This years Truck & Tuner Expo presented by Nine-0-Five Rides was awesome and one of the highlights was the vehicle limbo.

Since I’ve got a lot of coverage from this years event that I want to get up as soon as possible doing a limbo Theme Tuesday seemed like an obvious choice.

One of very few bagged Darts. May be the only one actually…

Thanks to the body drop this Nova was able to hang with the newer cars with more conservative roof lines

This Golf lasted a couple rounds

Wasn’t sure how low this car could roll as the Watercooled IND wheels were very aggressive but he was able to ride virtually aired out

On the car side of things I was rooting for Brad in his gorgeous MR-2

He was beat out by this Miata full of guys….I’m sure there’s a joke here somewhere

For the trucks this convertible ranger had little issue making it through early on

Being such a big truck things were a little tougher for this Dodge

Steplock was holding it down for the full-size trucks

Todd showin’ off the work he and the guys at Compound Chassis fab put in to get his truck low

This s10 managed to hang in there a lot longer than I thought

I’d wager on pavement he probably could have lasted a hair longer still

This photo was well liked on facebook… give Melissa’s Fan Page like here

In the end it was a battle between this s10….

….and this Mazda

Being an s10 guy I was rooting for this

…however he eventually got beat out

Making this Mazda the lowest truck of the day

When things were all said and done I looked down at Olive to see she was doing her best to get low also

More events should have these it’s a lot of fun and a good way to pass the time aside from just sitting around, more Truck and Tuner Expo coverage should be up tomorrow.

Such a shame because I quite liked the car and it was incredibly clean. The colour it was painted always made it an interesting challenge to shoot as well. There’s a lot more purple in it than the photos below really illustrate.

These photos are when the original owner (and builder) had the car on Work Rezax wheels.

These more recent ones are when the new owner took over and added the more aggressive 9.5/10.5 -6 VS-XX wheels.

Here’s the car a few minutes after the incident occurred.

Looking at the photo it’s a miracle no one was seriously hurt.

For those curious full specs on the car are available here.

I’ve always liked the idea of round table articles and I’m very happy that each of these people took some time out of their busy day to sit down and write a few words.

Terry Denomme

Which of the Canada’s Best finalist vehicles do you think will win this year?
I’ve been lucky enough to see a handful of these cars firsthand while attending shows in the past few years. We’ve even featured (or plan to) some of them so it’s hard to pick just one. There are a few standouts for me however that I think should win.

I remember seeing Ron Vance’s blown big block ’64 Pro Street Corvette at the Calgary World of Wheels a few years ago and thought it was just gorgeous and bad ass at the same time. Beautiful build.

Vote for Ron Vannee

Dennis Verrrier’s 1935 Northern Star Chevy Roadster is a masterpiece (and a cover car from Volume 5, Issue 5 back in 2010.) This car was a Great 8 Ridler car in 2001 so it’s my sentimental favourite as only two Canadian cars since then have earned a Great 8 honour, (Three Canadian owned cars have won the Ridler).

Vote for Dennis Verrier

It started as an all-steel genuine ’35 Chevy coupe and was masterfully transformed into a custom roadster by Maurice Cahill of St. Pierre, MB and chassis fabricator Bill Bourbonnai now of Kelowna, BC. Just stunning and worthy of the title of Canada’s best.

Which of the Canada’s Best finalist vehicles would you like to own ?
I love wagons so Paul Roy’s Manitoba-based 1954 Plymouth wagon would be fun to own and cruise in but I think for sheer seat of the pants fun I’d love to own Rick Lojko’s 1969 Camaro (Cambridge, ON) because its twin-turbo BBC means there’s 1,000+HP on tap if (editors note: he means when!) you want it.

Vote for Paul Roy

Which of the Canada’s Best finalist vehicles do you find the most interesting or unique from a build point of view?
Well, I’d have to go back to Dennis Verrier’s ’35 Chevy Roadster…the body mods are numerous..including 2” taken from rear quarters, 4” added to length of doors and ½” width, which were also rounded and given the suicide treatment.

The front fenders no longer really resemble ’35 Chevy fenders as they were lengthened 4.5” and now more resemble the sweep of a 33/34 Ford. The rear fenders were bobbed and custom running boards were fabricated…the list goes on and on.

I also think the custom work that went in to Harry Teepel’s 1950 Buick Roadmaster is unreal and especially love the hood beneath the hood look..but that’s only the beginning. Two well thought out cars built by very talented builders.

