Author Archives: Mike Ross

About Mike Ross

I love anything you can drive. But I love it even more if it has a small block Chevy or Ford motor, a turbo, four wheel drive, is a hatchback, or was made in the 80s. My ideal car would be a combination of all of these things, and I'm working on building a time machine so I can go back to the 80's and convince Chevy and Ford to collaborate on a twin-engine, single turbo 4x4 XR4Ti/Fox Mustang/Third Gen F-body and hide one in a mineshaft for me to recover in brand new condition. Look for a blog post about it just as soon as it happens. Or maybe it already did, and I've already posted about it in the future and the internet just needs to catch up with it. Okay, my head hurts, never mind.

SEMA 2025: 1969 Chevrolet Chevelle Twin Turbo Restomod by Velocity Restorations

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Velocity Restorations has a shop in Cantonment, Florida, which is one of those places you only really think about when you’re driving through and wondering how many classic trucks are out there quietly rusting into the ground behind someone’s barn.

They’ve built a solid reputation doing full restorations and restomods on classic Broncos, Blazers, Scouts, and the usual Chevy C/K and Ford F-Series trucks. Basically the kind of stuff that either gets “frame-off restored to factory spec” or “left under a tarp for 20 years until someone drags it into daylight with a tractor.”

So at the 2025 SEMA Show, I wasn’t exactly expecting them to show up with a 1969 Chevrolet Chevelle that looks like it got lost on its way to a completely different universe. And yet, there it was.

A restomod 1969 Chevrolet Chevelle built in partnership with Dutch Boys Hot Rods, sitting there like it had been assembled by someone who read the factory service manual once and then immediately decided it needed “more everything.”
Before anyone jumps in with corrections, yes, it’s a 1969, but it’s wearing rear sheet metal from a 1968 Chevelle. I don’t know why they did that. Nobody at the show seemed interested in explaining it either, which honestly feels on-brand for SEMA at this point. You just accept things and move on.

And from there it only gets more complicated.

The body has billet door handles, a hand-built front splitter, a custom rear diffuser, and tucked bumpers. Which is basically a polite way of saying they smoothed and sharpened everything until it looks like a Chevelle that has been spending time in a wind tunnel instead of a Midwestern driveway.
Underneath, it sits on a Roadster Shop Fast Track chassis with modern suspension, Baer 6-piston disc brakes, and three-piece billet wheels from Greening Auto Company wrapped in Pirelli tires. At some point you stop calling it a restoration and start calling it “an engineering problem with really nice paint.”

Speaking of which, the paint is a three-stage Aurelium Bronze Pearl from BASF Glasurit, which is one of those colors that looks normal until it catches light in a way that makes you briefly consider repainting everything you own.

Under the hood is where things completely stop behaving. It’s a 427 cubic inch LS built by Nelson Racing Engines with twin turbochargers making a claimed 1,000 horsepower, backed by a TREMEC T-56 Magnum six-speed manual. Which is a funny combination when you remember the original version of this car was happy just existing with a big block and a carburetor that may or may not have been tuned correctly depending on the weather.

The engine bay has custom hand-built closeout panels, which is the kind of detail you only really appreciate when you realize someone had to spend hours making metal behave in ways it absolutely did not want to behave.

Inside, it’s a full custom setup with a roll cage, Recaro Expert M seats, a Holley EFI Pro dashboard, an Alpine head unit, Focal speakers, and a Sparc Industries steering wheel. It’s the kind of interior that looks like it was designed by someone who wanted equal parts race car, concept car, and very expensive gaming simulator.

And here’s where I probably should admit something.

I grew up around a 1972 Chevelle that has been in my family for as long as I can remember. Not the same one, obviously, but the same shape, the same smell, the same way the door sounds when it closes like it’s still made of something that could survive a minor war.

So I’ve always had a soft spot for these cars. Not in the “collector value” sense. More in the “this is what I think a car is supposed to look like” sense.

Seeing a 1969 Chevelle turned into a 1,000-horsepower modern muscle car with smoothed and shaved body work, flush mounted glass, and wide tires is one of those things that should probably bother me more than it does.

