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Theme Tuesdays: Minitruck Inspired Cars

By
DaveT
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2

You guys already know that I am a sucker for both minitrucks and nostalgia.

So when a thread calling for minitruck inspired cars appeared in the Minitruckin, Where Are They Now? Facebook group I had save a few photos for those of you who are not a member, or have steered away from social media entirely.

It’s worth noting, when I say minitruck inspired, I mean wild paint, billets, speakers shaved everything and of course a slammed stance.

All the glorious original Minitruck styling vibes.

Tenth Generation Thunderbirds were a staple spotted vehicle of my youth
As were Plymouth Sundance/Dodge Shadows modified ones on Lexanis were quite rare of course..
Also can’t forget Ford Escort GTs, which I have no problem admitting I used to like quite a bit in the right hands
This Aerostar is mental, peel the folding… back body?
Amigos were a vehicle I never saw much of growing up. Neat little things and this one is awesome even today
This car is apparently M.IA somewhere in Indiana, as you can see by the truck in the rear it fit in well
Check out the extended hood over the headlights on this Accord. Unexpected trick, but not bad!
One of the best things about ‘mini truck cars’ is the creative lengths owner’s went to put them on the ground
That looks like a large nitrogen tank flanked by a cantilever set up
Sadly you can’t make out much more from this angle, but the owner does still have it!
This is a later build, but the minitruck influence is still strong
This turbo CRX was parted out shortly after a run on the show circuit
This Roadmaster is an icon in the minitruck world, and for good reason. Look at all the detail buried in the paint!
It’s still around today, which is impressive. Actually in general more vehicles are still around than you’d expect
The same unfortunately cannot be said for this car…
… after becoming pretty wild in it’s own right it was eventually scrapped

I often wonder how many cars from today will be around ten, fifteen, even twenty years from now? Makes sites like mine super important for archival purposes!

SR20 Swapped Datusn 510

By
DaveT
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1

Despite a peculiar year to say the last, a new event debuted here in Ontario in 2020; The Japanese Classic Track day.

As the name implies it’s a show that catered to Japanese cars, late 90s and earlier. It took place at Shannonville, a track not to far from my house, so I ventured forth.

One of the first vehicle’s I spotted was a tidy, and rather orange, Datsun 510.

The car both looked and sounded pretty healthy, so when it came off after a session I poked my camera around to see what was up.

SR20 motors in Datsun 510s are not a new swap, but, they are mighty effective in the car, even in relatively stock form.

I appreciate the fact that the owner of this car took their time to make sure the swap looked fairly tidy under hood.

The custom name plate is also a nice touch. One of those little pieces that’s easy to overlook but nice to catch.

The car proved rather durable too shrugging off a late day four tire off with not even a hiccup.

Theme Tuesdays: Stylin’ And Profilin’ – Feature Edition

By
DaveT
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0

In myopinion no photo better defines a car’s stance than a profile shot. I don’t think there’s a single one of us that hasn’t set our car on the ground, stepped back, and pondered the end result.

Depending on how that evaluation goes, either the car stays on the ground or it’s immediately thrust back up on jack stands for more work. As a photographer a profile shot is usually one of the first I take.

It helps reveal if I need to hind anything in successive shots to do the car justice, or, just fire away. Only just now have I realized that these shots would make a tremendous Theme Tuesday.

If you think this was good, I also do this at shows, where the occasion permits, and I have even more of those shots. Stay tuned.

Kept Low, Kept Forever

By
DaveT
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0

About ten years ago I saw this beauty of an orange Blazer at a car show in Durham called Extreme Invasion.

Of all the vehicles at that event it’s the one I think about most to this day.

I’m a Blazer nut and if you follow the site you know this. Of all of the Blazers to ever come out of Ontario this truck is in my opinion one of the best.

Heck, I’d even go as far as to say it’s one of the best S trucks to come out of Ontario period.

Later I found out the truck was owned by Sean Johnston via Mike McConnell who took these photos at Toronto’s Motorama.

Even now, looking at photos of the truck my opinion has not changed. It’s extremely well done, and the modifications have withstood the test of time.

