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Hot Rod

Chevrolet 4400 Chassis Cab Hot Rod Box Van Spar Levensmiddelen | photoshop chop by Sebastian Motsch (2019)

Chevrolet 4400 Chassis Cab | Hot Rod Concept

Chevrolet 4400 Chassis Cab | Hot Rod Concept

Sometimes a “quickie lunchbreak photoshop chop” is abandoned because of a small glitch that can’t be fixed at the time. In this case, I forgot the picture on my hard drive for a couple of years. With years more experience now, the then-unfixable glitch was remedied in a matter of not even 15 minutes and the chop finished.

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Jaguar XJ-S V12 Hot Rod | photoshop chop by Sebastian Motsch (2019)

Jaguar XJ-S Notchback Hot Rod

Jaguar XJ-S Notchback Hot Rod

Building the Hasegawa Jaguar XJ-S kit in 1:24 scale, I noticed that it is virtually impossible to lower the car properly without modifying the wheel arches. Bolt-on overfender are always an option, but it didn’t feel right with the lines of this classy coupé. Instead of cutting up the body of the plastic model, I put it back into the box and switched to Adobe Photoshop. After many failed attempts to relocate the wheel arches, I decided to hotrod the sled just for fun. This is entirely fictional for now, but could be done in reality. XJ-S prices are low and it isn’t exactly a rare car nobody dares to cut apart and weld back together in a different way.

The frame was extended to get the proportions right and to make it less butt-heavy than the stock design, I reshaped the C-pillars. Inspiration for this mod came, believe it or not, from the foxbody Mustang notchback. I think it improves the proportions of the car, but at the same time takes away one of the design quirks that make the XJ-S so unique and instantly recognizable. In order to keep with the classic hot rod theme, I didn’t use the Jaguar V12, but added four cylinders to a Ford V8 just for the heck of it. Open headers should provide an adequate soundtrack to match the visual impact.

Jaguar XJ-S V12 Hot Rod | photoshop chop by Sebastian Motsch (2019)

Citroen DS 21 Pallas La Déesse Dragster with Trailer | photoshop chop by Sebastian Motsch (2018)

Citroën DS 21 Pallas | La Déesse Dragster

Hot Rod Magazine Drag Week is an event where street/strip cars are driven 1.000+ miles on public roads during a trip that includes four dragstrips and five races in five days. The coverage of the various drag week cars I have seen over the last years inspired me to create a dragster that would be a lot of fun to take there, race it and enjoy the road trip. It is based on a Citroën DS 21 Pallas, which has been converted to a tube chassis and equipped with a V8 engine and a solid rear axle. There is no exact specification yet, so you can dream about whichever engine and transmission combo you’d love to drop into this chassis. I kept the look of the Citroen DS classic, with period-correct wheels, rollcage design and graphics. The scallops are just simple lines without fill color, to keep the somewhat subdued appearance and match the factory tinted windows. The fenders are obviously radiused, as the builders would have done back in the 1970’s.

Citroen DS 21 Pallas La Déesse Dragster | photoshop chop by Sebastian Motsch (2018)

Because the participants are only allowed to use the tools they carry with them on the road trip, most people utilize a trailer to have more room for spares, generators and power tools. Some even carry welders. Instead of renting a U-Haul, I created a matching trailer. Gotta keep the style consistent, right? All the sponsor Stickers go on the trailer, to keep the car looking as clean and uncluttered as possible. Please feel free to give feedback, I appreciate all comments.

Citroen DS 21 Pallas La Déesse Dragster with Trailer | photoshop chop by Sebastian Motsch (2018)

Click here to see the original picture.

Lada Niva VAZ 21213 V8 Hot Rod | photoshop chop by Sebastian Motsch (2018)

Lada Niva VAZ 21213 V8 Hot Rod

When the Lada Niva (aka VAZ 21213) was launched in 1976, the iron curtain was not even half way through its existence. It would take another 13 years until the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, triggering the demise of the iron curtain. Now in 2018, 29 years later, this particular vehicle is still in production. Apart from using your new Niva (aka Taiga, aka 4×4) in the woods for hunting or similar activities it was intended to be great at, you could convert it to a hotrod. Yes, a hotrod. Find an old frame, throw all the good old performance parts at it along with a nice V8 engine and enjoy the balmy new car smell inhale cheap plastic fumes in your brand new, top-chopped cabin. I sincerely hope that someone builds this, or sends me pictures if such a beautiful thing contraption already exists. Just imagine rocking up in this hot rod at your local cars and coffee. Every other vehicle present would be invisible instantly.

Lada Niva VAZ 21213 V8 Hot Rod | photoshop chop by Sebastian Motsch (2018)

Click here to see the original picture.

 

International Harvester D-300 Tow Truck Hot Rod | photoshop chop by Sebastian Motsch (2018)

International Harvester D-300 Tow Truck | Tugboat Annie

Ever since I saw the first streamliner from the era between the wars, I was in love with the great shapes and details. Coachbilders created stunning works of art back then and the owners took pride in owning these rigs. This International Harvester D-300 has been converted into a tow truck with a custom-built streamline aluminum body by a shop in Sleepy Eye, Minnesota. Apparently the shop was called Ebenhoh Custom Truck Body, according to The Old Motor. Apart from lowering the truck and adding larger diameter wheels with lower profile tires, I didn’t change anything on Tugboat Annie. But if you let your imagination run wild, you might think about a hot rod motor under the cab.

