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Street Royalty

By
DaveT
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0

Continuing my new trend of releasing photos of awesome cars that hide within my quiver I present a fairly well known Buick Regal.

This car is a popular one among Toronto spotters groups as the owner drivers it very often in nearly any weather, turbos through the hood be dammed.

I spotted the car at Oshawa Ontario’s Autofest in 2019. That coverage was originally slated for another publication before something happened and it got shelved.

Unfortunately I don’t have specs on the car, but from what I’m told (and what my eyes tell me) it’s a pretty quick runner.

Overall the car looks like a very honest street car and if you look close you can see a cage in it so I have no doubts it is a formidable foe, street or track.

I wonder how many times he’s had to let the laundry out on the street just to let someone know who they were messing with…

Riding A Chevelle Back To The Basics

By
DaveT
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0

I’ve been thinking, on and off, over the last year or so what exactly to do with this website. As I’ve traversed the various levels of this automotive media game (and let’s face it life) the time I’ve been able to devote here has fluctuated.

The longer time passes, the more guilty I feel about the time that has passed since I’ve posted, and the cycle continues.

It’s a bit of a terrible cycle, but I think I’ve figured out a fix, and that is taking it back to the basics.

This site started with the idea of posting cool cars, so, at least for the near term I am going to focus on just doing that. As that starts to come naturally again I’m sure the rest will follow.

And if it doesn’t at least I’ve started posting again.

So, to that end the Chevelle wrapped around these words is just a cool car I saw at a show I cruised through with my son Ash. The entire event coverage never made it on the site, because of the cycle I described above.

I have literally 100s of photos like this, loosies we’ll call them, that deserve to see the light of day.

If you own this car hats of to you it’s beautiful.

Project Why Wait: Cabin Fever

By
DaveT
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3

Much like social distancing, curbside pickup, and pull your mask up ‘2020 was supposed to be my year’ is a string of words that’s lost all meaning.

Unfortunately, we’ll be hearing the first three expressions for some time coming, but with 2020 now officially the past it’s pretty clear it wasn’t supposed to be anyone’s year.

I’m not sure who threw what black cat into which mirror, while two stepping on every crack in the sidewalk, but I’ll be damned if we didn’t all get tripped up in immense levels of tomfoolery last year.

Thankfully as of today that year is finally behind us, not that what the calendar says is likely to make much of a difference…but I digress.

Actually, scratch that I don’t entirely digress. Forgive me (or don’t, my site my rules) if this update is more an update on my 2020 than it is what, and how, I’ve been working on my 1951 GMC pickup.

Near the tail end of 2019 I made an extremely exciting life decision to move away from my previous vocation and step into the General Manager position of Canada’s largest Indoor Bike Park, Joyride 150.

The opportunity to work at Joyride wasn’t something I could pass up, it allowed life long passions to become both my day job and side hustle. A reality I am very thankful and fortunate to still enjoy.

Taking such a risk was an uncharacteristically bold move on my part.

Fortune of course favors the bold and I made both mental and physical lists of all the things I’d have to learn in my new role. That list essentially quadrupled when COVID-19 hit. Suddenly nothing made sense, to anyone.

Kids were out of school, facilities were shut down, and worst of all family and friends were mandated to exist at a distance.

Even the best Dyson couldn’t handle the amount of shit that suddenly rained from the heavens. I learned an incredible amount in 2020, and while I welcome my new found perspective it came at a relentless pace.

My garage has always been an escape of sorts and in the past 365 days it was practically invaluable.

Anything that happened in the real world could be temporarily escaped within a modest structure of uninsulated concrete.

Inside those four walls there were no government talking heads to watch, non-sensical public health regulations to decipher, doubts to consider or spiky annoying virus to worry about.

The garage was as normal as it had ever been.

So I found myself in there a lot, perhaps too much at times crossing items off my famous windshield list.

More of my interior was coated, my inner and outer cab corners were repaired, door hinges rebuilt, and patina matched.

Almost nightly challenged myself to accomplish as much as I could with the skills and tools I had available. An approach I used toward whatever challenges would await the next morning in the real world.