However recently –via the awesome Minitruckin, Where Are They Now?– group on Facebook I discovered something that blew my mind. This orange version of the truck is not its first, or even second look. It’s the third.

The truck was originally teal and purple the first time it debuted. The look is definitive 80s/90s minitruckin’

Apparently there was also a red version between this one and the orange one, which was when the truck was first bagged, but before it was body dropped.

Sean still has the truck, creeping up on thirty years now, and the photo above is the last time it was out.

I hope to be able to have a similar journey with my own truck, Project Why Wait, when it’s done.

Long standing relationships with vehicles is such a rare thing these days and this truck is damn near perfect.

Theme Tuesdays: OBS Chevy Trucks

By
DaveT
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0

OBS Trucks, or old body style (GMT400 or 88-98) GM Chevys are super, super hot right now. Many are referring to them as the new C10 because C10 market has ran off into insanity after it’s own recent highs.

In general however it seems like all vehicles from 88-98 are seeing a boom as they become that get into the 15-25 year old range.

F bodies in particular have also started to hit their second stride. But let’s focus on OBS trucks, for now.

(Apologies for some of the smaller photos, some are ten years old!)

This is probably the quintessential look for OBS trucks, then and now, static drop, white letters billet grills
Of course, classic looks look even better on the ground
Speaking of classic, this was the thing to do for quite a long time in the truck community, OBS on OBS
Building on the above examples, some graphics, a phantom grill and laying door never hurt anyone
If memory serves this truck is still kicking around Ontario, hopefully just as clean
I’d like to hope this one is still around too
The Swedes operate on their own agenda…. clearly
An OBS with a surprise our two  from the swapsareeverything.com archives
Surprise 1
Surprise 2
Hands up if you wanted a 454 SS… don’t recall them being so dang high back then though
It’s remarkable how much a wheel swap and a drop can do to modernize the look of a truck. Perfect tidy daily driver quality vehicle here
Obviously I’m all for laying door with them too
On the flip side, a well used 1500 as an autocross truck never gets old
This truck was my introduction to big (giant) Billets, I dig them, wouldn’t want to buy tires for them, but I dig ’em
Don’t for a second think I forgot about dually OBS Chevys!
I have a lot of photos of this truck, it gets around
This is a local build, by a fairly well know builder out here named Curtis Cox
The paintwork on this truck is super impressive
This truck from SEMA will forever be a banger in my eyes
Severed Ties does slammed trucks well

Turbo Chevrolet LS6 Swapped 1957 Chevrolet 3100

By
DaveT
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0

In 2018 Rod Authority sent me to Detroit Autorama to cover the show on their behalf. It was a pretty sweet gig, I did it for them three or so years in a row and would come back with a massive pile of features and photos.

Most of the photos went there way, but some I squirreled away for a rainy day. So far 2021 has been pretty rainy so I’ve unearthed pictures of Garrett turbo Chevrolet LS6 swapped 1957 Chevy 3100.

At Autorama that year it wasn’t a runner, but the key parts where there. Namely the z06 LS6 motor and the Garrett GT4202R ball bearing turbo.

The T56 6 speed lifted from a Dodge Viper was also present along with the triple master Wilwood brake set up.

Also present at the time of spotting was the custom chassis the owner built in his garage. It’s constructed using  2×4 inch 0.120 wall tubing, that’s been glued together via careful tig welding.

The patina truck is air ride and the front clip was narrowed so that the truck can turn lock to lock while riding low.

Bead rolled panels are used fairly extensively throughout and much of the aesthetic is race/Nascar influenced.

It was finished about a year or so after I saw it, and the entire feature can be seen on inthegaragemedia.com.

I’m glad I looked the truck up so many years later because it really is quite awesome. Love the new Forgestar CF5 wheels too.

Wonder if it won anything in Detroit that year?

Life’s A Safari

By
DaveT
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0

Here in Ontario we’re just about to hit peak winter. Peak winter is basically when the temperature is the lowest and the ‘winter blahs’ have taken hold.

