it is this Alinson Designs Chevrolet Chevelle project. It was far from complete, but had a heck of a lot of cool details lurking throughout.

A car that did steal an almost disproportionate amount of my attention at this year’s show was the ’68 Camaro built by Pro Comp Custom. Similar to their Charger Solo (below) the Camaro known as My Kind Of Crazy was not for the faint of heart.

My Kind Of Crazy was actually built first, and according to the owner’s upsets purists somewhat less as Chevrolet owners are apparently quite a bit more easy-going than Mopar owners.

Still, the car is a drastic departure from your average Camaro and has proportions very similar to a Jada “Dub Series” toy or something of that ilk so I imagine there are a few Camaro owners who are up in arms over this build.

I however loved the car and couldn’t resist coming back several times to shoot photos of it. There’s a number of under construction photos at Pro Comp Custom website if you’re interested in just how much has been done to get the car to look as it does.

Another show and another advanced design truck draws my attention, you’d think I were building one or something (updates soon I promise).

The bridge, extending into the wheel tubs was a nice look and tying the candy red frame, into the wheels and also the interior really brought it all together quite nicely.

The East London Timing Association was the feature club of this year’s event which, not only did they deserve but, I’m sure helped lift the club’s spirits after the passing of brother.

It was great of the E.L.T.A. to bring out Dennis Wilson’s car (above) after his passing and continue his tradition of putting as many kids in it as possible. Local hot rod clubs also gathered later in the show to commemorate Dennis’ life which just goes to show how much heart is really left in hot rodding.

Hats off to the Motorama team for another great event and I look forward to attending again next year. Might be a bit too early to call it but hopefully I can drag, or more preferably drive, my truck out to next year’s show but lets not put too many carts before horses.

Spring Fever coverage will be hitting the site later this week!

WTF Friday: Steam Punk Rat Bike

By
DaveT
-
0

The Motorama Custom Car Show was last weekend and while I was sorting through the coverage I knew I had a good bike to showcase for this week’s WTF Friday.

When I saw the bike sitting on the ground my initial reaction was indeed WTF, followed by wow there’s been a lot of thought and creativity put into this build.

Built in a short four months by Toronto based Motorcycle Enhancements this Steam Punk themed bike is powered by a Yamaha Roadstar 1600cc motor mounted into a truss style frame.

You’ve probably already noticed that this bike sits on the ground thanks to air suspension front and rear.

The air set up itself is pretty trick; the compressor is a from a BMW and it fills that green oxygen tank.

The entire thing is plumbed with copper hard-lines –as is the electrical system– and the owner was doing demonstrations of the suspension going up and down all day thanks to a charger hooked up to the bikes battery.

The battery resides in the green ammunition box if you were wondering.

Interesting details are literally all over every inch of this bike. By now I assume you’ve already noticed that Chevy valve covers make up the gas tank but did you also notice the ratchet handled, chain driven, jockey shifter?

No? how about the quick release tractor seat?

The gauges on the truck reside in a custom-made copper “dash” and the tiny Canadian Club whiskey bottles you see on either side of the fork make up the bikes turn signals.

The springer fork uses wrenches as rockers and hides an air bag between the legs. The chain-drive in the rear is supported by a series of tensioners which help keep the chain in alignment throughout the suspensions articulation.

Fittingly an oil can serves as the bikes oil pan, and for foot controls I am sure you’ve noticed the 50mm bullets.

Unsurprisingly the bike drew a lot of attention at Motorama including the attention of Vegas Rat Rods’s Steve Darnell who awarded it prestigious the RatRod award.

The builder/owner isn’t quite done with the bike as he plans to add a steam-powered horn as well. I am not sure if plans are to ride the bike, sell it, or just keep displaying it but it is darn wild any way you look at it.

Look for more coverage from Motorama to start Monday!

Theme Tuesdays: Corvettes

By
DaveT
-
1

Some of the most obvious vehicles fall through the cracks for Theme Tuesdays becsuse in my effort to get creative with the weekly themes I over look some of the most obvious platforms. This time around Corvettes are the most obvious.

