By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

I’ve usually thought of the Toyota Solara–when I think of it at all–as an undifferentiated blob. But shave off some badging and tweak the stance and wheel fitment just a bit and suddenly, it’s an acceptably sharp-looking sled for commuting to your corner office in. It goes to show that with the right mods, even the most generic roadpods can turn out to have some pleasing features, and whatever ride you’ve inherited, chances are that you can make it look decent once you nail down the right combination of subtle custom touches. What do you think–what other generally nondescript vehicles look blah when stock but are head-turners after a bit of modification? See more of the Solara below the jump, via HellaFlush.

Continue reading "What Cars Look Surprisingly Hot When Customized?" »

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Tabitha’s Dodge Stratus got hit by some old guy while driving home back in October. I agree with her that this is the”sadest pic ever.”

By Mark Gearhart

powerTV Media

You probably know Dart Machinery for their high-end race parts like billet blocks and 500-plus-CFM cylinder heads, but you might not realize that this company was born in Richard Maskin’s two-car garage during 1981. Though Dart has grown to an industry giant, they have never forgotten their roots.

Today they’re still supporting racers at every level with three decades of experience building horsepower and durability. You might not be building a Pro Stock motor in your own garage, but the lessons Maskin and his crew have learned from hard experience in NHRA and on the dyno can make your project more successful. In this first series of tech videos and how-tos, we had a chance to pick Dart’s brain to come up with engine-building advice that anyone can use. Read more…

Continue reading "Engine Building Tips Part 1: Oiling System, Valvetrain Stabilizers, and Geometry" »

By Chris Bicknell

Bick66

One car that received extra attention at Saturday’s Greenwood Car Show was this completely over-the-top NOS-breathing nightmare in the rear-view.  It’s powered by a 1957 Chrysler “Fire Power” 392 HEMI sporting dual-quads atop a custom slant high-rise manifold. The nitrous system blows off through the skull’s nose, and the eyes are functional butterfly valves for the air intake. Amazingly, it’s an original steel-bodied Ford, though of course it’s been chopped, channeled, tubbed, shaved, and shortened. Check out more pictures below the jump of this completely radical machine.

Continue reading "The Defibrillator" »

By Brian Lohnes

BangShift.com

Tube chassis race cars that use unaltered stock bodies make us happy. Nothing is cooler than retaining a true factory look but packing big power, killer suspension, and advanced chassis technology underneath. This 2010 Camaro SS drag car is virtually perfect in our book and the best looking example we’ve seen of a full-on late model Camaro racer.

The car is obviously located somewhere in the general area of Beaver Springs Dragway in Pennsylvania as that’s where all the photos of the car on the track were taken. No performance numbers are included in the ad but judging by some of the pictures, this puppy leaves the starting line pretty hard.

So how “factory” is it? It has all the factory glass aside from the windshield. It retains the stock dash, power windows, door panels, all factory weather stripping, all the factory hinges and brackets, working head lights and of course, parking lights. The car is made from mild steel so that tells us it can only certify to 7.50. Anything quicker than that and you need chrome moly tube.

The engine is an Enderle injected 598ci Chevy big block and the sale price is $90,000. We’re of the opinion that this beast it totally bitchin’. What say you?

Source — RacingJunk.com — 2010 Camaro SS Tube Chassis Drag Car

By Speedhunters

Car Culture At Large

While Linhbergh was shooting stills of the 2010 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb – I was filming a short on 2WD Time Attack Class competitor Jeff Zwart. During Friday qualifying Jeff set a new qualifying record in his Porsche GT3 Cup of 5:01.642 (bottom third).

This quick video is from the in-car camera from the run and the sound of the naturally aspirated Porsche flat six is raw. For the hill climb the 997 was setup with shorter gears – so there is plenty of shifting through the paved to gravel lower section. Enjoy the sounds, impressive driving, and scenery as you ride shotgun with Jeff Zwart in his Porsche GT3 Cup.

By Will Roegge

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

For the first time ever, the Mustang and Challenger will be competing against each other on the track in NASCAR racing as the Nationwide Series “New Car” makes its debut on July 2nd. Everything on the car is different from its predecessor, and it differentiates itself from the Sprint Cup car with the much stronger brand identity built into the car’s design–Challenger and Mustang being only the most striking examples. For its entry, Chevrolet decided to go with a slightly sexier version of its Impala rather than a NASCAR Camaro; and Toyota’s just running the Camry. No one is 100% sure how this entirely new machine is going to behave on the steep banks of Daytona under competition conditions–obviously it’s gone through a lot of testing, but even top drivers are wishing they’d gotten more seat time. Justin Allgaier says this newness may help reset the playing field a bit, with raw talent taking precedence over driver experience. This should shake things up some in a series that tends to see the same top drivers, most of them also Sprint-Cup regulars, running pretty predictably up front. Watch the Nationwide new car hit the track on Friday at 7:30 pm Eastern on ESPN, then catch the Sprint Cup night race on Saturday at 7:30 on TNT.

By Sam Barer

Sound Classics

I’m not good at taking vacations. I don’t take them very often and I’m bad at them when I do. “Vacation” implies getting away from work, and I have always had a strong sense of duty to my deadlines. Hell, I even once spent a day of my honeymoon writing and uploading new content to the software company’s web site for which I was product line director in sync with a major launch. This was after the CEO told me to not to worry about it until I got back.

And it’s happened again. Here I am today with my wife and kids in Honolulu on the 35th floor of a hotel overlooking Waikiki Beach… and I’m writing about cars while they swim in the pool. Indeed, two days ago my vow to avoid automotive-related stuff died like a college freshman’s virginity pledge when I noticed the Ferrari Store wedged in with other high-end retailers on the main drag here. Read on…

Continue reading "My “No-Cars Vacation” Pledge Failed. How Did You Do?" »

By Michael Berenis

Tampa Sports Car Examiner

Wrong place, wrong time! An out of control Corvette Z06 wrecked into a BMW M3 at the 2010 Robin Hood Rally in Tuxedo, New York. No one was hurt, but both cars were a mess of mangled metal. Watch closely, you’ll see the Corvette catch some air before it takes out the conveniently positioned Euro. Read more about the wreck at Tampa Sports Car Examiner.

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Scott just sent me this pic of his 2006 Ford Ranger. You can see more pics of him and his friends playing at the Outer Banks of North Carolina at FordRangerForum.com.