Typically it spans Feb to mid March or so, with a final parting shot later March. This time of year is great for outdoor games of puck and the odd hill bomb on some sort of slippery conveyance but little else.

Really, about as far away from a Safari as possible.

So of course now is the perfect time to post a bright orange bagged Impala wagon with Safari and Tiki undertones throughout.

I’m not always a big surf wagon style vehicle fan, considering we’re pretty far away from real surf out here*, but… this wagon was really impressive.

The height obviously drew me in, but all of the details kept me there. Again, usually stuff like beer tap turn signals I’d consider over the top, but it worked as part of an overall radical package.

I found the car so enthralling that I studied it twice in the same weekend.

While I was unable to find the owner, I did later find out he did most of the work to the car himself. Including the body work and paint.

In his garage no less. Top marks sir, top marks.

*Yes I know some people DO surf in Ontario. Yes I DO think they are crazy.

Humble Beginings With LS Fabrication

By
DaveT
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0

Since the company’s inception in 2018 LS Fabrication has quickly become a trusted source for premiere classic Chevrolet truck parts. The root of their success comes from the fact that the founders, Chris Lange and Kris Hauser are classic truck enthusiasts at their core.

The Stance Is Everything/LS Fabrication partnership dates back to about two weeks after the company started. Project Why Wait proudly features firewall fillers that are within the first 20 to come off the LS Fab bead roller.

After watching LS Fab continue to push toward the top of the classic truck parts market, through a rocky 2020, I had to steal a few digital minutes from Kris and Chris to discuss the past, present and future of LS Fabrication.

The Alberta based pair have been friends for nearing two decades. Like any solid friendship theirs started via a pair of truck’s s10s to be exact.

Yep that’s right, like so many other successful fabrication companies the roots of LS Fabrication are squarely planted in minitruckin’. The LS Fabrication journey started when Kris decided to switch gears and build ‘Kalinda’ a 1951 Advanced Design Era Chevy 1300.

Kalinda is an honest driver, built almost entirely in Kris’ own garage. Chris, the owner of Lange’s Shop a custom auto body shop located just outside of Calgary Alberta, assisted with the fabrication work.

A man, building a truck in his garage with the help of a friend or two, sounds familiar no? I was shocked to hear just how much Kris’ project mirrored my own.

When it came time to shave the firewall of Kalinda Kris hit the same hurdle I did. Unlike C10s, prior to LS Fabrication‘s inception there were virtually no ready to install options on the market.

Three choices were available; fill every previously used hole one by one, use the sole unsightly option that did exist, or go the custom route. Kris obviously went with door number three. Kris’ only guidance for experience metal working Chris was, and I quote, “I want something cool”.

‘Something cool’ became the original firewall design now known as “Kalinda“. Once Chris put a few photos of his finished firewall online interest exploded. Twelve were sold within the first week.

Tracy, DeeDee, and Holly designs soon followed and sales showed no signs of slowing down. Two one time minitruckers had found their market niche and LS –an abbreviated version of Lange’s Shop– Fabrication was born.

Today their firewall fillers can be found on 100s, if not 1000s of trucks. As Kalinda (the truck) progressed any hurdle faced was met with a rather simple question. “Can LS Fabrication do this better?”

The quest to create ‘better’ has lead to an extensive list of LS Fabrication product offerings.

Currently LS makes wheel tubs, transmission tunnels, glove box doors kick panels, and cup holders to name a few items from their catalog.

In 2018 they also stepped into the billet arena offering door handles and custom dash panels. Including a set of dash panels I spotted at SEMA in 2018 in Brad Mckinnon’s 1948 Chevy Suburban.

Today LS now has products available for GM products from 47-98 with Ford products on the horizon.

Being a Canadian Company, competing in a predominantly US market, innovation has been a key part of their success.

“Most of our parts come from necessity”. Chris explains with Kris adding “We’re not here to step on any toes, we just want to make quality custom parts for these trucks”.