Instead, I just kind of stood there thinking about how my family’s version would probably stall trying to leave the parking lot if it had to deal with modern fuel, let alone twin turbos.

Anyways.

It’s not really a Chevelle anymore in the traditional sense. It’s more like someone took the idea of a Chevelle, fed it a gym membership, a CAD file, and a very large budget, and then said “go do something aggressive with your life.”

And honestly… I’m not entirely sure what that says about it.

Or me.

Probably nothing good.

I’ll probably go look at old factory Chevelle brochures again later just to reset my brain.

Follow Velocity Restorations:

https://www.velocityrestorations.com/
https://www.facebook.com/VelocityRestorations/
https://www.instagram.com/velocityrestorations/

SEMA 2025: Nissan 240SX Widebody by Crown Speed Lab

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There are certain cars at SEMA that make perfect sense. You look at them and immediately understand what the builder was going for. Then there are cars like this Nissan 240SX from Crown SpeedLab.

I walked up to it in the Toyo Tires Treadpass Pavilion at the 2025 SEMA Show and spent the first few minutes trying to decide what color I should be looking at.

Not because the paint changes color or anything fancy like that. There are just so many colors competing for your attention that it starts to feel like someone opened Photoshop and clicked every swatch before heading out to the garage.

And somehow it works.
The car itself is a Nissan 240SX, although at this point “240SX” is probably more of a suggestion than an accurate description. Between the custom widebody kit, full roll cage, and everything else going on, there isn’t much left of whatever rolled out of the Nissan factory decades ago.

Another customization that’s hard to miss is the turbo exhaust sticking through the hood. The turbo is attached to a Toyota 2JZ engine, which feels almost mandatory at this point. If you told me there were more 2JZ-powered 240SXs at SEMA than actual Toyota Supras, I’d probably believe you without checking.
The engine bay is where things get especially interesting. There are anodized purple cam gears and a matching fuel rail, gold foil heat shielding, a dark green engine bay, and a bright blue oil filler cap. On paper, that combination sounds like something a middle school art teacher would use to explain what happens when a group project gets out of hand.

Standing in front of the car, though, it somehow comes together.

I think.

The longer I looked at it, the less sure I became.

There’s also a massive intercooler from Koyorad sitting up front, which is good because I have a feeling the phrase “moderate boost pressure” was not part of this build’s design notes.

The lighting deserves some attention too. The custom headlights feature yellow transparent honeycomb inserts that look like they belong on some sort of futuristic racing drone. Around back, custom LED taillights continue the theme of making sure absolutely nobody mistakes this car for a stock 240SX.

Not that they were going to.

The perfect stance was achieved with coilovers from Fortune Auto, while bronze Volk Racing TE37 wheels with electric yellow lips sit at each corner. If you’re keeping score, that’s more colors added to the list. The wheels are wrapped in Toyo Proxes R888R tires, which are about as subtle as the rest of the car. Behind them are Brembo brakes with cross-drilled rotors, with electric yellow calipers.
It’s funny, growing up in the 1990s and early 2000s, a Nissan 240SX was one of those cars that always seemed just out of reach. Every magazine had one. Every import tuner build seemed to involve one. Every internet forum was full of people arguing about SR20 swaps, KA-T builds, and whether drifting was ruining perfectly good cars.

Now I walk through SEMA and see a 240SX with a Toyota engine, a turbocharger the size of a carry-on suitcase, and a small fortune of aftermarket parts. And somehow it still feels completely normal.

Maybe that’s the strangest part.

Twenty years ago this thing would have looked like a concept car from the future. Today it just feels like another chapter in the long history of people looking at a 240SX and deciding that whatever Nissan originally intended wasn’t nearly ambitious enough.

Either way, I spent far longer staring at the details on this car than I probably should have.

I’m still not convinced that dark green engine bay should work.

But now I’m thinking about painting something dark green, so maybe that’s how these things start.