Vote for Harry Teepel

About Terry Denomme
Terry Denomme
Publisher/Editor
CANADIAN HOT RODS MAGAZINE

Danny Braga

Which of the Canada’s Best finalist vehicles do you think will win this year?
All of these vehicles are impressive with their own distinct character. It’s a difficult choice. However we see Rick Lojko’ Camaro out of Toronto to be very impressive with the potential to win.

Vote for Rick Lojko

Which of the Canada’s Best finalist vehicles would you like to own ?
All of them. No. No. That’s greedy of us to say. We must admit we can draw up a sweet laundry list of vehicles to own from these Canada’s Best finalists.

We can narrow it down to two - Perry Jamart’s ‘56 Chevy pickup from Calgary and Rick Lojko’s Camaro from Toronto.

Vote for Parry Jamart

Which of the Canada’s Best finalist vehicles do you find the most interesting or unique from a build point of view?
It would be Rick Lojko’s Camaro out of Toronto. What Rick has achieved under the hood is breathtaking – 2200HP and 2100 ft/lbs of pure excitement.

About Danny Braga/Street Concepts
StreetConcepts is an integrated media company whose knee deep in the automotive industry and Automotive Lifestyle since 1998. We have strategically built the StreetConcepts brand that has attracted, both young and old, automotive lovers on a global scale from our home base in Toronto to the US, Sweden, Columbia and Australia.

Frank Maguire

Which of the Canada’s Best finalist vehicles do you think will win this year?
I think Perry Jamart and his 1956 Chevy 3100 will be the overall winner come Canada Day. I think Perry’s build has a very broad appeal; the style of Perry’s 3100 not only appeals to young car enthusiasts, but at the same time I can see the older guys really being wowed at the craftsmanship and the dedication that has gone into his truck.

When Meguiar’s revealed the “sweet six” earlier this week. I was shocked that Rick Lojko, and Ron Vanee were not among the top 6 in votes. However, I say this every year, anyone can win this contest. It’s all about knowing how to promote yourself.

Which of the Canada’s Best finalist vehicles would you like to own ?
Without a doubt, I would take Rick Lojko’s 69′ Z28 Camaro RS, as the one responsible for gathering this year’s multimedia content for Meguiar’s I had the pleasure of photographing and filming every single finalist vehicle, and when I saw Rick’s Camaro. It was love at first sight, and that’s because the hood was open.

One look at that 2200HP/2100 FT/lbs TQ power plant and I was mesmerized! This car was a mechanical masterpiece!

Which of the Canada’s Best finalist vehicles do you find the most interesting or unique from a build point of view?
I would have to say that would be Scott Fitzsimmon’s 1937 Ford Pickup. The ethos on this truck is so freaking cool! The truck was once owned by legendary rocker Ronnie Hawkins; the truck originally came from Arkansas where it was used by a watermelon farmer back in the day. I thought that was a pretty cool back story.

Vote for Scott Fitzsimmons

The other vehicle that jumped out at me, is Perry’s Jamart’s 56′ Chevy 3100; I fell in love with classic trucks last year when I had the opportunity to get up close and personal with Jim McLauglin’s 3100 when he won the 2012 Canada’s Best Car Crazy Competition.

Perry’s 3100 in contrast is vastly different from Jim’s, much more appealing to someone my age. It’s bagged, has a beautiful finish and is highly modified. I don’t think there is one thing on that truck that remained stock. I love modified vehicles so this one really stood out for me.

Frank Maguire
President of Race Day Media – Digital Marketing Communications and Multimedia Production

RDM has worked hand in hand with Meguiar’s Canada for the past 4 years. Lead promotional marketing communications and multimedia production for the Canada’s Best Car Crazy Competition since it’s introduction to the Canadian automotive scene back in 2010.

Matt Desormeaux

Which of the Canada’s Best finalist vehicles do you think will win this year?
It is hard to figure that out, it all depends on how hard people work on getting votes, but also on how hard they worked on their ride. If I was to pick a ride for a possible finalist it would be hard as all the vehicles are worthy, but Perry Jamart’s Chevrolet 3100 Series definitely stands out in my mind.

Which of the Canada’s Best finalist vehicles would you like to own ?
The vehicle that I would pick for myself to own would be, Paul Roy’s Plymouth Plaza Wagon 1954. The endless looks and versatility of this wagon, make it a head turner and (it has) a ton of room for packing.

