Crucible Coachworks Builds Ep. 1

Drift Ghia: Episode 27

Building the Turbo Manifoldfrom Scratch
Crucible Coachworks continues to take their dedicated track drift car to the next level. Ryan and Tony pull out the engine, do some 3D printing, and mock up the new header layout.

Drift Ghia: Episode 26

Rockwood is Put to the Test
Ryan and Tony put the new Rockwood MIG 160 and Rockwood Plasma-Cut 40 to the test as the build continues. Crucible Coachworks continues to work on the hood and punch in louvers.

Drift Ghia: Episode 25

Cutting Up the Hood
Crucible Coachworks adds hood pins and fabricates louvers for the hood from scratch. How do YOU think they should layout the louvers?

Drift Ghia: Episode 24

Building a Track Monster!
Ryan of Crucible Coachworks first works on replacing the shift knob. Then he tackles attaching the steel flares to the car. You’ll want to see his latest idea...

Drift Ghia: Episode 23

Turning a Classic into anOverbuilt Drift Car!
This week Crucible Coachworks tackles the fuel cell which includes fabricating mounts. Ryan also mounts the driver’s seat into the car.

Drift Ghia: Episode 22

Cutting Up the Drift Carto Make Custom Doors
Ryan from Crucible Coachworks continues modifying the Karmann Ghia body that’s draped over a 944 Porsche chassis by extending door, adding some hinges, and making a door catch.

Drift Ghia: Episode 21

Turning a Classic into a Purpose Built Drift Car
This week, Ryan from Crucible Coachworks focuses in on the center tunnel of the Karmann Ghia Drift Car build. It all starts with a tear down.

Drift Ghia: Episode 20

Fabricating a Custom RearBash Bar with an Integrated Brake Light
From metal shaping to structural fab, this is what building a car from scratch really looks like. No bolt-on kits. No shortcuts.

Drift Ghia: Episode 19

Cooling the Rear-MountRadiator Setup
Progress continues as the Crucible Coachworks team designs custom quarter panel air scoops to help feed fresh air to the rear-mounted radiator. Checkout the Karmann Ghia drift car progress.

Drift Ghia: Episode 18

Will the Rear-MountedRadiator Work?
It’s time for Ryan and Tony to tackle one of the biggest challenges of the Karmann Ghia drift build: airflow. Custom vents will need to be created to get air to the rear-mounted radiator. Can they do it?

Drift Ghia: Episode 17

Building a Rear Mounted Radiator
The Crucible Coachworks team uses cutting-edge 3D scanning technology to completely design the rear-mounted radiator setup on the drift Karmann Ghia.

Drift Ghia: Episode 16

Designing a New Cagefrom the Ground Up
You asked for it, now Crucible Coachworks delivers!In this episode, Ryan and Tony fabricate a fully DIY cage: bending, coping, tacking, and fitting everything from scratch.

Drift Ghia: Episode 15

Making an “RWB”...Out of Steel!
This week Ryan of Crucible Coachworks builds the passenger side flares to match what’s already on the driver side. There’s no kit. It’s all steel. It’s all custom. Is it a good idea?

Drift Ghia: Episode 14

Air Intake System Fabrication
In this episode Ryan and Tony of Crucible Coachworks work on the air intake system of the Drift Ghia. It’s time to fabricate an air box and relocate the 944 fuel cell.

Drift Ghia: Episode 13

Building a Bash Bar
The Karmann Ghia traditionally has an impact bumper that the Crucible team will mimic with the bash bar. Ryan and Tony get to work to tie everything together.

Drift Ghia: Episode 12

RWB Costs Too Much, So I Built My Own!
Ryan Krause of Crucible Coachworks brings the Drift Ghia one step closer to completion by crafting a custom front spoiler that perfectly complements the car’s bold, aggressive styling.

Drift Ghia: Episode 11

Rowdy Looks + Rowdy Power
This week Crucible Coachworks continues on project Drift Ghia by mounting the turbo and intercooler. Watch now!

Drift Ghia: Episode 10

Defining an Aggressive Front
Ryan Krause of Crucible Coachworks stays true to the Karmann Ghia front end and sketches out an aggressive grille. Let’s go step-by-step from sketch to fabrication.

Drift Ghia: Episode 9

Fabricating Rear Flares
To make the Porsche 944 with a Karmann Ghia body even rowdier, Ryan Krause of Crucible Coachworks is fabricating the rear flares. Ryan uses the shrinker/stretcher, English wheel and planishing hammer as his main tools.

Drift Ghia: Episode 8

Making a Widebody Ghia
Ryan Krause of Crucible Coachworks builds upon the flare wireframing from last week. It's time to tackle the front driver's side flare and begin the steel hand-formed metal work. Let's get to metal shaping.

Drift Ghia: Episode 7

Making Flares from Scratch
It is officially time to begin flaring the Drift Ghia! Crucible Coachworks uses a ton of Eastwood products to wireframe and create handform steel flares from scratch. Want a sneak peek of Eastwood’s R&D Department?

Drift Ghia: Episode 6

Attaching the Body
Next up on our Ghia Drift Car build is attaching the body which also means getting the doors in place. But before all of that, Tony and Ryan get the filthy chasis and body cleaned up.

Drift Ghia: Episode 5

Rollcage Removal!
Let’s face it, the 944 rollcage does not fit the Karmann Ghia body. In this episode, Crucible Coachworks figures out how to correctly fit the Ghia body onto the drift car chassis. Time to cut the cage, remove the fuel cell, and...

Drift Ghia: Episode 4

It’s Engine Swap Time.
In this episode Crucible Coachworks swaps this 07K Inline-5 Volkswagen engine into the Porsche 944 drift car that’s going to be bodied as a Karmann Ghia. Does it fit under the hood? Watch to find out.

Drift Ghia: Episode 3

Continuing Body Work& Revealing the Engine!
Tony and Ryan use the Eastwood Versa Cut 60 Plasma Cutter to roughly cut the Ghia body to get it fitting on the Porsche. A lot needs to be done with the race car chassis to make it a solid drift chassis... Let’s get started.

Drift Ghia: Episode 2

DRIFT GHIA! Body Swap onto Porsche Race Car!
Ryan and Tony of Crucible Coachworks are building a rowdy drift car based on a Porsche 944 track car and slapping a carbon Ghia body on top of it. Originally built for high speed racing, the Crucible team will be putting in a ton of work to turn it into a monster drift car. First on the list is to figure out how to drape the Ghia body on the Porsche chassis.

Drift Ghia: Episode 1

WILD Ghia Drift Car with Porsche 944 Race Chassis!
Ryan and Tony take a step back from Project Jigsaw to introduce their new project, the 944 - Ghia drift car! In this episode they go over the current state of the car and plans to make it a track weapon.