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Dec
14
This SAAB 96 has been modified, but appears to be rather subtle. Lowered, bumpers deleted, bigger diameter wheels with white wall tires, a top chop and custom front spoiler make it look a lot sportier. Can you imagine a second engine in the boot, as in my recently finished SAAB 96 Tvillingmotor?
Dec
08
Recently a friend and I discussed which OEM wheel has the best design. We agreed on the deep dish five-spoke Mitsubishi Starion wheel and thought it wouold look good on most vehicles. Just for fun and because I wanted to chop a V6 Nissan anyway, I fitted them on a Nissan Maxima J30. Just a quick photoshop chop with lowering, larger diameter wheels, replacing chrome with shadow line parts, window tint and deleting the rear door handles.
Dec
03
From an old people carrier to a surf bums’ beach ride. With barges like the Buick Park Avenue being rather cheap on the used car market, it is easy to imagine that a half-broke surfer dude would buy a car that has a lot of space. No money to fix the broken rear window? Just rivet in a random piece of sheet metal for extra privacy and use the leftover money from the last job to buy nice Trans-Am style wheels, fake wood trim for that old school look and a handful of hobby-related stickers.
Oct
07
A lunchbreak challenge on the weekend? Call it what you want – this photoshop has been finished in less than 45 minutes. I took an image of a cutaway Volkswagen Käfer (aka VW Beetle), lowered the car, modified the wheels, deleted the bumpers and customized it with a top chop. Done. The dog doesn’t care driver and passengers seem to like it. 😉
Oct
06
Quite a few photoshop artists are creating “floating” or more precisely hovering vehicles. I have done that in the past, too. Well, sort of. Actually my collection of Citroën Ami are only half-hovering vehicles, thanks to the imagined creativity and engineering of the ol’ French engineers from back then. Upon finding this picture of a 21-window Volkswagen T1 Samba, I knew immediately that I wanted to convert it into a hovercar. Happy Hovering in the DeLuxe Microbus, folks! 🙂
Oct
02
For this picture I challenged myself to a limit of ten modifications maximum. So, let’s see how it went. I started with a plain silver Porsche 911 Turbo (930), which I wanted to stand out but still be somewhat subtle at the same time. Not too easy to achieve, but according to friends who already commented on it, I pretty much nailed it. Here is a list of the changes I made with photoshop:
- Substantial lowering
- Zender Turbo II wheels
- idlers tire stencils
- Front lip modified with a larger splitter
- USDM sidemarkers front
- USDM taillights
- 993 Sideskirt
- 993 rearview mirrors
- Roof spoiler
- Stickers
Not even a dozen things modified and voilà – a 911 Turbo 930 that turns heads everywhere. Next step in the process of modification would be rocking up at bisimoto.com to have one of his famous twin-turbo engines installed. I’d love to have one similar to the engine I used for my Abarth 750 GT Bialbero chop.
Sep
15
“Eat. Sleep. Surf.”
Great idea, but before embarking on an adventure and just doing what the sticker says, you have to build a go-anywhere vehicle that will take you even to the most remote of beaches. Let’s suppose your funds are limited and you have to make do with whatever base vehicle you find in your area. If it happens to be a FIAT Ducato Mk1 or Peugeot J5 with Dangel 4×4, you’re a lucky chap. Provided the rust has not eliminated most of the metal, it is a fairly good base to start with. Build a lift-kit, add overfenders, source some nice wheels and appropriate BF Goodrich rubber, build a camper interior that suits your needs, load up the surfboard and drive to the beach. Should you have forgotten to stop at the supermarket, it’s just surfing and sleeping for you and you’ll have to ask fellow campers for something to eat. 😉
P.S.: The trim-line stickers are losely based on the original stickers of the Ducato 4×4.
Sep
09
I have always loved the shape of the SAAB Sonett I roadster, but similar to the BMW 507 I never liked the stance and choice of wheels. Diameter too large, tires too skinny and a stance that would suit a 4×4 – not my cup of tea on a roadster intended to be driven hard. Fixing these three problems is exceptionally rewarding on many cars from the 60’s and 70’s, because the designs are often adorable. Apply this recipe to a first generation SAAB Sonett, add a set of American Racing Torq Thrust wheels and tires with white lettering on the sidewalls. Voilà, you have a roadster that it still tiny and nimble, but looks like it packs a lot more punch.
