When it comes to unique engine notes rotary motors, despite their ‘faults, are pretty well unbeatable. The brap-brap-brap at idle really sings when you get into it.
Horsepower Techs obviously loved that sound because they chose to install a a 13b into their very nice looking Datsun 1600 drag car.
Behind the motor looks to be a transmission with at least a few Liberty components.
Connected to the end of that transmission is, well, nothing because this car wasn’t complete when I spotted the car.
Vibrant Performance components have been used to connect, what has so far been connected and for a bit of bling everything has been given a nice polish.
Oh there’s a turbo hanging off the side of the motor as well. Because at this point, why not?
For warning, my apologies for the lack of proper under hood shots of this J32 powered Honda Civic. I thought I had a good under hood shot of it, but as it turns out I’m not sure I ever saw it with the hood up.
Nevertheless, this Civic, is, or rather was a fixture of the Ontario scene.
Almost ironically the first time I saw this car was at a Volkswagen show, where cheekily the then owner tried his best to convince others it was a VR6 motor.
Tongue and cheek humor aside, this car went on a pretty good run during phase one culminating in a print feature in Honda Tuning Magazine.
It was then, supercharged, and driven around like that before the original owner sold it.
During the sale (I’m not sure if before or after) the super charger was removed and the car changed colors.
It popped up in 2014, before eventually vanishing back into the horizon.
The first generation Camaro is one of the best vehicles to ever come out of the General Motors stable. The same can be said for the second generation Buick Regal. Specifically, Grand Nationals and T Types fit with turbo versions of GMs 3.8L V6.
So what happens when you combine the two?
Well, the result is The “Camrick” a 1967 Camaro with the heart of a Buick Grand National.
The first time I spotted this car was in 2009; then it was wearing its original color. When I spotted it later in 2016, fresh off a 9.64 1/4 mile pass it was wearing a more sinister satin black paint job.
Sadly 2016 was the last time I’d see the car and I was told that shortly after it was written off. Bummer.
Function and form has always been a challenge for anyone doing a motor swap. In the case of Brad Ruiter, well, he nailed both.
His Chevrolet LS3 swapped Miata is one of the best examples of its kind. If you don’t think so, feel free to prove me wrong.
From front bumper to rear, and roof to chassis Brad has built a very functional car to indisputable show quality.
Starting at the front end, Brad simply chopped off what Mazda did from the factory and started fresh from scratch. Within an immaculately shaved engine bay is a Bob Hilton Motorsports built LS3 engine.
The V8 is fit with a ported and decked heads, an Howard stage 3 street/strip cam and Mellins oil pump.
A T56 transmission handles sending power back to the CCW wheels, which are housed in Tuckin 99 N2 fender flares.
Megan coils, custom control arms, and Kaiser Automation drop spindles help with any winding roads that may lay ahead. Don’t worry, such a magnificent machine isn’t just for show, Brad does drive the car.
Admittedly putting Riley Stair’s Trans Am into a “swapped” shaped box is a bit of an insult. That is of course not my overall intention.
After all the car does have a Trans Am body, it’s a vast departure from what the Pontiac designers penned, but it is still a Trans Am.
The modifications to this car are plentiful, and starting with the body, the flares Riley built are quite obvious. Somewhat less obvious is the aluminum air damn that runs below the front valance.
The motor, has been pushed reward for better weight distribution, and stylistically so have the fender vents and shaker hood.
Under the hood is a 16.25:1 compression Dart LSNEXT iron block has been built with Dart 383cc canted valve heads, titanium valves, PAC springs and titanium retainers.
Solid roller lifters, 7/16 push rods and a custom billet Camshaft and make up the rotational bits and ARP fasteners keep it all together.
Everything sits within an entirely hand crafted chassis, and the interior draws inspiration from a mix of trophy trucks and vintage SCCA Trans Am racers.
It’s a car that is, by anyone’s description, and absolute monster.
A constantly evolving project the Trans Am has changed since these photos and the video above were captured.
Most notably the popular 8-1 headers have been replaced with a more traditional equal length header set up.
With those new headers Riley was able to get a more predictable engine tune to get the car ready for some serious thrashing. He was also able to hit his 10,000 RPM goal.
Fingers crossed there will be some track video soon, provided he gets some time to work on it while juggling his work at Protomachine.
I’ve posted this truck before. In fact, it’s a large part of this section of Stance Is Everything existing. Originally the subject of a WTF Friday post, then a follow up SEMA post this 1967 C10 is rad.
The builder, Chris Daley, featured in the video below, built it simply to stand out.
The motor is a Jacobs Radial engine, though I’m not even sure Chris knows the exact model.
The transmission is fairly interesting in that it goes through a standard rear differential before meeting up with a standard automotive transmission.
Honestly, that’s a pretty ingenious solution to a problem that very few people will ever encounter.
As of 2014 the truck has yet to move under its own power and sadly there have been no updates since.
Chris runs his own shop, and this is his personal project, so I’ve believe it’s been pushed to the back burner for client work.
Hopefully these photos are not the last we see of this truck because it truly deserves to be finished.
Depending on your point of view the 2JZ is either becoming, or has become, the Import version of the LS V8. It’s a motor that you never quite know where it will pop up next.
Regardless of where it appears next, it’s probably going to end up there with a hefty size single turbo.
Despite its prevalence, I must admit I was surprised to find a 2JZ hiding under the hood of a street worthy Hyundai Genesis.
While not completely finished, the car is currently sporting a single turbo conversion and supported by an owner built set of motor and transmission mounts.
Despite being primarily a wheel fitment based show, Fitted Lifestyle has become a showcase for some of the more creative motor swaps in Ontario.
A very good example of this somewhat peculiar phenomenon is this, SR20 swapped w201 Mercedes Benz.
Sitting outside of the Brampton Fairgrounds venue, this white Mercedes Benz amassed quite a crowd around it at the 2019 show.
Despite the fact it was parked outside in the rain, and the car was unfinished.
According to the owner/builder @nickgracey_ the main motivator for putting a notch top SR20 under the hood of his Benz was its previous lack of power.
Add a bit, or a lot, of low in this case, an inter cooler and a bit of attitude and you’re left with a rad MB in the making. Rad if you’re not a purist of course.
Stepping past a few teething hurdles that comes with a swap like this Nick got the car street worthy late Summer 2019.
I’ve seen exactly one Subaru GL10 (Leone) at a car show in the time I’ve been doing this site, and it’s this one. These are fairly rare cars in general so coming across one modified, in Ontario, is quite rare.
Never mind one modified as ridiculously (yet subtly) as this one.
Well, kind of subtle anyway, the inter cooler protruding out of the bumper is a not so suble give away of this cars inner workings. Under the hood, today, is an EJ22T block with JDM V9STI heads. It’s also got a twin-scroll Borg Warner S300SX-E turbo setup. Once a front wheel drive only car it’s now all wheel drive courtesy of a JDM STI 6-speed transmission.
The rest of the car is essentially factory fresh which is really, really impressive considering the age of the vehicle.
