1970 Dodge Crew Cab - Cummins Swap Power Wagon

In 2003, Brian Wellman of Southern Indiana saw a '70 Dodge Crew Cab for sale online and knew it had to be his. He envisioned a red truck pulling his red '70 Plymouth 440 GTX to car shows around the United States.
So Brian made arrangements to have the truck hauled to Indiana from its Burbank, California, home—and over the next decade, he tinkered with the truck until it was completed in 2012.

At some point in the Dodge's life, it belonged to the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department in California. When the truck was purchased, it had a Sheriff's Department sticker on the windshield and a unit number painted on top. And Brian found a receipt for a glovebox liner that was originally shipped to someone at Edward's Air Force Base in California.

He contacted both the Sheriff's Department and a few people at Edward's AFB but was unable to narrow down a complete life history for the truck. Its previous life remains a mystery—but it is believed to have been a military service vehicle.

In 2005, after selling the GTX, Brian's plans and strategy for the truck began to change. Since he no longer had a car to haul, he concentrated on making the Dodge show worthy. “I wanted to preserve the Dodge heritage of the truck by keeping it as original as possible yet having the power a Cummins diesel could offer," Brian says.

source:http://www.8-lug.com

Dog Recued from Ice Trap

You would have always heard that dogs are men’s best friends and there are several examples to prove the fact. However, even humans consider dogs as their best friends. It has been proven once again in an incident that happened in Castle Island in South Boston. A husky was getting drowned in the freezing ice when a fireman rescued her and saved her life. The story of dog rescue is a touching one.
The Full Story of Dog Rescue

Sylvie is a 13 year old husky who accidentally fell into the ice and was about to lose its life. She went out for her regular morning walk and broke away and fell into the ice. She was about to lose her patience and was already giving up when the help arrived. She was about to believe that she was going to die but the firefighters turned out to be her best friends. They came and rescued her from the ice clogged situation and the dog herself was quite grateful for the same. Her action and expression showed the same and anyone would be able to understand how desperate she was to get out. When the firefighters reached her, she was way away from the shore and it was not possible for her to reach the shore in such a freezing condition.
How The Dog Rescue Process Commenced?

The dog was trapped in the freezing cold for around 30 minutes. The rescue team comprised of Coley used a hard tug to pull her up from the snow. He said in a statement that at that point of time, the dog was losing her energy and the barks had turned to whimpers which made it clear that it was losing its energy. The fireman pushed himself towards the dog in a small boat and returned to the shore. The dog was not hurt at all but it was cold and wet. It was handed over to the master who took care of its health.

The story of the dog rescue from the river of ice proves the fact that no matter where you are trapped, your best friends are there for your rescue. Here, the friendship between dogs and men is proved once again and it is quite encouraging for the everlasting relation. Many such incidents take place in the world where either the dog or the man help one another and save lives. This is just another small example of that.

Awesome - Offroad Monsters

THE “BULLITT” MUSTANG

The “Bullitt” Mustang you see here was built by Gateway Classics for Chad McQueen (Steve McQueen’s son) in 2011, it was designed as a modern interpretation of the classic 1968 fastback used in the iconic film from the same year.

The project began as an idea for the TV series “Celebrity Rides”, the producer wanted to create a car that was as visually authentic as possible but with modern updates to the powertrain and suspension. This wasn’t quite as easy as it sounds due to the fact that the Mustang used in Bullitt had been modified significantly from stock, so stills from the film were used as guides during the build process.

All in, the build lasted 4 months. A brand new shell from Dynacorn was used as it provided better quality steel than the original with improved shock tower braces and door hinges. The body was painted in the same DuPont/Axalta Hot Hues’ Highland Green as the film car and a set of sixteen-inch American Racing wheels were bolted into place, completing the car’s exterior.

Much of the interior was provided by YearOne, meaning that the majority of it is brand new. Some vintage parts were used when they could be found in good enough condition but at completion, the car was over 95% off the shelf.

In order to ensure that the new Bullitt Mustang could corner as well or better than a new model, RRS front and rear suspension was used with a coil-over strut system in front and a bolt-in three-link suspension system at the rear.

Under the hood is Ford Racing’s 347 crate motor with 450 horsepower thanks to aluminum “Z” cylinder heads, a Victor Jr. aluminum intake, a 770-cfm Holley Street Avenger four-barrel carburettor and a JBA exhaust system. This power is hooked up to a late-model T-45 five-speed manual with a conversion kit from Keisler Engineering – In a nod to the past, a 1968 shifter has been used.

With an estimated value of $80,000 to $120,000 USD the “nouvo” Bullit Mustang will be rolling across the auction block on the 16th of January 2014 with Bonhams, if you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can click here.

