Tag Archives: v8

Matt’s Off Road Recovery

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There’s a certain segment of the off-roading community who like to intentionally get stuck, just so they can winch themselves out again. Which to us feels like deliberately getting fat so that you can join Weight Watchers. But it nevertheless explains why ‘Matt’s Off Road Recovery‘ has over two million YouTube subscribers. Because when someone is really stuck, intentionally or otherwise, they’ll need this…

‘This’ is Matt’s all-wheel-drive, all-wheel-steered hot rod wrecker, as faithfully recreated here by Technic engineering genius Anto. Staying true to the unique real-world off-road tow-truck, Anto’s model features all-wheel-drive and all-wheel-steering (with three selectable steering modes, as per one of our favourite ever LEGO Technic sets), a working V8 piston engine, immense multi-link live-axle suspension, opening doors, toolboxes and hood, plus no less than five working winches.

It’s a hugely impressive replica of a fantastic one-off real-world vehicle, with loads more to see – including engineering diagrams and over forty superbly presented images – at both the Eurobricks forum and Anto’s ‘Matt’s Off Road Recovery Heavy Wrecker’ album on Flickr. Get stuck in via the links above, plus you can watch this amazing model in action via the video below.

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ZIL 130 | Picture Special

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It’s time for a truck here at The Lego Car Blog, and today’s is something rather special. Created by previous bloggee Michael Kulakov / Michael217, this gorgeous ZIL 130 captures one of the workhorses of the Soviet Union spectacularly in LEGO bricks. Plus a few items that aren’t strictly LEGO…

Powered by a mix of genuine LEGO motors and third-party electronics, Michael’s model can drive, steer, and change between high and low gear ratios remotely, and also features a working V8 engine under the raising hood, opening cab doors, a mechanically locking trailer hitch, plus all wheel suspension.

Those wheels are non-LEGO parts, beautifully replicating real truck rims from the period via 3D printing, and are shod in RC tyres. The steering arms too are 3D-printed, and include metal inserts, which – along with some metal driveshaft components – toughen the drivetrain to handle the remote control system.

The rest of the build, including that wonderful bodywork, engine bay and interior, is all LEGO, and demonstrates superb attention to detail. Over a dozen perfectly presented images are available to view at Michael’s ‘ZIl 130’ Flickr album, plus you can find full build details, further links, and a video of the model in action at the Eurobricks discussion forum.

Towing Package Optional

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Arriving in the mid-’00s, the sixth generation Dodge Charger was a boring four-door sedan with an anaemic 2.7 V6, a four-speed automatic, and Chrysler-corporation interior plastics. Yay.

However, the Charger was also available with a much more interesting 5.7 litre ‘Hemi’ V8, and could be optioned up to 6.1 litres in SRT8 trim, with a further Road/Track package adding ten more horsepower, a sunroof, satellite navigation, a 322-watt stereo, a rear-seat DVD entertainment system, and a heavy-duty cage for pulling a bank vault. That last one may not have been on the official options list.

This incredible replica of the Dodge Charger SRT8 is the work of Michael217 / Michael Kulakov, who has equipped his remarkably detailed model with working steering and suspension, a V8 engine, plus four opening doors, hood, and trunk.

Better still, Michael has also fitted his creation with a suite of third-party remote control electronics including RCBric management, Geekservo steering and Buggy Motor drive, which we’re currently using to pretend we’re a giant bald-headed baby horrifically murdering Rio police officers with a bank vault on a cable. Well, we’re whacking TLCB Elves with a shoe-box on a string, but we’re still having fun.

Anyway, whilst we reenact the chase scene from ‘Fast Five’ in the corridors of TLCB office you can check out more of Michael’s fantastic build at both Eurobricks and Flickr. Click the links to take a closer look!

Cruiser of Choice

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Toyota’s legendary 70-Series Land Cruiser has traversed the world’s most inhospitable places since the mid-’80s (as well as a lot of Australian supermarket carparks), and is still on sale today.

