SEMA 2007: Twin-Turbo LS1 V7 Super Coupe in Vegas

The night and day efforts of three guys over the course of six months is under the lights here in sin city. Twin turbos on the LS1 helped twist the dyno to to read 1067 horsepower and 980 foot pounds of torque and make the V7 Super Coupe, as Phil from American Super Car put it - a D9 Cat in Corvette clothing. Right after bolting in the steering column before this shot was taken the crew realized the adapter hub for the steering wheel didn't exist. Phil fired up the mill at 4AM last Thursday morning and machined one so the car could get here and Mequires could put the detail on the machine for their booth. Next year promises a 1966 supercharged mid-engine drop top Vette.

SEMA 2007: Quadracycle!

Attempting to move quickly away from the country karaoke guy sitting and singing Eastbound and Down to electronic accompaniment from PA mounted to the lift gate of his pickup found us in short proximity of the none other than the Bourget's Bike Works Quadracycle. Passerby reaction seemed to be split between man that's over the top, and boy that makes more sense than a V8 motorcycle. All agreed to wanting to put that hammer down twist the throttle and give it hell.

ENGINE SUPERNOVA POTENTIAL!

Every now and again we have to revisit the reasons sinking endless hours and buckets of coinstar trappings into our rides somehow worth the effort. Last week we motored down to Torrance from Montrose in the mighty Starion for some wrenching, a late cobb salad down at the Hof's Hut, and to pick up a turbo heat shield bracket that had snapped after twenty years of heat cycling. Kelly was prepping Mario's car for the trip to sin city, and Mark came over to suggest propane turbo engine swaps for the Starlet. After some more wrenching on our own Starion we're off to SEMA today. If you see a mushroom cloud on your way out to Las Vegas don't worry. The nuclear test ban treaty is still in effect. The Star of Astron has merely gone supernova, and I'll need a ride.

La Vida Lowrider: Cruising the City of Angels

The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles is hosting a selection of the city denizen's automotive creations that defy the soulless mechanicals of modern commuter boxes by proudly representing the culture and families that crafted the machines. While one group of post WW2 hooligan Angelenos were seeking higher velocity out on SoCal dry lakebeds, another was going slower - and lower, on the streets of the basin. The exhibition marks the second time the museum has scraped a group of Lowriders into its halls. Cars, bicycles, motorcycles, and even a few baby carriages have been chosen based on historical significance and sheer hypnotizing power of metalflake and chrome. The show opens tomorrow and runs through June 8th. [La Vida Lowrider via Petersen.org]

SEMA 2007: Small Block Chevy Quadracycle

Featuring such luxury amenities as power rack and pinion steering and a 425 horsepower 383 cubic-inch Chevrolet small block is the Bourget's Shredder F-80 Quadracycle. This beast is designed to attract that group of the motorgoing public that wants to ride a motorcycle, but can't be bothered screwing around with just two wheels. A quick change rear differential puts the power to the ground through a pair of Porsche 930 constant velocity joints and what will certainly be a short-lived set of Avon tires. A mere 90K will put you in on the driver's seat. Press release and specifications after the jump. More »

SEMA 2007: V7 Super Coupe Rolling to Vegas

The thrashing has ended on one end of the country for the American Super Car crew. With the fiberglass dust finally settled in the shop, the V7 Super Coupe has been loaded onto the transporter and is on its way to sin city for some twin-turbo mid-engine Corvette mayhem at the Meguiar's booth at SEMA. Looks like the old man knocked out the tractor beam after all. Hit it, Chewie! Specs and bonus pic after the jump. [Thanks again to Ro McGonegal for the images and tips] More »

SEMA 2007: Big Daddy and Mopar to Burn Nitro Again

Big Daddy Don Garlits has always liked his Chryslers. He stuck with the hemispherical variety of engine even when the dark forces of moneyed sponsorship tried to convince him otherwise. Back in May we found out that he continues to enjoy stuffing hemis down into the framerails. The Swamp Rat XII is now finished and rolling out to SEMA from Florida. The vintage 6:71 blower looks better than bitchen raking down on top of the modern 392 mill. Release and specifications after the jump. [Big Daddy Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing] More »

Manta in Frankfurt, But Where's the Foxtail?