Vote for Paul Roy

Which of the Canada’s Best finalist vehicles do you find the most interesting or unique from a build point of view?
I find everyone’s car unique. The 1954 Plymouth Plaza Wagon, is unique due to its rarity and its smooth and simple color scheme on the outside but the interior is decked out and screams attention.

About Matt Desormeaux
Matt is the previous winner the Car Crazy Canada’s Best contest, taking home the prize in 2011 with his RX-7 pictured below

Arthur Chiang

Which of the Canada’s Best finalist vehicles do you think will win this year?
Christian Vigneault’s Mustang Shelby Super Snake. Winning a vote is as much about the campaign and being able to leverage social media as it is having a vehicle with broad appeal.

I believe the Super Snake will resonate with the widest demographic and earn the win with it’s aggressive body work coupled with huge factory power in a year that we should all be celebrating the works of the great Carroll Shelby.

Vote for Christian Vigneault

Which of the Canada’s Best finalist vehicles would you like to own ?

My pick is Rick Lojko’s Chevrolet RS Z28 Camaro 1969. The looks is timeless, with the right mix of Vintage Muscle car aesthetic and all the modern tech to make an extremely potent street machine. The wheels are a perfect modern compliment to the menacing classic Z28 RS body.

Under the hood you have a mix of beautiful details and more power than you could ever need. Interior is subtle at first glance with a few modern updates to the classic interior.

Which of the Canada’s Best finalist vehicles do you find the most interesting or unique from a build point of view?

Joe Siep’s Chevrolet C10 1967 strikes me as a total one off custom creation. The mantra here is pick a chassis you love, pick a drivetrain with the power you crave and make it work both mechanically and visually.

Vote for Joe Seip

The whole build looks minimalist and modern from the interior to the engine bay, and I bet even without the supercharger this thing would have hauled.

About Arthur

Competitor (Auto Slalom, Time Attack, Drag Racing, Rally Cross, TSD Rally, Performance Rally)
Car Show Judge (ImportFest, Fitted, Battle of the Car Clubs, etc.)

Some Industry Accomplishments:
Scion Tuner Challenge Finalist, Team TDS
Sema IAS Award Winner
HIN Multiple Award Winner
CSCS Multiple Best of Show Winner
Importfest Multiple Award Winner

Dave Thomas

Which of the Canada’s Best finalist vehicles do you think will win this year?
I’d like to see Perry Jamart’s 56 Chevy 3100 walk away with the crown this year. With a hopped up 427 under the hood, Air Ride Tech suspension, and a 4 link IRS suspension setup I’d wager this truck can get up and go a lot better than people are willing to give it credit for.

It’s really the complete package and I think the fact that it’s currently sitting in the top six is a testament to how well put together it is.

Vote for Perry Jamart here

Also just look at that paint! It’ proves you don’t need to go too wild, just pick a solid colour than dances just right under the right lighting.

Which of the Canada’s Best finalist vehicles would you like to own ?

Jean-Francois Croteau’s 32 Ford, It’s got that period correct look to it that will never go out of style. While my long term goal is to some day build a classic truck if I could have my cake and eat it too I’d have a truck (perhaps like Perry’s) and a 32 like Jean-Franciois.

Vote for Jean-Francois Croteau

Which of the Canada’s Best finalist vehicles do you find the most interesting or unique from a build point of view?
The most unique build I saw while the competitors were getting finalized was Harry Prokop’s Ford Anglia and I was really disappointed to hear that he couldn’t participate in the contest .

Out of the current list of finalist Paul Roy’s Plaza Wagon stands out as one of the most unique. It’s certainly not the type of thing you come across often at shows and would probably look pretty good if he threw some bags under it and let it lay frame.

Runner up for most unique would be  Dave Frost’s Ranger. It’s the lone mini truck of the bunch and it’s a generation of Ranger that most people completely overlook or completely forget about.

Vote for Dave Frost

About Dave Thomas
The man who inserted all of the typos into this post.
(My ‘real’ bio can be found here).

Good luck to all of the competitors and be sure to get your vote in at Canadasbest.ca before 11:59:59 p.m. EDT this Sunday June 16th.

Aside from the obviously borrowed power plant the ‘trucklet’ (sellers words) appears to be mostly stock. I say mostly because inside the factory seats have been ditched, along with the center console, but aside from that it’s factory Suzuki.

Exterior wise the 80′s paint is dust in the wind and a few things have been shaved. The seller is not the builder so the descriptions could be inaccurate but it sounds like the underside is composed of a lot of s10 parts.

