There’s always a great selection of trucks at the SEMA show, but this year there seemed to be a bumper crop of incredibly well-built Chevrolets, most of which were c10s.
Instead of further dispersing these trucks throughout the final remaining SEMA posts, I’ve decided to round-up the ones that have already been posted, along with the rest that haven’t, into this week’s Theme Tuesday.
When it comes to builders that leave no bolt un-turned, The Ring Brothers are one of the best. I’m not exactly sure what is in the water (or cheese) in Wisconsin, but whatever substance it is has given the Brothers Ring a virtually unparalleled eye for detail.
I’ve been a fan of their automotive creations since I first laid eyes on the Producer in 2010, and I’ve only been further impressed by the builds that have followed it like the ADRNLN Pantera, and today’s subject The Recoil.
The Recoil may have started as a Chevelle but now it only bares custom badging because Chevy had little to do with this vehicles current condition.
Working from the rear forward the first thing that stands out is the carbon fiber bumper that fits almost impossibly well.
In front of that bumper the exhaust exits just behind the newly released 20×13 HRE Ring Brothers Series wheel.
The inside of the trunk hints at the level of interior detail in this car, but things reallyget quite serious when you open the door and take a look.
Resembling a fighter jet cockpit more than the inside of a car, the focal point of the interior might be the hand crafted, multi-piece, aluminium seats but that’s hardly all that is going on.
Everything, and I do mean everything, inside the interior has been hand crafted or modified to a level that few are willing to go and it all flows together as though it came that way from the factory.
Stepping back to take it all you really get to see how nicely all of the colours work together especially the unique, subtle, custom BASF sand storm paint colour.
Under the hood is a Whipple charged Wegner Motorsorts LS7 that makes a healthy 980 HP to the wheels. The motor has been given a few cosmetic touches as well, including one-off fuel rail covers that are constructed to exactly match the design on the supercharger.
An impressive piece of kit, my only regret is the fact that the crowd around it was so thick I couldn’t get a proper profile shot for you guys!
Every year at SEMA a few oddities make there way through the convention centre doors and this year one such oddity was the Big V Designs Dodge Ram 1500.
This truck was impossible to miss and, ridiculousness aside, from a distance it was clear to see that the paint work was exceptionally well done, so being the adventurous soul I am I side stepped the models and took a closer look.
Whomever did the paint on this truck is obviously very skilled, and from a technical stand point it was one of the best paint jobs at the show.
Stylistically however let’s just say it isn’t exactly my brand of lager.
What I did find pretty interesting was the pre plastic surgery Megan Fox portrait on the hood, I wonder if you would have to pay to use a celebrities likeness in this manner?
The truck is, predictably, full of audio and the green theme runs throughout the interior, even extending to the custom green door windows.
The tilt bed revealed that the frame was also painted to match the exterior, but it also showcased the trucks biggest short comings, the suspension work.
After all the man hours put into the paint and audio of this truck it was quite sad a horribly dated (and dangerous) mono leaf bag set-up. In today’s day of air ride technology a mono leaf is the static equivalent of cutting your springs. How truly sad and unfortunate.
Thankfully there’s a whole lot more quality builds to come from SEMA 2014 so check back soon for more coverage!
Having three media houses go head-to-head building the best FR-S possible is a stroke of marketing genius and with pride, reputation, and the respect of their fanbase on the line it was guaranteed that GT Channel, Super Street, and Speedhunters would hold back nothing for 2014’s Scion Tuner Challenge.
As the days leading up to the event decreased, and the cars became more complete, the battle between the three brands really started to heat up, with Super Street taking an impressive lead in the on-line voting segment. Thought to damn near have the award in the bag things all changed when the judges began their on site scrutinization.
The winning team Speedhunters entry drew inspiration from multiple sources, resulting in an FR-S unlike any of the others in the competition, and unlike any I’ve seen to date.