Over that incredible forty year production run, the 70-Series has been fitted with a bewildering array of engines and body styles, courtesy the hugely diverse markets in which it is sold.

All of which makes it rather hard to choose one particular variant if you’re intent on recreating the 70-Series out of our favourite plastic bricks. So Eurobricks’ 2GodBDGlory hasn’t. He’s made all of them.

Yup, 2God’s fantastic modular Land Cruiser 70-Series can be built with five different engines (or Power Functions remote remote control), 1980s, 2000s, or 2020s styling, short, medium, or long wheelbase, SUV (with hard or soft top) or Pick-Up (with various tray/bed configurations), and a roof basket or rack.

Best of all, he’s made building instructions available for free, so you can recreate your perfect Lego Land Cruiser 70-Series at home! Find out more at the Eurobricks forum, and you can see various configurations on-location in his Bricksafe album here.

It’s Got a Crate V8, Mate

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Chevrolet’s third-generation Camaro was not just a huge visual departure from its ’70s predecessor, it had fuel injection, a hatchback, and was over 200kgs lighter than the second generation. All of which added up to a car that was faster, more agile, and more economical.

Except that first bit. Because even the 5.0 V8-engined Camaros made…. 145bhp. Chevrolet upped that with a new V8 engine a few years after the third-generation Camaro launched, but it still didn’t trouble 200bhp.

Which is rather different from what Chevrolet offers today, as in 2025 you can buy, brand new, a 1,000bhp crate engine. And put it in anything.

The guys at Hoonigan have done just that, dropping said 1,000bhp Chevrolet crate engine straight into a third-generation Camaro. And the resultant car is rather more lively than it was back in the early-’80s.

Cue previous bloggee and TLCB Master MOCer Firas Abu-Jaber, who has recreated Hoonigan’s wild third-generation Camaro in brick form, complete with that outrageous engine, working steering, opening doors and rear hatch, a detailed interior, and authentically replicated decals.

There’s much more of the model to see at Firas’ ‘Hoonigan Camaro’ album on Flickr, you can find instructions for Firas’ builds at his excellent ‘Bricks Garage’ website, and you can read his interview here at The Lego Car Blog via the first link in this post.

Take a look via the links above, whilst we try to figure out if a 1,000bhp Chevrolet crate motor will fit in the engine bay of the office Rover 200…

My Other Car’s a McLaren

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This astonishing Technic Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 was discovered on Eurobricks today, and – even more astonishingly – it’s built only from the parts of the 42172 Technic McLaren P1 set.

Shown here in render form (but also built for real, however with inadequate images), this 1:8 replica of the latest 1,000bhp Corvette comes from Timorzelorzworz, and is as packed with working functionality as its donor set.

A mid-mounted V8 engine is hooked up to a 7-speed gearbox, the steering is controlled from the steering wheel, suspension is independent front and rear, the front trunk, engine cover and doors open, whilst the entire bodywork aft of the b-pillar is removable too.

Building instructions are available and there’s much more to see including further renders, images of the brick-built model, and full build details at the Eurobricks forum. Take a look via the link above and convert your P1 into a ZR1.

Foxy Horse

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American cars in the late-’70s through mid-’80s were rubbish. They were rubbish long after the mid-’80s too of course, but even the iconic Ford Mustang was a throughly mediocre specimen in its early-’80s guise.

Base on Ford’s then-new ‘Fox’ platform, the third-generation ‘Foxbody’ Mustang could be had as a prosaic coupe, a dreary hatch-back or a lacklustre convertible, and was powered by an array of engines ranging from an inline-4 that produced no horsepower whatsoever to a 5.0 V8 that produced no horsepower whatsoever.

Getting with the times however, and Ford did add a 4-cylinder turbo, which did produce some horsepower – briefly – before it broke.

You may have guessed we’re not fans of Ford’s third-generation ‘stang, and we’re not. Until that, is comes to its 1986 facelift.

