I’ve had a bit of a crazy week from last Tuesday to this so I’m going to drop the October recently viewed post while I continue to put out a few fires.
As always this post is a mixed bag of automotive things that are awesome pulled from sources like Facebook Build-Threads, Jalopnik, Just A Car Guy and more.
Enjoy!
Since 2006 The Canadian Sport Compact Series has served as the entryway to competitive Motorsport for much of Ontario, both in the stands and behind the wheel. My first CSCS event was in 2009 and I’ve been to at least one event a season ever since.
I keep going back year after year because its one of the best combinations of both the show and track that exists in Ontario.
On top of the cars it’s the people personalities and stories that make CSCS a great event for me personally.
In addition to seeing friends compete for the first time in cars they have been working on for ten years, show for the first time, or run their first drift tandem, I’ve seen blindingly fast race cars of all sorts and yes even a spectacular crash or two.
The CSCS staff, which is comprised of volunteers many of whom I’m lucky enough to call friends, have a dedication to improving the series that is seriously admirable.
Is CSCS a perfect event? No, and no event truly is, but the difference between CSCS and other events that have tried to take its place is that the team behind it has years of experience that simply can’t be replaced. Series changes are implemented to better the event itself, not line pockets and increase social media standing.
As judging became more standardized the quality and diversity of show cars went up in kind creating an eclectic mix of off the wall attention grabbers and no bolt left unturned creations.
I can’t recall a single CSCS event within the past two years where there hasn’t been a car that Drake or myself have not wanted to pull aside for a detailed photo shoot, and often we do just that to truly capture the unique qualities of the vehicles in attendance.
As improvements are made the spectator attendance numbers have grown both this year and last which has lead to no shortage of awesome cars in both the parking lot and infield.
At any one of the venues CSCS takes places cars travel at length to be part of the event and quite often there is at least one car at a CSCS event you won’t see at any other event that year.
The show and shine is a relatively small, and much less complex aspect of the series and of late the Motorsport side of things has grown tremendously.
The changes to how the track sessions were run started in 2014, and continued into 2015, have led to increased organization and awareness of everyone on the track from flagmen to drivers.
These changes have made the series attractive some of the best drivers in Ontario who regularly break track records at CSCS events.
I have not been to a few of the other time attack series in Ontario yet, but I think you’d be hard-pressed to find a wider variety of competitive and exhibition vehicles at other events.
For the 2015 season CSCS also introduced the ‘Max Attack’ event bringing door to door racing to the series for the first time. The reception of this new event has been overwhelmingly positive and one can expect it to return to the series in 2016.
Drifting too has seen improvements which has resulted in quicker paced competition that is more exciting to watch.
Local Formula Drift Drivers Pat Cyr, Stephen Van Sleuwen and Riley Sexsmith even came by for the last round to put on a show for the CSCS fans and bang doors with some of the rising stars in the local community.
Lets not forget Riley and Steve were both competing in this series last year finishing second and fifth respectively.
With the final CSCS event of 2015 coming to a close just under a month ago I’m sure the CSCS staff will be gathering together soon to discuss improvements for the next year and hopefully I’m not alone in looking forward to the 2016 season and what’s in store.
It’s a long wait but it will be worth it.
This week’s Theme Tuesday comes via Instagram and @richardkha who’s been tagging me in photos of Toyota Siennas for about three weeks straight now.
As someone who is glad he dodge the van bullet about a year ago I’ve peeked over the fence at what’s going on in the van community on occasion but never really given it a hard look because quite frankly I’m not ready.
My own personal attachment to hatch backs aside it looks like Toyota’s sever seater people mover has a fairly dedicated following of both moms and dads who don’t believe that rolling in family comfort means you can’t roll in style.
Universal Air Supply and Vossen wheels both seem to have a big stake in this market but Work, Air Runner, SSR and Rotiform and more can also be found throughout this thriving community.
More modified Sienna’s and modified Vans in general can be found by following Van Kulture on both Instagram and Facebook.
I sense a 70s Van post in the not to distant future….
Wood can, and has been used for a great many things but recently its use in the automotive world has been relegated to things like speaker enclosures, and interior trim.