Did You Know That The Story Behind The Movie ‘Life Of Pi’ Was Actually Inspired By A Man Who…

                                                         Image Source: www.youtube.com

Steven Callahan, who was born in 1952, is an American sailor and naval architect. He gained his worldwide popularity by surviving 76 consecutive days adrift. He was stranded helpless on a emergency life raft in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. His sloop tragically sunk after a whale hit its bottom. Callahan told his incredible story about survival and the power of the human spirit in his book “Adrift: 76 days Lost At Sea”. His book was an all-time bestseller for 36 straight weeks when it got published in 1986.

What is even more interesting about Steven is that he became the real life inspiration and backbone of the 2012 movie“Life of Pi”. In 2010 the director of the movie Ang Lee invited Steven Callahan to become the survival and marine consultant for the movie. According to the director without Callahan’s inspiring story and unique contribution the movie wouldn’t have been such a great success grossing over $600 million at the box office.

School Bus Monster Truck racing Iron Outlaw

   

          

World Largest Dodge Power Wagon

Sheikh Hamad Bin Hamdan Al-Nahyan, also known as the ‘Rainbow Sheikh’, due to the fact that he once bought a fleet of Mercedes every colour of the rainbow as a wedding present. Decided that he would like to celebrate the desert, by building a very special caravan.
On this occasion the Rainbow Sheik chose to honor the pioneers of the oil boom – and show his passion for classic dune-bashing four wheel drives – by building the most incredible replica of a 1950s Dodge Power Wagon, only eight times the size of the real thing.
Built over a period of months, the scale of the construction was limited only by the size of the wheels that the Sheik could get, which apparently were used on a machine for transporting oil rigs.
The truck is built around a metal frame more reminiscent of static plant, rather than anything mobile. This is emphasized by a flight of stairs leading up to the ‘front door. The Truck houses just about everything needed for comfortable living, including four large, air conditioned bedrooms (The air-con units are visible behind the false radiator grille) as well as a living room,
bathrooms and even a patio in the pick-up bed.
Source: liveleak.com

Smart Car turned Monster truck

The smart forfun, a smart forfour with monster truck ambitions, caused quite a stir at the Athens Motor Show in November 2005. Following the extremely positive response to this, the decision to develop a further vehicle with a similar character was a logical step.
Following the initiative of Mercedes-Benz Hellas, Stefan Attart (46), Greek Champion in 4×4 Rally Races had clear ideas: the new off-road vehicle should have the body of a smart fortwo. A suitable platform now had to be found.

Awakening the inner child

DaimlerChrysler has always had an unusually large range of off-road vehicles – from the M-Class to the G-model and the Unimog. One look at the smart forfun2 (pronounced smart for-fun to the second) and you see straightaway that it is based on a Mercedes-Benz Unimog 406 series.

This is what makes it so fascinating: the combination of two vehicles, each of which has achieved cult status in its respective segment. So it’s no wonder that the smart forfun2 awakens the inner child in everyone who sees it.

Combining vehicle and platform

But first things first: once the platform for the smart forfun2 had been decided, in January of this year Stefan Attart started working on the first designs. It goes without saying that there’s more to an off-road vehicle like this than simply screwing four wheels under a smart fortwo.

Based on technical drawings of both vehicles, a design was created that for the first time clearly showed the direction the new vehicle was to take. Stefan Attart laid down the design that was to connect the vehicle with the platform, and precise attachment points were defined on the axles and the chassis.

Oversized dimensions

The engine and transmission were adopted from the Unimog. The OM 352, a six-cylinder diesel engine with a capacity of 5,675 cc, was given a prominent and clearly visible position on the front axle. It delivers 84 bhp – an impressive figure for the smart forfun2. The diesel version of the production car has a 41 bhp engine.

The dimensions also turn heads: tyres on 26 inch rims with a diameter of 140 cm. Not to mention ground clearance of 65 centimetres and an unbelievable total height of 3.7 metres.

Maximum off-road mobility

The designers wanted to give the smart forfun2 maximum off-road mobility – and the platform of the 406 offers optimum prerequisites for off-road driving. The off-road character is further emphasized by oversized wheels and the safety cage made of aluminium tubes.

To optimise the vehicle for off-road driving, in addition to special shock absorbers Stefan Attart fitted manually controlled air suspension. This enables the driver to specifically influence individual springs – a particular advantage on extreme downhill gradients.

Uncompromising vehicle concept

Everything in one car that is sure to divide opinions – or boys from men. Two vehicles, which each represent an uncompromising vehicle concept in their respective environments, and yet remain unique. And this combination in the smart forfun2 is sure to cause even more controversy.

As with the real smart fortwo, some people are sure to find the concept of the smart forfun2 too radical, whilst others will love it – with not many opinions in-between. However running apart from the herd is probably the best prerequisite for achieving cult status.