A fleet of test cabs helps keep their production tolerances high. Having tossed a few competitors panels into the trash, in favor of making my own, I can appreciate a company that uses their own molds and tooling. They always fit better than a copy of another company’s copy.

But as keen as they are to expand the market LS Fab is not interested in reinventing the wheel.

Now thoroughly embedded in the community they’ve noticed that there are a lot of great products on the market produced by others with their similar mind set.

Many however are quite hard to find. You can find links to obscure e-commerce stores buried within forums. But if that post disappears you’re out of luck. To help bridge the gap from creator to consumer LS Fabrication has also expanded into the distribution arena.

The parts the sold and distributed at LS-Fab.com are designed to save both the garage builder, and full blown fabrication shop time and money. They’re not going to sell you cannons to shoot ants. Instead they’ll set you up with just what you need to have a more enjoyable truck.

A perfect example of this mindset is their recently released Advanced Design era hood strut kit. This tidy strut and mount set up replaces the cumbersome factory springs. The cost of this option is less then half of the other options currently in market.

If it wasn’t already obvious, I’m super excited to be continuing my partnership with LS Fabrication into 2021 and beyond. The opportunity to work with a Canadian company in this game is rare and these are two of the most authentic business owners I’ve ever met.

I’ve already got a few parts on order so look for them real soon. In the meantime if you need any parts for your truck head over to LS-Fab.com.

Theme Tuesdays: Motors Of Motorama 2020

By
DaveT
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0

What’s this a new Theme Tuesday? Yes! Well kind of. Right before everything hit the fan last year I was able to attend Motorama here in Toronto. It was actually the only indoor show I went to that year.

My coverage was originally slated for another outlet, but it got wrapped up in the initial COVID-19 chaos and ultimately forgotten. I’ve been trying to figure out exactly what to do with this coverage and true to my recent ethos, I am just going to let it fly.

This car was actually built years ago by Stony at Oddball Customs. It has a 354 Hemi with Weiand blower
Keit’s Oldsmobile Rocket remains one of my favorite motors to take pictures of
If any car is really pushing me towards painting Project Why Wait’s engine bay white it is this one
The 1.8t in this Golf makes 500 horsepower, damn.
Twin Turbo SV7 07 Cobra
Usually the turbos would be hidden, but this is a show after all so bumpers be gone
More info on this turbo b mini can be found on swapsareeverything.com (updates for that coming soon as well!)
Brian’s H22 Turbo Civic is another car that you should all be well and truly familiar with at this point, for a show bay this one is hard to beat
Nitro MFG hopped the border to bring this Ford to the show, which seems crazy now that air travel is restricted
Jeff Wybrow no longer has this motor in his truck, opting to switch to twin turbo LS for 2021
Click here to check out the mini feature of Adam Lewis’ Ranger if you have not already
I was lucky enough to write and shoot a feature on this LS powered Chevy Nova for Canadian Hot Rod magazine, great build by the Chassis Stop
And finally, another vehicle that’s featured on Swaps Are Everything

Monster Truck Monday?

By
DaveT
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2

I’m pretty sure I’ve expressed my love for Monster Trucks here before. But if not let it be known; I love Monster Trucks. I have since I was just a wee lad watching The Nashville Network on a woodgrain Mitsubishi TV.

There’s no denying that current Monster trucks are incredible feats of engineering. The stuff they do is simply mind blowing. But, rad era Monster trucks are, well, rad.

With everything Rad Era increasing in popularity it only makes sense that some of these Steel Titans (that game sucks by the way) have started to reemerge fully restored.

Showtime, and Big Bad & Bouncy II are legit monsters from the same era. Showtime is a 79 F-350, and Big, Bad & Bouncy II is a 1980 Chevrolet C10.

One was built in Michigan, the other Ontario. This pair make the perfect Chevy vs Ford Canada vs America Battle.

Funny enough I spotted each of these at shows ending in ‘rama. Showtime at Autorama and Big Bad at Motorama.

Ask me which is better? Eh I can’t call it but I would love to see them both crush cars today. It might not be as spectacular a show as the current models, but there’s no doubt it would bring a smile to my face!

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