What’s Old Is New Again

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Apr 9, 2014

While kicking around a few 70s ‘golden era’ blogs I came across this ’72 Camaro that employs a lot of the same styling cues popular today; wheels with lots of lip, white letters, a fender flare/pull/widebody, subtle aero, and of course the ever important appropriate stance.

A few rounds with Google revealed that this car may have also been one of a few notable vehicles that contributed to the definition of the pro touring style we see today.

dicksacamaro_1 — This car was built by John Dicksa who actually body dropped it slightly by cutting the motor mounts in half

dicksacamaro_2 — Under those all steel flares are 15×12 wheels

dicksacamaro_4 — Under the hood was TRAKO built LT1 Motor

There isn’t exactly a wealth of information –or photos for that matter– kicking around about the car but there is a pretty good run-down of it on thestreetfighters.com which outlines some of the more overlooked modifications (the fact that it has a first generation cowl mated to the hood of a second gen for example), and it’s racing history.

While looking for more on the car above I also happened to come across this Camaro which is equally bad ass, I think this one might have been in a movie…

Theme Tuesdays: Tripoding – 2

By

DaveT

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Apr 8, 2014

6

Revisiting another older theme this week with a selection of cars with three (or less) wheels on the ground. Some because they are low and others because gravity, speed, and traction are fighting it out out to the death.

I feel as though there are a few note worthy photos missing from this post so if you think I missed one of yours do feel free to link them up in the comments below.

tripod_4 — This photo showed up in nearly every combination of search terms I used for this post

tripod14 — Small car, steep hill, dash of gravity and a side of what look to be Tarmacs and you’ve got the recipe for a three wheel

tripod_12 — This little ~~Polo~~ Lupo is actually juiced

tripod_9 — The beauty of all wheel drive is that even when this happens you don’t have to worry as much about getting stuck

tripod_10 — I do not post nearly enough of these… future theme perhaps…

tripod_8 — Equips seem to be the shoes to go three stepping in

tripod_7 — Wonder how long this car stayed so seemingly spotless

tripod_11 — If you look close you can see a bit of smoke under the drivers rear of this car

tripod13 — This EF from It’s JDM Yo!’s controversial ‘So You Think You Can Stance?’ meet is just about to get up on three

tripod16 — Ridetech’s 69 Mustang bending the hell out of a corner in an autocross event

tripod17 — A full run-down on what has been done to the car can be found here

tripod_5 — There’s an entire thread of Alfas up on three right here

tripod_6 — Seems like they are quite good at it

tripod_1 — 2002s are also know to get a little tippy

Submission Update

Big thanks to Klaavs and goodnewsamos for submitting the photos below:

tripod_sub_1 — Latvia doesn’t play around when it comes to tripoding

tripod_sub_2 — Heck they are not even above a little bicycling

tripod_sub_5 — Klaavs Probe sitting up on 3

Event Coverage: Stance Pilipinas / Manila Fitted Sunday Slowdown

By

DaveT

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Apr 7, 2014

1

Thanks to Alex Pascua we are going international today with event coverage all the way from the Manila.

The aggressive fitment community in the Philippines has been making their presence known for a few years now, and this coverage of the Stance Pilipinas / Manila Fitted Sunday Slowdown event shows that their scene is growing in kind with the one here in North America.

In fact if it wasn’t for the larger license plates, and occasional JDM market specific vehicles, one could easily assume that these photos came from one of the sunnier states in the USA.

Hopefully Alex gets the chance to attend another meet or two while he’s there so we can get an even better idea of what is going on, but even if he doesn’t we can certainly enjoy these.

manilla_fitted_rolling_2 — Kevin Carlos is the man behind Stance Pilipinas/Manila Fitted, he’s also the man behind the wheel in this photo

manilla_fitted_rolling_1 — Cruisin’ to the meet

manilla_fitted_nissan_s15_3 — Red and teal, dependable combo

manilla_fitted_nissan_s14_kouki_mexi — The mexi fitment on this car makes me wonder if the owner is waiting on over fenders that have yet to arrive

manilla_fitted_nissan_s14_kouki — This is sitting reaaal nice

manilla_fitted_nissan_s15 — All of the above S chassis belong to the DRV HHRD crew

manilla_fitted_crv_2 — Here a modified CRV is a bit of an odd duck here, but in Manilla they seem fairly popular

manilla_fitted_crv_1 — I’ve got to say this really doesn’t look too bad at all

manilla_fitted_scion_box_3 — With CRVs being as popular as they are it makes sense that Scion bbs are as well

manilla_fitted_scion_box — Little bit of boso influence on this one, wonder if the cooler is actually hooked up?