By nature most of the Corvettes in today’s post have a performance air about them but there are a few built to just plain look awesome.

I really ought to make a return trip to Legendary Motor Car Company sometime soon to see more gems like this C1
This black beauty, was an actual race car and a feature car on SuperChevy
Another race car, or rather street car/race car split isn’t period correct but rather a new Pro Touring build
There’s a lot of cars in this post from various SEMA shows and this particular House Of Koloa painted car still manages to look outstanding today.
Another SEMA spot, I believe this is (was?) the fastest Street Legal Corvette at the time
I legitimately have no idea if this car was ever completed, might have to do a little digging 
The Optima Street Car Invitational event and Corvettes appear to go together like bread and butter
This is from a more recent SEMA show (2014), the windshield banner suggests this car might hold a surprise or two
Brian Hobaugh’s car actually makes an appearance in the next Fast and Furious movie where it gets destroyed when the team tries to hog tie Dom. I prefer the clip below though:

This obnoxious, but ridiculously awesome car, crossed the block at Barett-Jackson not too long ago
This is pretty well your prototypical C3 Corvette, Torque Thrust style wheels, clean paint, mildly lowered
I included that car because this one, is the same effect just put on the ground
I remember at the time people thought this car was a Photoshop because the idea of air on a Corvette was so offensive… funny how times have changed
This wild Pro Street inspired car was at Autorama in 2013, a show I just returned to this year
One of 2 street legal Greenwood Corvette GTOs care of Jason Langley 
These cars ran a blow through turbo set up and put down an estimated 450 hp
Yet another reason to visit Legendary Motor Car 

As over the top of as the car below is it actually inspired today’s post.

In my opinion if the camber wasn’t so extreme he’d really be on to something.

This was an over 1000 horsepower car if I do recall correctly 
Always did like the color on this car 
Another one from the SEMA show, less in your face than some of the other cars in this post

 

Going to close things out with this wild Car Porn Racing built machine
If memory serves this car is known as the Black Mamba and is many of today’s latest tuning trends applied to Chevrolet’s immortal sports car

Event Coverage: The 2017 Detroit Autorama

By
DaveT
-
0

The last time I was able to personally attend the Detroit Autorama was in 2013, precisely the day after I got my car back from Air Lift Performance. On the trip back to Toronto I made a promise to myself that I would return, but I didn’t know it would take me quite so long to do so.

2017 was the show’s 65th anniversary –which is an extremely long run for a show of any kind– and though it would be fun to say I planned specifically to return to the show on its 65th birthday it was all just a coincidence.

Rod Authority hired me to cover the show last December and I agreed to it before I even knew it was the 65th anniversary.

Autorama, not to be confused with the Canadian show Motorama, is one of the larger shows in the United States and there’s a lot of hype around the show because of the coveted Ridler award.

This means many of the best shops in the USA bring their cars to Detroit for a chance to compete for the Ridler, the best of which make the Great 8, with one of those 8 ultimately taking home the award and the cash and jacket that goes with it.

Though only 8 make the cut for consideration that doesn’t mean the rest of the show isn’t noteworthy, quite the opposite in fact.

In fact as a whole this is probably one of the highest quality shows I’ve ever attended. Since there are going to be insanely well-built cars in the building everyone seems to step up their game.

I spent two days walking the show and didn’t get bored for any of it. Truth be told I probably missed some of it after returning to gawk at a few specific cars over and over.

Sometimes it was because of how well they were built, and other times like with the car below, I stared in an attempt to figure out exactly what it started as.

Largely a classic American car show there were a few late model cars and a couple imports peppered throughout, however because I see a lot of those cars in the summer months, and because I was working for a domestic publisher, my focus wasn’t on there.

Don’t worry though, I’ll get a lot of import, euro, and late model photos this weekend at Motorama.

I mentioned above that much of my time at Autorama was spent drooling over the same cars over and over and one of those cars was the Charger below known as Solo.

Built by Pro Comp Custom this charger is a beast, and if you thought Miro’s under construction Cyrious Garageworks built Charger was cut up significantly you might need to avert your eyes away from this car.

