I love reading a good build thread, as a car nut I find watching someone turn a crazy idea and a heap of a car into an amazing ride really interesting. It’s much easier to appreciate the finished product at a show when you know what went into it. The read is also a great way to kill a rainy afternoon and get the inspiration needed to work on your own project here are 10 my my favorites:
Project Vixen
This build actually predates the build “thread” and it was the first build I was ever exposed to from start to finish, it started in 1999 with various boxes containing a 1982 DeLorean DMC and ended up finished in 2004 as completely assembled DMC with a twin turbo power plant.
At 243 pages long this build and extremely detailed (cost tally’s at the end of each update) it is not for the faint of heart or short on time. Check this out at Projectvixen.com
Project: Feel The Luv
I love this build thread, pun somewhat intended, Wicked Mayhem is a moderator on s10forums and has had at least 4 different daily drivers and two different projects since I have been on the boards (07).
He and his dad are pretty handy fabricators which results in a lot of crazy cars coming out of there garage. His current project is a 76 Luv truck with a 5.3 Silverado drive train with a 4 link rear end, this thread is 14 pages strong so far and still going and since Luv’s are pretty rare chances are you have not seen a build like this before.
Project: LS1 S2000
Combine everyone’s 2nd favorite rear wheel drive Honda (first being the NSX) and everyone’s favorite all purpose Chevy motor (first being the 350) and what do you have?
An LS1 powered Honda S2000. Some people consider swaps like this sacrilege but I have never, and will never be a purist so I have no issues with putting whatever makes the most cost effective horsepower in the most cost effective chassis. Check out this build over on LS-1 tech.
KnightX’s Civic Eg build
Before I joined jdmrides.ca I really didn’t care much for Honda’s, I liked the odd one or two but for the most part I let the riced out examples I saw spoil my opinion for the whole lot. However after poking around for awhile and reading some build threads I realized these guys take their cars just as serious as anyone else.
That being said watching this run of the mill white Civic EF become a sick orange street/track machine was an enjoyable ride I have seen this car at a few events and you can can see the build right here.
The Bucket
Anyone who is really into low cars and anywhere in the realm of VW’s on the internet has seen a picture of “The Bucket”. You might have seen this photo first but more realistically you probably saw one similar to this. Initially this car looks like your typical ‘hood ride’ styled VW but as beat up as this ride looks a lot of ingenuity and craftsmanship has gone into making it look this way.
The story of this ride is pretty amusing and I spent a lot more time than I should have reading about it one day at work. I don’t suggest you do the same but I also don’t suggest you skip reading about this cool VW on the 152 or vwwortex.
Project: e30-p
I love e30s, I love trucks, turobs and air bags so when someone took it upon themselves to combine all of these elements into one vehicle I had to follow it. E30 pick ups have been done before but never as good as this one. Not only are the proportions preserved in a way that make it still look sexy, the quality of the conversion is nearly flawless and the tailgate even functions. The truck has air bags in the back to level heavy loads and a turbo m50 under the hood so that it can still pull said loads.
Thee30 pickup has yet to be completely polished off so there is still time for you to read up on the build before its finished!
Project: General Lee
Looking at the picture above you might think that I have them reversed, but this is not the case. This car was originally done by a very questionable restoration shop that cut as many corners as possible to build someones child hood dream. When the new owner bought it it quickly became his nightmare. However now that the car is in the hands of a very capable shop a rainbow is visible in the horizon after the storm.
I like this build a lot since I know the burn that comes from finding heaps of bondo underneath your paint. This one is 170+ pages so keep that in mind when clicking over the the thread on dodgecharger.com
Project: finish up the blazer to never be finished
This 1988 Chevy Blazer has been through a few stages in it’s life and it definatly helps that the owner works at a body shop. Since I started following it has been static dropped gray primer with a 2000 extreme front and and a 350, then a 88 gmc jimmy front end, then green and bagged, then green and white and body dropped with a custom floor and custom dash.
This build can be followed on Blazinlow.com, the pictures from the earliest part of the thread are down so jumping in at page 29 of 133 is the best place to start.
Project Sniper
Built Ford tough with Mopar stuff? This one is pretty wild, its a 94 Ford Mustang with a twin turbo viper v10 motor under the hood. The builder states in the first post that he fully expects his car to be hated and that makes me love it. As I stated before I am no purist so swaps like these are right up my alley.
Custom engine and transmission mounts, a pushed back firewall, and an exhaust system that is currently under patent laws are just a few of the things necessary to make this swap work. For full details check out this build on Viper alley.
Big Mikes Prelude Rebuild
Remember what I was saying about Honda owners being just as fanatical about their cars as any other car builders? Well this rebuild is a great example of Honda owners being fanatical about the build quality and cleanliness of their cars. This car started out looking pretty clean in my eyes but the owner decided a full rebuild was in order.
While the final color and a lot of the final motor details are still under wraps this build still has a lot of interesting details to watch and since this build is taking place on one of my favorite blogs, The Chronicles I have been checking it quite regularly and so should you. This guy washed his heater core and scrubbed his steering rack with new toothbrushes for peat sake. stickydiljoe.com has nearly daily updates of this build.
If this isn’t enough build threads head over to Buildthreads.com a blog dedicated to the art of the build thread.
