Hagerty Inc.
07/16/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 07/16/2024 14:33
9 of the Most Exciting Customs at the 2024 Hot Wheels Legends Tour’s Michigan Stop
Last weekend, the 2024 Hot Wheels Legends Tour stopped in Dearborn, Michigan, the birthplace of Ford Motor Company and just a stone's throw from the stomping grounds of Stellantis (née Chrysler) and General Motors. While the tour is an international competition, where the winning car is immortalized as a Hot Wheels diecast, each stop is a must-see car show in its own right. This weekend, the Legends tour gave Metro Detroit the chance to show off its best and brightest custom builds, from a street-rod truck to an '80s gasser to the wildest Austin Healey we've ever seen.
Let's take a look at some of the best, most exciting custom cars that came to Dearborn to strut their stuff.
1962 Austin Healey Sprite
Aaron BrzozowskiAaron BrzozowskiAaron BrzozowskiAaron Brzozowski"The Healey" is an utterly absurd "golf cart for the drag strip," in the words of its owner. It's the rear two-thirds of a 1962 Austin Healey Sprite sitting atop the frame of a Ford Ranger, with the rear end from an S10 pickup and a Chevy small-block, stroked to 383 cubic inches, sitting up front, exposed. This Healey is about as period- and brand-correct as an LS-swapped E-Type, and that's what makes it great.
1989 Dodge D50 "Timecapsule"
Aaron BrzozowskiAaron BrzozowskiAaron BrzozowskiAaron BrzozowskiBearing a striking resemblance to a cafeteria soda cup from the early '90s, the "Timecapsule" is a thing of retro beauty. Rocking a custom grille, wing mirrors placed high on the A-pillars, and a cyber-psychedelic paint job, this 1989 Dodge D50 sits just above the pavement on lowering springs and a set of appropriately stylish Weld wheels. Is it funky? You bet, and we dig it.
Dodge Charger LX "Prospector" Ute
Aaron BrzozowskiAaron BrzozowskiAaron BrzozowskiJust when you think you've seen every conceivable flavor of 2000s Dodge Charger, you spot something like this: a decommissioned police car that's been turned into a ute, its bed topped with the spoiler from a Ram Daytona. The owner, who hails from Ohio, said he had to cut about nine inches out of the center of the spoiler to fit the car, but the effect was well worth the effort.
1970s Vanguard-Sebring Comuta-Car
Aaron BrzozowskiAaron BrzozowskiAaron BrzozowskiDefinitively deserving of an award for "most least," the Vanguard Comuta-Car is a quirky little three-wheeled machine from a short-lived auto manufacturer based in Florida. Fun fact: The battery-electric Comuta-Car was the best-selling EV in the United States for decades until the Nissan Leaf launched for 2011. This Vanguard has been converted to combustion power and sports a single-cylinder snowmobile engine that grants a top speed of-get ready for this-45 miles per hour.
1966 Chevrolet Nova
Aaron BrzozowskiAaron BrzozowskiAaron BrzozowskiAaron BrzozowskiThe backstory of this Nova is just as impressive as its handsome green-and-white paint job and massive supercharger. The current owner purchased the car in 1979, meaning it's spent more than 44 years in his care. In that time, he's fitted it with a monstrous 871 blower, taking the output of the Chevy 355 up to 800 crank horsepower. There is still no power steering, traction control, or ABS. It's a perfect bit of riotous Americana.
2024 Hot Wheels Dirtmeister 944
Aaron BrzozowskiAaron BrzozowskiAaron BrzozowskiI have always had a schoolboy crush on the Porsche 944, so Hot Wheels' new life-size "Dirtmeister" 944 was impossible for me to resist. Based on a 1987 model with a Turbo-style front fascia, this rally-ready coupe was styled by Bryan Benedict, design director of Hot Wheels Matchbox, and the Hot Wheels Design Team. Their 944 features shooting brake bodywork designed by Kudensport, Triple R LED lights, a rooftop carrier, and some delicious gold-painted Porsche "phone dial" wheels. It's an absolute dream.
1956 Chevrolet 3100 Rat Rod
Aaron BrzozowskiAaron BrzozowskiAaron BrzozowskiThere's something about a heavily patinated, derelict-looking vintage machine with a flawless powertrain underneath it. This handsome and well-worn 1956 Chevy 3100 sits so low that it practically phases through the pavement, riding on slinky gold-painted wheels and boasting a turbocharged LS6 with a Holley High Ram EFI manifold. The cockpit is stripped and thoroughly race-ready, with a full cage and a Holley digital display.
1965 Chrysler Three Hundred Convertible
Aaron BrzozowskiAaron BrzozowskiAaron BrzozowskiAaron BrzozowskiAround Detroit, all manner of Big Three cars get put up on big, flashy wheels. This '65 Chrysler Three Hundred hits a sweet spot, whether because of the just-showy-enough body style and exterior coat, or because of the builder's commitment to that unique gold wheel design. (Seriously, look at the steering wheel.) It's not the most in-depth build we saw at this stop of the Hot Wheels Legends Tour, but we can definitely picture it on the shelf of a toy store.
The Winner: 1985 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS Gasser
Aaron BrzozowskiAaron BrzozowskiAaron BrzozowskiDimon Diesel saw what no one else could in the 1985 Chevy Monte Carlo, and his vision and creativity spawned the winning 2024 Hot Wheels Legends submission at the Dearborn tour stop. The car sat for years, untouched and undriven, outside a local landscape shop, before Diesel finally took the plunge and bought it some months ago. Built as a drag car with a 509 Chevy big-block and nitrous injection, the Monte Carlo SS was a nine-second car even before Dimon got ahold of it. He decided to transform it into a straight-axle gasser with a paint job inspired by the Hot Wheels Color Shifters he played with as a kid.
"Everyone was like, 'Oh, that's going to be so ugly,'" Diesel says. "That's just crazy. Why would you do that to a G-body?"
Aaron BrzozowskiDimon decided to build it anyway. He spent roughly 10 months wrenching in a friend's barn to get the straight axle to work before fiddling with the nine-inch rear to get it fitted, fitting a six-speed manual, and tearing the whole motor apart something like four times. He also had the interior redone in ostrich.
Aaron BrzozowskiThe car wears six pounds of metal flake and five gallons of clear coat, the latter to make the car more "kid friendly," Diesel says; you don't have to worry so much about scratches when there's essentially no risk of getting through to the bare metal. And then, of course, there's the entirely unique, funky window tint, the distinct pink and blue powder-coated intake plumbing, and the wheelie bars and parachutes, both of which were late additions made by Diesel.
"It's a fun moment," Dimon said of his win in Dearborn. "I'm still speechless."
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