It was just one of those days we had vans running around all over. All four of these beauties run and drive and it is a lot of fun to see this many of them together now sixty years after they were built!
Fastest SAAB
It was a pleasure to have this land speed record holding two stroke SAAB Sonett at the shop today. Hearing this car on the dyno is not for those who do not like loud noises. See this car tomorrow in downtown Des Moines for the Des Moines Concours.
Progress: 1955 International Metro
The International Harvester Metro food truck is coming along at a quick pace now. The interior walls are almost finished and the last of the exterior accents are being painted. Starting as a wrecked rusted mess this van has come a long way and is almost ready for service again.
Progress: 1974 Triumph TR6
The 1974 Triumph TR6 project is coming along. The last major battle for this car is creating the throttle linkage system for the triple SU carburetors. The larger than standard wheels and tires look to fill the wheel wells perfectly.
1960 Chevrolet Parkwood
The new suspension and brakes are fitted and adjusted. Now with disc brakes and a power brake booster this car is safer on the street and has the power to stop all of this iron and glass.
1955 Grumman Olson Step Van
This Chevrolet chassis 1955 Grumman Olson step van arrived last night and is not allocated to a project. This van would make a great shop truck, food truck, or merch wagon for your business and if you are interested in building a unique marketing vehicle for your company send us a message. The Grumman Olson is made of aluminum so there are never the rust issues you will see with other vans and have a much larger interior and more head room making it a better usable space for those wanting to pack in a lot of equipment.
1965 Shelby Cobra 427
It has been a while since we had a Cobra in the shop. It was great to get our hands on this one for a corner balance and check of the suspension setups. Being the 68th car built by Shelby in Las Vegas it has all of the vintage parts you would want in your Cobra.
Progress: 1963 Ford Falcon
To clear the SN95 Mustang rear wheels attached to the new 9″ Ford rear end we added subtle flares and enlarged the rear wheel well. With four racing seats, a cage and harness bars for both rows the whole family can join in on the fun!
After: 1971 Pontiac Trans Am
This Pontiac Trans Am came to us as a car that had hid a deer 30 years ago and then stored ever since. It has been a long rebuild but they could have never dreamed of a Trans Am like this back in 1971. Almost every part of the car has been vastly improved but the interior and exterior hide off the secret and maintain an original restored look.
Rebuilt: 1955 International Metro
Half of this truck was so rusty that we had to cut it off, throw it away and rebuild. Inside all of the floor and frame was rebuilt as were the insides of the doors. Sixty years of modifications and damage were removed during the process to bring it back to it’s original shape.
Corvair Engine Teardown
The Chevrolet Covair engine is air-cooled and used a flat design, with aluminum heads and crankcase, with individual iron cylinder barrels.
Crate Boss
These high-revving Ford Racing Boss 302 444 hp 32-valve DOHC crate engines deliver a ground-pounding 444 hp and 380 ft.-lbs. Before it goes into the Mustang Boss 302S the bearings must be changed to the tri-metal type to withstand the rigors of a serious workout.
Birkin S3 Lotus Super Seven
Lotus released the second generation of the Lotus Seven in 1961 and it was such a hit that there have been many copies made over the years. This Birkin S3 is a modern interpretation of the Lotus Seven with a similar tube frame and a twin cam Ford engine.
Friendly Food Trucks
The first food truck was back for service while we were building the next. From two different manufactures these two vans, Grumman Olson on the left and International Metro on the right, might be the most iconic shapes of a the 1950s delivery vehicles.
CMC Restricted
This new Camaro Mustang Challenge build was just finished and is here for inspection and certification. The engine was making much more than the owner expected and the restrictor set wouldn’t bring it down to spec. After fashioning a custom restrictor this car is right on the mark and can be seen at NASA events very soon.
Without Rubber
This 1980 MG MGB has lost its rubber bumpers for chrome ones, and with a set of Panasports it has that classic look but without the fuss of the earlier cars.
1967 Sunbeam Funwagon
These British caravans were originally sold in 1967 for only $4995. You could add 16 options above the standard equipment such as sun visors and chrome bumpers as equipped on this one. These campers were only sold in America and certainly only a handful still exist, even a picture of one is rare.
1963 Ford Falcon
The guys are test fitting and measuring for the new rear axle to go with the four link we installed in the back of the Falcon race car project. With four racing seats this Falcon is ready for the ultimate family road trip.
2012 Fisker Karma
Produced in Finland starting in 2011 the Fisker Karma has arguably been the best looking plug-in electric hybrid car for years. We had to drop the rear subframe on this one to fix a traction motor coolant leak. It will be getting several other upgrades in addition to needing one of the rear Nivomat, an automatic self contained load-leveling monotube damper, replaced.
1997 Lamborghini Diablo
Released in 1990 the Diablo was the first Lamborghini capable of attaining a top speed in excess of 200 miles per hour. This one needed some electrical and cosmetic sorting but is again ready for the street or show.