I’m not sure if it would be my first choice for $11,9995 but you could certainly do a heck of a lot worse. Heck the little bed makes it almost practical.

The S10 suspension also means that it could get a heck of a lot lower… hmmmm.

Site Updates

This Sunday is the Niagra Truck & Tuner Expo. The Niagara Ribfest is right down the street also so roll through.

SIE is also sponsoring ‘Best Stance’ once again.

Flashback Friday

Here’s a look at last years Truck & Tuner Expo through the eyes of Jon Ouimette.

Dealership shows are always kind of hit or miss so I didn’t really know what to expect on the way to Super Tuner 4.

Being several years deep obviously worked in this shows favour because in addition to a good vehicle and spectator turnout the event had lots of food, rc drifting, a motorcycle demo, and even an FR-S pit stop challenge where people could compete to see who was the fastest at changing a spare.

Not wanting to push my luck out in the sun I didn’t stay too long but I did manage to snap a few decent shots.

Being held at a Scion dealership I might as well start with the brand. This car seemed bag territory low but I didn’t end up investigating…

Clean lady driven FR-S

FR-S rocking the ML24 lip kit. Hope to connect with Matthew Law for some site content soon

BRZWorld project car sitting on Foregestars

Tony Ho’s Civicin an off track appearance

This EKhas a bit much going on for me personally…

…but it looked pretty clean physically which is nice to see

Talked to the owner of the Type R for awhile about how they really don’t need much to look good. Glad he’s on the page would be a shame to see it ruined

It’s been at least a year since I’ve seen Brad’s bagged Civic. I think the shaved bay is a new addition

I think this car may have taken home best engine bay…

Wasn’t really happy with the photo of Tom’s audio setup I took at Megaspeed so I snapped another at Super Tuner

On the topic of audio set-ups Sam recently began giving his an overhaul as well, eventually the old bar up top will be replaced

I saw this car at the one Ertefa meet I went to this year and really liked the fitment up front…

…the rear is a hair on the aggressive side and the quarter has paid the price but with a little work I could see this working out very nicely

Keeping with my new habit of spying on cars from afar..

One of the more recent Imports to roll out of Taylor’d Customs on air

Tuckin Meisters quite nice

ESS Tuning supercharged e46

Dig the art car throwback, nice touch

Thanks to Salem of Too Fast for reppin the site sticker on his 350

This car is incredibly clean, kudos to the owner

There was a pretty significant motorcycle presence at this show. Heard a number of local clubs represented on the mic…

Speaking of motorcycle Stunters Inc came on to put on a demo

It wasn’t bad but the guy could benefit from a hype man to get the crowd into it

Nice to have something different to shoot though, not going to lie it was a little challenging

I’ve seen this Cobra roll with AMF a few times. Great looking car

E9X treated to some vinyl from Re Style It

Thanks for the love Alvin

The owner of Mazda 3 recently made the switch over to air via AirRex

Though Ryan told me he was “done” modifying his car he picked up a set of SSR wheels not too long ago

Been seeing this LS Miata quite a bit since Megaspeed, wonder if the track is the next place I’ll spot it…

This Mitata has an astonishingly low 23,500km on it and looks immaculate

Sic Ryde mobbin in his new 500e

He’s got a lot of plans for this including going quite a bit lower

There are a few exceptions to this however and one event that seems to consistently fall on a weekend I’m busy is Vanfest.

If I even think that I’m going to be available a week later I get an invitation to something I can’t skip. It sucks. Thankfully I know a lot of people who attend each year which allows access to some pretty awesome coverage.

Last year Kristina Doyle was behind the lens and this year it’s Adam Douglas picking up the camera in one hand and and adult beverage in the other.

As always it looks like a great event and as always I wish I was there.

Since this coverage is going to be mostly trucks here’s a wild Van to put the Van in Vanfest

Executing a theme to the fullest

Very interesting work in progress… C5 Vette wheels?

Awesome cream coloured Caddy

Fist gen s10s a plenty at Vanfest

Awesome IRS and bed set-up in this first gen

Love the subtle details in this paint, almost didn’t notice those scallops at first glance

James has had a few issues with this truck this year but I’m assuming they all got sorted out

The Tiki truck reppin Low Class Customz with it’s roof rack full of accessories

Jeff and his wildly popular daily driver

Things go up as well as down at Vanfest

This would roll over my car as if it were a speed bump

Hard to beat a laid out C10

Chris (whose truck you may remember from Importfest last year) recently added suicide doors and brought his truck back to primer

Can’t wait to see it in paint for a second time around

Nice looking ’51 or so Ford

Matt’s Ranger

I love the classic style of this truck, it’s the exact thing that got me interested in Minis way back

Gary’s Ranger which I need to shoot..