Sep
06
When the Lada Niva (aka VAZ 21213) was launched in 1976, the iron curtain was not even half way through its existence. It would take another 13 years until the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, triggering the demise of the iron curtain. Now in 2018, 29 years later, this particular vehicle is still in production. Apart from using your new Niva (aka Taiga, aka 4×4) in the woods for hunting or similar activities it was intended to be great at, you could convert it to a hotrod. Yes, a hotrod. Find an old frame, throw all the good old performance parts at it along with a nice V8 engine and enjoy the balmy new car smell inhale cheap plastic fumes in your brand new, top-chopped cabin. I sincerely hope that someone builds this, or sends me pictures if such a beautiful thing contraption already exists. Just imagine rocking up in this hot rod at your local cars and coffee. Every other vehicle present would be invisible instantly.
Click here to see the original picture.
Sep
05
A rainy sunday with cold wind gustst at the end of a super dry summer. No reason to leave the house and plenty of time to photoshop something. After fiddling around with a couple of projects that never quite get finished, I found a picture of a BMW E21 323i and immediately started modifying it. The most obvious choice would have been a BMW V8 engine swap, but because I wanted a USDM style theme on the vehicle, it made more sense to pretend that it is converted to a GM LS1 V8. The NASCAR inspired steel wheels give the car a more or less period-correct look and the overfenders add a more modern touch. The stance is a compromise between aggressive fitment and driveability – not too low, to remain functional. I removed the trim on the sides and the rear bumper and replaced them with two black stripes. The Alpina front spoiler, the rear wing and the diffusor create an aerodynamic package that has yet to be tested in a wind tunnel. This BMW E21 could be a daily driver with ample power and excellent gas mileage. Now, who wouldn’t want to have one?
Sep
02
While researching pictures for an upcoming FIAT 500 photoshop chop, I stumbled upon a picture of a Gutbrod Superior 600. As usual, an idea sparked and immediately I had the finished project already in my head. So I went to work and what you see here is not quite what I had imagined, but the result of a hilarious late night brainstorming session with a good friend. The Gutbrod body was altered slightly by chopping the top, louvering the hood, converting the doors to being hinged as suicide doors and relocating the wheel wells. The front axle has been moved further towards the front to get rid of the long front overhang and improve the overall proportions. Lowering was mandatory and after some trial and error with other wheels, I decided to go for Wolfrace slot mags, but kept the original hubcaps for that period correct feel. A joke referring to the German band Fettes Brot led to the sticker you see on the fender: Fettes Brod, which now also is the nickname of this hot rod project.
Aug
29
Todays lunchbreak challenge: something nobody in his right mind would attemopt to do for real. A SAAB 96 with twin engines, similar to the famous Citroën 2CV Sahara. All done and finished in 45 minutes, but I still need to add the shift linkage and the throttle cable. It’s impossible to add these details in the given timeframe.
Aug
15
Vanlife doesn’t only mean living and traveling in a van full-time. Most people actually just use for recreational purposes on the weekends and during their holidays. I found a picture of a 1990’s Toyota Previa All-trac and wondered if it would be possible to create a low-budget vehicle that has the ability to take you off-road to those remote hiking trails. After returning from the trail you could cook a meal, have a cold drink and sleep until the next morning. I removed the rear windows to make insulation easier and create room for storage. A body lift helps to tackle dirt tracks with more clearance and the light guards protect all four corners of the Previa. The bumpers have been shortened to improve approach and departure angles. And if you manage to get stuck, the winch will pull you out of trouble. Old school Wolfrace slot mags give it a that 1970’s vanlife touch and the roof rack provides storage for the spare tire and a couple of gas and water canisters. Add a CB-radio for those areas without cellphone reception and you’re set to go exploring. Happy hiking!
Aug
13
The Lamborghini Espada is a vehicle with a very different design approach and reflects the adventurous Seventies very well. Nonetheless it is a beautiful or even sculptural vehicle with stunning details. Believe it or not… this Furgone Veloce version happened by accident. I just wanted to lower the Espada and remodeled the rear wheel arches to fit bigger diameter wheels. It looked horrible with the stock rear window. Consequently I had to design a new window and eventually came up with the idea to convert it to a panel van. Similar to the Citroën CX Tissier shuttling newspapers, it might have been utilized to get the Gazzetta dello Sport to the chiosco quicker.
If the diligent newspaper shuttle driver needed more space, he might have ordered a furgone veloce with even more space for cargo. This would have necessitated extensive drivetrain and frame geometry modifications, of course.