Solo has been chopped and sectioned 3 inches making it the lowest Charger built to date, and the black on black color scheme, with dashes of purple for accenting, make it one of the meanest looking too.

Being able to see over the roof of a charger really puts into perspective just how big these cars were. They are massive, massive machines.

This car will actually be making the trip to Toronto this weekend so I will get another chance to look at it and listen in on people’s reactions.

Additionally Pro Comp Custom will be bringing a Camaro they built that is reportedly equally ridiculous.

Another vehicle I shot quite a bit was the Classic Car Studio built, twin turbo LS1, bagged c10 that caused quite a stir at SEMA.

Tiffany, as the truck is called, certainly lived up to its reputation in person and is a beautiful truck inside and out.

With a patina exterior, one might have given Tiffany a passing grade if the interior was rough to match but Classic Car Studio completely re did it from dashboard to seat back and floor to roof.

The colors they chose worked really well and while it had been modernized they didn’t kill the character or the original design.

The metal work under the hood, or rather under the hood if the hood was anywhere to be seen, was extremely well done and the bed floor was done to match.

After looking at this truck through they eyes of Performance Improvement’s Rob McJannett it was great to see the car in the metal for myself.

On the topic of metal work, this Troy Trepanier (aka Rad Rides By Troy) and Dennis Mariani project sat near the front entrance welcoming show goers with its bare metal body.

Starting with a pristine ’29 Tudor Troy Trepanier predictably transformed this car into a work of art, much like all of his other builds.

I’ve read that this far might see burgundy paint at some point but I for one hope it doesn’t.

It’s raw state really lets the metal work (of which there is a lot; chopped top, shaved drip rails, swapped windshield frame and more) speak for itself.

On a more personal level, you already know all the bagged trucks at the show spoke to me.

This Dodge, which was in the Tremac transmission booth, was quite a nice looking truck with plenty of patina and battle scars (see the windshield).

Contrasting the patina and bruises were the bright white Detroit Steel wheels.

The Detriot Steel/Mobsteel guys actually invited us to their after party later that night which was a great time, so thanks to them for some good ol’ Detroit Hospitality!

This @zielger_fab built C10 had a number of people around it at any give time hence the lack of complete truck shots.

The color combination of teal, pewter, and brown worked very well on this truck and actually made my wife, who has previously not expressed much interest in C10s, stop and take a few photos with her phone.

Another truck of interest to the Thomas family, for obvious reasons, was this stunning ’51 Chevy, again colors are key here and playing off the brown paint that was under the green was a great idea.

I cringe slightly when I consider how much seeing an interior like this has added to my overall Project Why Wait budget, but seriously this is a work of art inside.

I won’t be installing a center console in my truck but this truck makes a good argument for full door panels.

Another wicked idea/application of an idea on this truck was the bed floor.

Lots of people do tilt beds but you can’t really see the air management at shows that way, nor can you easily work on it. This was a great compromise and something I’d certainly like to emulate with my truck.

Finally the LS swap on this truck was also extremely well done and the inner fenders appear to be custom and coming straight off the fenders then sloping down really cleans up the engine bay.

While it took some work I did manage to pull my self away from the AD above to check out this wicked Studabaker.

A 2016 Goodguys 2016 Vintage Air Custom Rod of the year winner this black beauty is a car I wish I was disappointed that I didn’t take more photos of.

I’m still trying desperately hard to not scratch the motorcycle itch, but bikes like the one above don’t help. Thankfully I’m light on disposal income right now or I’d probably be trying to sneak something past my wife at this point.


Going to round this post out with a few more assorted photos.

I’ve already been pitched the opportunity to cover the show again next year so I doubt four years will pass until the next time I’m in Detroit!

My Day At The Lexus High Performance Driving Program

By
DaveT
-
0

Winter driving is an unavoidable situation for all Canadians, and while it would be nice if we were all capable winter drivers at birth anyone who has driven on the 400, 401, or DVP during a snow storm knows this is certainly not the case.

Unfortunately traditional driving schools often under emphasize winter driving do’s and dont’s, and some drivers just try to avoid the matter all together opting to stay off the road during inclement weather. However this all falls apart when you get caught in a blizzard which is something if you drive in Canada is bound to happen at least once.