Adopting Ford’s ‘aero’ design, the Foxbody instantly went from dreary to desirable, and even the engines got a glow-up, with the 4-cylinder breaking the 100bhp mark (up from a miserly 88) by the early-’90s, and the 5.0 V8 surpassing 200bhp.

This excellent Model Team recreation of the Foxbody Mustang captures the facelift’s sleek exterior brilliantly, and comes from previous bloggee Szunyogh Balázs (aka. gnat.bricks). There’s an opening hood (under which can be slotted both a V8 or 4-cylinder engine as Szunyogh has created both), opening doors and trunk, and a superbly life-like interior.

There’s more of the model to see at Szunyogh’s ‘Lego Mustang – Foxbody’ album on Flickr, and you can take a look at the moment when America’s automotive malaise era finally ended via the link above.

Cruise Control

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Cruiseliners. Giant floating shopping malls filled with the terrifically fat, the terminally elderly, or the terrifically fat and terminally elderly. And if you’re reading this thinking ‘But I went on a cruise ship…’, then yes, you are one of the above.

Today’s creation is a truck that takes its name from that dreadful excuse for tourism, and comes from newcomer Lecz, making their TLCB debut.

Skilfully blending Technic and Model Team styles, Lecz’s classic Mack Cruiseliner features a working V8 engine under a tilting cab, ‘HOG’ steering, and a functioning fifth wheel lock, with lots more to see – including high quality digital renders and a link to building instructions – at the Eurobricks forum and Bricksafe.

Click the links above to fight off a fat lady at the buffet before docking in a quaint fishing village and ruining it.

Shot of Lime

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The state of modern cars leaves this TLCB Writer very unenthusiastic about the automotive future. Dreary electric cross-overs connected directly to the Chinese Communist Party, there isn’t a single interesting one among them. Which means if you want to find something with a soul, you have to go back to a car – and brand – from decades past. This is the Plymouth Barracuda, a lime green muscle car powered by a Hemi V8 that was literally too big to fit under the hood.

Built by Szunyogh Balázs, this fabulous replica of the Hemi ‘Cuda replicates Plymouth’s iconic ’70s muscle car in LEGO ‘Icons’ scale, and includes working steering, opening doors and trunk, plus a highly detailed Hemi V8 underneath (mostly) the opening hood. It’s a superb homage to a time when cars weren’t just phones with wheels, and you can reclaim your automotive soul at Szunyogh’s ‘Hemi Cuda’ album via the link above.

Noisy Cricket

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Cricket. A gentlemanly game, played largely by standing around a village green for five days, after which sometimes it’s a draw. Still, it unites everyone in hatred of the Australians and it’s infinitely better than baseball.

Anyway, here’s a ‘gasser’ hot rod named after the pointless British game. Or a grasshopper. We’re not sure. Whichever it is, the ‘Noisy Cricket’ is an absurd concoction of Vespa 400 microcar and side-piped V8, created by the unhinged mind of Tim Inman, and it definitely wouldn’t take five days to finish anything.

The spindly suspension, front-mounted gas tank, and parachute pack out back are gasser drag strip deriguour, and you can step up to the crease at Tim’s photostream via the link above.

Interception

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TLCB Elves love Mad Max. V8s engines, extreme violence, and everything blows up. Cue much excitement today therefore, when one of their number returned to TLCB with this excellent mostly-LEGO recreation of the 1973 Ford Falcon-based ‘V8 Interceptor’ from the original movie, which they’re now delightedly watching. They have Flickr’s GolPlaysWithLego to thank and you can see more of this superbly-presented homage to post-apoc vehicular violence via the link above.

C7 Corvette | Picture Special

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Retired dentists; this one’s for you!

The seventh-generation (C7) Chevrolet Corvette was the last to feature a front-mounted engine, with the latest eighth-generation Corvette finally adopting the mid-engined layout used by its European rivals.

But despite its layout disadvantage, the C7 Corvette was actually rather good, performing on par with many much more expensive supercars, and winning Le Mans’ GT category.

