2017 Year in Review
Has it been a year already? Wow! Definitely a slower year for posts, with not only my personal circumstances changing (new job + new arrival in the family), but also the dreaded Photobucket scandal putting another nail in the coffin for the forum platform that we all know and love. With all things considered, even though the quantity might have been down, the quality and breadth is still what we’ve come to know from this site which is now in it’s 9th year, thanks to all the talented builders out there continuing to swing spanners late into the night. Build-Threads.com still has a strong and loyal readership (that’s you!), and for that I’m very thankful. This is a specific corner of the automotive media realm that we call our own, and we’re all on the same page.
Click here for last year’s list. Follow Build-Threads on Instagram, Facebook page, and Facebook group.
4G63 EVO 8-Powered MX5
The year kicked off with a peculiar engine swap in the ever popular NA MX5 chassis. The engine of choice? A 4G63 lifted from an EVO VIII, rotated 90 degrees to power the rear wheels.
CLICK HERE to go to the post.
Builder Spotlight – It’s Ben Modified
Coming to our attention via the Build Threads Communal Garage, It’s Ben Modified is a YouTube channel home to some of the craziest creations you’re likely to see, like the above V8 powered VW truck, a pedal electric motorcycle, and even the Hayabusa powered trike that was featured on this site a long time ago.
CLICK HERE to go to the post.
BMW V10 powered Lotus Exige
A stretched and widened Exige with an M5 V10 squeezed into the back, this is one of those home-built concoctions that can only come from the Scandinavian region. Unfortunately this was also the build that brought the whole “people ripping off builds and posting them to YouTube as slideshows” saga to my attention, which seems to be gaining popularity.
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Subaru Brumby/Brat + SVX
2017 saw me subscribe to a lot of new channels, one of those being PneumaChris. His sense of humour and delivery makes him easy to watch, and his work ethic on both project his cars means there’s always something to watch. Chris is also one of those dedicated people who not only document their builds on YouTube, but also maintain old fashioned build threads.
CLICK HERE to go to the post. Watch PneumaChris on YouTube.
Peugeot 205 Endurance Racer Prototype
This surgical-grade Pug came courtesy of a previously-featured builder. Cameron dropped me an email to let me know about his new venture, building race cars for clients in his own shop. The parts-list on this car + the quality of Cameron’s work made it a no-brainer for Build-Threads.com.
CLICK HERE to go to the post.
Tube Frame VQ35HR 240Z
Nothing says Build-Threads like a carefully orchestrated exploded parts image! (Psstt, check out my separate page full of images like this right here). This was the definition of a ground-up custom build, with only the silhouette of the 240z tying it back to the original car.
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Volvo 360 F1 Time-Attack
A definite first for this site; a common hatchback peppered with second-hand Formula 1 parts. Definitely not something you see often (if at all!).
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1940 SS Knucklehead Chopper
Bike builds have definitely slowed down on the site, but this one brought the genre back in a big way. Detail was the aim of the game here, and we even got to see some sand casting and wooden forming dies amongst the usual fabrication methods.
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K-swapped EK Civic
Being a long-time Speed Academy viewer, it was great to see the guys produce a complete build series centered around a realistic and achievable track-car for most of us, being a K-Swapped EK Civic.
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Citroen Saxo Super 1600
I’ve featured many race cars before, both professional and home-built, but this one was different in that it had it’s full race history detailed in the build thread. The finished product was better than new, and if you hit up the full build thread you’ll see it return to it’s home on the track.
CLICK HERE to go to the post.
Subtle Shuttle – Ford E350 4×4 build
Gregor Halenda is a man that can do no wrong. Whether it be houses, motorbikes, or photography, everything he touches ends up better than it started, and is documented with beautiful imagery. His latest project was an ex-airport shuttle bus turned into a family adventure vehicle. Any future project of Gregor’s will always have a home on Build-Threads.
CLICK HERE to go to the post.
Grey Ghost – ’69 Porsche 911
Back in 2016 I featured Home Built By Jeff and have been following him closely ever since. When Jeff started a mailbag segment on his channel, I knew I had to send him some B-T stickers. My stickers and the short bio Jeff gave me on his video brought my site to the attention of Michael, who promptly emailed me his lonhood 911 project. Yay, internet!
CLICK HERE to go to the post.
V8 tube frame Pontiac Firefly (Suzuki Swift)
Rounding off 2017 was a build that truly embodies the spirit of the site. A humble little hatch-back, ripped apart of it’s innards, and re-filled with hand made tube framing and a V8 powering the rear wheels. The best part? It was all done for under $2500US.
CLICK HERE to go to the post.
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Need more build inspo? Check out the 2016 year in review for more awesome projects.
Buy stickers here.