The throwback livery designed by Andy Blackmore was a perfect fit for all of the Toyota racing heritage the ZN6 chassis embodies and the track day/IMSA vintage racer aesthetic couldn’t have been better executed.
The graphics paired with 17×9 and 17×11 Rotiform wheels and a smoothed KM4SH kit the car truly looked the part of a vintage race vehicle.
Of course looking the part isn’t nearly enough, so Speedhunters went the distance and made sure the car could drive the part as well. Everything under the hood that you wouldn’t find in a proper race car was deleted, giving the powerful Cosworth supercharged motor a proper stage to be displayed.
Forced induction alone wouldn’t be enough to win the competition, so any unsightly harnesses and hoses were tucked by Chasebays, the stock hardware was replaced and a few SH logos were strategically placed under the louvered hood.
Obviously the suspension and brakes couldn’t remain stock either and a Wilwood ‘Superlite’ brake kit sits behind the Rotiforms, while components from Raceseng, RS*R, and Superpro and SPC Performance all come together to make up the handling package.
The interior too reflects that of a race car with brushed aluminium trim, custom JPM Coachworks leather trim, Cobra seat, custom half dash, custom engraved wheel… you get the idea custom, custom, custom. The number of one off pieces found throughout this car is seriously impressive, and it’s that acute eye for detail that really put it over the top.
It’s the small details combined with the large ones that made this car the winner. Things like the tire pressure markings on the tires, the wind-shield retainers, the track day stickers, and the air jack/fuel ports come off completely authentic because, in addition to aesthetically fitting in, they are things real race cars have and given the opportunity will allow the car to perform like a real race car should.
The fact that this car was built predominately by one man in his garage just makes this build all that much more impressive, and the award it took home further deserved.
Congrats Keith, Andy, and the Speedhunters team on the award and a phenomenal job well done!
It’s pretty crazy to think that in only two and a half days at SEMA I was able to amass so much coverage that, even still I’m not through editing it all. I couldn’t imagine shooting a show like this in the early days of digital photography where captured cards held next to nothing. I would need a back pack just for storage media, never mind how difficult it must have been in the days of film!
Like the rest of the event coverage thus far today’s posts dips both inside and outside the Las Vegas Convention Centre and contains a little bit of everything, before ending with the Scion showcase.
Seemingly overnight Scion has reached ten years of operation and for their anniversary they decided to do things up big by showcased a few unique Scion builds alongside the GT Channel, Superstreet, and Speedhunters Tuner challenge builds.
People seem to be a little up in arms about the over saturation of wide-bodies, wide fenders, and bolt on fenders at SEMA 2014. But knowing that SEMA is an event designed to showcase the latest, greatest, trends and innovations of the automotive community, what did you expect?
Wide fenders, especially of the bolt on type, are extremely popular right now and tuners like Liberty Walk and Rocket Bunny are leading the charge followed by a variety of one off fabricators around the globe.
Off all the trends the automotive community has birthed this is actually one of the better ones so in an effort to embrace our new wide fender over lords here’s an onslaught of fenders on steroids from this year’s SEMA show.
Check back tomorrow for even more coverage from SEMA 2014!
Like most I love buffets, and every time I find myself in Vegas I wind up at one because it’s often easier to please a group of people with a little bit of everything instead of a lot of one thing.
The SEMA show is a lot like that, except there isn’t just a little bit for everyone, there’s a lot for everyone. Lifted, lowered, form, function, big, and small SEMA has it all which is why, above all else, myself and so many others love it so much.
Today behind the sneeze we’ve got a few Asian dishes, a few German, a hearty American plate or two, and one appetizing fusion. Enjoy!
I actually think 2014 may have been one of the better years for P-cars at the show, or maybe I just noticed more of them, either way there were a lot of impressive varied examples in Vegas for 2014.
