2014 Swamp Buggy - Grinch This

by CHRIS HAMILTON from .fourwheeler.com

If you’ve been a fan of Mud Life for a while, you most certainly know the name Big Ed the Butcher. From event articles to hunting trips, Ed Wojtusik has been there time after time to help us out when we needed something. So when he told us about the new swamp buggy he was having built at Big Head Aluminum in Royal Palm Beach, Florida, we promised him a small feature in the magazine once it was ready. We just assumed that this would be an average well-built hunting rig that most of our readers are used to by now, but man, were we wrong. Big Ed wanted to build an extremely unique rig that looked as well as it performed, so lots of chrome and custom paint had to be included. Don’t let the killer graphics and shiny metal fool you though. Big Ed definitely isn’t afraid to cover it in a thick coat of Florida mud from time to time.

Starting with ¼-inch-wall, 2x4 box tubing, Dave Boden from Big Head Aluminum chopped, grinded, and welded a solid straight frame that has an 11.6-foot wheelbase without bumpers. Once the bumpers were fabricated and welded to the new frame, the finished length came out to 20.6 feet end to end. Next, the uprights were added and the aluminum deck was secured, officially making it a buggy in our books. The entire chassis rides on 2½-ton Rockwell axles equipped with Grizzly lockers and installed using mounting brackets from PMF Customs in Royal Palm Beach. A set of Skyjacker leaf springs from an ’09 Ford F-350 takes care of the suspension, and 26x25 wheels on 23.1R2 tires give Ed the height he was looking for. PMF Customs built the wheel centers, and Longs Wheel and Rim sent the tractor barrels. An SCS gearbox with a 3:1 gear ratio is working alongside a Turbo 400 transmission to transfer the power from the engine to the wheels. For power, Ed enlisted the help of Pro Racing Engines out of West Palm Beach to assemble a balanced and blueprinted 383ci Chevy V-8. Flotex heads and a Quick Fuel carburetor are a few additions, along with exhaust from Advanced Muffler.

Once Dave had a fully fabricated and functional swamp buggy built, the time came to rip it all apart and give it some color. The majority of the metalwork is covered in PPG Sublime Green paint thanks to Dave Nichols at Schmits Auto Body in Royal Palm Beach. After the paint had time to dry, the buggy was dropped off with Chris “Bones” Tolson at Bones Custom Paint in Royal Palm Beach for some insane airbrush work. Ed’s signature Grinch logo was naturally added, but this time he wanted even more style, so Bones sprayed some killer-looking meat cleavers on the rig since Ed is a butcher by trade. The handles of the cleavers look exactly like real wood, and when the wheels start to spin the chopping action looks pretty wicked. Anything that could be unbolted and hadn’t already been painted was boxed up and shipped out to Spectra Chrome for some serious bling. Hi-Tech Spray Liners finished off the prep work by coating the top of the buggy deck so no one’s feet will get burned on a hot day in the woods. Once all the parts were back to the shop, Dave started final assembly. Ed was on the sidelines just itching to rip it though the mud!

This build took the guys around six months and cost approximately $58,000. Compare that to a nice fishing boat or a fully built mud truck and the cost is pretty reasonable. Ed and his family take this rig out to mud events, airboat and buggy shows, and even hunting through the South Florida swamps. This wasn’t Ed’s first time building a swamp buggy, so he knew what he wanted and when he wanted it done. The plan came together and a very impressive piece of engineering is the result. We can guarantee you that this won’t be his last build, so keep the name Big Ed in your minds because it’s going to come up again.

Specifications
2014 Swamp Buggy
Owner: Ed Wojtusik
Engine: 383ci Chevy V-8
Transmission: Chevy Turbo 400
Transfer Case: SCS Gearbox
Suspension: F-350 leaf springs and shocks
Axles: Rockwell 2½-ton with Grizzly lockers
Shocks: Skyjacker
Wheels: 26x25 Longs Wheel rims, PMF Customs centers
Tires: 23.1R2

10 low-budget modern classics from Silverstone Auctions

10 low-budget modern classics from Silverstone Auctions

12 July 2014

On 26 July at the Silverstone Classic 2014, Silverstone Auctions will offer a generous helping of young classics - many of which carry attractive estimates. A notable example is one of only eleven 4.0-litre V8 Marcos Mantarays ever built...

