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Last time on Members’ Rides, we looked at an excellent one car-solution, today we’re switching it up dramatically and looking at more than a dozen. Buckle up, we’ve got a lot to drool over today!
Today we meet Grant, an engineer living up in Michigan, who has an awesome collection that is eclectic, and fun. Have you ever thought someone could make you care about a 1987 Chevy Nova? Well you’re about to!
How did you get into cars?
Cars have been a part of my life since I can remember. My family is all-in on the lifestyle of rescuing, collecting, and fixing them up. Have been building up a workshop and storage facility over the years to support the habit/hobby.
What’s in the workshop currently?
- 1929 Chevrolet International Sedan
- 1958, and 73 VW Beetles, plus 72 Super Beetle
- 1960 and 61 Renault 4CVs
- 1965 Ford Falcon
- 1968 and 69 VW Squarebacks
- 1969 Alfa Romeo Spider 1750 Veloce
- 1969 Porsche 912
- 1982 Porsche 911SC
- 1970 Opel GT
- 1974 VW Karmann Ghia convertible
- 1982 Dodge D150
- 1999 Chevrolet Prizm
- 2012 Mazda 5
- 1987 Chevrolet Nova
Ok let’s start with the ’29 Chevy. What is it?
Basic car is a ’29 Chev sedan that could have previously been a museum or parade car, but it was largely a neglected original car when I bought it 4 years ago.
And what mods have you done?
It now has a ’58 Chevy 235 straight six with a Weber carb. It is coupled to a T5 trans from a ’92 S-10 through a custom driveshaft back to a modified S-10 rear axle. It has a front disc brake conversion. That got me hydraulic brakes all around to replace the OG mechanical brakes. Inside is basically stock, but a Painless harness, 12v electrical, New Vintage gauges in a 3D printed bezel that I designed and built to emulate the original one, a new steering column and wood Grant wheel to also mimic the original. Steering is done through a reversed Corvair box that works the stock drag link and all lighting is now LED.
What do you love about it?
It’s like driving a museum piece. Smells like one and you just sit and wonder how many people have interacted with it in the last 95 years.
How hard is driving this compared to a more modern car?
Controls are fairly simple and straightforward so I don’t anticipate any issues. The whole body frame is made of wood though with sheetmetal that is, literally “nailed” to the wood frame. That’s the strangest part. It’s also big outside, but tiny inside, so the driving perspective is weird.
How different are the ’58 and ’73 Beetles?
I’ve had many Bugs, but these are the three I have now and are all pretty similar. Major differences are in power and handling. The later ones are easier to drive in modern traffic, and the IRS suspension is far superior to the older swing-axle.
What led to you having three of these?
That’s just the current collection. The ’58 was a project I bought off a friend this year. The ’73 I bought out of the paper in ’01 and drove for a bit until the rotted floors pushed me to start restoring it (the chassis is 100% restored), and the ’72 Super was bought on a whim in ’05.
You said you’re Subaru swapping the Super? How’s that going?
The hard stuff is done, mostly. I bought a ’98 2.5RS engine that had a spun rod bearing and then rebuilt the engine. That’s bolted to a VW 4-speed through a Kennedy adapter and sits on a fully restored pan. I have a Megasquirt ECU that I planned to run on it, but there are more modern options now that I might do. It’s a stalled project, but could be resurrected when I get some time.
How hard is a swap like that? Where do you put the radiator?
I cut the bottom of the chassis open and built coolant tubes that run through the tunnel on fabricated laser-cut mounts. The bottom of the pan is removable for service. These pipe up to the front of the car and hook up to a Porsche 944 radiator and cooling fans. That setup lives where the spare tire used to reside and is in a compartment separate from the trunk so the cooling air comes in the louvers, through the rad, and then dumps back out the bottom of the car by the wheel wells.
What are the plans for all of them?
Finish restoring the ’73 to stock and either drive or sell. Finish the ’72 and see how silly it really is, then sell or let one of my sons take it over. The ’58 is going to be a keeper because it’s a factory sliding ragtop and it’s just a cool project.
What’s the story with the squarebacks?
