What's your Bucket List Build?

Tim's recent editorial "Thinking Out Loud" really hit close to home!  At 61 I find myself looking at car projects with a different eye and reevaluating my needs.  Tim, find a nice TRX Instructor you enjoy and stay with it, 30 years from now it will help with things like getting up off the floor, rolling over etc., you will be stronger and much happier.

But I wander.....   

I don't have the 15 car limit Tim does, but I really enjoy the room, the luxury, the chrome, the largess of 50's barges, likewise I''m not opposed to gut rumbling open headers with a floor shifter vibrating my whole arm.  I've had dreams of building a copy of Bill Stroppe's Mercury for years, someday I might.

So, what's your Bucket List Build?

I know, not a race car, but I've wanted to build one since I was a kid.

Really no rhyme or reason behind it, I've just always loved lowriders, with their terrible handling, paint jobs worth more than my house, Xbox controllers for bouncing, and million spoke wire wheels. 

Some day when I'm all done racing and playing responsible parent, I'll hopefully be able top find a chassis and get to work. 

I’ve always wanted to put a Honda F20C drivetrain into BMW 2002. That’s been done a few times already. I believe CA Tuned even offers a swap kit these days. Still a cool project!

Building a Ford Sierra RS replica based on a Merkur XR4Ti is another project I’ve thought about. Since a real Cosworth YB engine would cost a fortune these days, I’d do something like a 2.3L Duratec twin-cam from a Ford Ranger (plus turbo, obviously!)

Finally, Ford now sells those tiny 1.0 L three-cylinders as crate engines. The block is supposedly as small as an 8x10” sheet of paper. Direct injection, turbo, and all that good stuff. Only about 100 hp stock, but can be modded to almost twice that number. I’d love to have a engine like that in a tiny roadster, like an Austin Sprite or Triumph TR4. 

I'd love to do a sleeper Corvette.  A 1985 body that appears stock from the outside, but runs a twin-turbo setup north of 1200hp and a full race suspension lurking underneath.  

I’d like to put a full Miata drivetrain into a Lotus Elan Coupé. 

I'd also love to take a 308, add a GTO body kit to it, and drop in Twin turbo Ford V8.  You'd have the looks, more performance and better reliability than a real GTO, but worth $5 milllion less of course. 

Right now my bucket list consists of finishing the three project cars I already have, but assuming I still have any life left in me after the 1800ES  is back on the road, then I want to build a '69 Charger and/or a '71 Dodge Demon.   If I expand into hopes and dreams, I'd add a '49 Caddy Type 62 Sedanette, a Triumph Herald Estate, a TR6 shooting brake, a couple of classic Minis, an Abarth SP1000, a late 70's Ford truck or two, an Initial D AE86 replica... and probably a few I'm forgetting...  needless to say, if I had more money, space and time, I'd have a building full of eclectic vehicles.

#1 Lotus Super 7 - finished 2006

#2 V8 Chevy Sprint - Firefly, finished 2017

Next:

64-66 C10, bagged, Z'd, notched, pancaked, LS.

Have to decide priority, in case I only have time/money to do one:

'32 3-window coupe, flathead, 3 "Stromberg" throttle bodies, wide whites, chrome reverse, tuck-n-roll

Bill Thomas Cheetah

'50 Buick Roadmaster, big block, burgundy and tan, bagged

A/Mod sumpin-sumpin

'62 corvair wagon mated with a coupe to yield a 2-door wagon with higher rear wheel openings.   mid-mounted LSsomething with a Boxster transaxle.  Narrowed C4 or C5 front and rear suspension.  you know, something simple.

Stratos.

Well, a Lister Bell STR. But really, Stratos. Stradale model, not sure if orange or green.

^^^ Green (obviously)

if you ever want to see a Stratos Stradale, a buddy of mine here in NYC has a blue one. Cool guy. There’s a video about it on Petrolicious. 

TR-6 restoration w/ SBF (EFI tho) and 5-speed.

Or... design and build an old school D/SR from the ground up. I'd prolly be too old to pass the physical by the time it was finished but I would absolutely love the build. 

New vehicle: ZR2 ECLB Duramax

RevRico said:

I know, not a race car, but I've wanted to build one since I was a kid.

Really no rhyme or reason behind it, I've just always loved lowriders, with their terrible handling, paint jobs worth more than my house, Xbox controllers for bouncing, and million spoke wire wheels. 

Some day when I'm all done racing and playing responsible parent, I'll hopefully be able top find a chassis and get to work. 

I'm truly amazed that this automotive execution would be even remotely embraced ......here .......and thank you. 

I have two:

• Impact bumper 911 into a '74 RSR replica
• A stock looking FD RX7 that packs a mighty punch with twin turbos done right (no, not by attaching them to an LS1)

If I had the time, make my own version of a 914 reimagined by Singer.  

Yeah, I know, that is just wrong, what can I say.

I think the Molvo is going to be it. That is why I am taking my time and trying to do things right; I don't feel another one after this unless it is a challenge car. 

Once the Molvo is done, I will move on to enabling other peoples dream cars.

I have my bucket list car, Datsun 1200, it just needs the new motor and tranny plus a minor suspension revamp.