However, one thing I couldn’t really bring myself to do was document much of the progress. By the time I hit the garage I just needed to go. Flick on the lights, turn up the music and let everything else fade out.

Luckily, you didn’t miss much that hasn’t already been covered before. Weld, grind, sand (sand again) and paint.

The cab now is just about (hint: even more wet sanding to reveal patina) ready to be sent to a body shop where the firewall will be finished the roof white flaked.

This truck has been many things in the five years I’ve had it; a goal to aspire to, an upside-down money storage device, point of frustration, and most recently an extremely welcome distraction.

If I’m to be honest, I’m still going to need as many garage nights in 2021 as I did in 2020 but I think I’m in a space now where I can at least do a better job of documentation.

The world has changed, and for better or worse we’ll all need to change with it. Happy New year, all the best to you and yours and here’s to coming out the other side of 2021.

Project Why Wait: Hot Rods Are For Kids

By
DaveT
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5

I’ve been working on my 1951 GMC project for five years now. That’s quite a long time in hindsight. If you’ve been following along then you know, at times, those five years have felt like a real grind.

Recently however it feels like I’ve rounded a bend. Rust repair is finally complete and lately the truck has spent more time together than apart.

This is going to change shortly, because I do need to take it apart once more, but this time I will be doing so with intent.

That intent will be final preparations for paint. I’ll be touching up the door jambs and panels I replaced myself, but the firewall, roof and dash will be done professionally.

For all it’s trouble COVID-19 has produced several productive garage sessions simply because there wasn’t much outside my garage that was acceptable or safe given the circumstances. Garage nights provided a secluded escape from a world that was spinning itself off axis.

Bumpers, doors, and hoods were put on and removed several times over in the name of test fitting.

This means the truck, has looked like a truck for longer than it ever has in my ownership.

A rather pleasant result of Project Why Wait looking like a truck is that my son Ash has started to express a real interest in it.

I mean it’s been around for the majority of his life, but it’s always been just an idea. An abstract thought yet to be proven.

As a conceptual pile collection of parts Ash never formed much of a connection with the it.

When the front end, doors and steering wheel came into play however he really started to come around and realize what I was doing in the garage, besides making a mess.

A few weekends ago he suggested we go in the garage and take a few pictures. The last time his work appeared on this site was two years ago, so I was all for it.

Seeing the project through his eyes was really quite interesting. Things I stress over every time I shoot the truck (like dust) he paid no mind.

Components I take for granted he found intriguing. Take my water pump. There’s nothing inherently special about it, but Ash took several photos of it.

He wasn’t able to really express why he liked the water pump, just that he did. Water pumps are pretty important so who am I to tell him they’re not particularly interesting?

In general he spent a lot of time poking his camera around under hood. But, again, not having any of the preconceived notions we have about what’s ‘cool’ within an engine bay, he took photos of anything that caught his eye.

To him the Hooker cast manifolds looked like spider legs, so there you go, a photo of the manifold. Glad I got new hardware.

He also took a photo under the (just above the transmission tunnel) because “I can’t see it too well”.

The photo above was staring back at him in the view finder and his curiosity seemed satisfied, at least for now.

Bolting up the steering wheel had the largest impact on how he interacted with the truck. He’ll now happily spend a few minutes pretending to drive while I tinker away at a minor tasks.

Ash’s new found interest in the project really cements in my mind that this project was the right project for my family.

With school around the corner he asked if, when finished, I could take him to school in the truck like I occasionally do in my “regular” car.

When I said yes his face instantly lit up.

If that’s not motivation I don’t know what is.

Here’s to being able to live up to my son’s goals for 2021. 2020 certainly isn’t making it easy but I’ll try my gosh darn best.

Boy, some year eh?

By
DaveT
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0

Well then. I don’t think there’s a single person among us that would say that 2020 is going to plan.

The proverbial shit has hit the fan these last few months, and the Thomas household has been fairly deep in it.