The ’68 has the chassis restored, and the body is a solid original California black-plate car. The ‘69 is pretty bad. I had planned to combine that one with the ’68 and make one good largely stock car out of it. I’ve toyed with taking the rest of the ’69 and using the shell to fit over something ridiculous like a WRX unibody hacked up to fit within the shell. I’ve heard people call these “hat” cars like the WRX is wearing the Squareback as a hat. That’s a bit ambitious though, so probably not going to happen.
What do you love about these?
The shape. My wife calls the ’68 a “Baby Nomad” and it’s one of the few cars we bought that she is not willing to part with. I should probably get that one done. It’s one we will always keep. That’s probably going to be one my wife wants for herself.
Is the Karmann Ghia solid or another project?
It’s a midwestern car and was “fixed” up about 40 years ago with some egregious rust repairs. It’s basically missing the bottom 6″ of the car.
What’s your favorite thing about this?
The design. KGs are one of the best-looking cars ever made, in my opinion. The later ones like this aren’t as sexy as early cars, but they are often cheaper.
What is the intent for this one?
Basically, finish the restoration. I have the body on the rotisserie now and sourced all the repair panels. I just run out of time with all the things I want to do.
How did you end up with 2 4CVs?
We attended the 2021 Micro/Mini Car World Meet at the Gilmore Auto Museum as my wife LOVES micro cars and we’ve been to the Lane and other museums to support that love. I can’t count how many times she’s watched the old Top Gear episode where Jeremy drives the Peel P50 through the newsroom.
When we got back from the Gilmore, I go on Marketplace (as per usual) and see TWO Renault 4CVs for sale, literally five miles from my house. I’ve never even seen one, but here are two and I wasn’t even searching for stuff like that so you know it’s the universe telling me to get them. Allegedly the smallest 4-door cars ever made so we bought them, of course.
How complete are they? Do you have everything you need between the two?
The ’60 is pretty solid and completely restorable with most of the original parts except for an engine. The ’61 had an engine, and has all the missing trim for the ’60. Unfortunately, the engine turned out to be garbage so I found an expert who was selling a fully rebuilt Ventoux 845cc engine (from a Dauphine) to replace the 747cc original. I’ve since discovered that getting French car parts in the U.S. is not easy, however. That’s been the hold up so far.
What’s the plan for them?
Restore the ’60 (gray one) to as close to stock as we can get. The ’61 (red one) may just be parts, but who knows, I hate to scrap it.
Ok tell me about the Ford Falcon.
It’s a very solid Oklahoma car. Only rust was from mice nests that rotted out small sections that I fabbed and replaced. Basically one owner, a school teacher who bought it new in December of ’64 and drove it until she parked it in a shed in the ’80s. The guy I bought it from “rescued” it from that shed only to bring it to Michigan and put it in a different shed. I bought it off of him 18 years later.
What’s driving this like?
It’s a 289 car but BASE as hell. I think the teacher must have been some kind of hot rodder at heart. She bought an absolute base model, white, four-door Falcon, but optioned the 289 and an automatic. That’s it. It sounds amazing and 289s rev. It drives like an old Mustang because it basically is one.
I love the silliness of a base model car that has the biggest engine and ONLY the engine and trans as options. It didn’t even come with side mirrors or windshield washers as those were optional.
What are the plans for it?
It’s getting a basic restoration. All rust is repaired, interior is completely replaced, has a disc brake conversion, all new fuel system, new seals and gaskets, dual exhaust, all wear items replaced, new glass, and mechanically it’s sound.
I will probably put a 4-barrel carb and intake on it and probably a limited slip diff with shorter gears. I plan to drive it as a daily. The places with good original paint have all been wet sanded and buffed and it’s coming around. Overall, a good solid car that sounds incredible.
How did the Alfa come into the fleet?
I bought it out of the newspaper in 2000. Drove it for a week and parked it. It’s complete but rusty with a hack restoration job attempted before I got it.
Any plans for it?
Maybe restore it, maybe sell it. Not sure. I bought it because my grandpa bought my dad a new one in ’67 when he was in high school and I always heard stories about it so I had to get my own “Osso di Seppia”. It’s been in the barn since.
What’s the background on the Opel?
We were going to dinner one night last year and saw one for sale in a yard, so I swung around and made a deal. Took it home the next day.