The 1500cc Datsun engine needs to come out and the Cosworth DFV needs to go in, the tranny will get pulled at the same time, so I can flatten out the tranny tunnel and center the driver's seat, after than I need to pull the Datsun H190 rear end so I can make room for the Hewland rear mounted transaxle, then mount the rear suspension to the transaxle.

There will be a few parts that need fabricating;  driveshaft as the DFV will be mounted up front but the transaxle in back. The struts will need to be replaced so I can install the used F1 or Indy car front suspension on the car. 

So $50,000 in parts and a few hundred hours of work should be all it needs. I pretty sure I can do this on my 2 week vacation.

Restoring pre-war luxury cars has skewed my perception a little.

I'd love to build a toy that you could have had if you had stupid amounts of money in the 1930s.

Packard 1106 V12 speedster.

Swiss-cheese the frame, keep the gorgeous V12 engine but add two Graham superchargers. 

Swap in a Columbia two-speed rear axle from a 1932 Auburn and the Stewart-Warner mechanical brake booster from a 1933 Pierce-Arrow V12.

Add blackwall tires and an exhaust cutout.

As much as I love the Packard "Goddess of Speed" radiator mascot, my car would have to have the Lalique "Victorie" crystal mascot, complete with it's lighted base:

It's not about how fast you can go, it's about how you go fast.

The only car that consistently comes to my mind is an odd one....

I'd like to put a Miata subframe under a Giulia TI.  And use is basically  like a DD.

I'm not trying to brag at all, but over time, I've basically come to the conclusion that my GTV is the ideal car for us:

1) I love small cars.

2) I'm not much a fan of huge power- so no v8s or anything like that

3) lost interest in exotics, other than an early Ferrari V12 car.

4) the Alfa preforms really well.

The only thing that can make it *that* much better is better suspension- and the only one I've figured that would work is the Miata chassis.   Even still, for the work, I'm not sure it would end up that much better.

It would be pretty cool to be able to DD a 4 door Alfa that drives that well.

Bucket list.....

First of all - finish my current project, my Miata powered Spitfire project

Second project - Re-engineer my V8 powered TR4A to fix the axle hop issue it has had since I built it. Also to reengineer some of the short cuts I did during this earlier build, so pull the body, build better engine mounts and re-engineer the rear (perhaps with a Frame from Ratco with a Nissan LSD rear from Goodparts).

Wish list projects - I am a fan of small cars and do like big power if it does not destroy the handling in the process, so in no particular order...

Beck Spyder or similar with a built Type 4 motor

Cobra kit (probably a Factory Five 289 USRRC) but with a 5.0 Coyote

I am perfectly fine with engine swaps in "inexpensive" cars, but not in true classics so even if I had a ton of money for projects, would probably steer clear of messing up good cars, so my choices for old car projects would probably be around making "sleepers" as they are more fun. A few that come to mind are:

C3, especially the worst years of emission control years but with an LS6

MG Midget or Bugeye with a Rotary drivetrain

Lotus (any Lotus), stock or resto-moded such as the couple of Europa builds documented here at GRM

Owning both a Miata and an Opel GT. I'd someday like to take another Opel GT body and put in Miata suspension & brakes with a RX-7/8 diff and use a light 4-cyl putting out north of  200+ hp, maybe turbo'd. Not opposed to a bigger powerplant but want something that would easily fit and fit behind the front wheels for weight distribution. Almost anything recent should weigh less than the iron chunk Opel installed. Add Conrero box flares and some aero, chin spoiler, wing, roll bar/cage and other safety measures. Then have fun with it. Classic looks with modern handling, best of both. That should satisfy my sports car wish.

Now for street rod. Some kind of old car body that runs full fenders with running boards. You know the type, with open engine compartment. Except instead of a flashy chromed out V8. Use a V12 with shiny headers sticking out, cover the top of the engine with a hood but no side pieces to show off the 6 pipes on each side. The hood cut down low enough to hide the engine top and induction system with a built-in scoop opening in the front above the radiator. Use the full fenders to hide a suspension system that will handle, no dropped straight axle. Would get bonus points if body is European but American Iron will do. Just want to park it next to one that only has 4 measly pipes coming out each side.

@Alfadriver; GTV body, Miata suspension, powered by a Ferrari V12. Sounds awesome to me.

On a more realistic note I'd like a Lotus 7 or Caterham chassis to put all of my extra Datsun A-series drivetrain parts in. The motor and gearbox weigh 218lbs combined so,that would take another 100-200lbs out of an already light car. A 1100lb car with 100-120whp motor would go well.

I've also thought about doing the same thing to an Exocet; the 1500cc Datsun A-Series is good for 120whp in moderate trim (150 full race hand grenade) so the powered would be similar to the Miata powered car but 200lbs lighter. 

Let's call it more of a pipe dream than bucket list thing, but I just can't shake the idea.

Maybe an old VW for chassis/title. Hand formed aluminum body-It doesn't have to be accurate, just evoke the original. Maybe a superbeetle windshield, plexi every where else, whatever I can find that is replaceable, and looks decent. 

Triumph exposed hood hinges everywhere

windows like this on the sides, 

, and a liquid cooled engine, with a real heater, 

All this, of course, after completing all the other half baked projects I'm "getting around to" already.

In reply to wheelsmithy :

I have you ever owned/driven a car with fixed sliding windows?  My '64 Mini had them. You learn to hate them with a passion very quickly if you drive in hot weather.