Previously fallen trees were used for a wider variety of components, but with the materials like alloys and composites being easier to work with today wood doesn’t make up much of the modern automobile.
Don’t tell that to the builder of this car out in Quebec however who constructed most of his unique, super car like, vehicle out of what looks to be small blocks of wood.
Spotted by Quebec native Gabriel Chamberland next to nothing about this vehicle is revealed except that it was produced by one man after roughly two years of work.
Like the exterior, the interior is largely made up of small wooden “bricks” and the gauge cluster is a simple android tablet.
I dug as much as I could but kept winding up back in the same spot so I can’t tell you what chassis this car employs nor can I provide information about the motor aside from the obvious supercharger.
I don’t imagine a car like this can remain a secret forever so hopefully someone in the area can spread light on this unique build soon.
With the season on its last legs this is around the time of year that, if I was not trying to get a project truck off the ground, I’d be planning one last trip via car or plane.
In previous years I’ve gone to h2O International in Ocean City and SEMA in Las Vegas and though an actual trip isn’t in the cards for 2015 SYLVANIA Canada asked me to consider where on their list of #GreatWhiteLights destinations I would go if money and time were no object.
With the weather this time of year being so fickle, and having only traveled abroad to fairer climates in the fall, deciding where to start took a bit of thought. However my first stop on a cross Canada trip would be Quebec City.
The sole reason I’d go back after being there so recently is that I’d really like to give the LS powered Porsche 993 spotted at Offset Kings the feature it so sorely deserves.
While in the area I’d also touch base with Gabe of French Canadian Video and see if there were any end of season events I could attend, or another car we could shoot.
From there I’d turn on cruise control for an extended spell until I wound up in Alberta where I’d say hello to long time contributing photographer, and friend, Mike McConnell.
After a bit of sightseeing in Drumheller at the Horsetheif Canyon, I’d have to get closer to Calgary before I left the province of Alberta and stop by The Dub Dynasty headquarters to meet Jesse Shinckle and check out his Beetle project.
Then I’d head over to Whistler BC because ever since I went in 2009 –and it absolutely ruined Ontario Snowboarding for me– I’ve been longing to go back.
I’ve also heard the car scene in BC is really something else with quite a number of Japanese Imported vehicles finding their way to the Vancouver streets and the more favorable weather allowing for a longer, though rainier, season.
Finally the last destination I’d stop at if I were following the Great White Lights map is White Horse, Yukon.
While I’ll admit it’s probably way too cold for me to comfortably exist for too long GT3 Driver Scott Hargove (pictured below) went recently and had a blast driving around a WRX equipped with SYLVANIA zXe bulbs.
But that’s just me. If you were to follow the Great White Lights map where might you end up? Take a look at greatwhitelights.ca and take their quiz to find out!
Once you’re done the quiz you can enter for a change to win a $1000 Visa Gift Card and $250 dollars to spend at Canadian Tire along with zXe #GreatWhiteLights to guide your road trip adventure!
Basic Builds mastermind Rob Anzit recently got the chance to spend some time with Mike Pimenta (@mike_s2k) and his ’07 Honda s2000.
Bagged on Airrex struts, sitting on K3 Projekt Wheels, and sporting a host of both cosmetic and functional upgrades Mike’s car makes an excellent subject for the short video Rob produced below.
Rob’s previous work has been featured here before and you can stay up to date with his most recent photo and video work by following him on Facebook on Instagram at @basicbuild and on twitter at @basicbuilds.
A really awesome bagged Gremlin scraped through my news feed this past weekend and became the catalyst for today’s Theme Tuesday.
Though they have a ‘hate it or love it’ look about them, and were not all that powerful being built during the 70s fuel crisis, their relatively cheap cost but high durability made the Gremlin a somewhat popular race car (drag mostly) in the 70s and beyond.
Drag, dirt track, and even pro touring examples were easily found while finding ones put on the ground was a little harder. Of course as always I did manage and those are down near the bottom.
There’s been a request I do Toyota Siennas next but I’m all ears for future ideas!
It seems that almost any time I post a Jaguar it has been modified wildly different than its original, slightly posh British cruiser, intentions.
As cliché as the term is this XJS is no exception.