While stalking the nether regions of the Frankfurt Auto Show, Kapitan Bumbeck stumbled across this fine example of a Manta GT/E. This '79 model features a rousing 105 Pferdestarker and a bodykit wide enough to plug the Fulda Gap; we're grooving hard on the period BBS wheels. The question is, would Jimmy McRae drive it? If he wouldn't, we would. We think we'd up the horsepower quotient a bit, though. Turbo Ecotec, anyone?

Dad's Turbo Dodge Caravan

From the 800-dollar turbocharged minivan department comes this 1989 Dodge Caravan SE with genuine simulated woodgrain trim. Along with doing toasty burnouts, the minivan has run the quarter mile in 12.65 seconds at Route 66 Dragway thanks to a set of slicks and 24 pounds of boost pushing through the stock 140K plus miles mill. The initial 800-dollar purchase price has been long-forgotten after all the modifications required to get the Iacocca Special into the 12-second zone. This guy figures if a 14-second minivan can beat most cars on the road, then a 12-second minivan can beat them all! [Dad's Turbo Minivan Bonanza]

1-in-5 Youngsters Dig Muscle Cars

Results of a survey of magazine readers compiled by SEMA are in, and showing that 1-in-5 fans of hot rods, customs, and muscle cars are in their teens and twenties. The automotive lifestyle survey was sent to readers of Hot Rod, Motor Trend, Popular Hot Rodding, and Rod & Custom along with other Primedia titles. 19.7% of the 16-24 year olds surveyed were interested in muscle cars, 21% in street rods, and 20% in restored vehicles. As Primedia doesn't yet publish Eighties Rustbucket magazine, we can only assume the 20% are busy restoring Merkur Xr4ti's and Dodge Colt turbos. [Complete SEMA Survey Results via SEMA.org]

The man known as Coop has installed a bang up gallery of Speed Week at Bonneville photos on the Flickr. Bathe your eyeballs with the 1327 pics that Coop took while he was out there.

In Russia, Devil Runs With YOU!

Allegedly, this modified Lada 2108 is supposed to look like a Diablo, but to us, it carries a distinctly Espada vibe. Or maybe that of an Islero. Whatever the case, it's yet another wonderful depiction as to what can happen to a man when armed only with a Lada, too much time on his hands, a set of tools from Gorky's House of Discount Wrenches and a case of bathtub vodka. [English Russia]

Bonneville Oder Bankrott Machen! Blown Teutonic Belly Tanker

Somewhere between Nebraska and California these guys scored an auxiliary fuel tank previously attached to a 1944 American Republic P-47 Thunderbolt. The tank was shipped back to Germany, where it met up with an early hemi, a roots blower, some Merc running gear, and giant tiki head with a 13 on its forehead. The entire project is supported by the Konfederate Klassics crew, who also seem to be building a Kadett V8. [A German Tank in Bonneville via rennabteilung.de]

Coop Scores Speed Parts

Mister Cooper got lucky on a trip to a guy's garage to pick up some new wheels for his Falcon. Besides the aformentioned rolling stock, the famed artist let go of a few more dollars from his Cooply stash, heading home with a vintage Vertex Mag, a classic Edelbrock X-C8 cross-ram intake complete with dual Carters and a pair of classic finned valve covers, all for a Chevy 350 that he's building for a hot rod project. And when Coop says "phaeton," you can be sure the man isn't talking Volkswagen. [Positive Ape Index]

Heavily Tweaked Lada

English Russia once again comes through with evidence of capitalism's impact on the former Soviet Union. East, meet west. West, meet East. Now add turbochargers and scissor doors. The yikes factor is strong with this one; it's even got a head-up display! We have to admit, we're not entirely sure about the styling but well, it does kinda grab you by the face and yank. Yes comrades, we'll give it that. [English Russia]

Coop Hits the Swap Meet

The one and only Mister Cooper got together with Señor Jalopy and belly-tank Bobby to hit a Model T swap meet in the fine city of Long Beach. As one of the few art critics Los Jalops intrinsically respect — as he himself has a bit of the old artist in him — we dig the man's take on the inherent majesty of the layout of parts on row after row of high-school gym tables covered in whatever's handy. Tin Lizzie-ownership fantasies will soon follow if you've got an American red blood cell in your body. [Positive Ape Index]

In Russia, Air Brushes YOU!

