By Brian Lohnes

BangShift.com

Amazingly, no one was hurt in this video, but man they came close! Apparently the car in this video suffered a brake failure of some kind, causing it to overcook the corner and head right toward a truck ringed with spectators. They all jumped out of the way, some flopping down what seems to be a grassy hill. This is another example of just how risky some of the viewing areas on a rally course can be.

Pay close attention to the driver and how he manages to spin the car around just before certain impact with the truck. He probably did it to save the car, but it may have bought some of these spectators the millisecond they needed to get the hell out of the way!

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

I’ve had a lot of stuff completely the hell apart, but automatic transmissions are a continuing mystery to me, and frankly, the idea of having one in pieces all over the bench is just a little intimidating. That’s where Jeff Bradley from Bradley’s Transmission Service in Indianapolis comes in. He’s doing a complete tear-down and rebuild of the GM 700-R4 overdrive tranny, and has documented all of it in exquisite detail on BangShift, complete with encyclopedic photo coverage and instructions. This goldmine of knowledge may not be exactly transferable to your own application, but it provides some really detailed insight into A/T mechanics and operation, and a lot of “oh, so that’s what that looks like” moments. Take a look at the initial disassembly, then read on as the rebuild unfolds. And stay tuned for the finale of this ongoing project!

By Brian Lohnes

BangShift.com

Some truly whacked stuff has left the doors of Barris Kustoms in recent years. There was that Prius for starters, but this 2010 Camaro “Spirit” beats them all by a country mile. A “kustom” that was constructed by swapping the grill for some chain parts store chrome and hideous paint, this is a sad addition to the Barris Kustoms legacy. And he plans to sell multiple copies through the Chevy dealer network!

It’s time for George to put the tools and ideas down and step away from the car. This is true even if the only tool he is holding is the screwdriver used to install the awful grille in the “Spirit.” When we read the breathless release that describes this car as “one of the hottest and long-awaited ‘kustom’ Chevrolets in history,” we were moved to laughter. Check out BANGShift to learn more.

By Brian Lohnes

BangShift.com

Let’s say that you have a 1993 Dodge Daytona that has thrown a rod and is emotionally dead to you. There are a couple of options to move on at that point. At least two of them involve a tow truck and a junkyard. These guys chose the third option. Pin the throttle wide open and create the worlds largest smoke machine.

The motor sounds totally awful and this method of motor destruction isn’t exactly “green,” but forgive us if we can’t stop ourselves from laughing at the sheer absurdity of the situation. Did they build a steam powered version of the Daytona?

By Brian Lohnes

BangShift.com

Man alive! When we first watched this video of a Competition Eliminator car running in Oslo, Norway, we rubbed our eyes and watched again. Sporting a 297ci Ford motor, a tach that starts at 6,000 rpm, and a driver that can really row the Liberty 5-speed, this Ford Probe is off the charts awesome. Hell, the guy takes the car to 10,000 rpm during the burnout!

We hunted around for some photos of the outside of the car and it seems like this was once a Motorcraft sponsored entry, judging from the paint scheme. Either that or the owner is a big Ford nut and decided to paint his car like one of the Motorcraft schemed machines in tribute. Who gives a crap about the paint anyway?

Listen to the all-out fury that this little motor screams all the way down the track. The clutch is dumped at 10,000 and the needle goes over center more than a little during the lap so we’re thinking that 11,000 rpm is being realized at the finish line when the shift light is hopelessly pleading for another gear.

BangShifting is international, this video rules.

By Brian Lohnes

BangShift.com

Apparently bidders are not the only ones who scrutinize the cars at Barrett-Jackson. The police get in on the act too and their involvement led to the “recreation” ’71 Hemi ‘Cuda of Beach Boy Al Jardine to be impounded over suspicion that the car was actually stolen.

According to a story on Abc15.com, red flags flew when police noticed that the VIN on Jardine’s car did not match the number on the title. As it turns out, the car was stolen at one point in its life and the VIN tag from the dash was never recovered.

Some time later, the car was sold to a person who lived in Iowa. When they bought it, the new owner applied for a new VIN. which was granted. The original title was never amended to show the new VIN number and that brought on the confusion at BJ.

The police investigating the car were able to get the answers they needed and the car was allowed to re-enter the auction fold. Knowing now that Al Jardine has this pretty bitchin’ car, we’re wondering what else is in his personal garage.

Jardine tours with his own band playing Beach Boys songs, while Mike Love and Bruce Campbell tour with their own minstrels playing the same stuff. Even after all these years those boys still can’t get along!

Source: ABC15.com – Police Seize Beach Boy’s muscle car at Scottsdale auction

By Brian Lohnes

BangShift.com

DMC Racing is loacted in Halifax, Massachusetts, and has developed a reputation as one of the premier small-tire drag race car builders in the eastern half of the country. The spotless, humongo shop was filled to the gills when we stopped by to bother shop owner Dennis MacPherson in the middle of a blizzard. He allowed us in and let us roam the shop and pepper him with questions. This place is gearhead nirvana.

The shop’s main concentration is on building small-tire drag cars but MacPherson does still do some show car and custom work for longtime customers. When we stopped by there was an interesting mix of cars in the shop but the overwhelming thing we saw were turbos. There were twins hanging off of just about everything. Aside from a few child swallowing single set ups, twin turbos were the rule and they were on everything from SN95 Mustangs to a beyond bad ass Camaro that you’ll see in the gallery.

MacPherson gave us the greenlight to stop by and bother him some more so we’re going to take him up on that and keep you up on some of the truly awesome projects the guys at the shop are working on. He has five full time guys working in the shop and is so busy he is looking to add two more.

Are you a talented fabricator looking to make a move to a premier shop? This is a golden opportunity. You can e-mail Dennis at dennis@dmcracing.com

LINK: The DMC Racing Shop Tour Gallery

By Brian Lohnes

BangShift.com

A bubble-top 1962 Catalina is a damn cool car on its own. One packing a developmental all-aluminum 389 engine that was one of 14 built for Mickey Thompson is freaking sublime. This car is not a clone or recreation, it is a total what-if. What if a factory engineer was able to tinker with one of the aluminum 389s and managed to slip it into a beautiful 1962 bubble-top Catalina and hit Woodward Ave?

No expense was spared when building this car. It is packing parts from the ultra-rare Swiss Cheese Catalinas in the form of an aluminum center section packing 4.30 gears, and an aluminum bellhousing with a weird starter mount as well. Oh, we almost forgot to mention the aluminum exhaust manifolds.

So how do you feel about this car? Should the motor have been sold and used somewhere else, or was the “right thing” done in this case. It isn’t a clone and the seller is not trying to push the car as some kind of factory job. We think it could be the coolest Poncho ever.

Click here to see the eBay auction.

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

There really aren’t many things NASCAR driver Robby Gordon hasn’t raced. At SEMA, Chad from BangShift caught up with him in the Magnaflow booth to talk about cubic inches, high horsepower, his daily drivers and his burly Hummer. Hey guys, how about taking it easy on Nads?

By Brian Lohnes

BangShift.com

OK, Mopar guys, here’s a new photo gallery loaded with a bunch of big B-bodies that we’ve seen over the past year or so at places like the Spring Fling (next one is coming soon!), the Long Beach Swap Meet, Pomona Swap Meet, the Car Junkie Drag Bash, the John Force car show, and more.

Check it out here.