Those of you that read Minitruckin’ may remember this truck from  the cover not too long ago…

…those of you who don’t might remember me drooling over it in the Detroit Autorama coverage

So stoked that this truck has found a home locally

Hope to see more of it soon

Chris Grantham’s project ‘Dool-Eh’

He’s been posting teasers of the build on facebook for awhile, looks like it was a hit at the show

Rob’s International now with more doors

This truck gets more insane every time I see it

This brings a very specific Biggie/Too $hort song to mind

Thanks once again to Adam Douglas for the coverage.

I think I’m out of friends/family who are going to get married so hopefully I can be around for 19… if not maybe I should just make plans for 20 now.

With the Car Crazy Canada’s Best voting coming to a close this Sunday June 16th Meguiar’s wants to make sure that everyone has had their say so they sent by these un watermarked photos for a closer look at each of the contestants.

The link under each picture takes you directly to that competitors voting page so if you see one you like show a little love.

Everyone (within Canada) who registers and votes on canadasbest.ca is also entered in the running to win one of nine DA Power System Prize Packs valued at $100.

Quebec Finalists

Clément Bédard – Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 2008

Jean-Francois Croteau – Ford Roadster 1932

Mario Caron – Ford Hotrod Street Machine 1934

Rui Paulo Nascimento – Audi TT RS 2001

Rob and Fiona Young – Plymouth Cuda 1971

Winnipeg Finalists

Darrell Bracken – Plymouth P-19 Business Coupe 1950

Jason Reske – Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 Convertable 1964

Gordon Gaudes – Pontiac GTO 1965

Jim McNeill – Ford Tudor Sedan 1937

Paul Roy – Plymouth Plaza Wagon 1954

Tim Richards – Chevrolet Camaro Indy Pace Car 1969

Calgary Finalists

Dennis Verrier – Chevrolet Roadster 1935

Jim Bird – Dodge Charger RT 1969

John Morrison – Ford Tudor Sedan 1940

Joe Siep – Chevrolet C10 1967

Ron Vanee – Chevrolet Corvette 1964

Tom Parkyn – Chevrolet Bel Air 1955

Toronto Finalists

Colin Palmer – Ford Roadster 1937

David House – Willys Americar 1941

Garry Woolnough – Ford Roadster 1934

Harry Teeple – Buick Sedanette 1950

Rick Lojko – Chevrolet RS Z28 Camaro 1969

Rob and Fiona Young – Plymouth Cuda 1971

Scott Fitzsimmons – Ford Pick up 1937

Top Six

These vehicles are currently in the top six but that can change at any time between now and the end so if you think another vehicle deserves the top six spot vote it on up.

Christian Vigneault – Mustang Shelby Super Snake 2012

Glen Richardson – Plymouth Fury 1957

Perry Jamart – Chevrolet 3100 Series 1956

Dave Frost – Ford Ranger 1989

Joey Dubé – Ford Torino GT 1970

Yvan Roy – Ford Mustang 1966

I’ll be revelaing my pick along with those of a few other people in the scene later this week, stay tuned!

The days of women rolling around in pink Civics and outrageous Sunfires are largely over and there are a number of ladies doing things just as good (if not sometimes better) than the guys and it’s a damn shame I don’t post them more often.

Sara’s Tib on AME’s was recently bagged, I’ve been asking now and again for high res photos but IG is the best I’ve got so far

Rachel’s Element looked great in it’s 2012 makeover for last years Importfest

Another local entry, I’ve liked pretty much every revision of this car, simple and clean

Mary’s Jetta from a Klutch Republik feature

Morgan Jade was in the first edition of this Theme Tuesday with her CTR, as far as I know she’s still got that but also picked up this “grocery getter”

Armanada had her focus in part 2 now she rolls through with her wrapped CR-Z

Taryn was also in part 2, pre this Miata. Once she got this she pretty much became famous…

…now she has this and is more famous. You can follow the build on Speed Hunters.