The inimitable English Russia has a gallery from Russia's Aerograph 2007 show, featuring a smattering of obsessively-artified vehicles. Sadly, there's only one ZAZ among the bunch, but as Murilee is wont to say, "...And one Zaporozhets to rule them all!" In fact, most of the vehicles are of German origin, suggesting that while they may have turned around the Germans at Volgograd, Russia's well-heeled would rather drive Mercs than Volgas. [English Russia]

Moskvitchin'!

We suppose that surreal is subjective. By and large we'd think of a Ford Taunus stuffed full of overly-turboed Cosworth power as generally, awesome, if a little bit foreign. But when one builds a full-race Moskvitch in primer, with no back window, apparently to allow air-fuel-mixture calibration via inhalation, surreal creeps into our Californian brain. We're assuming that the language is Finnish. And well, the Finns are a somewhat surreal people in the first place — just look, they dress like a cross between circa-1997 emo kids and aged Ulster pub patrons.

Iowahawk's Hot Rod Glossary

The language rodders speak can be downright confusing at times. Chopping, channeling, frenching, Z-ing, sectioning, etc. But now, thanks to Iowahawk, the non-rod literate have a handy-dandy guide to phrases bandied about at your average NSRA event. Yes, now you too can hang with old dudes who can't get enough doo-wop in their diets! Excelsior! [Iowahawk]

Every Girl's Crazy 'Bout a Ford Coupe Man

Apparently, all one really needs to get a dance with the girl of his dreams is a Chuck Lombardo hot-rodded '33 Model 41, and the apparitions of Frank Beard, Dusty Hill and Billy F. Gibbons. Oh, and some spandex-clad hotties as stylists/entourage. Mostly, we don't miss the '80s. Sometimes, however, we do.

Bruce's Baja Bug!

A man had or has a cousin named Bruce. In the 1970s, Bruce built a Baja Bug, apparently before the style became somewhat codified as a classic icon of Californian backyard engineering. It features a wacky cue or six, but after growing up surrounded by custom Beetles, the fact that we see fewer and fewer on the road these days makes us nostalgic for the days when any nutball with a wrench would cut up a Bug and make it his own. Here's to you, Bruce.

GT-Fiero?

Ah, the ceaselessly amazing world of Fiero-based exotic replicas. Which DNA has been implanted in the Fiero cell this time? Yes, it is indeed that of the Mk1 Ford GT40. V8 Archie's GT4T has V8 power, front and rear clamshell lids and um, uh, no Gurney Hump. Still, for a mere $45k, you can go out and shame Enzo Fiero all over again! We're totally buying one to go with our A.J. Foyt mask. Now we just need to find an ersatz Mulsanne straight in some sprawling Central Valley mixed-use office-industrial complex. More »

So-Cal LS7 Chevelle

Former GM CFO John Devine needed a vehicle to spend his retirement bux on. And Pete Chapouris of So-Cal Speed Shop is a pretty reliable guy to spend a lot of money with. We've been fans of most everything that has rolled out of Chapouris' various shops over the years, we can't take much exception with this '66 Chevelle. It's pretty standard restomod fare; the original 283 yanked in favor of latest and greatest production GM V8, Global West suspension, Baer brakes, and some big Budnik salt-flat style kidney bean billet wheels with a brushed nickel finish. We do, however, wish they'd left the Corvette emblems off. 'Vette badges on anything that isn't a Plastic Fantastic have always struck us as a tad gauche. More »

Boring Valley Nights

One of our fave bits of automotive cinema is the trash-talk session that leads up to the stoplight-to-stoplight race between Bob Falfa and John Milner in American Graffiti. While the film's been beaten to death by balding dudes with braided belts and denim shorts, it's filled to the brim with gearhead goodness. We caught a big-screen showing a few years back at the gorgeous Paramount Theatre in Oakland and grinned through the whole thing. It's summer, we're in the Central Valley, and we're wishing we had an eight-pot mill to stomp on that wasn't attached to a truck. More »

Granny Steals Gumby's Hot Rod!