manilla_fitted_scion_box_4 — Well done all around here, nice and clean

manilla_fitted_group_2 — It’s really wild how different Corolla’s look with the JDM front end

manilla_fitted_nuff_said — Looks like a completely different car…

manilla_fitted_toyota_sprinter — Speaking of Corolla’s this Sprinter is a variant of the Corolla chassis and looks pretty good

manilla_fitted_toyota_equips — Equipped Nissan Sentra with an exhaust tip that’s just begging to devastate your shins one night in the garage

manilla_fitted_toyota_hi_lux — Nice to see a truck rocking some lower offset wheels

manilla_fitted_toyota_yaris — Is this… a Yaris?

manilla_fitted_mazda_3 — Zaubers look pretty good on this 3 sedan

manilla_fitted_honda_civic_2 — This EK Sedan belongs to John Godinez who runs Fresh Produce

manilla_fitted_honda_civic — CCW Classics look great on this car

manilla_fitted_honda_dynamic_performance_civic_1 — Lots of Carbon on this Civic track car the ventured out onto the streets

manilla_fitted_hyundai_genesis — Bagged Genesis with a very respectable ride height

manilla_fitted_mazda_miata_1 — I’m willing to bet this Miata gets driven pretty hard on occasion

manilla_fitted_nissan_s14_2 — HKS packed S14 owned by Nelanne Aquino

manilla_fitted_porsche — The lone European car in a sea of imports

manilla_fitted_subaru_bagged_1 — This bagged Forrester look amazing in my opinion

manilla_fitted_subaru_bagged_2 — Awesome hardline setup too

manilla_fitted_cefiro_r35_1 — If this ‘R35’ looks a little funky to you that is because it is actually an A31 Cefiro under all that skyline cladding

manilla_fitted_cefiro_r35_2 — It belongs to Gio Alvarez who is a drifting prodigy from Manilla that started at 13

manilla_fitted_sushi_factory_1 — Awesome Celica built by the guys at Sushi Factory, which despite the name has nothing to do with Sushi

If you want to keep a closer eye of what’s going in in the Philippines’ check out Stance Pilipinas / Manila Fitted

WTF Friday: Super Fly

By

DaveT

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Apr 4, 2014

0

If you’re anything like me, upon viewing these photos, you are struggling with the fact that anyone would turn a Super Bird into what appears to be some sort of mobile home.

The saying ‘don’t judge a book by it’s cover (which is quite on in this case’ applies because the rumoured story behind this vehicle is in fact a very justifiable reason for doing what would generally be considered a cardinal sin.

The tale goes that the owner of the car pictured was a huge Superbird fan who, for unspecified reasons, needed a wheel chair to get around.

While piloting the Plymouth wasn’t exactly a problem (hand controls have been around for awhile) bringing his wheel chair along for the trip was, so he had the blue bird modified in a way that allowed him to take his chair with him.

The bumper was hinged, and the door in the rear folded down creating a ramp that allowed him to roll into the car, secure the chair, and drive away leaving a trail of tire smoke in the air.

It may seem like sacrilege today but if you consider the fact that during the oil crisis these cars were not worth anything near what the bank they are today then it isn’t so bad.

Besides rumour has it this car –or at least parts of it– are being used for a factory restore today.

Source.

Fix It Again Tony

By

DaveT

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Apr 3, 2014

0

When the the current Fiat 500 was released I must admit that I didn’t have a whole lot of hope for the platform in the North American enthusiast market given their size, shape and drive wheels.

As more modified ones started to pop up this side of the pond it became clear that, despite my lack of faith, people really do love this little platform.

Case in point this Abarth model from California.

UAS bags over BC coils with AccuAir management, bring the car down to the ground and thus far it’s been on two different sets of Avant Garde wheels.

The first set were AG F140s were taken off in favour of F130s so that the owner could run a one off big brake set-up from Ceika.

Pretty nicely put together compact all said and done.

How tired do you think Fiat owners are of hearing the tired expression that is this posts title?

