Author: Jeremy Nutt

Hi, I'm Jeremy.

When Doesn’t it Make Sense to Restore a Car?

Jeremy Nutt 8 Comments

Once in a while I get a call from a friend that says to me “I have XXX wrong with my car, should I fix it or cut my losses and just get something else?”  This can be a really easy question or a really tough question depending on the car and the problem that is ailing it.  When doing all of your own work, it is much easier to justify fixing a car because you don’t have to pay the labor.  The downfall to this is that it also means you can justify fixing cars that normally should be junked.  Well folks, now I have found myself in this position, and I’m asking the Nutts & Bolts Auto Blog readers for opinions.

I got a 1960 Pontiac Ventura in trade for some work on a 1964 GTO a couple years ago.  It was a complete car when I got it, and I even got it running again, but it is in rough shape.  It hasn’t been registered since the mid 1980’s, and it has been outside the entire time since, so finding solid portions of the body is not easy.  That being said, I am more ambitious than most, so I pulled the body from the frame, rebuilt the frame and suspension, and set the body back on it temporarily.

Recently, I had a friend (homesteadblast.com) soda blast the entire body of the car for me.  Ugh.  What we found was disheartening.  At the bare minimum, it needs all new floors and floor supports from front to rear, quarter panels, inner and outer rocker panels, a tailpan, lower fenders & doors.  Yeap, basically a new body minus the roof.  All of the glass is broken as well, which is a real financial drag.  To restore this back to original, the replacement sheetmetal alone would be in the multiple thousands of dollars.  Never mind the wiring, plumbing, trim, interior, and little odds and ends.  By the time the car is nice, I bet I would have well over $7500 in materials and several hundred (thousand?) hours of my own labor.  It’s value when done? Probably slightly less than what I have invested.

The 2nd option is throw originality to the wind, and basically “hot rod” the heck out of the car to suite my own bizarre tastes.  This option would be cheaper and faster because I could make my own floor braces out of boxed steel, do some simple bead-rolled floor pans, a basic DIY-style wiring kit, and use junkyard parts for the rest…

The 3rd and final option is to find a more suitable home for the car and just buy something fully drivable instead.

Ugh. I don’t know what to do. Help!

You Want To Take Your Toaster To The Next Level?

Jeremy Nutt 1 Comment

Sometimes car enthusiasts can’t let their fabrication skills stop in the garage.  They have 1 too many diet mountain dews, and things start getting wild.  Pretty soon, the TIG welder is fired up and the kitchen fabrication project begins.  “vectorsolid” whipped up a pretty slick toaster mod recently which is well documented on honda-tech.com.

He wrote “That’s right, taking breakfast and drag racing to a whole new level. We didn’t feel a turbo charged toaster would yield the proper golden brown, crispy toast we all know and love. So we went ALL MOTOR with this beast.”

“Proper” old school, stainless steel, 2 slot toaster. This bad johnny knows how to cook the competition. And with a fraying 1950’s cloth cord, possibly cook the user…  ….Sleeved block, ITB’s. Amazing pop outta the hole. Will smoke ’em all day long.”


“At the track… Easily passed tech. According to the little knob on the side it’s certified to “8”. the golden tone on the toast was achieved with a setting of “3”. Imagine the smoke show this thing would put on dialed up to “8”. No dyno can hold it… You don’t mess with the all motor toaster…”

Is a drag racing chassis necessary for a toaster? Yes.  Is is way cool? You bet.  Would I trust the toast coming out of it?  Nah.

Found On:

http://honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=2821902

Where Do These People on eBay Find Such Amazing Cars?

Jeremy Nutt 1 Comment

Every so often, I type “Barn find” into eBay Motors just to see what kind of coolness pops up.  The search always yields hundreds of cars, trucks, and motorcycles that I dream of owning.  I want to be the guy that finds these things.  If there is some kind of Indiana Jones sort-of adventure involved that is even better.  I will run from crazy underground traps, and solve ancient riddles if it gets me a sweet old car. Heck, I may even do it for a couple of seized engines.  It’s every gearhead’s dream.

On eBay there are guys that pull ’60’s Vette’s, Yenko’s, Packards, and everything in between out of fields and barns.  How they find this stuff? I have no clue!  One of my favorite eBay finds recently was a 1933 Pierce Arrow.  It was apparently sitting under a tree in California for the last 50 years.  Luckily for car enthusiasts, cars don’t rust into the earth so fast in California, so this is an easy save for any restorer.  Check the pictures out and tell me how mad you are that you didn’t find it first!

Got a barn “find” story with pictures? Tell me your story.  I absolutely love reading about this kind of stuff.   If your story is good I’ll post it up here!

Item Number 190431606807

Nothing More Than a Great Picture.

Jeremy Nutt 2 Comments

Yesterday I spotted an outstanding picture that I wanted to share because it has so many things going for it (Yes, I know it is photoshopped).

Here is why I really like this picture:
– It actually looks like a race between a hotrod and a little girl in a soap box derby style car.
– The illusion (?) of speed is certainly present.
– Determination. Lots of it.
– It appears that she is ready to rip through gears with her chromed-out shifter.
– Captain America helmet.
– Pin striping is a timeless form of art that I cannot get enough of.
– Wire wheels with skinny tires, on chopped & channeled hotrods are always a huge win.

Found on:

http://voodootimm.tumblr.com/post/943408764

http://s3.amazonaws.com/

For Sale: Invisible Car $4500

Jeremy Nutt 2 Comments
Invisible Car For Sale

Craigslist is the place to find the strangest items and people that you never knew existed.  Last night I received a text message from my brother informing me of one such item / person.  From the moment I saw the CL ad, I knew that the 1A Auto Blog readers would appreciate such an amazing car. Without further adieu, I present to you, the $4500 invisible car (New snow tires included)!

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Friday = 2JZ in a 1993 Mustang

Jeremy Nutt 8 Comments

Monday = We had an awd turbo dune buggy
Tuesday = It was old-school vs. new-school with the 1929 Whippet SRT-4
Wednesday = There was no choice but to go with the hand built Toyota 2000GT
Thursday = An incredible  ’69 Porsche GT3 build.
Friday = 1993 Mustang notchback with a 2JZ Toyota Supra engine.

I know that today’s build will be hated by some and loved by others, but regardless of personal opinions, it makes an impact.  Today’s project is a fox body Mustang notchback with a 2JZ Toyota Supra engine swap built by a guy named Dan (2JZstang) on supraforums.com.  It makes 650 horsepower at the wheels on E85 fuel and runs a 9.74 quarter mile at 144 mph.  Sick fast. It took him a few years to build it on a budget, and it was almost sold off at one point, but in the end his dream prevailed.  In it’s current state, is brutally awesome, sicknasty fast, and well deserving of high 5’s from every enthusiast in his area code.

Here are a few modifications worth noting:
– 6 Point Cage
– 2JZ engine with stock internals
– Billet Precision Turbo
– 4″ exhaust
– coilovers
– Built 8.8 rear

Videos FTW.

The full build can be found here:

http://www.supraforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=453217