Aug
08
A friend of mine posted my widebody Porsche 928 GTS on his instagram and told me the feedback was outstanding, demanding me to create more Porsche content. I told him that there are a quite a few Porsche photoshop chops in progress, but none of them close to being finished soon. But anyway, he inspired me to chop this export-spec Reutter-bodied 356a 1600 GS Carrera (T2). I applied the usual recipe of lowering the vehicle substantially and giving it a set of custom wheels. They are multi-piece items based on the originals. To spice it up and give it a nice twist I replaced the door handles with Mazda Miata NA items, removed the bumper bars and added a couple of stickers. Why Japanese you might wonder? Because I bet there is somebody in the land of the rising sun that has both the funds and the will to make my virtual creation come to life in reality.
#onlyinjapan
Aug
01
Lately I had a phone conversation with a friend and he asked me what I think about Daihatsu. Due to my experiences with Daihatsu vehicles, I’m quite fond of the engineering, reliability and longevity. I drove my first Daihatsu Cuore (aka Mira) while studying in Karlsruhe, had a long-term hire Sirion while living in South Africa and even took that one to 4×4 trails without any worries or problems. Mind you, it was not the all wheel drive version. I have never driven a Materia, but it definitely is on my bucket list. I like the styling of the body very much, but the dashboard with the centered instruments doesn’t do it for me. Researching the PCD and availability of tuning parts, I stumbled upon the Inden Design shop truck. Taking this concept a bit further is easy with photoshop. Remove the rear doors, convert it to a panel van and it’s done. Or isn’t it? To make the converted car look good, I modified the rake of the B-pillar and changed a few things here and there to get the proportions right. Once finished it received some spice: I lowered it, added vintage Gotti wheels and converted them to multi-piece with BBS barrels. Now, would you jump into this Materia to fetch some parts or deliver pizza?
Jul
27
A friend of mine has a 1979 Lincoln Continental Mark V Bill Blass Edition. It is quite a barge and a lot of space is wasted for nothing but looks. But how do they say in Texas? Bigger is better. And the bigger the base, the easier a 4×4 conversion is. To add more utility to a vehicle that is rather useless for transportation purposes in stock form, I modified a Cartier Edition into an El Camino style pick-up. The friends down under call this a UTE. The shortened nose provides a better approach angle and should make it easy to navigate the trickier areas of your equestrian estate farm.
Add the matching bed cover for those rainy days and carry your Cartier handbags garden tools safe and dry.
Jul
27
Ever since I saw the first streamliner from the era between the wars, I was in love with the great shapes and details. Coachbilders created stunning works of art back then and the owners took pride in owning these rigs. This International Harvester D-300 has been converted into a tow truck with a custom-built streamline aluminum body by a shop in Sleepy Eye, Minnesota. Apparently the shop was called Ebenhoh Custom Truck Body, according to The Old Motor. Apart from lowering the truck and adding larger diameter wheels with lower profile tires, I didn’t change anything on Tugboat Annie. But if you let your imagination run wild, you might think about a hot rod motor under the cab.
R&R Vacuumcraft made a 1/25 scale resin kit, which unfortunately is out of production. If I can find one somewhere, I will build a scale model of the lowered truck.
Jul
26
The second generation (1980-1985) of the Cadillac Seville is a beautiful rather ugly vehicle. The chopped trunk is a weird design feature and was never really considered cool at any point in time. I remember one custom Mk2 Seville from roughly twenty years ago that was chopped, lowered and equipped with then-cool billet wheels that I liked. However, they did keep the four doors and ever since then I wondered what a two-door conversion might look like. A couple of weeks ago I found a nice picture and went straight to work. The result is more interesting than beautiful, but as I didn’t expect much I can’t be disappointed. I love the color, though.
Jul
21
It’s been a long time since I last modified a truck with photoshop. Having a Moebius 1/25 scale model kit of the International Lonestar truck, I wondered how it might look without the tall sleeper cab before starting to build the kit. Starting up the graphics software and modifying the roof was easy enough… but once again my mind accelerated on it’s own and not too long after, the 2009 Harley-Davidson Special Edition was lowered, had bigger diameter wheels with low profile tires and many small improvements were done. Imagine a color-matched flatbed trailer behind it. Would be an awesome rig to haul freight with and display it at truck shows, wouldn’t it?