Theme Tuesdays: Honda Preludes – II

By

DaveT

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Apr 1, 2014

3

The bagged Prelude on Work Meisters (from part one of the Megaspeed 2014 coverage) reminded me how much of a shame it is that we lost so many good Preludes to rust, and the Fast and The Furious era.

Since the last Theme Tuesday dedicated to the Honda Prelude was done in 2011 it’s high time it got a second go round.

Damn shame these cars were never produced in a FR layout.

prelude_17 — Start things off older and get newer as we go along… perfect wheel choice on this car

prelude_15 — Like looking at the behind of a cougar…

prelude_11 — Perfect combination, call them played out if you will BBS wheels work on such a wide variety of cars

prelude_14 — Daily Scraped # 574 via the Scraped Crusaders

prelude_3 — ‘Mil-Spec’ Prelude from Fast Car Magazine

prelude_10 — This car is actually juiced which is perhaps the last suspension I expected under a Prelude

prelude_2 — Nicely sorted Fifth Generation

prelude_12 — Type A’s make their second appearance in today’s post

prelude_8 — Who knew Mustang wheels would work so well on a Honda?

prelude_4 — Of all the generations I think the fifth really could have taken off as a rear wheel drive car

The ‘lude that kicked this whole post off

prelude_5 — Bronze Work XD-9 wheels look perfect on this car

prelude_9 — Rezaxs suit the chassis damn well actually…

prelude_16 — I gotta get me a set of RPF-1s one of these days

prelude_1 — Randy’s previously featured Prelude

prelude_18 — A little bit of local flavour, hope to see this car a little more this year

big_mike — No Prelude list would be complete without Big Mike

prelude_19 — Rod Birley’s RWD Prelude built by JTM motors in the early 90s

prelude_20 — It was Cosworth YB turbo powered and truly one of a kind, more info here on Rodbirley.com

A Visit To: The Binbrook Speed Shop

By

DaveT

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Mar 31, 2014

1

We all have one of those friends who say they are going to do X, but never make their way past B before giving up and acting like they never had any plans in the first place.

My friend Keith is certainly not one of those people. When he says he is going to do X, what he really means is that X is something that must happen on his way to destination Z.

About ten years ago, when he told me he was going to turn the pile of parts (mostly belonging to a 27 t bucket) into a hot rod, I believed him because despite having no prior car building experience he wasn’t known for spreading verbal manure, and he had already displayed a ‘send it’ and let the rest sort itself out attitude on his bike.

As time went on, and the project began to take shape, it became clear that Keith had a firm grasp on what it took to build a traditional hot rod, and this was cemented in stone when his completed ‘Rocket T’ ended up gracing the pages of Traditional Rod & Kulture Magazine.

After the feature, word of Keith’s skills spread quickly and his path towards becoming an employed hot rod builder quickly began to reveal itself.

It’s said you should never ignore opportunity when it knocks, so one wise real estate investment later the Binbrook Speed Shop was born.

Located west of Toronto, and south of Hamilton, the Binbrook Speed Shop is equipped to handle every step of the traditional hot rod building process including –but not limited to– restoration, body modification, chassis fabrication, and motor building and installation.

Currently sitting in the shop along, side his now stripped down Model T, is a 55 Ford F-100, a 1926 Ford Roadster, a 1925 Ford Model T, and another 1927 Ford Roadster heralded as Canada’s Oldest Most Original Hot Rod.

Despite only being one man Keith manages to give every project the utmost attention to detail and when they roll out of the shop under their own power they are true sights to behold.

Enjoy these pictures of my brief, off season, visit to the Binbrook Speed Shop, and expect to see a lot more as the weather gets better and Keith picks up a head of steam.

If you’re looking for how to get in touch with the Binbrook Speed Shop you can reach Keith at 905-869-0004.

WTF Friday: Pet Cemetery Grave Digger

By

DaveT

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Mar 28, 2014

2

Is there anyone who’s seen a monster truck that didn’t immediately want one?

When my mother took me to my first monster truck rally at age 8 I was instantly head over heels for them, but the closest I got was a Nikko ‘Lobo’ RC truck. It sure as heck never occurred to me to try and craft one myself.

I suppose that’s what separates myself and those like the owner/builder of this 1975 mini/Suzuki Samurai mash up styled after the one and only Grave Digger.

