With a major new and used car shortage plaguing the market recently, many folks in need of a new ride have gotten creative and are dragging older cars out of storage, digging through long-forgotten barns and automotive graveyards in search of a classic needle in a haystack, or taking their grandma’s barely used Mazda Miata and going to work on restoration and rebuild projects of all shapes and sizes.
Depending on the car or truck you’re looking to transform, the possibilities can be endless (and daunting). Not to mention the cost — if you’ve got a bunch of extra cash that you don’t want, a project build can be a great way to help you get rid of it. That said, you can also do a fairly extensive freshening up or customization without breaking the bank.
If you’re in need of some direction or inspiration, check out these unique, fun, and innovative project builds.
John and Paul Dunfee’s 1968 Ford F350
One of the best things about doing an automotive project build is bonding over it with friends or family. That’s just what John Dunfee does with each of his three children. When each of his kids was about to turn 16, John helped them pick out a project car that they would work on and rebuild together.
John’s middle child, Paul chose a true labor of love that took two full years to pull off. What started out as a restoration quickly transformed into a restomod. Much time was devoted to scouring the web for used parts, new components, and whatever else could be used to transform a shell of a truck into Paul’s prized possession. It’s also a hot topic at many of the car shows that Paul and John like to enter.
The original non-running truck was an F100 on a F250 high-boy chassis and was found in New Hampshire. The cab and other body parts came from the backwoods of Maine. The cab swap was one of the tougher parts of the project. The guys removed the entire drivetrain, including the axel. They stripped the motor all the way down to the block. The block was modified to be bigger and good as new and reinstalled in the truck.
The truck got an all-new adjustable valve train, chrome valve covers, aluminum intake manifold (eliminating the massive 100-pound cast-iron original), long-tube Hooker headers for the exhaust, a Holley self-regulating electric fuel pump, and much more. Perhaps most importantly, Paul wanted to upgrade to a Comp cam with over a 1/2-inch of lift and new hydraulic lifters (also from Comp) to give the motor that distinctive chopped sound that you can hear coming from about a mile away.
That noise, coupled with a distinctive patina gets noticed pretty much everywhere Paul goes, which can be a good or bad thing when you’re 18 years old…
Westcott Designs’ Toyota Sequoia
If you’re looking for some highly-polished inspo, this year’s SEMA show in Las Vegas had plenty of jaw-dropping custom builds on display. One of the coolest “daily drivers” was this 2023 Toyota Sequoia, tricked out by Arizona-based Westcott Designs – a company well-known for fabricating and installing specially designed components for off-road vehicles.
This build features wicked 37-inch Nitto Recon Grappler tires, which is practically unheard of for a Sequoia. To fit those fatties properly, the company came up with a model-specific lift kit that gave it 1.75 inches of lift in the back and 3 inches in the front. Westcott turned to Camburg Racing to help outfit a capable suspension setup that could balance off-road versatility with on-road manners.
Another impressive element of the Sequoia TRD Pro Adventurer concept is its lighting equipment. The team added a Rigid Industries 20-inch light bar, six-inch fog lights, a six-inch ditch light and six Rigid Industries six-inch ADAPT lights, all attached using Westcott Designs brackets, so you can light up the trail like a stadium game.
This build also included some impressive overlanding accessories, like the low-profile roof rack carrying a Go Fast Campers rooftop tent and a pair of Trek bikes. And, of course, there was also the modular hitch-mounted rack with dual swing-outs that was carrying a stand-up jet ski and jerry cans to really maximize the fun component.
Boosted 9-Second Corvair/Cutlass Combo
A modern automotive science wonder, this “Frankencar” is a convention-defying combination that doesn’t seem like it could possibly work together. However, thanks to Ben Bowman’s mad scientist mind, it’s a match made in a heavenly garage.
Take the chassis of a 1985 Oldsmobile Cutlass and graft on a 1966 Corvair body with a cool patina exterior to start. Next, cram a 1,000 horsepower-capable LS motor under the hood. Then, start flexing those fabricating skills because, much like Frankenstein’s monster, stitching this beast together is a labor of love. From the hand-built firewall to the homemade transmission tunnel, it took Bowman plenty of puzzling and lots of experimentation to pull this project off.
Wanting the car to have a level of performance that matched or even surpassed its unique look, Bowman decided to finagle a 6.0-liter LQ4 truck engine filled with Gen IV LS connecting rods, ARP hardware, and stock pistons into the setup. Boost it with a BorgWarner 80mm custom turbo, and Bob’s your uncle. To manage and control all this, there’s a Holley Terminator ECU and a custom 4L80E transmission and torque converter. All these components work in conjunction to get this car up to a super quick 140 mph.
D’Garage’s Lexus IS350
Unveiled at the 2021 SEMA Show, this performance mod is chock full of fresh ideas for upping the ante on your sports car. Granted, these pros likely had a cushy budget, but there’s plenty of great ideas here for all.
The folks at D’Garage started with some edgy body modifications, including the Artisan Spirits Over-the-Fender Body Kit. This is a pre-production kit, but don’t turn your nose up at it. Thanks to impressive 3-D modeling and previewing, this kit fits better than most aftermarket elements.
So often, with performance modifications, aftermarket exhaust installs can be way more of a headache than they’re worth, but the team at D’Garage was super happy with the A’PEX Integration Axle-back exhaust. It was super easy to install, sounded perfectly aggressive without being overly obnoxious, and looked sexy.
The car also got a brake upgrade in the form of the large and in-charge RC-F track-edition CCM brakes. The system featured eye-catching, two-piece, full-floating carbon-ceramic-matrix rotors; 6-piston front calipers; and 4-piston rear calipers. The only drawback is that this setup interferes with the parking brake. Thankfully, an aftermarket electric parking brake caliper from Wilwood solves the issue.
And, of course, no performance build would be complete with changing up the wheels and tires. The team ultimately settled on the Yokohama Advan GT Beyond Hyper Black Machine 19-inch wheels as their pick to click, rounding out the sleek and super-fast look that this project build was hoping for.
Bruce Reimer’s 1970 Ford Maverick
Interested in a professional-looking restomod on a tight budget? Many of the prettiest girls at the dance have been lovingly and tastefully restored and modified by novices and DIY enthusiasts that enjoy a challenge.
Take Bruce Reimer’s 1970 Ford Maverick, for example. He rescued the car free of charge from his brother who was going to send it to the scrap yard. In fact, the Maverick now belongs to Bruce’s son, who is the third generation in his family to own this particular car.
As often happens on a budget build, stripping the car down to the bones can cause you to wonder what the blankety-blank-blank you were thinking taking on this project. But, as Bruce recommends, a large project on a tight budget is best broken down into small, manageable jobs. Restoring a rusted-out quarter panel that most would have replaced can give you a boost of positivity and renewed interest.
A lot of parts and pieces can be found at salvage yards, on Facebook Marketplace, and at garage dumps. Lots of welding and fabricating went into the body of this car in order to save cash, and thanks to Reimer’s ingenuity, elbow grease, and patience, he transformed a junkyard salvage into a mouthwatering street-ready hot rod. If you’re looking for a truly jaw-dropping and inspirational restomod, this one is tough to beat!