How hard is it to find parts?
Parts aren’t too bad to find and there’s a good forum for it. There is also a guy doing a restoration of one on YouTube that is a master class in body panel fabrication. I have no affiliation with him, but his videos and craftsmanship are absolutely amazing.
Any issues with it?
Didn’t run when I got it, but my son and I had it running before the weekend was out. Water-pump was seized and the electrical in the car is a complete rat’s nest. California car though so rust is minor.
How did you come by the Porsche 912?
Bought it from a co-worker in 2002 who was the second owner. He had it since the early 80s. It was a rusty stock car when I got it. 75k original miles and I have the original bill of sale and window sticker too.
What’s your favorite thing about this one?
It was my first Porsche and with the engine swap I did (a 2056cc Porsche 914 mill that has some serious parts in it) it’s pretty fast too. Factory engine is stored away in the barn.
How does the 912 compare to the 911?
Far lighter and the sound is different, but driving dynamics are very similar. Either one is a great car to drive.
Now what do you love about the 911SC?
It’s probably one of my favorite cars of all time. The way it sounds is just heavenly. The way it feels when the backend gets silly when you overcook a corner is fantastic. It has a factory LSD and 255s on the 17″ BBSs so when it breaks loose you’re in for a wild ride.
Has it given you any issues?
Not really, but the fuel injection was acting up and I’m not a huge fan of the Bosch mechanical set up. It has 169k miles on it now and runs great, but the fear of grenading the engine is ever-present and could be crippling cost-wise.
Any fun stories of your time behind the wheel in this one?
Since I’ve had it, I daily drove it every year from April to November. Picking up my kids from daycare in it, going on family road trips, etc.
We took it to a German car show at the Gilmore and rocked up with the whole family in it, car seats and all. I had cut down boosters that fit into the rear spaces. We took all of our gear out of it including the fold-up wagon, umbrellas, folding chairs, etc. The crowd gathered around because they couldn’t believe all we had in it. We actually won Best Daily Driver at that one and I hadn’t really planned on entering it for the show, I just wanted a good parking spot.
How does the D150 fit in?
This was my grandpa’s truck when I was growing up. Three weeks before he passed, I asked him for the truck. He gave it to me and said “Well, you’re going to be cussing me on this one when you get it home saying Grandpa really screwed me on this deal.” It was free and it was rough, but I have never, ever, regretted getting it from him. He knew it too, but that’s the kind of guy he was, always joking up to the last minute. It was his work truck and always parked outside. It’s not terrible, but it’s rusty.
You said you’re dropping a 440 into it?
Yeah, the slant-six was starting to knock when I got it. I rebuilt that in 2011 and hopped it up a bit (bored .060″ over, flat top pistons, hotter cam, big stainless valves, shaved head to increase compression, split manifolds, a 4-barrel, HEI). I think it makes like 180hp and it will spin the tires, but I always wanted a big block and this chassis was available with them so why not?
How far along is the swap?
I have all the parts and the engine is on the stand. The only thing standing in the way is time and all the other projects I have.
What’s the story of the Prizm?
My dad bought it for my younger brother when he turned 16 in 2000. It was a year old and had 10k on it. He gave it to me in 2015 when he bought a Jetta off my dad. It was my winter beater from 2015 to 2020 when I wasn’t driving the 911. I put it in the barn in 2020 when my wife got a new car and I ended up driving her Mazda 5. It sat until this year when I got it out and gave it to my son to drive when he turned 16. The factory paint is falling off the primer (typical late ’90s GM paint job), but it’s just a good reliable car.
Awesome car for basic transportation. My brother had put lowering springs, fat sway bars, braided brake hoses, and bigger rims/tires on it, but we pulled the suspension stuff off when I started driving it because it was too low for winter. My son drives it daily now and he is the ONLY one of his friends who can drive stick.
What led to the Mazda5?
Supposedly, ours was the 3rd one in the country. It was a 2012 that we bought in June of 2011 out of Chicago. Our second child was on the way so I traded in my 2004 Miata for it.
You said it’s destined to become a donor for something else, what’s the plan?