Poor Pokey gets treated to a thrill ride of glaucoman proportions when Granny loses her glasses and takes off in Gumby's T-Bucket. Dig the Irish motorcycle cop and the beatniks in the stands at the drag races. If only real life was more like a Gumby short. Sigh... More »

It Was All Part of the Fun

Chris Economaki slugged it out as an announcer for racetracks across the country before he took the helm of Speed Sport News, or wore the yellow jacket for Wide World of Sports. In the '50s Economaki had followed the promotional efforts of Sam Nunis to Sioux Falls, where he saw a bunch of guys unloading a sophisticated timing device from a truck parked on the infield before the race. More »

The Wheels On the Bus Go 'Round and 'Round

Who doesn't secretly wish he or she owned a wheelstanding school bus? It's a goddamn wheelstanding school bus, after all. You hear? A school bus that does wheelstands! Think of the fun to be had! The mirth to be made! The wheels to be stood upon! Admit it. You totally want one. – Davey G. Johnson More »

It's The Sacramento Autorama! In July!

The boys over at Rod & Custom hit the Sacramento Autorama last February and came back with shots of sleds of all stripes. Oddly enough, the Autorama was where we saw our first in-the-Kevlar-and-Lexan Ferrari F40 when we were but a simple and unformed Jalopnik of twelve. It's a Sacto tradition of sorts, having run longer than any indoor rod/custom event save the Grand National Roadster Show. But there is one thing R&C reports that is emphatically not true: Sacramento is not in the Northern San Joaquin Valley. Sacramento, after all, has its own valley. If it didn't, how would natives be able to look down on the denizens of Fresno? – Davey G. Johnson More »

Syncronicity!

A passel of Benelux VW Syncro-heads (or at least ones from the Bene bit) got together for some good crawlin', Euro style. Hashish and Chimay undoubtedly followed. Volkswagen bahn-less slow hoons of the Low Countries for the win! [Thanks to eltonito for the tip.] More »

Corvette Bummer

For your evening enjoyment, we bring you what may be the lamest car chase to feature a cast member of Star Wars IV-VI. Plus, you know, there's that amazingly-customized 'Vette and an early-3rd 2nd-Gen TA. Sadly, they blew up the wrong car. – Davey G. Johnson More »

Fezza And Fords, Photos

In some ways, hot rodding is an unfortunate ghetto full of Comic Book Store guys in either braided belts with denim shorts or full-sleeve tat-clichés. In others, it's a liberating act of can-do American yahooism; a tribute to those who came before and laid down the awesome. One can argue that guys like Jim Hall and Carroll Shelby were basically rodders who wanted to go around corners faster and had either in-your-face corporate backing (Shelby as part of FoMoCo's Total Performance program) or backdoor engineering and parts (in the case of Hall). In that light, how much of a stretch is a hop over to Maranello and take a peek at what Enzo came up with? And how different is Pininfarina from the stateside custom coachbuilders (especially given a return to that actual practice with Peter Kalikow's 612 Kappa and James "Jiminy" Glickenhaus' P4/5)? Ryan from the Jalopy Journal connects the dots and lined up a 575, his own Keith Tardel-built Model A Coupe and Steve Wertheimer's Austin icon, The Black Dahlia. We would drive any of these cars. Proudly. – Davey G. Johnson More »

Open House of Velocity and Tradition

The worst of Los Angeles must often be endured to find the best of what makes Southern California great. The reward for fighting a brutal snarl of typical eastbound Friday afternoon Los Angeles traffic was the So-Cal Speed Shop Open House. The history that began with Alex Xydias after World War Two is still being made. The SoCal 800 horsepower turbocharged and intercooled Ecotec-powered 34 roadster carries tradition down the long black line of land speed racing, and Jimmy Shine creations help keep tradition rolling down the boulevards of the basin. As shown by the sheer number of machines and folks that rolled in from as far away as Vermont, the So-Cal Speed Shop continues at the nexus of California hot rodding. While the LA Roadster Show may catch more notoriety, they weren't giving away In-N-Out Burgers. – Mike Bumbeck More »

2CV Buggy!