Follow Crown Speed Lab:

https://crownspeedlab.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Crownspeedlab
https://www.instagram.com/crownspeedlab/

SEMA 2024: 1987 Jeep “Street Comanche” by Off Grid Research

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Let me be honest, after three days at the 2024 SEMA Show, surrounded by an endless sea of overbuilt lifted show trucks, carbon fiber everything, and “tuner” builds that all somehow look exactly the same, it’s easy to get a little numb. You start to wonder if originality died quietly sometime around 2016. Then, just when you’re about to call it a day and write the same story for the tenth time, you turn a corner and see something that grabs your eye: a 1987 Jeep Comanche pickup. The truck’s baby blue and pink exterior looks like it drove straight out of a VHS racing montage.

This truck was built by Nate Lanken of Off-Grid Research. This particular Comanche is no ordinary Jeep. It is one of only 100 “Street Comanche” special editions ever made, commemorating the Archer Brothers’ 1988 victory in the short-lived but delightfully weird SCCA Race Truck series (1987–1991). Most of those trucks are long gone or forgotten, but this one has been resurrected with an updated twist on the factory race truck theme.
There’s nothing cookie-cutter about this Jeep. Off-Grid Research gave the Comanche a thorough mechanical refresh while keeping its character intact. The 4.0L inline-six under the hood isn’t exotic, but it is renowned for its reliability and toughness. Paired with a 5-speed manual, a lightweight flywheel, a 6-puck clutch, and a Hurst shifter, it must be quite engaging to drive.

Cooling comes courtesy of an aluminum radiator and a CNC-machined solid fan hub, a combination that says, “Yes, this truck actually runs, and no, it won’t overheat after two blocks.”

Inside, the Comanche keeps the theme going with a pair of Corbeau limited edition racing seats. No digital screens or color-changing LEDs here, just function, form, and a throwback to when trucks were trucks and race seats meant business.

What really sets this build apart is the authenticity. The exterior features Off-Grid Research’s Evo II Body Kit and RaceRubi hood give the truck a muscular stance. The baby blue and pink wrap is a bit much, but it actually works pretty well on this truck.

The suspension has been lowered around 6 inches up front, and 5 inches the back, and it sits perfectly over a set of 20-inch American Racing Classic Torq Thrust II wheels. Finally, a build that isn’t lifted to the clouds or slammed into uselessness. It looks fast, ready, and importantly, fun.

In a show filled with open checkbook builds, endless crate engine swaps and flawless painted cars, this plucky Jeep Comanche was a breath of fresh air. The forgotten motorsports history adds an interesting note to this truck I already like, having owned one myself.

Nate Lanken and Off-Grid Research didn’t just build a truck. With the care and creativity put into this truck, it brought a little bit of personality back to the SEMA Show. And for that, I am grateful.

Check out www.ogrshop.com for more.

SEMA 2024: 1993 Chevrolet Corvette C4 Mercedes Turbo Diesel Swap – Kustom by Keck

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The Malaise Era of 1975 to 1985 was a dark time for automotive enthusiasts. With new emissions and safety regulations from the Federal government, cars quickly got slower, heavier, and uglier.

The 1972 Corvette was rated at a dismal 200 horsepower, while the full-size 1977 Monte Carlo was available with a 140 horsepower 305 V8 or a 170 horsepower 350 V8. The era of the muscle car had come to an end, and a new era had begun that was focused on efficiency, not performance.In an effort to increase the average fuel economy of its fleet, General Motors experimented with smaller engines, turbochargers, and other tricks and technologies to get more MPGs.

With so much attention on smog pumps and secondary air injectors, there was one thing General Motors never built: a diesel-engine Corvette. To do so would be unthinkable; it would be a sacrilege of the highest degree. While there were many prototype and experimental vehicles throughout Corvette’s history, no customer cars ever left the production line with a diesel engine from the factory.

However, Tennessee-based Kustom by Keck has transformed his 1993 Chevrolet Corvette C4 Greenwood Edition into a diesel-powered sports car. I saw his custom Corvette at the 2024 SEMA Show, at the Air Lift Performance booth in the Central Hall.The Corvette’s original powerplant has been swapped with a 1999 Mercedes-Benz 3.0L OM606 turbo diesel engine. It is paired to a 700R4 transmission from Transmission Mafia in Gainesville, Georgia.

