Some of you who have been around the e-nets for a while,on the retro and classic side of things at least, particularly those who frequent retro-rides.org may recall the infamous “Crazy Octopus” it belonged to a chap from the US, it was his track hack and it’s general unkempt condition and amusing paint-job created a bit of a following. For those of you unaware this is the first Crazy Octopus;
It's an octopus... and it's crazy!
There was just something about the car that had quite an appeal, FC’s are a wicked beast on many levels, I guess it might have been the diversion from regular appearances of these cars that gave the Crazy Octopus it’s appeal. However! Slowly the FC faded into distant memory, though it may well have existed it was out of the spotlight as it were… until recently. The owner of the car re-appeared on the retro-rides forum and I clicked on his thread with much anticipation. The FC was no more, there was however a new candidate to replace it…
An S30Z of US "Datsun 240Z" persuasion.
..and so began the documented build to turn this dilapidated Japanese classic into the next incarnation of the Crazy Octopus. I had planned to wait until the car was complete before I shared it with you guys but I couldn’t help myself. After there were videos posted of the noise that bellows from the L24 w/ triples my mind exploded with awesome and possibilities and inevitabilities of what my own machine will sound similar to, as such, I present you with a few photos of the progress and the glorious aural pleasure that is an L-series 6 on song.
Strip Down
Purchase items
Times Two
Make allowances for said items
Oh dear. What's this for?
I’ll let you find out, or see if you can see where the Metallic Gold Finish gets used…
Paint Body and Fit previously mentioned items
Purchase more items
Times Two (again)
Just listen to that. Sure, it sound like a tractor at idle but that’s part and parcel with an L-series and how often are you going to hear that? Not very. The noise as it revs is something else though. I believe it’s referred to as “pure magic”. By me, just now.
Looking good, but not quite done yet.
Ah, these items might remedy the altitude.
…and so we wait to see the combination of all the items.
If you want to witness all the inbetweens and see for sure where that gold went, then you can follow the progress on retro-rides.org as well as on the crazyoctopus blog.
-Michael
Love this build. And I read his blog regularly. Didn’t know the history of the OG Crazy Octopus FC though. Very cool.
Thank you kindly for this AMAZING write up of my project! The fronts just got installed today, so hopefully it will be as appealing to you as the sound of my exhaust uncorked.
Thank me? Thank you man! I can’t wait to see the updated pictures, I’ll mosey over to your blog now. Have you decided on the final scale and when the Octopus shall adorn the bonnet?
Thanks for this awesome post. Crazy Octopus is fricken sweet! I love this build, its just right.