Less-rounded than a 2CV or even a Mehari; more minimialist than the sparest, most spartan FAF, this Citroën-based buggy is simply complete lightweight, peasant-grade awesome. We we'd find some sort of eternal field and drive across it forever in this blatting yellow sweetheart. We would indeed. – Davey G. Johnson More »

Jalopy Journal Interviews Cole Foster

El Jalopnik de Pedro has interviewed Cole Foster a few times in the past. As a builder, he's never built a car or bike we didn't like; his grasp of the history of automotive design is somehow just completely inherent. Plus, he's an old skatepunk whose dad built and raced Fuel cars. Anyway, Ryan Cochrane from the Jalopy Journal interviewed Cole. We like Ryan. We like Cole. Go read it; Mr. Foster's a classic piece of late-20th-Century Californiana, while his cars and bikes? Well those pretty much say everything. – Davey G. Johnson – Photo: Dave Deluxe More »

Roudi Rodded Audi on eBay

This vehicle obviously was built to do two things: chew bubble gum and kick ass. And it's all out of bubble gum. A Ford truck chassis, Audi 5000 body, a crazy man from South Carolina, a 390 and a custom-perforated front skidplate all hatched a plot to make something outrageously badical. And the bidding's only at fifteen-hunnert! Can't beat that! Can't beat that with a stick! [Thanks to Haller for the tip.] – Davey G. Johnson More »

Beijing Jeep! Wrangler Jeep!

Apparently the Beijing Jeep 2020 is a smelly, slow, noisy, unreliable bucket of bolts. For hot nights out on the boulevards of Pudong and the alleyways of Puxi, a man needs a shiny, bright vehicle. Like say, perhaps, a Wrangler Rubicon! And the people at China Car Times show you kinda-sorta just how to do that. It'll still be an unreliable bucket of bolts, we assume. But you'll be rocking the city ThnderBlt Doherty style — in urban Wrangler delight. – Davey G. Johnson More »

Rover, Schmover! An LS1 Manta!

According to this righteous Manta's owner, regardling the 3.5L Rover V8, "This is a rather lazy engine which is ready to be removed from the car." And that's just what this wacky Norwegian did, getting permission from the authorities to swap in the LS1 from a Firebird. Now we're thinking dry-sump. Now we're thinking over 400 inches of displacement. Now we're going all batshit-googly-eyed over the idea of an LS7 Manta. Mmmm... – Davey G. Johnson More »

Mantasm!

We really don't care if the Opel Manta is considered the IROC-Z of Europe. We don't, we don't, we don't. Because we in our aging post-hipster wisdom simply think it's one of the coolest cars ever made. Rust? Suckage? Doesn't matter. It's a goddamn Manta, people. A turbo-dorifto-hoon Manta? Well, that's even better. Hit play and get rocked by Jack White, Meg White and Adam Opel. Ride the lightning, children. Ride it like it's freakin' Seabiscuit. – Davey G. Johnson More »

Hangin' at the Dekostora

Japanese chain Autobacs is legendary for carrying all kinds of wacky-ass crap for cars. We lurves us some Autobacs, but we've just stumbled across a store that may be even better. From what we've gleaned from this video, Shop Jet carries everything one needs to turn one's everyday Hino or Fuso into a cerebrum-fucking, soul-searing dekotora. It may well be the best store ever invented. Is there a Los Angeles franchise up for bids? Also, we want dude's helmet. Lock On! – Davey G. Johnson More »

Standing at the Gates of the West: So-Cal Hot Rodding and the War

To Joe Strummer and Mick Jones, the Gates of the West may have been New York City. Or Saint Louis. Or San Francisco, where they holed up to record overdubs and vocal tracks for Give 'Em Enough Rope with Sandy "More Cowbell" Pearlman. But for many returning soldiers at the end of World War II, the Gates of the West were the breakwaters of San Pedro Bay, at the dangling, southwesterly tip of Los Angeles. Last night, Kasey Dubspeed and I did a runner from the coast up to Cole Coonce's place in Eagle Rock (or "Buzzard Boulder," as Cole perennially refers to it) for his annual Memorial Day barbeque. Cole's backyard is somehow an odd nexus of Los Angeles culture of the city's Golden Age. I spent much of the evening chatting with fashion-and-film-industry people, but at Cole's, one may just as likely end up in a conversation with a Top Fuel driver, a cycling fanatic or a random person who saw the Germs like 48 times and lived to tell the tale. The Second War, as Mike Watt refers to it, gave the world Los Angeles — a diverse, wonderful, maddening, depressing, stunning, sick megalopolis. The GIs who stepped off the boat here after the cessation of hostilities gave us hot rodding. More »