Don’t worry, Ash Lyndsey and myself are all, thankfully, still healthy and Covid free. But both my wife and I being professions that depend on people interaction, things have been a little stressful around the dinner table.

Couple that with a now six year who’s been out of school –seemingly forever– and time is as scarce as money.

But how’s the old saying go? When the going gets tough the tough get going?

That’s what I’ve been doing; going, full speed.

Freelance, and my day job, have been the name of the game the past few months just to make sure the buffer that keeps us afloat remains.

Doing this has not left much in the tank for anything else. However, things are beginning to normalize, at least in Ontario. So, hopefully I’ll be able to (re)direct some of that foot on the gas intensity here very soon.

I know, I know ‘soon’ has been my rhetoric for months, but don’t worry I’ve got some plans to make good on a few things while this shapes up to be a borderline event free season.

In the meantime watch out for this extremely nice LS3 powered Chevy Nova in the next issue of Canadian Hot Rod Magazine, and check out a few of my most recent pens over at speedhunters.com.

Also check out my IGTV series on Project Why Wait, don’t consider it a replacement for the section here, just an added plus.

I hope you’re all still healthy and safe. We’ll figure a way to put all this nonsense in the rear view soon enough.

Hopefully.

LS1 Swapped Honda S2000

By
DaveT
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0

The Honda S2000 is highly regarded as one of the best Honda chassis ever built. More accessible than the NSX it’s the perfect option for a Honda fan that wants a nimble rear wheel drive chassis.

However the one caveat to an S2000 is that it was only available as a four cylinder. The high revving F series motor is great for some but not for others. Some people want Honda looks and handling with GM power.

Felix Wapo is some people.

I spotted Felix’s S2000 at SEMA in 2018, but it’s existed in a few iterations prior to that. Most notably the red version above and below.

For SEMA he reworked the car from top to bottom, painting it black and installing beautiful Work VS-XX wheels under an M&M Honda Racing wide body kit .

The now right hand drive car also features air suspension provided to Air Lift Performance, and a huge wing via Street Faction.

Brakes come via title sponsor R1 Concepts.

I was unable to find power specs on the car but the video a few paragraphs above this one suggests it does pretty well.

View this post on Instagram

ESKIDDDIESSS??

A post shared by Wapo Felix (@droptopwaap) on

Rearranged

By
DaveT
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1

The first time I saw Adam Lewis’ truck was at Northern Showdown in 2014. At that time the truck was under the knife, but I was pretty taken aback none the less simple because it had been a long time since I’d come across a Ford Ranger GT.

The following year, at the same show, I saw the truck for a second time. It was a little bit further along at that point, but still very much a work in progress.

Still it was a tidy project, with all the makings of an awesome little mini truck. However I must admit I had no idea the ultimate goal was to transform it into the vehicle it is today.

But at that point I wasn’t privy to Adam’s vision because I hadn’t see the render. Had I seen the drawing I probably had a better idea of the caliber of vehicle he was going to debut at Motorama 2020.

Quite a few people in Ontario had a hand in getting this one over the finish line and the end result is outstanding.

Not only did he create a front hall worthy truck, it was selected for the Canadian Finalist honors. I could be wrong, but I don’t think any minitruck before this one has pulled off such a feat.

Of course one could argue that this isn’t just any minitruck. Similar to the Little Shops ‘Stranger’ from a few years ago this truck is both a hot rod and a minitruck.

What I mean is it borrows elements from both resulting in a truly remarkable final product.

The fit and finish, color choices, relocation of certain elements, and complete removal of others, everything that has been put into this truck has been thoroughly thought out.

Even the color choices pull from the Ford factory color-sheet. Personally, I loved the fact that the graphics wrapped around the panels.

This is a relatively small touch that makes a world of difference in the overall cohesiveness.

Doubling, or perhaps tripling down the graphics also match up with the interior door panels, that blend into a beautiful saddle leather brown interior.

The Ford Galaxie 500 dash also looks right at home in the interior, and Adam nailed the final steering wheel choice.

