Ringbrothers, the world-renowned custom car builder and parts manufacturer, has unveiled its latest custom creation, “TUSK,” a meticulous and thorough remastering of the iconic 1969 Dodge Charger. Engineered from the wheels-up, TUSK is an uncompromised expression of the original with extensive fabrication and carbon-fiber components combined with a modern chassis, suspension and Mopar’s most powerful crate engine: the 1,000 horsepower Hellephant. Limited to just 100 units, the rare and coveted Hellephant serves as the soundtrack, powerplant and inspiration for the Charger’s name.
Damien found the Ranchero in Hermanus. It initially looked decent however when he decided to jack the car up the jack just broke through the floor and the car stayed exactly where it was. It was all just fiberglass under the car as all the steel had rusted away. Damien was lucky enough to find a replacement body that had no rust on it whatsoever from an area in the Karoo.
I like to tell people that I grew up in a muscle car/V8 house and it was always very exciting when my dad came to fetch us from school driving his V8 cars. My dad owned Holden Monaro’s and Ford Fairmont’s since I can remember. He restored cars all his life, making parts, fabricating body panels where the rust took over. From a very early age, he involved my brothers and I in all of his projects; rebuilding engines, panel beating and spray painting. I bought my first car when I was 18 for a R1000, a 1971 Ford Fairlane 500.
“From as far back as I can remember, I have always loved old cars and have always wanted to own what I call a ‘“knop truck’” rather than live on the beach and own a Bugatti Veyron. In the past, I did not have the money to fund my dream project, so I started saving and keeping an eye on Gumtree. The original plan was to buy a ready-built vehicle as the nature of my daily work does not allow a lot of free time. However, things did not quite work out that way. I found my Ford truck on Gumtree and realised that this would be a bit of a project.
The vehicle started as a project in Hermanus that was abandoned. The owner had it on the internet and Ivan Snatched it up. Ivan dad had originally built the Hot Rod to her brother Wayne’s specifications and preferences, with a Cummins 5.9l turbo diesel engine and 5 ton Mercedes tip truck manual gearbox. Unfortunately her brother Wayne was killed in a car accident when the project was all but complete.
The body of the car was in very bad condition at it was originally a drag car. As the body was fiberglass, rust was no issue. The chassis was the only part that had to be sandblasted by Pro Strip Media & Powder Coating in Mesa, Arizona. The body work took about 4 months to finish.
I had been trying to buy this car for the past 5 years. I had never seen it but Ralph at Motown Auto Parts had been to the owner’s house to do some minor work on it and had told me it had a Chevy 383 in it but that was all he knew.
This unyielding passion for American Steel started way back in the early 70’s when Mark’s dad, Peter, imported a ’67 Camaro from the states, creating in Mark a bowtie (Chevy) man for life. It is no wonder that those same values and preferences have been instilled in his own son decades later. Having watched countless Youtube builds and Hotrod TV programs over the years, and after attending numerous Cars in the Park shows, Mark and Connor decided they would take on a project that would feed their yearning for building a masterpiece of their own.
The Type 2 T1s built between 1967 –1979 are still cool in their own right though. They are more accessible and they still fetch reasonable prices too. For the owners of these buses, it’s rarely about the money, more about the culture, lifestyle and everything else that goes hand in hand with owning one of the classics. It’s usually more of a love and often hate affair that could last a lifetime. When you own one of these, you’re normally in it for the long haul.
He called Andre and asked if he wanted to sell, but Andre was not interested. A few days later he spoke to Andre again and a deal was struck. To further sweeten the deal, Andre gracefully threw in two front fenders and a bonnet. Marius had his spares-car at last. He promptly drove down to Johannesburg, collected his find and trailered it back to Kimberley. The following day, he was sitting inside the 39, sipping coffee and made the decision not to use it for parts, but to repair and rebuild it.