Mar
17
After almost 15 years without a Honda I wanted to try it again and bought a CL3 Accord with the 2.3 VTEC quite cheap from an elderly gentlemen in the Black Forest. So, after many RWD-only winters I drove FWD again. And let me tell you… I was so glad we had only one week of snow in the 2016/17 winter! Front wheel drive is just horrible and takes all the fun out of driving in wintery conditions. Therefore I sold the Accord as soon as the the first flowers blossomed and went back to rear wheel drive cars for good. Never again am I going to buy a winter car that powers the wrong axle.
And even though I didn’t do anything to the real car, apart from replacing the fake wood interior trim pieces with fake carbon from a Type-R model, I went creative with Adobe Photoshop and let my mind wander. What if the Accord had rear or all wheel drive? It could sure enough be a nice ride for any winter, don’t you think?
Modifications could include Rays TE37 wheels (or cheap knock-offs because they would get damaged by the salt anyway), auxiliary driving lights, mudflaps and a roof rack. The reality looked rather bland in comparison, as you can see in the picture below. I didn’t even bother to buy the Streusalz Edition stickers.
The Honda was very reliable and never let me down. And to be honest… I absolutely loved the rear wing with the integrated Gurney flap.
Feb
14
A quick sketch on a napkin during lunch break last week inspired me to transform a full-size Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser into a station wagon surfers would have loved back in the late Sixties. Thanks to deleting the rear doors, the trunk space now reaches all the way forward to the B-pillar, which gives you plenty of room for the gear and a large sleeping area. The side glass has been replaced with metal, allowing for insulation and storage compartments on the inside walls. To ensure the period-correct look and feel I added fake wood to the sides, which is sourrounded by chrome trim. This also helps to stretch the lines of the vehicle. Imagine to lie in there with your favorite beach babe after a long day of surfing, pulling the curtains shut and gazing at the stars through the vista roof.
Check out the original image for comparison.
Jan
07
Inspired by lead sleds and other vintage customs, I decided to apply a tried and tested recipe to a vehicle nobody ever customized: the 1954 Panhard Dyna Z. A top chop is a classic modification to alter the roofline and overall appearance of a car. It also reduces drag and therefore makes the car faster. Aerodynamic enhancements are especially important if adding more horsepower isn’t really an option. Mind you, this is a rather small vehicle and fitting an engine larger than the original 851cc engine would be a massive challenge. Not too many of the ~ 140.000 built are left and I doubt that many enthusiasts would enjoy seeing one of the few leftover Z cars “butchered” just for aesthetic purposes. However, nobody can object to modifying a couple of pixels. If you don’t like it, you might enjoy looking at the original picture instead.
Jan
01
Happy New Year! The first photoshop chop in 2018 is an old project from years ago that I finally got around to finish now. I found the original picture of the SAAB 96 and immediately thought this vehicle #needsmorelow. Lowering it and enlarging the wheels made it look better, but the little something that makes it special was still missing. In order to keep it period-correct, I used the natural lines and added some graphics. These days you would probably utilize vinyl stickers, but back then it would have been painted. All in all a fun little project to prove that every vehicle has potential to look better.
Dec
22
This photoshop chop took way longer to finish than all the other pictures I created this year. It all started with looking at a Peugeot 504 brochure from the 1970’s in January. Having always loved the Pininfarina-penned styling of the coupé and convertible, I wondered why there are no tastefully modified cars out there. These vehicles are not even too expensive to buy, despite having a history of motorsport ventures in rallye and racing. As always, the “what if (I had the money)” question followed immediately and all kinds of crazy modification ideas popped up in my mind. However, modifying this elegant coupé without messing up the lines completely posed a challenge. In the end I went with a retro-inspired theme the Japanese call works style. Imagine an engine with substantially more power, modern suspension and brakes. This necessitates larger wheels and a set of overfenders to cover them. I tried to keep them subtle and close to the original design of the fenders. Finding a period-correct design for the wheels also was a challenge. Campagnolos work well with the larger diameter and the conversion to the rather large Peugeot PCD. A good friend of mine suggested to add a ventilation flap on the roof, similar to the classic Jaguar E-Type race cars, and I happily adopted this brilliant idea. The hash marks on the fenders are Peugeot Talbot Sport colors from the early 1980’s, keeping with the idea that a conversion like this might have been built when this was just an affordable used car.
Fine art prints will be available early in 2018. Make sure to pre-order soon, as this will be a limited edition of only 73 numbered and signed pieces. The prints are without watermarks.
Click here to see the original picture.