I geek out at minitrucks in the best of times, but I really had a great time pouring over the details of this one. Seeing projects like this come to completion really keeps me motivated in regards to my own.

S52 Swapped BMW E30 Coupe

By
DaveT
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0

In the world of Ontario BMW e30s Alan Saavedra is a seasoned veteran. He’s been in the game at least fifteen years, and has been constantly refining his process when it comes to building ‘Gods Chariot’.

Like myself Alan started with a 325e but he’s now moved on to a 1987 325is, that he calls a ‘332is’.

Under the hood of his BMW ‘332is’ is a S52 motor. The S52 is the e36 M3 motor for the North American Market and a popular swap among e30 enthusiasts.

Not one to rest on his laurels shortly after putting in the S52 Alan revised the induction system by adding individual throttle bodies.

Behind the motor is a ZF transmission from a 1998 E36 M3. The rear end is an E24 635i 3:46 limited slip differential.

Styling wise Lana has added MTECH-II style lower valances, BBS LM, or, AC Schnitzer wheels.

The 3M wrap on the car covers up the original finish, but does a damn good job of doing so.

Project Why Wait: Cleaning Up LS Induction With FiTech EFI

By
DaveT
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0

Picking up where we last left off –with the cab and motor finally making their way onto the frame– Project Why Wait has hit another time warp with 90% of the front sheet metal rejoining the picture.

But before we get to that, as promised, I am going to introduce the motor for the truck.

Or perhaps more accurately re-introduce the motor. I’ve dropped a few hints here and there about the power plant I’ve chosen, but yes the truck will be powered by the widely used and super dependable Chevrolet LS V8.

More specifically, a 4.8L LS lifted from a 2002 Silverado.

Originally the motor, and transmission, were destined for an S-chassis, but the previous owner abandoned that project. As they say; one man’s trash another’s treasure.

I chose an LS motor for the truck simply because of cost and simplicity. I’ve bitten off quite a bit with this build and an exotic engine swap simply wasn’t in the cards.

By pretty much every definition this is your typical ‘junk yard LS swap’. The standard ‘yard drop out the motor came with everything required to be dropped into another vehicle.

Unfortunately, while it was a ran great when parked sort of deal, it also looked like it came from the bottom of the ocean.

Not wanting to drop the motor under the hood in such a state, I sent it to IssyFab Speed & Engineering for some sprucing up.

Never one to leave well enough alone I also had IssyFab perform a few minor performance upgrades. A small cam, new heads, valve springs, and seals all made their way onto the motor while it was at the spa.

The combination of parts should net around 300 to the wheels all said and done. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but it’s more than enough for my application.

It’s also a conservative power number that should keep the 4L60 from becoming a glass house full of neutrals.

Originally my plan was to run a Trail Blazer SS intake manifold atop the motor. The TBSS intake manifold widly reported the best performing of the factory made LS manifolds.

However being a factory part, meant to live under an engine cover, it doesn’t look very good at all.

Enter FiTech. FiTech offers several different options for those dropping LS motors into their projects. But their most popular is their line of Ultimate LS products.

It comes in two flavors, the complete system and the loaded manifold.

I ended up going with FiTech’s loaded, 500HP, truck manifold kit. This kit includes all of the components that would be included in the standard Ultimate LS packaged (tig welded manifold, 92mm throttle body, billet aluminum fuel rails, AN fittings, fuel crossover hose, and 36lb injectors) minus the FiTech ECU and handheld harness.

I opted not to go with the computer only because IssyFab has already started building me one.

So while IssyFab is coming through with everything hidden, FiTech is taking care of all that is visible.

The truck intake manifold, which is taller than the car model, was absolutely perfect for my needs.

Not only would it allow me to run my factory accessory drive, it would also help fill up some of the cavernous GM Advanced Design engine bay.

With my motor sitting so low I needed as much help as I could get in that department.

Installing the FiTech intake manifold was pretty straight forward. All the hardware you need is provided and the instructions come with clear, color, pictures.

It’s been a long time since I’ve needed to install an intake manifold on any vehicle, and I managed to knock this one off nearly entirely in a single night without much fuss.