Lexus Canada‘s solution for equipping the owner’s of their vehicles with the skills they need to drive comfortably, capably and competently in the winter is their High Performance Driving Program.  The event invites Lexus owners to, for a fee, learn to better drive their cars while under the tutelage of experienced driving instructors who come from a variety of Motorsports backgrounds.

The event covers acceleration, braking, and steering exercises on various prepared courses in Quebec, Edmonton and Ontario, and Lexus Canada arranged for me to take part in their most recent event in Minden Ontario.

I was scheduled to drive in the afternoon session, and shortly after I arrived at the fairgrounds I was tossed the keys, or rather the fobs, to not one but two current year Lexus vehicles; an NX and an IS300 both winter ready all wheel drive vehicles. The IS was an executive packaged car and the NX was an F-Sport equipped model.

After spending four hours, split between the two vehicles, it would be absolutely shameful of me not to spend a few moments discussing first impressions.

Now, I’m not in the market for a luxury CUV, but I will admit that the NX is far from a bad-looking vehicle and didn’t feel overly large or ungainly to drive. That said it is still a CUV, and I felt much more comfortable doing the exercises in the IS. The IS felt far more nimble and responsive than the NX, but the transition was more akin to good to better than bad to great.

On first start of both vehicles I was taken aback by all the bells and whistles Lexus packs these vehicles with. Pushing the start button (once I found it) brought the car alive, not only starting the motor, but moving the seat to the last stored driver position, locking the doors, and adjusting the side mirrors.

It was much more of a production than I’m used to when I turn the key in my humble speed3.

From behind the wheel, if I had to pick two interior features that impressed me it was the analog clock and GPS display. I can’t recall the last time I saw an analog clock in a vehicle, so that was a nice surprise and classy touch, and as someone who uses their phone as a GPS I’m a bit envious of those treated to a large, easy to read, integrated display.

But enough waxing poetic about the vehicles, if you want to check one out a Lexus dealer is probably not too far from you, and I’m sure you’d rather hear about what the High Performance Driving Program is about.

Compared to the sole other driving school I’ve been to this one focuses less on in class instruction and more on actually getting you behind the wheel and out driving.

Lead by a group of instructors, in my case the polite and patient quartet of Hank, Robin, Mike, and Greg, they ride with you (traditionally in your own Lexus) to run you through the four exercises; slalom, collision avoidance, skid pad, and finally the ice race track.

The first two exercises focus on raising the driver’s eye height to take look further down the road at potential obstacles (an invaluable skill I wish the person who rear ended me had) and getting used to how a vehicle responds to steering inputs at different speeds and varying brake inputs.

The third exercise took place on the skid pad, and it’s at this point I became very aware of just how slippery the ice course at Minden fairgrounds actually is. Flooded every night with gallons upon gallons of water, any sign of pavement is under several feet of sheer ice that provides next to no traction once the snow has been pushed off it.

I’ve done my fair share of parking lot play in snowy conditions, but doing so on an ice track was a completely new, exciting experience. I wasn’t the only one who took a few moments to get used to the conditions, the owner of the car below ended up tapping one of the snow embankments but thankfully his car was unscathed.

My only complaint regarding this particular portion of the training would be that they didn’t let me play around with traction control off and sport mode engaged (to make power transfer more rear bias) for nearly long enough.

The final lesson of the day took place on the actually ice course which is normally home to vehicles like the Subaru and Hyundai below.

The track, which is designed to be fast and challenging has a variety of short straight-aways and turns that allowed us students to get going fast enough to use what we had learned, but not so fast that we could put ourselves or our cars in too much danger.

My first introduction to the fun to drive course was actually from the rear passenger seat of the IS.

At this point in the day Marian (@m_k_1115), a Lexus employee from Japan, actually took me for the first few laps –with an instructor at her side of course– as we traded on and off with the IS.

She did very well on the track and wasn’t afraid to push things a bit, which made me feel comfortable doing the same when she was riding in the back.