Jess Kang (photographer for Canibeat) rolls around in this

She recently had a feature up on The Scraped Crusaders

Natalia’s Jetta was a hit at Fitted and has one of the more unique tank set-ups I’ve seen recently

Another photo borrowed from Air Society. You can read more about Annie’s Audi right here

Kristina’s truck is a unicorn that I hear only exists in fables. (She never brings it out)

This is still probably my favourite Matrix build to date. It also happens to be owned by a woman.

This photo of Jessica Barton and her Supra is pretty famous

It was unfortunately stolen and cut into pieces

Kristin’s got two cars in this post. The first her old Genesis aka ‘notatib’…

and now her Z4 aka ‘MeowPower’

Christine’s beautiful Datsun 280z

Synth 19 is someone I forgot to include in the I wish I took photos like… Theme Tuesday, I find his work amazing

Going to end things off with Yui’s Q45 from Japan. Simply amazing

Ladies I’m sure I missed a few of your cars so feel free to email them in for the next edition.

In it’s most “completed” state this truck –which is some sort of strange combination of a minitruck, lowrider, and donk—wasn’t exactly the best, nor safest, looking of vehicles.

With no (real) roof, no roll bar, primered bed, and sawz-all’d wheel openings the truck looked a little rushed to say the least, and that was before it flipped over.

Chevy ridin’ high boy…

It appears the very same event the photo above was taken the truck flipped on it’s top

Hopefully it was just sitting on three and then wind blew it over resulting in no serious injuries…

Here’s a video of what I can only assume is the same truck hitting switches below, I mean there couldn’t be two… could there?

Site Updates

Vanfest and Importfest Vancouver are taking places this weekend and sadly I will be at neither.

Here are the flyers for the two events, click for more info.

I am looking for coverage from Importfest Vancouver however so if anyone is in the area drop me an email at stanceiseverything@gmail.com. I’m fortunate enough to have Vanfest covered.

Flashback Friday

Here’s a look back at Vanfest 17 coverage by Kristina Doyle.

Check out the Vanfest 17 coverage here.

One day when my friends stop getting married and having bachelor parties on Vanfest weekend I will make it personally..

Let me tell you I was pretty glad to not be a judge at that event because as it must have taken ages to get through the show and shine field never mind try and arrange them in some sort of logical order.

Thankfully I was just there to take photos.

Sniped this shot of Javed’s EL while I was in the food linuep

Couple Golfs that opted to come to CSCS instead of Spring Fling

Erik’s newest daily while the Probe gets some attention

Nice Type R, though it looks like some works been done to the rear quarters

This Ranger is known as #projectbonehead

Tidy RX-7

Didn’t see a whole lot of Sam’s Z last year, looks like he plans to bring it out again this year

Clean GC with Division R livery

Nice to see that John got the Ratso Italiano up and running again after tossing a rod last year

Juice’d s10 layin kit

Mr. Ellis and Mr. Wybrow

Peter’s GTR  is now equipped with some serious rubber…

…rubber which is now put to good use thanks to HKS and Top Secret upgrades underhood

Congrats to Peter for expanding and opening up Nextmod Ottawa

Very nice G on Work wheels

Randomly this bagged and wrapped G was one of two cars with OFCR PLZ plates, the other ended in an “s”

Super Advans are one of those wheels that really start to look a lot better the wider they are

This Kouki was fitted by Righteous Garage

Hard to deny the appeal of these wheels in chrome

Specs are 9.5/10.5 -6 for those curious

Brad’s MR-2 looking stunning

Fitted.

This Caddy showed up somewhat late but was a real crowd pleaser

Super clean and nothing excessive

See you all at Grand Bend June 23rd.

Random wind gusts aside the weather couldn’t have been better for the season opener and the venue was the busiest I’ve ever seen it with people parked everywhere including outside of the front gates.

As the only compact car series locally it’s great to see CSCS continue to do well year after year. The event crew puts a lot of work into making the series better and having no attended several years in a row it’s easy to pick up on the improvements.

Going to kick off the 2013 CSCS coverage on the track.

Drifting

It seems as though everyone in the CSCS field was busy during the off season. Several cars got both visual and mechanical makeovers, some were completely switched out, and driver skill improved all around.

Anthony is now piloting this Centerline Motorsports Nissan 240

He didn’t podium at this event but he drove very well and the car looked damn good

He was involved in a several tough battles and close calls

Brad Paauw was back again in his construction yellow s13 with new aero

This Nissan is now LS powered and absolutely roasts

It’s almost overpowered when compared to the rest of the competition…

…fun as hell to watch though

Marin is driving a 300zx this season which is a unique choice as I believe they are on the heavier side…

As I write this the driver of this cars name slips my mind so I’ll dub him Racer-X until someone refreshes my memory

Racer-X and Miguel

Dugan with some nice angle in his Bully clutch sponsored car

Riley qualified first in his KA powered Hard body

Got to see Jover tear it up for the first time in his F20 powered ae86

Time Attack

Time Attack at CSCS just keeps getting more competitive with records being broken at essentially every event.