Instagram and Facebook were a frenzy last week as Ken Block debuted his latest Gymkhana car, this mad max esque 68 Mustang notch-back. A collaboration with Vaugh Gittin JR’s RTR brand this car is leagues away from what people are traditionally used to seeing Ken drive, and should be pretty interesting to see in motion.
As cliché as it may be, I must say I am still a little surprised at just how popular air ride has become in the past few years. Yes air has always had a big presence at SEMA, but I feel pretty confident that a few years ago you wouldn’t see a bagged car in a booth like Wossner Pistons.
If there’s one thing I love it’s a good pro touring build, and if there’s something I love more than that it’s a balls to the wall race car built on an American platform.
As expected the SEMA provided both offerings.
Check back tomorrow for a special SEMA based Theme Tuesday. I’m sure some of you have an idea what it might be.
If today’s SEMA Showstopper seems somewhat familiar it’s because I featured this truck in a WTF Friday post December of last year.
Then the only photos I could find of it were from a 2012 Good Guys show in Spokane where it was shown comepletly raw and for sale. Prior to the owner/builder Chris Daley commenting I assumed that the truck would wind up under the ownership of a person who would put a more traditional power plant under the hood and call it a day.
Thankfully Chris never sold the truck and is well on the way to making it a proper driver, just as he promised in last December.
Easily one of my top 5 favorite vehicles of the entire event, I found myself constantly returning to the truck and scratching my head in disbelief. I wasn’t alone in my shock and awe either, every single time I went to take a look at this truck it had a small crowd of people gathered around it.
Powerplant aside the truck truly is a masterpiece, but when you factor in what lays under the hood you have the makings of a one of a kind project that should justifiably go down in history of one of the craziest minitrucks ever built.
From my observations people looking at the truck were generally in two camps. The first camp had no idea what they were looking at, and the second had no idea how what they were looking at was going to power a Chevy C10.
Taking pictures of the drive-line was a little difficult but should my combination of cell phone and SLR pictures not provide the best explanation here is what I saw in a nutshell; the output shaft of the motor goes into a transfer case (that looks to be a modified differential), which then goes to a short drive shaft, that then goes to the transmission.
From there it would seem Bob is your uncle and power is transferred to the rear wheels.
While the transmission, motor, and alternator all seem to be sorted out what really intrigues me is the so far unplumbed turbo. Could you imagine the sound of a turbo radial motor emitting from underneath the hood of a C10?
As I type this I am at home resting my throbbing feet after two and a half days of frantically running around the Las Vegas Convention Centre capturing as much of SEMA as possible in the time I was there.
Going into the event with a truncated schedule I knew covering the entire show was impossible, but coming home without a diverse selection of vehicles wasn’t something I would be happy with.
Being without a doubt one of, if not the best, car events on the planet it’s always been a top priority of mine to to help those of you that can’t attend SEMA feel as though you were there too.
Today’s coverage starts from my shortest day of the week, which was the Monday before the show officially opened. On this day media technically isn’t allowed in the halls so most of the coverage comes from outside the venue.
Every year I head to SEMA I have the hardest time figuring out exactly where to start the coverage. Inside? Outside? Cars? Trucks? Hot Rods?
With so much to see it’s truly daunting, and it only becomes further so the more photos I take. For 2014 this ’37 Packard built by G3 Rods seemed like the perfect place to start.
Stunning, yet almost understated this car drew my attention instantly and I found myself coming back to it repeatedly to take in all the details.
Laid out over 16/18″ copper steelies the stance naturally caught my eye first but soon I found myself gazing over the chopped roof line and admiring how well it was done.
The next detail that truly grabbed me was the worked over 383 Chevy small block. A few details here and there along with some ITBs really make it look the part and I imagine it goes pretty well too.
Inside the car is a fittingly classy white leather interior that works very well with the cars overall subdued color palette.
There’s still a whole lot more to come from SEMA 2014 here on Stance Is Everything so keep an eye here on the blog as well as facebook and instagram for an onslaught of updates.