Starting life as a standard XJS this Jaguar is now a Pro Street, driveable, quarter-mile car that looks as impressive as it’s spec sheet reads.
Under the hood is 350 stroked to 383 with a B&M blower for some more roar when the loud pedal is trounced. It’s backed by a TH350 automatic trans with 2800 stall that goes to a Ford 9″ rear end.
The body was painted ten years ago when it was converted and the chassis sees a ladder bar coil-over set up in the back.
Being a Jag it’s got a few electrical issues (turn signals, slow windows etc.) but is otherwise apparently a great driver.
Looks really cool too, if you’re into the Pro Street look.
The car was bid up to just under 12.5 once then re-listed with a starting bid of 11.5 but it doesn’t say it sold so I wonder where it may have ended up, or if the owner just decided to keep it and do burnouts until the end of time.
The season is ending at a rapid pace here in Ontario, as double-digit temperatures quickly give way to single, and show/fun cars start to vanish into garages for a half-year long hibernation.
In a celebratory send off to an awesome summer Engineered Automotive held one last Cars & Coffee event after previously announcing the July gathering would be the last one for 2015.
Much like the last the quality of cars, as well as the general vibe, was incredible.
This time around Ash and Lyndsey came with me (Lyndsey for the Coffee Ash for the fun) and the first car I had to stop Ash from attempting to get into was this 98 Diablo that could have just as easily driven off a ’90s kids poster.
Chris Hoare of DNBK made it back from a trip to Japan just in time to come out to the last Cars and Coffee. Can’t imagine there are many days left in the season where he will get a chance to enjoy his NSX.
The Compmotive equipped 911 from July seems to be a regular attendee.
It’s such a great looking car and it sounds very nice as well.
Mat made the trek for Hamilton with his S14 which too sounds quite awesome driving.
Like the 911 this too is also spotless every time I see it.
Inside of Engineered Automotive the cars seem to have undergone a bit of a shuffle, practically nothing that was on the floor last time remained the same.
The cars on the lifts seem to have changed as well because I don’t remember this R32 from the last visit.
And I know for a fact I wouldn’t have missed a 959 lurking in the depths of the expansive shop.
A bit closer within reach was a CTS-V powered classic Cadillac.
The warning on the door above was pretty funny and makes me wonder if it was put there before incident or after.
Stepping back outside near the front of the shop an employee from Pfaff was rolling in an incredible sounding RS4 draped in Castrol Livery.
There was also a very, very, very clean MK1 Jetta out front.
The VR6 swap was so well executed it could easily be mistook for factory.
Ken’s Toyota Celsior was parked in early the exact same spot it was last time, and I took almost the exact same photo.
Timeless is really the only word that appropriately describes the combination below.
And when it comes to long lasting looks this Dodge is hard to beat.
Around the side of the building a crew of Corvettes was parked.
I’ve always been a pretty big Viper fan, with the hard tops being a rung above the rest in my eyes. An ACR model just further makes me envious.
Someone who I can only assume is, at the very least a long term employee if not the owner, at Engineered Automotive showed up in a black Ferrari Scuderia with EA emblems tastefully place all over the car
Before I was about to take one more quick lap through the shop I snapped this photo of the Mustang ’68 GT500 that was on the hoist back in July. I may or may not have watched Gone In 60 Seconds later that evening.
Going back inside I manged to get just a bit of undisturbed time with a pair of Shelbys cars.
Seeing a real Shelby is rare enough but parked directly in front of the car above was a Daytona Coupe that I imagine one of very, very few in the city.
It’s going to be a long wait until the next Cars and Coffee, hopefully the anticipation will take me through what is probably going to be another long winter.
As a Chevy truck fan it is actually a little embarrassing that it has taken me so long to dedicate a Theme Tuesday to Chevy’s first minitruck even the fact that I have not seen a Luv in the metal in roughly three years is no excuse.
Designed and built by Isuzu these trucks look like nothing else with the Chevy bow tie which, combined with the unique name, only helps make this truck more memorable. Sadly rust claimed more than it’s fair share of these but they still have a fairly large following.
Is there a cool Luv build I forgot? Let me know in the comments below.