To make sure nothing got too hairy only two cars were allowed on the track at the time which gave me the opportunity to hop out and take a few photos between sessions. It was however 13 degrees (around -21 with the windchill) below zero so I didn’t stay out too long.

After Marian and I traded six laps each the day was done and we were set on our way to employ what we learned throughout the winter, which I was actually able to do a few days later when we were treated to a healthy dumping of fresh snow.

Overall my experience at the High Performance Driving Program was incredibly positive and I’d recommend it to any Lexus owner looking to become more comfortable behind the wheel of their vehicle.

Thanks Lexus Canada for the invite and if the powers that be are listening I wouldn’t mind checking out the summer course!

Theme Tuesdays: Recently Viewed – February 2017

By
DaveT
-
3

Time to sit back, connect your device to WiFi, and enjoy another ‘Recently Viewed  Theme Tuesday.

This month the format returns to videos from any given year, not just 2017, and almost any given topic including matchbox cars, race cars and even a little motocross.

(Apologies for unfortunate Nickleback in the early parts of the first video)










If you’ve got some videos of your own you’ve watched this month you think I would be into feel free to add them in the comments below.

Event Coverage: Autorama Extreme ’17

By
DaveT
-
6

As a BMX rider of nearly two decades I’ve become a little desensitized to the word ‘extreme’. Often overly used to describe the most mundane of things the word quickly lost its impact in the early 2000s.

However, name aside, Autorama Extreme is quite awesome and the most relaxed part of the Autorama show.

The upstairs portion of Autorama is great, don’t get me wrong, and I love the Ridler award competitors, but they are so far removed from the average car builder’s project that it’s a little surreal.

Extreme is a little (a lot) more down to earth and where the builds are more often than not completed by the builders.

It is also where people throw caution completely to the wind and do whatever they damn well please, like with the Dodge below.

This truck… or Ambulance technically (M43 Dodge to be precise) was chopped up in pretty well every which way to fit over a lengthened Ford cube van chassis.

It’s got a 6.6 litre turbo diesel motor under hood and was rough in pretty much every way but,  damn if it wasn’t one of the craziest looking  builds in the venue and I’m pretty sure it would turn more heads on the road than one of the Ridler cars just because it is so ridiculously large.

Autorama Extreme is also where, for unexplainable reasons, I’ve seen some of the most unusual aircooled beetle builds, something one would assume be reserved for the European shows I frequent.

The raw metal example had a crowd around it pretty well all day making a full shot next to impossible, but I did wait for the seas to part twice to get photos of the grey one which was pretty wicked.

Detroit Steel wheels are justifiably popular in Detroit, and while I’m dead set on 15s for my truck I must say that school of thought was rigorously tested over the weekend thanks to cars like this Buick Invicta.

There are quite a few more Autorama photos set to roll out this week stay locked for that and check out my ongoing Autorama coverage on RodAuthority.com

WTF Friday: Maximum Overdrive

By
DaveT
-
0

Semi truck hot rods are not that new concept, but the more elaborate ones are still some of the most ridiculous builds going. $50,000 worth of ridiculous? I’m not sure, but at the same time I don’t really know what a used semi truck goes for so maybe that is a bargain.

The owner of this Kenworth, called the Thunderhawk, sees it as an investment claiming that it will be work $500k or so at Barrett Jackson when complete.

The Thunderwak is long, really long, due to being stretched by the builder and having a legitimate sleeper cab. In addition to being elongated it has also had the roof chopped 6″ which actually looks pretty becoming.

However there are two things that really make this truck stand out; its stance (which is thanks to a custom frame and suspension which is independent front and rear and came from a charter bus and another semi) and the Detroit Diesel Motor.

On top of said motor is a pair of 671 blowers with a zoomy style exhaust set up. Unlike a lot of these Craigslist projects this one does run and sounds monstrous at that.

So what’s left to make the truck look like the rendering below?

Well honestly it sounds like just finishing work, paint, interior and the like. That is of course assuming that the frame is done well and the drive-line is hooked up so that the truck can move.

If you’re looking for a crazy project this one is for sale right now in Denver, and if you do buy it please, please, please keep me in the loop!

1...323334...227Page 33 of 227
© 2022 Stance Is Everything