Madillac
April 26, 2024
THE AUTO BUILDER
Featured
COAST-TO-COAST 482ci STREET 409
You can drive this bad boy coast to coast and burn all the rubber you want in between.” That was Day Automotive’s Tony Shaffer proclaiming the abilities of his shop’s 482/409. Soon thereafter, we were entering the confines of Day Automotive in Independence, Missouri, where Shaffer and crew had just completed the engine in seven days. It represents what can be accomplished power-wise with the right combination of parts, plus some internal modifications. And with a 10.0:1-compression ratio, it’s very street-friendly.
HPX Reveal: Poole-Adams Racing Unveils First-of-its-Kind Toyota Supra NHRA Stock Eliminator
Let’s get one thing out of the way: Toyota ain’t new to motorsports. But this? This is something we didn’t see coming—and we absolutely love it. Welcome to the age of inline-six fury, dragstrip edition. Daren Poole-Adams just lobbed a turbocharged hand grenade into NHRA Stock Eliminator, and it’s got a Supra badge on it.
’07 Cadillac Escalade : Black Beauty
The 2007 Cadillac Escalade ESV was one of the most eagerly anticipated SUV releases in recent history. The ESV is spacious, powerful and elegant from the factory, but most owners will choose to add their own touches to personalize this truck, just as they did with the old one. Ryan Friedlinghaus, owner of West Coast Customs in Corona, California, wanted to personalize his own Escalade ESV, but he wanted to do it in a stealthy and subdued sort of way so that he could then offer the WCC package to other Escalade owners.
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Best Of Show
DARA SORDANO AND HER HONDA CIVIC BATTLE IN SEATTLE
Author
Thae Auto Builder Staff
Story & Photography
HOT IMPORT NIGHTS : SEATTLE
When Hot Import Nights strolls into Seattle, typically two cars end up battling it out for Best of Show honors. Earlier in the year, Kelly Williams, one of the two competitors, took home the Best of Show honors when HIN first rolled into town. His Civic has been cleaning house for several years up in the Northwest and there hasn’t been a Honda to touch what he has built. Until Dara Sordano showed up and surprised them all— including Williams.
This young lady made the long journey with her Civic all the way up from California. She was hungry for some good Northwest competition and she was not disappointed. Going in, she wanted to learn how her Civic would fare in a new environment.
The first thing we noticed was how clean and well-built the car was. Obviously, also others noticed , because it blew everyone away. Of course, the car had to be stout to beat out Williams’ Civic.
Sordano’s Honda was sporting a complete candy-red paint job, custom body armor, slick bodywork, Lamborghini doors and 19-inch chrome Racing Hart wheels. And those were only a few of the mods on the exterior. In addition to taking home the coveted Best of Show honors, Sordano also cleaned house in the 2-Door Wild class and the Best Honda Class. As if that wasn’t enough, she also won the Maxlife award for the longest distance traveled. (In case you forgot, Southern Cal is a good 20-hour drive to Seattle.)
So, what else made this car so outstanding? Anyone who has been in the scene for any length of time knows the company STR. Well, STR happens to be Sordano’s main sponsor and it makes some killer engine parts. Besides the motor being built, her Civic also features tons of toys from STR, a full NX setup with a couple of carbon fiber bottles just for fun and enough chrome and bling-bling to be seen from space. The car is also set up on air suspension and the entire undercarriage and suspension components are chromed and painted to match the rest of the car.
The interior is decked out with tons of cool toys and the trunk is all done up, housing the canisters for Sordano’s suspension. We all know that no Best of Show car would be complete without some sick ICE and of course, she had that going on, too.
This car is definitely the real deal. So guys, get ready! We think it is a great thing seeing women building their own cars and we hope to see this trend develop.
If you think Sordano’s Civic looks good here, you have to see it for real. This car is a masterpiece and 100-times more impressive in person.
To Sordano and all her sponsors, congrats on your winnings and for taking it all the way up to Seattle for a serious battle. No doubt the Northwest bad boys are still in shock. And thanks for setting a great example for all us builders—both men and women.
