You’ve all heard me talk about custom cars before – the good, the bad and unfortunately the, ugly. Customization is something that is a very personalized thing. You’re building a car to your tastes and creating a vision that came from the inner workings of your mind and your mind alone. Now, if you are building a car that will never be sold, then this is fine. Built whatever you wish, enjoy it and to hell with what people say about it, be it positive or negative.
There are times in life when you just need to ask yourself the question: Why? All to often in the automotive world customizers and tuning companies try and strut their stuff to see if they can improve on what the manufactures put out. Some succeed and others fail miserably. Choosing the car to put under the knife is an even bigger challenge as some car companies produce automobiles that are so good that they really don’t need any improvements.
Jay Cassill’s brother Landon was NASCAR’s 2008 Rookie of the Year. To celebrate, the Cassill brothers had ADM cook up a 2010 Camaro RS/SS with a blown Lingenfelter LS3 motor and dropped suspension set up for both track days and drag strip runs. The car dyno’d at 1,000 horsepower and “over” 1,000 lb-ft of torque, and that’s before they installed the nitrous kit. I’m not one for moderation, but sweet Jesus: 1,000 horsepower may be good enough for me.
Chris Roberts sent in pics of his one-of-a-kind Scion Xb. Tasteful on the outside in pearlescent Lamborghini blue and black paint, it’s the interior that sets this Xb apart.
So there is a guy who likes Fords, but he also likes Lamborghinis. What else is there to do other than dropping a V-10 and transaxle into a Mustang. Sounds simple right??? Its name is Tractorri, an unappealing name for a somewhat attractive car. This vehicle took one Mustang shell, parts of a must, parts of a Gallardo, and hours upon hours of labor. There isn’t much information about this car other than what the people who posted had to say about it.
The crown jewel of our private collection: The Tractorri. The short version? This is a body-in-white ‘07 Mustang shell with the mechanicals from a Lamborghini Gallardo underneath. From the ABS to the AWD to the E-gear transmission everything works. The long version adds two more Mustangs for parts, thousands of hours of labor and enough one-off parts to make most show cars blush. Oh, and our president drives it around—he put over 1500 miles on it this summer alone! Built and maintained by our own Rick Roush this is a werewolf in wolf’s clothing! Check out the pictures for now and we’ll have a full description of the build and show history up shortly!
I mean a Ford Mustang is far from a sleeper, but if I rolled up next to a Mustang and heard a V-10 roaring under the hood, I would be a little surprised and in shock. What kind of monster will they fabricate next.
It has ten wheels, four-wheel steering, two small-block Chevy V-8s, and a host of Citroën DS parts. It’s the PLR, a monstrous contraption created by Michelin in the ’70s to test truck tires. The thing weighs more than 10 metric tons and is capable of sustaining speeds of nearly 100 miles per hour. And it looks like the Yellow Submarine on wheels.
What’s better than a 1966 Olds Toronado? A 1966 Olds Toronado with TWO engines.
Tycoon Grant McCoon of the Grant Piston ring company built this insane prototype in the late ’60s. It has two Olds 425-ci. V-8s, one in its original position powering the front wheels and one in the trunk for the back wheels. The thing supposedly has a combined 770 horsepower and can hit 100 miles per hour in 11 seconds.
McCoon’s plan was to sell twin-engined Toronados to other tycoons who needed a little extra oomph for their daily drive. Needless to say, it never happened and this brown monstrosity is the only surviving example of his mad genius.
Every car nut dreams of building a custom ride, a one-off wonder that reflects its owner’s heart and soul. But not even the fantastic fever dreams of a madman could conjure this. The guys at Hector’s Chop Shop in Santa Rosa, Ca., are building an electric, rear-drive ‘69 Honda N360.
Blastolene Indy Special, photo by Drew Phillips, Autoblog
You’d think Patton tank engines were a dime a dozen the way the guys at Blastolene throw them into outrageous roadsters. This is their latest creation, the Blastolene Indy Special. It has the same 1,792ci V-12 M47 Patton tank engine as Jay Leno’s tank car, but it’s mounted in a sleek hand-formed aluminum body inspired by the Watson roadsters of the ’50s and ’60s.
The colossal engine puts out an estimated 910 horsepower and 1,500 pound-feet of torque. It’s mated to an Allison automatic bus transmission. The whole thing weights an astounding 8,400 pounds and is 22.5 feet long.
It’s undoubtedly a work of art and utterly deserving of lust.
Hop on over and check out the gallery at Autoblog.