An inattentive driver rear-ended me when I was pulling into my driveway last December. Punted the car into a tree which popped the airbags and effectively ruined the car. It had 218k miles on it and was absolutely perfect in every way, aside from some rock chips here and there.
The family was devastated so I kept the carcass out in the barn. My son wants to turn the seats into a couch for his room. I intend to pull the engine/harness, couple it to a Miata NC transmission and install in my Opel GT. That way it lives on in a sexy sports car!
Ok now for the moment you’ve all been waiting for, the Nova! What’s the story?
I bought this car in March of ’94 while on winter break my freshman year of engineering school. It had 60k miles on it and was base. AM radio, no power steering, one side mirror, only option was a rear defroster. It was a basic blue sedan for $1400. I drove it to college for the next two years until I got bored with it and sold it to my then girlfriend (now wife).
She drove the Nova for the rest of her college years. I graduated from college in ’97 and bought my then fiancée a craptastic Ford Craptour SE, V6 stick that turned out to be the WORST thing I ever bought. I then had the Nova back in my possession.
When did you start modifying it?
On one trip the head gasket let go and I was faced with a dilemma. I could fix the head gasket OR do something incredibly silly and dumb. I was on some forums at the time (winter of ’97) and knew that the Nova is basically just a AE82 chassis Toyota and shares parts with a ton of other Toyotas. So, the 74hp carbureted engine in the car is the same basic block as the 4AGE blue-top in the 1st gen MR2. That means everything should bolt up, right?
I proceeded to secure a 4AGE from a forum member for $300 and did the swap over the winter in that one stall garage. In the spring, the 4AGE Nova came out for the first time. The car was instantly a rocket. It still had the super tall gearing in the trans so 3rd gear was good to like 75mph at 8000rpm. I drove it off and on for the next 8 years or so. It was going well until the mileage finally caught up to it and it spun the cam drive cog on the crank so it wasn’t in time anymore. I think that engine had like 300k on it, but since was a junkyard engine, I can’t prove that. So, I decided to really go nuts with the car.
What is the full mod list?
- A complete JDM silver-top 4AGE-20v and matching trans from a ’95 Trueno.
- Completely custom harness to integrate the new ECU with the original Nova harness. It looks damned near factory.
- I also sourced sway bars from a wrecked ’90 Prizm GSI (AE92 chassis car)
- The rear disc brakes from that car
- A master-cylinder and brake booster from a ’92 Corolla GT-S
- Gauge cluster and steering wheel from an ’87 Toyota FX-16
- Front discs from an AE101 Corolla (larger vented rotors to replace the solid rotors the Nova had stock),
- Whiteline suspension bushings
- AE92 fuel tank with Supra pump
- Custom exhaust
The car now has four-wheel discs, a close-ratio trans, a 165hp 1.6L 4AGE silver-top and weighs less than 2000 lbs. I don’t street race, but I do know that it is faster than a 2008 Eclipse GT with a V6 and stick. The only outward giveaway are the 1st gen MR2 wheels, so it’s a total sleeper. Until it revs past 8k and then you KNOW something’s not right with it.
What are the long-term plans for this?
No idea. I pulled it apart a couple years ago to add AC, and it’s been sitting in the barn since. My son REALLY wants to get it on the road as he looks at that 4-THROTTLE badge on the intake, listens to Youtube videos of 4AGE 20vs at full-tilt and begs me to get it going again. I love the surprise factor. You never expect this, and I have to believe it’d be a hero of Radwood if I ever took it there.
Thanks Grant!
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These are all so awesome…
that 911 is so beautiful though!
I hereby crown Grant “King Car Guy.”
Mmmmmm there is quite a big of air-cooled deliciousness there. Great and fun collection! That green squareback looks just like the one I nearly bought about 5 years ago.
I bought it out of northern Indiana if that matches up? I did get it to run and we drove it around the yard a bit on the factory EFI. The body is pretty rusty though.
I live in northern Indiana! The squareback I was interested in was located in the southern Indianapolis area, and had freshly recovered seats and new carpets put in it. Same color and year though. How fun!
It’s almost like someone took DT’s penchant for numerous, unfinished projects, Torch’s fine taste in automobiles, and Beau’s wallet to craft a SuperAutopian.
