Top 10 Best Project Cars Submitted By You: From A Hakosuka To An Ex-Cop Car

Recently, we took to Car Throttle’s Instagram page to ask you lot to send in your project cars. After getting inundated with messages, we realised we couldn’t simply just pluck out one for a feature this month as we’ve done before.

Instead, we’ve rounded up our 10 favourites for your viewing pleasure. If you emailed and didn’t make the cut, don’t feel bad - we really did get a shed-load of great submissions, meaning we simply have to disappoint a few of you. Hopefully perusing these rad rides will make you feel better.

Have a project car you want to send in? Email us with some images (either your own or pics you’re permitted to share) and details.

Jim's Nissan Skyline Hakosuka

Like a fine wine, the original Nissan Skyline ages superbly, getting lovelier the older it grows. Lovingly nicknamed Hakosuka, a portmanteau of hako (boxy) and sukarain (Skyline), these cars look beautiful when bone stock. That’s not to say enhancing a Hakosuka is impossible - just look at this one belonging to Jim Goritsas.

It sits lower on SSR Longchamp wheels shod in Toyo R888R tyres and is finished in Mazda Red Pearl. Inside you’ll find bucket seats and an LED digital dashboard, while under the bonnet lives a Nissan L28 inline-six packing triple Weber carburettors.

Joe's Vincent Hurricane

Recognise the proportions of the car above but not the face? There’s a good reason why - the Vincent Hurricane is a fibreglass kit car based on the Triumph GT6. It’s a straight-up re-body, meaning the GT6 frame, chassis and engine are all carried over.

The GT6’s original design was done by the late Giovanni Michelotti, a man with an enviable number of Ferrari and Maserati models on his CV. The bodywork, then, wouldn’t be high on our overhaul priority list, but the Hurricane is a great-looking thing, not to mention rare - only 65 were made. Plus, with GT6s having a penchant for rust, the thought of switching to fibreglass is quite tempting.

Joe Wilson’s Hurricane is a 1970 GT6 underneath. Very little of the car worked when he bought it, but after a year of hard graft, it’s running nicely. The 2.0-litre inline-six runs uprated carbs, a spicier camshaft and more. Not that it needs much assistance to provide thrills. “It feels like you’re doing a million MPH at 30,” Joe says.

Mini Sidewalk

It wasn’t that long ago that the classic Mini was a common sight on UK roads, helped massively by Rover making the things right up until the year 2000. Sadly, these days they’re pretty rare, but happily, plenty of people who own surviving examples are working hard to make sure your smile is extra large when one drives past.

Marc Simpson’s 1995 Mini Sidewalk certainly fits that mould. One of 20 Minis he’s owned and one of three in his current stable, the car originally took inspiration from the Japanese Mini scene. It’s since switched to a more traditional look while still doing plenty to stand out from the crowd. We dig it.

JBA Falcon TSR

Despite being a (now defunct) British company, it’s unlikely many UK-based petrolheads will have heard of JBA Motors. They’re even more obscure in South Africa - according to Josh Raymond, his JBA is one of only two Falcon TSRs in the country.

These affordable roadsters were available up until the mid-2000s, borrowing heavily from that once-popular kit car donor, the Ford Sierra. Josh’s uses a 2.1-litre Ford Pinto with Weber side draft carbs, sits on wide 16-inch five-spoke wheels and features AC Cobra seats in its open cabin. It might look pretty big in the photos, but this JBA is actually pretty compact - it’s smaller than an NA Mazda MX-5.

Ford Crown Victoria

What makes Ben Cocker’s submission interesting is its location. Over in the US, an ex-police Ford Crown Victoria might not seem particularly exotic, but in Cumbria, these V8 land yachts are as rare as the lowest volume supercars.

The lights, tannoy and sirens all still function. Originally it served with the NYPD in the Bronx, “so it will have some stories to tell!” Ben rightly notes. It even came with an old ticket book and chillingly, interior maps of local schools to help the officers when responding to shootings.

These days, it’s wearing a period-correct LA Sheriff’s car livery. It’s in need of a gearbox rebuild, but cosmetically, it’ll be staying as is.

BMW M2 Competition

The BMW M2 Competition only came out a few years ago, but already, we’ve seen stacks of very nicely modified examples. Jonas Holmqvist’s certainly looks the part thanks to a Burkhart carbon fibre rear wing, Apex SM10 wheels and some outrageous bonnet vents, but it’s not all show and no substance.

Its S55 inline-six has new turbochargers from TTH, there’s a full Milltek exhaust system, and at each corner is a damper from Ohlin. Running a stage 3 tune from Swedish firm Stertman Motorsport, the M2 Comp is good for around 550bhp.

Toyota Supra

Really there should be an ‘11’ in this post’s title, as Nina Zagozdzon (aka @ladyhoonigan on Instagram) has submitted two cars in one go. The first is a Toyota GR Supra with some Manhart tweaks to boost the B58 inline-six to around 450bhp, while the other is a Nissan 350Z drift car.

While the Supra doesn’t stray too far from its factory spec, the 350Z “has nothing stock on it,” Nina says. The headline modification? A Toyota 2JZ-GTE inline-six running around 600bhp. Both cars feature a very similar style of wrap with a very distinctive pink and black livery.

Ford Fiesta ST200

There weren’t any details submitted with Holly Upton’s Ford Fiesta ST200, but we’re suckers for this Blue Oval hot hatch, and since this is the best version of the Mk7 ST, we had to give it a place. It’s a decent-looking car out of the box, and this example has been enhanced further with a new front splitter, Compomotive TH2 wheels and a substantial drop in ride height.

Toyota Mark II Blit

The Toyota Mark II Blit might not be quite as celebrated as some Japanese mega wagons of the late 1990s/early 2000s (we’re looking at you, Nissan Stagea), but to us, that merely makes it cooler. Jake Steward’s is a 2002 model which made its way to the UK in November 2019. He reckons there are less than 10 Blits in the country.

Naturally, Jake went for the 1JZ-GTE-powered version, going one better by bagging a Fortuna Yamaha Power Blit. These were fettled by Modellista, gaining a new bodywork, Work Ryver rims and a Yamaha engine upgrade yielding an output of around 300bhp. Jake has added an electronically-controlled exhaust valve, but otherwise, the car is as it was when it left Modellista.

Summing the Blit up, Jake says it “has the refinement of a Lexus but the power of a Supra”. Appealing.

R34 Nissan Skyline GT-R

A far more well-known Japanese performance car but one still more than worthy of our attention is this R34 Nissan GT-R. Antonis Constantinides’ R34 looks superb in Millennium Jade, a colour recently added to the R35’s pallette. It’s further enhanced by TE37 wheels from Rays plus a smattering of Nismo cosmetic upgrades including a Z-Tune front bumper and a dry carbon rear wing blade.

The RB26DETT has been updated with HKS Step 2 camshafts, a Garrett GTX2860R twin-turbo kit, a Nismo intercooler and much more besides. The straight-six is currently running around 560whp. Slowing things back down are six-pot AP Racing calipers at the front squeezing 355m discs, while upgrading the handling side of the equation are a set of Nismo S-Tune coilovers. Again, these mods are among many other things - the spec list Antonis sent us is massive.

Be sure to email us if you’d like your project car featured next time around.