Currently for sale on Kijiji the owner simply has this to say about what he’s built:

THIS IS ONE OF A KIND TRUCK IT HAS A SUZUKI 4X4 FRAME 4 CID 5 SPEED RUNS GOOD / SEND YOUR PHONE # I WILL CALL YOU

While perhaps not the most motivated seller, you can’t take his resourcefulness away from him because if there ever were to be a small, non licensed, Grave Digger replica this just might be it.

Not a heck of a lot to work with but if you are interested in an oddball project you can find the for sale ad here.

Meanwhile in 1:1 Grave Digger land:

Event Coverage: Megaspeed 2014 – Part 3

By

DaveT

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Mar 27, 2014

0

Drake Nolte contributed so many awesome Megaspeed Custom Car Show photos this year that I couldn’t limit the coverage to only two posts.

Many of these cars have been in the previous two rounds of coverage, but the photos were good I couldn’t resist posting up a second look.

megaspeed_2014_rat_1 — Start things off with a 38 named Carnage

megaspeed_2014_rat_2 — Distorted Vision just started a Facebook page which you can check out here

megaspeed_2014_rustored_1 — Another look at the ‘Rustored’ Chevy

megaspeed_2014_surf_wagon — Awesome surf wagon I somehow managed to miss

megaspeed_2014_boothill_hauler — The Boothill Hauler has one of the most complicated hood systems I have ever seen, I should make a video of it because it’s kind of hard to explain

megaspeed_2014_gasser — Outstanding, simply outstanding.

megaspeed_2014_drag_camaro — Another look at the beautiful Camaro strip monster from part 2

megaspeed_2014_interior — Classic interiors have so much more character…

megaspeed_2014_interior_2 — …now it’s all just LEDs in various hues

megaspeed_2014_chevy_belair — Personally I would love to see this Bel Air with a bit of rake, but there’s no denying it’s simply spotless

megaspeed_2014_mercury_cylone — Pristine example of a 1970 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler

megaspeed_2014_corvette_thing — Remember this weird Corvette thing from a WTF Friday last August? Well it was at Megaspeed for all to see…still pretty weird

megaspeed_2014_arial_atom — This Atom almost looks like it was rolled right off the track

megaspeed_2014_300c_1 — While a bit on the ‘Dub’ side of things this 300c looks pretty awesome

megaspeed_2014_beetle — If I recall correctly this Beetle was turbocharged

megaspeed_2014_bike_1 — This reminds me of a Junkion… random I know

megaspeed_2014_el_camino — This El Camino was practically glowing thanks to the Auto Glym products

megaspeed_2014_bmw_art_car — The Weapon M track/street art car inspired M3 that should be running around the track at CSCS this year

megaspeed_2014_cage — No clue what car this was, but this shot is really outstanding

megaspeed_2014_honda_rukus — While Rucks are neat…

megaspeed_2014_gokart — …I would personally rather roll this around… if I could fit in it

megaspeed_2014_intergra — I mentioned in part 1 that a clean Prelude is a sight for so eyes, so is a clean DC actually..

megaspeed_2014_toofast_motors — This car has seen a few revisions over the years, the latest includes teal dip and PhatFux wheels…

megaspeed_2014_toyota_mr2 — Brad should have his plates back from the Police in time for Fitted 2014

megaspeed_2014_wrapped_acura_nsx — I’d be lying through my teeth if I said I hadn’t thought of wrapping my car this colour at one point in time

megaspeed_2014_nextmod_mississauga_s2000 — A look at this S2K free of Got Ass distractions

megaspeed_2014_turbo_is300_2 — According to the owner/builder this car made 470whp and 415ftq at 8psi, however there’s some debate about that

megaspeed_2014_turbo_is300_1 — It also happened to win best paint

If this first event is any indication of the event coverage from Drake 2014 is shaping up to be a great year.

Event Coverage: Megaspeed 2014 – Part 2

By

DaveT

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Mar 26, 2014

2

As mentioned in part one of this year’s Megaspeed Coverage the show itself was a little bit smaller than last year, but since it houses imports, euros, trucks, muscle cars, rat rods, and hot rods all under one roof it’s still a pretty good time and a welcome break from the doldrums of what appears to be a never ending winter.

In today’s coverage Drake and myself branch off from the tuner hall and check out the rest of the show which predominately features classics, trucks, hot rods, rat rods and muscle cars as well as a few other oddball vehicles here and there.