You’re not wrong, but my wife does require that everything must be kept indoors. Nothing in the yard, so there’s some governance on it where DT tended to just live free. LOL
I would say you have a thing for rust repair and then park it ha! Seems like the really hard stuff is done on a lot of the projects and then you move on to the next. Are you a secret body guy?
You’re not wrong, but I’m definitely not a body guy. I get like 80% of them done and then move to the next thing. Not sure why either. I call it automotive ADD.
Hey, variety is the spice of life. Or something like that. If I had the space and money, I would probably be in the same boat as you.
Holy disposable income well spent! That’s an amazing collection, and I love that there isn’t a “theme”, so to speak. Eccletic car collections are the best! Best of luck for all these projects. Get your kids working on them!
That 911SC is fantastic.. chefs kiss!
Fantastic collection, but PLEASE help us keep tabs on that Nova. What a hoot.
Thanks for the comments everyone! This hobby has really become a labor of love and it took a long time to get where it is now. I just wish I had more time to complete everything! My wife read through this and her takeaway was, “Wow, I really am an enabler, aren’t I?” Well, maybe just a little!
I really appreciate this community and for Brandon taking the time to put this together and share it. Thank you!
Haha yes she is, and that’s how we know you got a good one!
The 4CV is definitely not the smaller 4-door car ever. The current Twingo is shorter, the related Smart Forfour even more so, and the 4-door key-cars are legion. Also things like the Daewoo Matiz, Peugeot 104 and 107 etc… But it’s plausible that it was the smallest 4-door when it was launched.
Yup, smallest 4-door at the time it hit the market. Many smaller 4-door cars have since been released, of course. But I’m not sure that’s an actual fact. I’ve heard that from lots of people but never saw it mentioned in official documentation, so I tend to believe this may be apocryphal.
It was in something I read about them, but didn’t 100% believe it myself. I know the Tata Nano is shorter so it must have been “for the time”. They are pretty tiny though.
Yeah, lots of tiny 4-door kei cars. One of my favorites being the Mazda Carol 360 which also features one of the all-time smallest four cylinder engines.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49913207883_b3de54e089_b.jpg
Great job Forbes… and Grant, what an amazing collection! If you ever decide you’ve got enough projects, I might want to take that Opel off your hands …
Thanks Geoff! Thanks for reading!
Is it weird that the two cars in that collection that I’m most excited about are the rusty Alfa and the Mazda 5?
If that Alfa does ever does go up for sale, I’m 100% interested.
I mean I’m obviously over here drooling over the Nova in a garage with 2 Porsches… But that SC is also freaking awesome!
I’m 100% into the Nova.
Well, the dream for the Alfa keeps getting sidelined for other projects. It’s all there, even has a “factory” removable hard top that may or may not actually be factory. It just sits under a cover in the barn, but it needs a ton of rust repair. Ran when parked, and that’s actually true!
I thought Novas were a fan favorite?
They’re this fan’s favorite now! But I’ve always thought they sucked previously
I think this feature needs a new name. Maybe How I learned to stop worrying and hate my fellow Autopian? No jk I am a bit jealous but preserving and deserving I appreciate what this member is doing.
Haha we can workshop that but I’m not loving where you’re starting. Yeah this one is another that makes me crazy jealous, but I absolutely love the variety as well as that shop!
Now that’s an Autopian garage: such variety and purpose!
100%! I love this one so much!
I know we’re supposed to ogle the cars and all, but WOW that garage + barn setup is amazing. I’ve seen professional shops that don’t look as good. Having a setup like that must be so inspiring for one’s wrenching…it practically begs you to get to work on things!
Oh yeah I’m super jealous of the shop too
Thank you, the shop has been a long time coming for us, and we still have a lot of work to do on it. There’s more to it that you can’t see in these photos, but it has turned into a building the entire family uses year round, almost daily, for a wide variety of uses.
A couple of bugs of varying ages? That’s the way to summon Jason!
Right! I wasn’t sure it wasn’t Jason in disguise
Beetlejason! Beetlejason! Beetlejason!
Jason juice, Jason juice, Jason juice?
Ew.
Wow. If I had the power to ban folks I would be tempted right now! Jk