Bad Ass: Up Close and Personal With Carl Tasca's 2010 Mustang Cobra JetBy Brian Lohnes Posted 02/24/2010
When we heard that 2010 Cobra Jet #27 (of 50) was at Tube Chassis Designz for the installation of a parachute, we dropped everything and headed over to check out the car. The 2010 edition of the Mustang Cobra Jet has several mechanical improvements over 2008s, and in our eyes, is the coolest freaking thing any domestic manufacturer currently sells. It is an 8-second car that arrives 'caged and turn-key from Ford. Add that to the fact that this one happens be to owned and raced by the dealership that invented the 1968 Cobra Jet, and you've got even more magic happening. Read More >
Pro Street 1970 Challenger Mini-FeatureBy Chad Posted 01/19/2010
Every once in a while we run across a car we know you would love to see, but that we can't shoot a full feature on due to time or circumstance. Our neighbor, George, has some cool toys, including a clean four-speed 1970 Plymouth Roadrunner, several cool trucks, and a really bitchin' big rig. But one of our favorites is his bad black pro street 1970 Challenger. Last week we saw the Challenger parked in his driveway waiting for its prospective new owner to come check it out. We took the limited time to shoot a few photos and bring you this "mini-feature". Enjoy. Read More >
Too Cool! Vintage Gremlin Stock Car on eBayBy Brian Lohnes Posted 12/23/2009
This is totally BangShift.com approved! A guy in New Jersey is selling his vintage Gremlin modified stock car. We've seen Pinto bodies and such, but never a Gremmie bodied model like this one. It looks like an overgrown kids toy, and we totally mean that in a good way! Read More >
The Parting Shift: AMC EditionBy Brian Lohnes Posted 12/18/2009
This video is pretty neat. The guy driving the car is quite skilled in the ways of the five-speed transmission and has no fear of doing a little no-lift boogie down the drag strip. HIs technique involves fanning the clutch when shifting, not just going all hulk on the shifter and forcing it from gear to gear. It's sensible manual transmission violence. Read More >
Car Feature & Video: Gary and Pam Beineke's Serpent SRT-71 Dodge Charger By Brian Lohnes Posted 12/14/2009
We have featured several cars from the collection of Gary and Pam Beineke in 2009. Gary and Pam have made a name for themselves in the Mopar community by creating so-called, "what if?" cars. Normally they answer the question with respect to the time period of the car they are working with, be it their 1971 Superbird or the cool 1972 GTX they created from Chrysler styling department documents. This car goes in a different direction. Read More >
Video and Feature Story: Larry Larson's 6-Second Drag Week Nova Cruising the Vegas StripBy Chad Posted 11/30/2009
Last week we brought you video of Larry Larson's incredible, Hot Rod Drag Week winning 1966 Nova running its first ever 6-second pass at the The Strip in Las Vegas, which is amazing for a 3,500-pound car that is really street driven. Now, to prove the street statement, we've got video of Larry cruising the "other" strip in Vegas. We were there to shoot photos and video as Larry hit Fremont St. and Las Vegas Blvd on his way south to the "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign, all just an hour after running 6.934 at 211.59 on Saturday during the PSCA Street Car Super Nationals. Special thanks to Mike Galiimi who helped us out by shooting photos while we shot video. Read More >
Bangshift Mini-Feature: BigfootBy Brian Lohnes Posted 11/20/2009
Every BangShifter out there has one vehicle that strikes at the heart of his gearhead self. For us, that vehicle is Bigfoot 1. Unbeknown to us, Bigfoot 1 and a 35th anniversary Bigfoot truck were on display at the SEMA show, and we spent oodles of time with them. Throw rocks at us if you want, but we'd say that no list of influential vehicles in the history of American motorsports can leave Bigfoot 1 out of one of the top three spots. It is the only vehicle to literally invent a genre of motorsports. Read More >
Bangshift Mini-Feature: The Piss'd Off Pete 1960 PeterbiltBy Brian Lohnes Posted 11/17/2009
One of the coolest projects to hit the airwaves and webwaves over the last year is Randy Grubb's creation known as the Piss'd Off Pete. This is a 1960 Peterbilt truck modified in the spirit of a Fuel Altered/street rod/we don't even know what. The truck is totally bad ass and amazing to see in person. Read More >
Car Feature: King Komet 1968 Mercury Cyclone Drag Race SurvivorBy Brian Lohnes Posted 10/15/2009