This fantastic Model Team recreation of the C7 ‘Vette comes from previous bloggee Rolands Kirpis, and includes a beautifully detailed interior, V8 LS1 engine and drivetrain, plus an opening hood, doors and rear hatch.

Presented beautifully, over a dozen superb images are available to view at Rolands’ ‘Chevrolet Corvette C7’ album on Flickr, and you can join the other retired dentists at a Florida golf course via the link above.

My Other Car’s a Chevy

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In the 1960s, General Motors were phenomenally adept at spinning different cars from the same platform. Chevrolet, Buick, Oldsmobile, Cadillac, and Pontiac were all successful brands in their own right, being positioned, marketed, and priced to separate segments of the U.S auto market, but all sharing considerable commonality underneath.

Pontiac were priced towards the lower end of GM’s portfolio, but that didn’t mean that they didn’t produce fast, desirable products. This is one of them, the fabulous first generation Pontiac GTO, which shared its componentry with the mid-’60s Chevrolet Malibu, Buick Skylark Grand Prix, and Oldsmobile 442.

Built by Master MOCer Firas Abu-Jaber, this wonderful recreation of the Pontiac GTO also shares its parts with a Chevrolet, being constructed solely from the pieces found within the excellent LEGO 10304 Icons Chevrolet Camaro Z28 set.

Using 1,322 of the Camaro’s 1,456 parts, Firas’ GTO looks so good you’d be hard-pressed to know it’s an alternate. Working steering, opening doors, hood and trunk, plus a detailed interior and engine bay all feature, as per the donor set, with the model presented absolutely beautifully.

There’s lots more of Firas’ incredible Pontiac GTO to see at his album of the same name, plus you can find out how he creates models such as this one at his Master MOCers interview here at TLCB, accessible via the first link in the text above.

#Patriotism

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America is in the news of TLCB home nation rather a lot at the moment. Whilst we’ve quietly called, held, and politely delivered the outcome of an election in six weeks, America’s year-long campaign season continues, and – with perhaps a depressing inevitability – the barrage of political slurs, plus an argument about golf handicaps for some reason, has spilled over into something far worse.

Thus to remember that America isn’t just gun violence and two old men insulting one another, today we have the most American thing we can think of short of chanting ‘Freedom!’ on loop or a Mustang crash; the Chevrolet Corvette C7.

Built by Eurobricks’ mihao, this stunning Technic recreation of the last front-engined Corvette is so realistic we can almost see the retired dentist behind the wheel. Working steering, adjustable suspension, a V8 engine connected to a paddle-shift gearbox, opening doors, hood and trunk, plus a removable targa-roof all feature, and the model can also be fully motorised, with remote control drive, steering, and LED head and tail lights.

Building instructions for both the mechanical and motorised versions of mihao’s model are available, and you can find them and lots more besides at the Eurobricks forum. Click the link above to take a look at mihao’s fantastic American icon, and whichever old man you vote for, neither the other one, nor his supporters, are your foe.

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Mad Maximum Squashing

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Longstanding readers of this stagnent puddle in the corner of the Internet will know that TLCB Elves – the mythical creatures whose unending and unpaid job it is to find the creations that appear here – have a penchant for extreme violence towards one-another. This usually takes the form of a hit-and-run (see here, here, here, here and here), and today normal service was resumed as one of their number found this.

‘This’, is a fully remote controlled replica of the wild ‘Big Foot’ monster truck from ‘Mad Max – Fury Road’, as built by TLCB Master MOCer Sariel, and powered by twin Control+ L Motors driving all four wheels. Said wheels are shod in huge non-LEGO RC tyres, plus there’s working suspension, a V8 piston engine, and two bed mounted guns for maximum movie authenticity.

All of which means that for the Elves that weren’t squashed, it’s probably the Best Creation Ever. And even for those that were, it was still the Best Creation Ever right up until the moment it smeared them into the office carpet. There’s more of the model to see at Sariel’s ‘Mad Max Big Foot’ album, you can watch it in action via the video below, and you can read the builder’s interview here at The Lego Car Blog by clicking these words.

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