Saab 92H & 92HK - The Caravans Of Love

The 92H (the blue & white one) was built by Torsten Johannesson in 1963; not content with a mere Toppola conversion it seems, he built this Swedish oddball over the running gear of a Saab 92. Not the ideal base for an caravan I think you'd agree, because even with lightweight wood and aluminium construction, all that additional weight over the driving wheels meant that 25bhp of throbbing two-stroke was never going to last long. Once the engine expired, it was converted into a static hunting lodge.
Based on Johannesson's experience with the 92H, he built a second car  van caravan, this time on a Saab 95, which he coined the 95HK; initially with that car's 40bhp two-stroke, but was later converted to a the 65bhp V4 from the later 95 model. Saab themselves showed a lot of interest in his caravan, but nothing came of it; perhaps it was seen as a competitor to their own Saabo Husvagn.
It faded into obscurity, until several decades later the HK came up for auction. This caught Claes Johansson's interest, and through that auction, he also stumbled across the 92H, so it seemed only fitting that he buy them both.

Are you ready, are you ready, are you ready for the time of life? Click here and here.

And in it's restored glory:

'Who are YOU looking at?'

And now, the 92HK:

The Cutaway Diagram Files: '55 Chevy Hot Rod

Big Block Chevy-Powered Porsche 911...Road Warrior

Not your usual Porsche project, unless Max Rockatansky has a hankering for Stuttgart's finest we're not aware of.
Meet possibly the greatest affront to the snooty club of Porsche purists we've ever seen. Big-block Chevy up front, bagged frame in the middle, and twin-wheel axle out back. RUF eat your heart out; not so much a Yellowbird, more a Turkey Vulture with carrion on it's mind.
Not much in the way of info exists on the build, currently being performed by Diversified Performance Innovations in Dubuque, Iowa. The sacrificial lamb is a 1976 Porsche 911, and the 454ci V8 comes out of a Chevrolet C/K crew cab dually.

Mean as a junkyard dog...

The car has 4-link suspension, it sits on airbags, and the original chassis has been mostly a ladder frame. The old seats have been thrown out for some rat rod-style metal buckets. No room for the flat six it seems; the rear is all full of suspension and that axle.

And for all of you Porsche fans we see who are a' bitchin' and a' moanin' on the forums, below is the donor car - it's not a concours example, rest assured. We would also like to remind these fans that Ferdinand Porsche himself designed a twin rear wheel race car back in the 1930s, the Auto Union Type C/D. But of course as die-hard Porsche fans, you knew that anyway.

Now take the body from this:

...take the chassis and running gear from this...

...sprinkle some airbags...

...and some chassis work...

..said minimalist bomber seats...

...the ultimate in one-upmanship grills...

...and... well not too much else at the moment as it's very much still a work in progress. We don't know if DPI plans on fabricating arches to cover those four rear wheels, but if they do it will put all  7-foot width restrictions around the world on high alert. We'd like it if they keep the wheels uncovered; the words 'post-apocalyptic Stuttgart baha bug' keep getting banded around Amazo Towers. How about geeing up the Detroit Diesel V8 with a brace of turbos or whacking in a Duramax V8 with upswept zoomies; hell maybe even the diesel engine note from hell that is a Commer TS3 two-stroke diesel.
Perhaps they should be true to the 911's roots and rear-mount the engine, complete with angled exhaust stacks; nothing about this car should be subtle.
This car has all the ingredients to snaps necks back faster than a naked Lady Gaga doing handstands on a unicorn down your local high street. And just as likely to divide opinions.
Now you can unclench, Porsche fans...

Look Back From Where You Came

Gene Winfield's Personal Junk Yard

From Troy Paiva's superb Lost America collection; he has been creating light painted night photography in abandoned locations and junkyards across America since 1989. He tackles a variety of subjects, but this is the one that caught my eye: the great Gene Winfield's workshop and back lot, replete with half-finished projects. Seems Mr Winfield is more like 'us' than we realised.

"Gene Winfield has been making custom cars and hot rods for private collectors, dry lakes racing and the movie industry since 1947.
He moved his LA-based shop out to the high desert around the turn of the century so he could have as much room, and make as much noise as he wanted to.
His team of seasoned old pros and young apprentices are so passionate they work deep into the night, every night.
Behind the bustling shop is Gene's own private junkyard filled with half finished project cars and movie props.
Some multi-exposure compositing, contrast adjustments and minor cloning on some of these, but the lighting FX and color are all done in-camera. These are not Photoshop creations."

More info about the pics here, and check out the rest of Troy Paiva's work here and here. Enjoy.

We dread to think what the boot of this Metropolitan is full of...

"A new toy! Can I play?"

British GP, Brands Hatch, Free Practice, July 16 1976,

Carlos Reutemann & Carlos Pace, Martini Brabham-Alfa Romeo BT45. Pace finished 8th, 3 laps down from the eventual winner Niki Lauda; Reutemann retired on lap 46 with loss of oil pressure.