Car Modifications
Keith Bright was driving through tiny Basin, Wyoming (population just over 1,000), when he saw a ’58 Buick station wagon drive by in the opposite direction. “That’s strange,” he remembers thinking to himself. He could remember seeing only two other examples in his entire life. He had to have that car, but there was no time to follow the driver or flag him down. Bright returned to his home in Salina, Kansas, where he heads Bright Built Street Rods & Restoration, and occupied his time working on other people’s super rods. But he couldn’t get that ’58 wagon out of his mind.
One of the many things The Auto Builder does on a daily basis is keep its eyes peeled for small make-a-difference items, tech and how-tos that might benefit you for both street and/or strip application. Sometimes those elements are major, other times they are far less significant, but nonetheless helpful. We also pay particular attention to things that are of interest, up to and including the reasons why an owner did not win at a car show. There are 55 photos here, each with a bit of info. Many may pay dividends for you sometime in the future, so sit back, learn, laugh and enjoy.
A wave of surreal sweetness swept over Tim Pasillas as he got off the phone. Auto Connection had just informed him that his car was waiting for him at the shop. “It’s actually here,” he thought to himself as he rushed down to the importer’s warehouse to pick up his long-awaited prize.
No matter where you live or who you are, if you could get your hands on an authentic Nissan R34 GT-R Skyline, you would. The GT-R Skyline has been called the “Holy Grail” of imports and is the car that all tuners wish they owned. If you are fortunate enough to own one, you are the envy of enthusiasts on the streets and at all of the shows.
When GM introduced the Gen III small block in the F-body, it rekindled a dying performance flame with its new-generation small block. While the Gen I small block actually kick-started the hobby and got it into gear, it’s the latest family of small-block engines that has grabbed the attention of enthusiasts everywhere—and for good reason.
Cam-speak is a language all its own. Well, maybe not from a linguistic point of view, but it is a specialized dialect of car-guy talk. Although spoken by a good portion of enthusiasts, Cam-speak is really fully understood by only a handful of those same enthusiasts, as it is a very specialized, nuanced dialect. Those who do not speak the lingo can instantly be singled out. Those who are fluent in cam-speak are listened to intently, even when those listening do not fully comprehend whatʼs being said and how to apply it to their particular applications. Few within our ranks are particularly fluent in this highly specialized jargon.
Jon Therriault is no stranger when it comes to building high-profile cars. We received a message from Therriault a while back, informing us that he was working on a new top-secret project—a new ‘07 Satin-White-Pearl Subaru WRX. He went on to inform us that this car was to be considerably different than his last project.
The poor Falcon.
Were it not for Ford’s inglorious first compact car, who knows what the early Mustangs would have been like, built as they were on Falcon architecture? Today, everyone wants a Mustang, yet Falcon fans are few. Fewer still are those who crave Falcon wagons, and initially, Norman Schmitt was not one of them, either. He wasn’t after a Falcon, or a wagon, but when a friend told him about an old wagon for sale, he went to check it out. What he found was a rare ’63 Falcon two-door wagon, and it was in great shape. The price was right, so he bought it, with visions of a wicked Pro Street Falcon in his head, and he set out to transform those dreams into steel.
All Ford guys know the proper formula for building a Fox-body car: take a Mustang and cram it full of injected V-8. That’s the mantra, the 11th commandment of the Mustang community. Fortunately, someone forgot to show that particular stone tablet to Bill Powell, owner of Powell Performance (714/992-4909). He did something very different when he built his Fox body: he built a Thunderbird, and he built it with a turbo-four.
If you’re in the planning stages of building your car, or even if you have finished and are driving it, there are lots of free or inexpensive things you can do to make your ride faster and/or more efficient. This month, The Auto Builder gives you 25 of those ideas. Most of these free tips simply involve putting your car on a diet. Every 100 pounds of weight removed from your car equals dropping 1/10th of a second at the strip. Even though you may not be racing, the same theory applies to the street, and also to the extra weight you must lug around.