There were a few notable cars missing for the season opener too so it will be interesting to see who stays atop the podium as the season goes on.

Mike Gardner won super street putting down a 1:20.190 lap time… I wasn’t able to get any great photos  of him on the track so here he is fuelling up. His hood is awesome.

So stoked to Paul Loeffelholz and his awd Talon back for another season

Just so rad to see one of these running competitively

Turbo with a side of motor

So used to seeing these drifting catching them in time attack is a little weird

I can safely say I never expected to see someone out in an Atom at CSCS

This mini was ripping up practice

Kyle Beaty of Stage Four Motorsports back out for another season in his Celica

Paul out on the track in his badass DSM

Just a mean looking car

J-Spec Civic

Moving box Nissan about to give everyone leaning over the wall a high five

Boersma Racing Civic running quick as always

This s14 took home street RWD with a 1:21.266 lap time

Guessing that I will be seeing a number of these out on the track as the season goes on

If this is the car I think it is it used to be a lot more of a show car

Steelcase.ca hawk eye flying low

Fairly sure this car known as “Voltron” (awesome) broke the track record with a time of 1:13 in car video can be seen here

Going to end things off with this shot

Show and Shine coverage tomorrow!

Works in progress however are different. How? Well works in progress generally seem to either get finished or get parted out and are spared the sad fate of purgatory.

Today’s Theme Tuesday is a salute to works in progress, may they all get finished.

It’s been a minute since Kevin has worked on this but good things take time

Not sure the current status of Oliver’s Z, he’s been rippin’ a CR-Z around lately

I’ve had this picture saved for so long now that it may in fact already be completed

I honestly can’t remember where I got this one, or what this is set to go under..

Wish I knew where this originated, I think tumblr somewhere..

I’ve posted this build on the fanpage several times and you can follow it here

I want everything in this photo

This too is probably finished by now

The famous Pimp Palace Customs mid mounted minitruck. Video build updates are here on YouTube

This build in all it’s glory can be followed here, well worth the 64 pages

A wide body e36 build that I thought had stopped forever three times over

Bagged 2002 build from the AirSociety Forums should be quite proper when wheels touch down

No clue where I grabbed this but I sure hope it gets finished

At last check progress on this car had stopped….for now

Nigel is basically a god.

Follow his god like work at engineeredtoslide.com

But if you think about it building a show quality lowrider is not unlike building a show quality drift car. Both are meant to be used in a ways a normal car never would and both might as well look damn good while doing it.

Everyone remembers the first time they saw a lowrider. For myself it was via late 90s hip hop, stand out videos predominantly showcasing the cars, include Still D.R.E. and Front 2 Back. Though with the cultures of hip hop and lowriding being so intertwined it’s almost more common to find hip hop videos of that era with lowriders present than without.

Growing up in Mexico City, Ruben’s exposure to lowriding came through print. His father might have been a Volkswagen guy but the second Ruben read a glossy feature on an Impala in Lowrider magazine he knew four pumps, twelve batteries, and hundred spokes were in his future.

Leap forward to present day and Ruben is now the proud owner of one of the best built Lowriders in the country; The Chilango (slang in Mexio for city slicker) 64.

Predictably the car you see here wasn’t built in a day, or even a year, it’s the culmination of a ten year project that started shortly after Ruben found himself here in Canada.

Purchased in 2001 the car spent a few years as a daily driver before he took it off the road to give it a mild restoration. Being the owner and operator of his own business a few years rolled by as he got sidetracked making ends meet.

During that time of on and off work Ruben met Jeff from Switches N’ Thangs and with Jeff’s encouragement and a loving wife’s approval Ruben decided make his ’64 worthy of the pages of the magazine that initially got him hooked.

From that point frame off was the only way to go and so the frame and body were split. The body went to Detroit where Fonz laid down the blue base coat before Kandy N Krome was flown in from California to do all the detailing and flake.

The number of hours in the paint and firewall alone rivals the build time of many previously feature vehicles here on Stance Is Everything. That’s not a knock on those vehicles in the least, it’s just the easiest way to put into perspective just how detailed this work actually is.