Visit the Classic Driver Market to view all lots from the Silverstone Auctions sale on 26 July at the Silverstone Classic 2014.

Auctions | Cars

1999 Marcos Mantaray

EUR 20 085 - 25 107

Auctions | Cars

1988 Ferrari Testarossa

EUR 47 703 - 52 724

Auctions | Cars

1987 Porsche 911 "G"

EUR 35 149 - 40 171

Auctions | Cars

1985 BMW 6 Series

EUR 22 596 - 27 617

Auctions | Cars

1981 Porsche 924

EUR 50 213 - 56 490

Auctions | Cars

1987 Chevrolet Corvette

EUR 12 553 - 15 064

Auctions | Cars

1988 Jaguar XJS

EUR 40 171 - 47 703

Auctions | Cars

1988

EUR 15 692 - 18 830

Auctions | Cars

1996 Ferrari 456 GT

EUR 31 383 - 37 660

Auctions

Silverstone Auctions, The Silverstone Classic Sale, 2014

Silverstone, 26 July

leather

Timeless Classics: Ferrari 275 GTB/C Speciale

It’s a distillation process: identifying the crème de la crème… de la crème, until you finally arrive at a car so superlatively special that, to quote one expert source, its sale “sends shockwaves through the community of automotive enthusiasts around the world”.

Ferrari is a badge most car-lovers would be proud to wear on the grille, whatever the model. But even among the top Ferrari collectors, the 275 GTB – unveiled at the 1964 Paris Motor Show – is a very special, beautifully proportioned, race-inspired successor to the 250 GTO that commands huge interest (and prices) today. Especially the lightweight competition versions. But the competition versions were themselves based on the remarkable 275 GTB/C Speciale, of which only three were built by the Ferrari factory – specifically for FIA homologation and factory racing development.

All three Speciales could boast super-lightweight aluminium bodies that utilised smaller, lighter tubes, along with a race-style, 3.3-litre, dry-sump engine sitting low in the chassis, and topped by six Weber carburettors (as seen in the 250 LM). 

A remarkable racing machine – as proved at Le Mans in 1965

What this meant in practical terms was an extra 70 horsepower over the standard 275 GTB road car, packaged in a much lighter chassis. It was a remarkable racing machine – as proved at Le Mans in 1965. Prepared by Ferrari for the Belgian team Ecurie Francorchamps, and painted in the team’s traditional yellow, chassis no. 06885 was driven by Willy Mairesse and Jean Blaton in the GT class of the famous 24-hour race. Not only did the car win its class with supreme confidence (gaining the first Le Mans victory for a 275 GTB), it was also placed third overall: an astounding result.

Eyebrow-raising rumours

The Le Mans car, chassis 06885, has been owned since 1970 by renowned enthusiast Preston Henn and is of almost unguessable value. Henn has stated that he has no intentions of selling his prized Ferrari but there are rumours that – if ever it did come to the market in future – it could perhaps be the first car in the world to sell at the magic ‘nine-figure’ level. Since it’s not for sale, there is no way to establish the truth of such an eyebrow-raising rumour, and nor is the third and final car built, chassis 07185, about to see the auctioneer’s gavel. It remains firmly part of a private collection.

 The crème de la crème (de la crème)

But that leaves the first 275 GTB/C Speciale built, chassis no. 06701, the car pictured here. The latest news running through the collectors’ market like wildfire is that this superlative Ferrari is indeed being put up for sale – by RM Auctions, at its Monterey sale on 15-16 August 2014. With a meticulously researched and well-known provenance from new, with – of course – an original, matching-numbers engine, we wait with baited breath to see what this crème de la crème (de la crème) Ferrari will achieve on the world auction stage.

Photos: Darin Schnabel © 2014 courtesy RM Auctions

This article is part of the 'Timeless Classics' feature series that is presented and supported by our friends at RM Auctions.