R&R Vacuumcraft made a 1/25 scale resin kit, which unfortunately is out of production. If I can find one somewhere, I will build a scale model of the lowered truck.

International Harvester D-300 Tow Truck Hot Rod | photoshop chop by Sebastian Motsch (2018)

Click here to see the original picture.

SAAB 9000 Hot Rod Concept | photoshop chop by Sebastian Motsch (2017)

SAAB 9000 Høt Rød Cøncept

A good friend of mine recently bought a SAAB 9000 which didn’t look bad at first sight, but upon closer inspection, showed many signs of advanced wear and tear. Nothing serious, but the little things that need to be fixed add up quickly. So I fired up my creativity and came up with a solution that is neither simple nor quick to achieve – but would be stunning and a head-turner. Let me present: the SAAB 9000 Høt Rød Cøncept. Proudly sponsored by the long-defunct ABA Swedish Airlines. 😉

SAAB 9000 Hot Rod Concept | photoshop chop by Sebastian Motsch (2017)

 

Land Rover Santana Series IIa Hot Rod Bomberos Linares | photoshop chop by Sebastian Motsch (2014)

Land Rover Santana Series IIa Hot Rod

Creating a photoshop chop is easy, provided you have the tools, dedication and patience to do it properly. Creating a picture that stops people in their tracks because “it looks so real” is an entirely different story – and exactly what I aim for with my chops. Thinking about the possibility of building the project in reality is very important. Sometimes this is extremely complicated and prohibitively expensive – and sometimes it should be the proverbial piece of cake. This time around it’s the latter, because of the Land Rovers’ simple architecture, based on a ladder frame, and the straight panels. Y aquí – el Hot Rod des Bomberos de Linares. Why Linares? That’s easy to answer: because the Santana Series IIa in the picture I found is red and it has been built there. Or to use the phrase a friend coined many years ago: you can hot rod everything!

Land Rover Santana Series IIa Hot Rod Bomberos Linares | photoshop chop by Sebastian Motsch (2014)

Bugatti Type 51 Hot Rod | photoshop chop by Sebastian Motsch (2013)

Bugatti Type 51 Hot Rod

A friend of mine always says that “you can hotrod everything”. He definitely has a point there, even though many people might scream SACRILEGE in this case. Yes, you could do this to a vintage Bugatti Type 51 racecar – but it wouldn’t really make sense in reality. But hey, a picture is made up from pixels. Some of those pixels have just been altered and tweaked a little.

Disclaimer: No actual car has been harmed during the creation of this picture. 😉

Bugatti Type 51 Hot Rod | photoshop chop by Sebastian Motsch (2013)

 

Fuji Cabin Hot Rod | photoshop chop by Sebastian Motsch (2013)

1955 Fuji Cabin Hot Rod

With the recent closing of Bruce Weiners’ Microcar Museum, many pictures of before unseen (micro)cars have been posted on various websites. I found a picture of the 1955 Fuji Cabin online and spontaneously thought its’ overall shape just begs for being hot-rodded! It took many modifications, though – and might be next to impossible to realize in 1:1 scale. But hey, that’s part of the fun, isn’t it? I imagine it to be powered by a Honda S800 four cylinder engine, mounted in the traditional north-south configuration with rear wheel drive. The frame would quite possibly need to be custom made. Axles and other bits and pieces could either come from the same Honda or one of those tiny British roadsters of the sixties…

Fuji Cabin Hot Rod | photoshop chop by Sebastian Motsch (2013)

Marmon HCM V8 Hot Rod | photoshop chop by Sebastian Motsch (2012)

Marmon HCM V8 Hot Rod

Last winter I found a picture of the Marmon HCM V12. In my opinion it looks rather bland and isn’t really well proportioned. But you can hot rod everything, can’t you? ;-)

I created a new picture with all the body parts on several layers. After finding some wheels that would fit the style I was looking for, I decided on the wheelbase. It is slightly longer compared to the original car and looks even longer, because I pushed the wheels out to the corners of the vehicle. Substantial lowering just had to be done for a proper stance. The roof was also chopped a little bit. I tried to keep the simple lines of the original body and just enhanced them. The color is the same as the donor cars’. I think the color is rather unique for a Hot Rod. And as always: some may like it, some may hate it. It’s just a matter of taste.

Marmon HCM V8 Hot Rod | photoshop chop by Sebastian Motsch (2012)

 

Citroen 2CV Hotrod V8 | photoshop chop by Sebastian Motsch (2011)

Citroën 2CV V8 Hot Rod Woodie

Ever since attending the Citroën 2CV meeting in Lit-et-Mixe (France) in May 2009 and seeing all the fantastic conversions, I created a unique 2CV myself. Voilá… after only two years playing with it in Photoshop: I’m proud to present my V8 powered 2CV – classic Hot Rod style. In order to break up the dull grey paintjob, I added wood panels and a bit of rust. Would I drive this thing in real life? You bet!

Citroen 2CV Hotrod V8 | photoshop chop by Sebastian Motsch (2011)

GMC T-40 Hot Rod | photoshop chop by Sebastian Motsch (2010)

GMC T-40 Hot Rod

Just for fun I opted to chop a historic black and white picture of a GMC T-40 truck. Old school hot rodding!

GMC T-40 Hot Rod | photoshop chop by Sebastian Motsch (2010)