I could take a thousand photos and never quite do the paint work justice.

While Kandy N Krome was doing his magic with paint Jeff did his with a welder and grinder. First he “belly-split” the frame –a technique in which the cross member is pie cut and the frame slightly widened- – before it was fully wrapped to withstand the rigors of hopping.

Though this is a detailed build through and through Ruben wanted to be able to hop it now and again without if falling into a state of disrepair.

Once the fabrication work was complete the frame was painted to match the body so when the car was parked on 3 people wouldn’t have any shortage of things to ogle over.

Such a detailed under carriage would of course be marred by factory finished components so everything on this car, both inside and out, was either chrome plated by Metal Coaters or hand polished by Ruben himself including the 700R4 transmission which is supported by a chrome plated cross member with Chevy bow tie.

Inside the dash and speaker covers are flaked and patterned and a blue Dakota Digital setup provides read outs.

The rest of the interior is a combination of new old stock and refurbished items, and the car is now equipped with every power option that was available in 64.

Watching the vent windows move at the press of a button made me wonder how many Impala’s left the factory with this option and how many continue to work today.

The trunk interior is of course again patterned and flaked and full of the prerequisite 4 pumps and 12 batteries. Pumps of choice for Switches ‘N Thangs are two piston Black Magic units done to match the blue exterior.

The six blue batteries are forward of the Focal Amps and subs capable of pounding out classic West Coast rap with utmost clarity.

If you follow the exhaust which exits just behind the 13″ Zenish 100 spokes up to the front you will find a fresh Gm 350 crate motor topped with a Lingenfelter TPI intake.

The motor, which sounded plenty healthy when I was ridin’ in the car, has been tuned by Sasha Anis of SG Racing/Onpoint Dyno fame.

While it looks like a show car, and in many respects is a show car, Ruben has no intent of only having it sit around on stands looking pretty.

He plans to drive this car when the weather is just right so keep an eye out for it in the streets of Toronto and don’t be surprised if you see it in a magazine or two in the not so distant future.

They have a strong standing in the aggressive fitment community and I’m a fan of more than one of their designs so I have no slanderous intent.

This post (like my last about cracked wheels) is just an outsiders view of a situation I’ve been following.

In early April I noticed a picture of a horrifically cracked barrel floating around instagram and was pretty surprised to learn that the barrel in question shipped –not originated from– Rotiform in California.

The wheel in question belongs to Nicolaus Pro (iamnicpro) who happens to drive this pretty tidy Benz wagon (which I’ve actually had a draft started about forever but that is besides the point).

After waiting four months for wider barrels to arrive he put his wheels together and tossed them on his Benz wagon only to have them fail shortly after with no warning.

Like any respectable company Rotiform shipped him out a set of replacement barrels post haste but unfortunately these barrels were also not long for this earth taking an exit the exact same way the first ones did.

Nic is running 205/45 on 10″ wheels which is quite the stretch but the barrels do look pretty thin in the photos above so based on the information available it’s hard to say which was a great factor in the failure.

From what I’ve read Rotiform doesn’t actually manufacture these specific barrels and they are sourced from an unnamed company which several other wheel builders use. The fact that there could be a lot of these barrels rolling around is a little troubling.

Hopefully someone from Rotiform sees this post and will add their two cents in regards to what might be causing this in a civil (ie don’t release the hounds) manner.

Until then I wish all the best to Mr. Pro in getting this issue resolved and his future wheel set-ups.

Sucks to roll hard, be careful out there.

Edit:
Since I wrote this Rotiform actually refunded Nic in full and has stopped selling barrels from this manufacturer. Alls well that ends well it would seem.

Site Updates

You can catch me this weekend at the Canadian Sport Compact Series season opener.

Good times will be had there but if you want something a little closer to the city check out Spring Fling.

Flashback Friday

Here’s a quick peak back at last years CSCS opener.

After almost not making it to the show due to a freak blizzard that threatened to leave them grounded mother nature eased up  just enough to allow the Meguiar’s team to fly into QC and enjoy what looks to have been an amazing show.

The ten finalists from this round are again a lot of your traditional muscle and hot rod fare with the vehicle getting my nod being Jean Francois Croteau’s ’32 Ford Roadster.

I know it’s a little much to judge from a photo but this looks to be definte SEMA quality

Be sure to get your vote in at Canadasbest.ca before June 16th to send one of these amazing cars to SEMA 2013.