This is the kind of weird engine swap I would have loved reading about in Grassroots Motorsports or Car Craft magazine back in the day (after reading about V8 S10 swaps, of course).

The Corvette rides on Air Lift Performance suspension, allowing for adjustable ride height at the touch of a button to achieve the perfect stance.The exterior of the car is a visual blast from the late ’80s and early ’90s, and it’s over the top in the best way possible. The car gives serious Miami Vice vibes with its white wheels and teal and purple custom pinstripe graphics.

Kustom by Keck didn’t stop with the visuals, either. This car is filled with unique custom touches, including a standout set of custom infinity mirror taillights from RetroVette, which provide a high-tech, futuristic flair to set it apart from every other Corvette. Every corner of this C4 has been considered, detailed, and reimagined.

In a world full of LS swaps and carbon-fiber everything, this diesel-powered, 90’s throwback C4 show car breaks the mold and refuses to fit in. It’s more Radwood than SEMA, and I enjoy highlighting custom car builders that do their own thing.

This one-of-a-kind car was recently advertised for sale on social media in June 2025, with an asking price of $15,000.

For more, follow @kustom_by_keck on Instagram.

1974 Lotus Elite – Malaise Era Sports Car

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The “malaise era” of the 1970s was marked by stringent emissions regulations, rising fuel prices, and economic uncertainty. While many manufacturers struggled to adapt to new safety requirements, Lotus managed to produce cars that retained their innovative edge. The Elite’s fiberglass body and efficient powertrain showcased the company’s ability to innovate despite the challenges of the time.

The 1974 Lotus Elite is a testament to British ingenuity during the automotive industry’s “malaise era.” This wedge-shaped sports car recently sold at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Fall collector car auction for a very affordable price of $6,050. Let’s dive into what makes this Lotus Elite a fascinating piece of automotive history.

In the 1970s, the wedge-shaped design became a hallmark of sports cars such as the Bricklin SV-1 and a new prototype car called the DeLorean. The Lotus Elite (and its platform mate, the Eclat) offered a much more angular and geometric design, compared to the previous Lotus Elan. The Elite featured sharp, angular lines and an aerodynamic profile, which gave it a futuristic appearance for its time. Like its contemporaries from Italy, the car featured pop-up headlamps, a feature that screamed 70s sophistication and made the Elite stand out on the road.

The car’s red exterior, paired with a tan interior, provided a striking contrast that exuded classic sports car charm. Sitting on 14-inch wheels, this Lotus perfectly encapsulated the minimalist yet stylish ethos of the brand.

This 1974 Lotus Elite is powered by a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine, delivering respectable performance for a vehicle of its era. Paired with a 5-speed manual transmission, it offered a driving experience that prioritized engagement and agility over raw power. Lotus’s engineering focus on lightweight construction ensured the Elite remained nimble and responsive, true to the brand’s racing pedigree.

While many cars at Barrett-Jackson sell for six figures, there are still bargains to be had. With a hammer price of $6,050, this Lotus Elite represents a fantastic opportunity for collectors and enthusiasts. Though it may not command the astronomical prices of other classic sports cars, it offers a unique blend of history, design, and performance. For those looking to own a piece of 1970s automotive culture, this Elite ticks all the boxes.

The 1974 Lotus Elite is more than just a car; it’s a piece of automotive history that captures the spirit of a challenging yet transformative era. Its wedge-shaped design, pop-up headlamps, and lightweight engineering make it a standout choice for collectors and enthusiasts alike. With its recent sale at the Barrett-Jackson auction, this Elite proves that you don’t need to break the bank to own a car that is both unique and interesting.

A Three Hour Tour… Barrett-Jackson 2024 Full Walkthrough (Video)

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Here is a look at every single car up for auction at Barrett-Jackson 2024 in Scottsdale, Arizona. Maybe you weren’t able to make it this year or you did attend and just want to relive the experience. Possibly you are planning on making a bid and would like another look at the car that’s caught your attention. Whatever the case may be, if you are into collector cars, this 3+ hour video is definitely for you.