The kit comes with almost everything you need to have a fully functioning LS induction set up.

Curiously the throttle cable bracket doesn’t come with, but it is readily available at FiTechefi.com at a fairly low cost.

The bracket is on the left of the photo above and discreetly sits between the throttle body and the manifold.

I’m going to make sure to run my throttle cable under the intake manifold so that it is as invisible as possible.

From a visual perspective, the FiTech manifold versus the Trailblazer SS manifold is night and day. Sure covers can be put on the TBSS manifold, but with a budget friendly option as attractive as FiTech’s available, why go that route?

With the motor and firewall coming right along, I wasted as little time as possible mocking up the rad support as well as fenders (both inner and outer).

The front sheet metal of my truck has never been on this chassis so it was really exciting to see it come to life.

I’m happy to say that after quite a bit of trim work — there’s still a little bit left if I am to be honest — the inner fenders fit the truck very well.

In another stroke of luck. The inner fenders also fit well enough that I don’t need to modify further to be able to ride low, or lay running board.

Big thanks to GM designers from the 50s for making the wheel wells as big as they did.

At this point I really wanted to wheel the truck out of the garage and get a good look at it this far along but I might save that for after I fabricate some bumper mounts.

This is the year I really want the truck to move under its own power so it’s time to focus my vision to 2020.

See what I did there?

Terrible Dad jokes aside, I’m going to say it publicly so I have to do it, this truck will move as a unit in 2020.

Introducing: Swaps Are Everything

By
DaveT
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0

There’s a popular notion that real G’s move in silence. I don’t profess to be a gangster in the most obvious sense but I have been doing this automotive media thing for a minute and I’d like to think I’ve been doing a good job of it.

But, recently I’ve been a bit quiet, on all fronts. My silence over the past few months has been both intentional and unintentional. Some of it was due to the changing weather and some shifting life priorities.

But, this silence has not been for not. In the silence I have been working on something new.

It was ten years ago I first picked up a borrowed DSLR camera and started Stance Is Everything. In that time I’ve been to an almost countless number of events and easily taken thousands of photos.

Stance Is Everything has just shy of 3000 posts. Each post has typically at least three photo within resulting in a staggering amount of back content.

Navigating that content can be a bit of a challenge. The site search is pretty good, but you have to know exactly what you’re searching for if you want it to be effective.

2jz swap, for example, will result in several pages worth of results.

Almost daily I get an email, text, or DM asking for photos of a specific car I photographed anywhere between last year and ten years ago.

Usually it’s a photo of a car with a uniquely defining feature and often that feature is the motor.

Sure Stance Is Everything is a site that built it’s reputation on a keen interest in suspension modifications, but motor swaps have always been an important secondary focus.

With that in mind about twelve months ago I started the beginnings of Swaps Are Everything. November of last year the idea became a focus and now February of 2020 this new section of Stance Is Everything has now launched.

As the name implies Swaps Are Everything is dedicated solely to motor swaps and the purpose of this growing engine swap database is two fold.

The first function is an easy way for both you and I to recall all of the crazy motor swaps I’ve seen over the years.

But almost more importantly Swaps Are Everything pulls together as much information as possible about each swap.

From engine specs, to rear end specifications if that information is available I’ve included it. I have also included build threads, and social media links as well.

I don’t think there’s another writer or photographer who’s attempted such a feat using entirely original content.

Probably because it is not an insignificant amount of work.

But in an era where useful automotive content is becoming harder and harder to find I think Swaps Are Everything will be an extremely helpful breath of fresh air for those looking for something real.

So if you want to take a look you can do so via the top navigation, or by bookmarking swapsareeverything.com.

The section is a work in progress, but as of writing there are 60 swaps and counting. My goal is to be at 100 before spring hits then hopefully in the 200s buy the end of 2020.

I’ve only scratched the surface of the content I have and there’s plenty more to come.

Don’t worry the rest of Stance Is Everything isn’t going anywhere and Project Why Wait and event coverage posts will continue into 2020 and beyond.

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