Again they’re making the impossible…possible, turning scraps into gems.

They’ve proved themselves already in the first Chop Series and they’re not ready to stop anytime soon, they’re moved out of their first workshop to a new and improved workshop to work together with their awesome team members to continue working their magic.

Meet The Rest Of The Chop Shop Crew:

From left to right:

Julian Gudgeon: Panel beater, welder, fabricator and general Jack-of-all-trades mechanic.
Terry Hodges: Chop Shop’s welder, and at 21 years of age, the youngest crew member.
Shaun McNamee: Body fitter and new arrival in the Chop Shop for 2008.
Lee Taylor: New Chop Shop mechanic Lee Taylor is a Ford fanatic through and through.
Artur Lachmacki: New crew member Artur has been in the trade for over 10 years

Leepu and Bernie with the rest of the Chop Shop team already have done some nice work in the second series, turning a old Saab 900 Turbo into a Gangster Car for ex Spandau ballet bassist Martin Kemp.

We’ve put together some before and after action on the Gangsta car and the Muscle car, we hope you like it!

Check Out The Before And After Montage

Of course viewing the actual episodes on television gives you a much better viewing experience, so be sure to check it out on Discovery Channel when you get the chance.

Some Specs On Both Rides:

Gangsta Car:

Engine: 2.3 Litre twin cam (automatic)
Exhaust: Custom made
Induction: Custom intercooler and piping and dump valve
ECU: Stock
Suspension: Custom made and modified
Brakes: Heavy duty front and rear pads
Wheels: Wolfrace Imperial custom
Bodywork: Pearl metallic grey, split rear screen, custom made body with 0.8 gauge cold rolled steel
Other mods: Custom interior and carpets, handmade rollbar, keyless entry, custom made dashboard, custom front lights and grille, custom Corbeau seats and belts

So What’s More On The Menu?

The Chop Shop crew is turning a scrapped 20-year-old Ford Capri into a Muscle Car for Lawrence Dallaglio by cramming in a 3.5 litre V8 engine and performing some carefully thought out chopping and metal bashing.

Muscle Car:

Engine: Rover V8 chrome detailed, TVR gearbox, custom radiator and fuel tank
Exhaust: Custom manifolds and twin pipe outlets
Induction: Webber 500 CFM carburettor, Offenhauser manifold, chrome air filter housing
Suspension: GAZ coil over front/rear
Brakes: Hi-spec cross drilled discs
Wheels: Custom split rim/chrome and black painted
Bodywork: Fully modified 0.8 gauge cold rolled steel, hi-gloss black, candy gold stripes
Other mods: Custom made dash and hi-spec dials, custom Corbeau seats and belts, vario-tinted glass, keyless entry, custom horns, handmade wiring loom

The Chop Shop also has some other projects lined up, it’s absolutely worth checking out. The Custom Rides team is definitely impressed by their work and we hope to continue see a lot more of them.

What do you think of the above Chop Shop team creations? — Let us know in the comment section.

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K.I.T.T. is making it’s return to the screen, and in the shape of a Ford Shelby GR500KR Mustang.

Stepping back in the time machine certainly brings up memories of the “Turbo Boost” and the “Ejection Seat” features KITT showed off regularly in the popular Knight Rider series in the eighties.

The eighties? – Yes, it’s definitely a while back, and Knight Rider The Movie, which is actually going to be a TV Pilot movie, will be showed on NBC upcoming February 17th. Should it get the needed ratings it will become a actual series once again.

Here is a small taste of what to expect:

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=XgMEn05rzEM[/youtube]

Some interesting facts:

To portray the new KITT, Ford donated six production Mustangs to the film studio. Since the GT500KR isn’t yet available, the cars were actually Mustang GTs equipped with automatic transmissions. (Automatics are preferred for film work.) The initial mechanical and bodywork on the prototype KITT was done by Galpin Auto Sports — from MTV’s Pimp My Ride — and includes not only the necessary body pieces but reinforcements from the Ford Racing catalog including a lowered suspension and a Whipple supercharger. That blower, says Ford, swells output of the 4.6-liter SOHC V8 from 300 to about 500 horsepower.

Source: Edmunds
Visit the Edmunds site for more interesting information.

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It’s a marvellous achievement to create when you virtually have nothing to work with, and you don’t have the expensive and experienced design teams like BMW or Porsche has, the materials and tools needed – and still Nizamuddin Awlia, or better known as Leepu has done the unthinkable.

Creating an amazing custom ride with the help of his mechanics and basic sheet metal that is being used to build rickshaws that roam Dhaka’s streets in Bangladesh, and using what’s left of an old wrecked Toyota Sprinter and other scrap yard materials.

Of course you can’t expect a level of sophistication when it comes to engine technology that BMW or Porsche can deliver, and certainly not the level of comfort as you can see when a road test is being performed by Leepu and Bernie creating havoc in Dhaka’s streets.

Check out the video to see how the car drives, it’s a complete monster!
The test drive starts around 3 minutes and 25 seconds.
It also shows a basic summary how the car came to life.

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=W4Mgurbp0S0[/youtube]

Still in terms of design it’s a piece of art and a great achievement.

Thankfully – Bernie Fineman is with him to keep the safety aspects in mind that are required to keep up an acceptable level of safety.

In his country Bangladesh, Leepu has become a true icon and example of ingenuity and sheer drive to accomplish the unthinkable.
As a 16-year-old living in Saudi Arabia, he was love struck with all the great car designs he witnessed from brands like Lamborghini and Aston Martin when visiting a car show with his father.

Of course he wanted to buy one, (Don’t we all?) – but with the hefty price tags on these cars this was of course out of his reach and received not-surprisingly a big fat “No!” – when he asked “Can i have one?” – and instead started to create his own designs based on the famous sports cars desired by people all over the world.

The Bangla Bangers show really placed his name on the automotive map, and Leepu now operates his own Chop Shop in London together with Bernie Fineman.
Check some of the automotive art works they have made already and are selling.

A new show, called the Chop Shop has come alive, and a must see if you want to see how Leepu and Bernie takes customization to a new level, and it’s fun and entertaining to watch as well!

As a team they can do great things and CustomRides.com wants to wish them all the best with their new creations!

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