There's a lame saying about old drag cars and how they never die. That it is total crap. Old drag cars get bent, wrecked, blown up, burned down, hacked up, and restored to factory condition all the time. That's why one that survives with the total package of history, coolness, a winning pedigree, and a brighter racing future is special. The King Komet 1968 Mercury Cyclone is so special it's nearly sublime. Read More >
Car Feature: Jim Sartori's 10-Second, Aluminum FE Powered 1940 Ford Deluxe CoupeBy Brian Lohnes Posted 09/4/2009
If the guys bootleggin' moonshine back in the day got their mitts on Jim Sartori's 1940 Ford, they never would have been caught. Thanks to power from an all-aluminum, 485ci Ford FE motor that made more than 600 horsepower on the dyno, the G-Men would have been a distant memory. This car is flat out amazing in every respect. Where do we begin? Read More >
Car Feature: Renteria Brothers' 2,000-Horsepower, 6-second, 4-door, '65 Plymouth ValiantBy Chad Posted 08/24/2009
Normally you would consider a four-door 1965 Plymouth Valiant to be a family car, but normal doesn't begin to describe the Renteria Brothers or their bitchin' '65 Valiant race car. When Mike Renteria, the Dad in Renteria Brothers and Dad Racing, first ran his four-door Valiant drag car, he apparently didn't tell his kids that four-doors aren't normally racecars. So, as you can imagine, most people have thought the brothers were a bit strange for deciding to build their own four-door Valiant. And they may have even snickered a bit back when Sean Renteria was running 12s with a mild small-block in the car. They aren't snickering now. Read More >
Hack Job General Lee: So Close We Can Almost Taste It, With Video!By Brian Lohnes Posted 08/24/2009
The Hack Job General Lee, the well publicized '69 Dodge Charger project from Hell, is finally near completion and it may well be the the greatest case of making automotive chicken salad out of chicken you-know-what that we have ever seen. A patient owner and a team of skilled craftsmen have taken a rolling disaster and turned it into a rebel-flagged, screaming orange, push-bar-equipped slice of perfection. Read More >
Car Feature: GNRS-Winning 1955 Chevy Show CarBy Brian Lohnes Posted 07/27/2009
Steve and Lisa Caspary's 1955 Chevy is a full-on, serious show car. So serious in fact, that the shoebox took first place in its category at the Grand National Roadster Show, one of the premier judged car shows in the world for hot rods and customs. Read More >
Attila the Jav: New Parts SpotlightBy Brian Lohnes Posted 07/18/2009
We're making plodding progress with our project 1968 Javelin that we've named Attila after the legendary warrior that scared the pants off the Romans way back in the day. Attila was kinda ugly, crude, and by all accounts, one mean dude. The Jav fits all those traits to the letter. Read More >
Car Feature: Jet-X, The 1972 Plymouth GTX that Mopar Never BuiltBy Brian Lohnes Posted 07/10/2009
Here's a car from the cover of the October 2009 Mopar Action magazine, and one that's being debuted at Chryslers at Carlisle, July 10-12, just as this is being posted at BangShift.com. It's Gary and Pam Beineke's brand new creation, Jet-X. This is the 1972 Plymouth GTX that Chrysler never built, it has 440 Six Pack power, and if you are a serious Mopar fan, you'll really respect both the story and execution behind this car. Read More >
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Cool Original Owner AMX Road Racer Put Back on the TrackBy Brian Lohnes Posted 07/6/2009
Some cars seem to be destined to lead charmed lives. Take this neat 1968 AMX that was bought new, street driven for four years and then turned into a road racing machine. Read More >
Car Feature: Gary and Pam Beineke's Awesome 1971 One of None SuperbirdBy Brian Lohhnes Posted 07/4/2009
A car feature on a 1971 Plymouth Super Bird? You got it. So what if Mopar never built such an animal, Gary and Pam Beineke did, and this one's loaded with a 472ci Hemi wth a Six Pack. Yeah, Chrysler never made a Six Pack Hemi, either. Read More >
Car Feature: Stunning 1955 Chevy Nomad, With Video!By Brian Lohnes Posted 06/29/2009
Chevy Nomads are one of the few cars that will be eternally cool. Maybe that's why Robert "Nick" Nichols wanted one and was willing to wait for it--for 50 years to be exact! Read More >
Car Feature: 10-second, Pump Gas, Big-Block Chevy Powered 1970 Buick SkylarkBy Brian Lohnes Posted 06/16/2009
Throw your nitrous away and leave your turbo at the door. Tom Spinella's 1970 Buick, powered by a 489ci big-block Chevy, cruises at 65 mph and nearly runs 9s on 93 octane straight out of the pump. Read More >
Car Feature: 800 Horsepower 1964 Dodge 330 by Renteria Bros.By Brian Lohnes Posted 06/1/2009
Mike Renteria Sr.'s 1964 Dodge 330 makes 800 horsepower out of a 496ci big-block Mopar wedge motor, gets driven and shown regularly, and belongs to a man who is 70 years old. Read More >
