2006 Scion xB Street Rod Build

So, hello all. It's been a little bit since my last post and life just kept happening. To start off, I've had this idea that I stole from a rendering that came up on a forum somewhere. It turns out that it's on the Google as well. So I have stored it away and been thinking about it for a while now, and it is time to turn an idea into reality. I bought this 2006 Scion xB a couple of years ago with the intension of this project. This thing had hit a curb in it's previous life and ended up with a leaky head gasket, which meant it was gonna be a cheap purchase (for me it was). I ended up paying $500 for it, running and driving (with the head gasket issue). 2020-10-18_08-27-36 by Jason James, on Flickr

I stashed this guy behind the building ,where I work, for a year or two. And once the fabulous gift from China arrived, our shop slowed down. This meant it's time to start playing. I yanked the motor and transmission outright away! Sold it, and now I'm in it for half. So......there are some people out there that will say" No..you shoulda kept it!". And here is where things are gonna get a little sideways. While these have a sort of cult following, it's just not my style. After messing with this thing, I get it. They are practicle, some what fun to drive, but they aren't FAST. And lets face it, project cars are not "practicle". For those who are going to want to argue that, please hold that and allow me to finish.

I found this rendering and I gotta say,......it spoke to me. Some of you guys may have seen this and some mit may be the first time. My intensions are to chop, cut, mold, and whittle this xB into this! Screenshot_2018-06-10-15-37-47 by Jason James, on Flickr

While the rendering has the rear tires illustrated on the outside, my plans are to have them tucked within the quarter panels. Also this shows the roof being chopped, that is not going to happen. I want to keep all of the creature comforts that this came with, A/C, heater, power windows, and the rear hatch to be functional so chopping the top isn't going to happen. That is whole mess that I don't want to get into. I have searched the Google looking for someone else project like this and I found a couple, one was a body work/stereo guy with air bags and a V8. The other one was a car show guy, stock appearing and a V8. But in researching them neither one told what was involved in this whole ordeal. Now I'm a drag racer not really the car show guy. While I appreciate those and the effort the other guy put into their cars, neither one is my style. So..........I'm gonna take a stab at it and try to make it what I like. This is going to be a long build process so stay tuned if you're intrigued.

First order of business is the front end has got to go. By being a drag racer its's all about power to weight. Took this by the truck stop as I was towing it home and after 2 trips I found out the the xB weighs 2000 lbs, no motor no transmission. After weighing everything as I removed it, so far I've taken 500 lbs off this guy. Next time I work on it I will be removing unnecessary stuff from the back end. 20201018_162355 by Jason James, on Flickr

I've never come across that rendering before, but I'm glad you're using as inspiration to bring that to life.  I think the paint choice will help meld everything together.

Oh my!

This is gonna be cool.

I'd like to see it chopped but that can be accomplished just as easily later if you change your mind

I am 100% in support of this plan!

My old '06 xB did not look like this. I'm following.

Cool! Are you really going with a flathead like the rendering?

Well no flathead stuff for me. Some may say it's played out and others it's an instant eye roll, but I'm an LS guy. I like these motors and they are fairly cheap and plentiful. They also don't take much to make a whole lot of power. So extremely light wieght car and even moderate power makes for outrunning your chassis certification a very real concern.

Blacksmith said:

Well no flathead stuff for me. Some may say it's played out and others it's an instant eye roll, but I'm an LS guy. I like these motors and they are fairly cheap and plentiful. They also don't take much to make a whole lot of power. So extremely light wieght car and even moderate power makes for outrunning your chassis certification a very real concern.

That's your choice, and I have never thought they were played out. I think there are a lot of backdating dress-up stuff for the LS platform that can make it look nice. There are some 409 valve covers that might be just the ticket for this deal.

Cool concept.

Reminds me of some other things I thought were cool amalgamations:

I believe I've seen all of these at one time or another. All of these are pretty ratty though, my intention is to have this a little more refined.

I've been thinking about this for quite a while now. I can see just about everything in my mind. I can see the front frame sections, the cage inside, the rear suspension, etc. But I can't see the front suspension and the standing grill, I can see everything but those 2 things. While a straight front axle would be roughly the easiest, I can't stand driving Jeeps and 3/4 4x4 trucks at work. I want to drive the thing all over and having control arms makes more since and definitely more driver friendly.

Man, life just won't leave me alone right now. Things have been a struggle around here lately but I've finally found a couple of hours to get things moving along. I drilled out some spot welds along the strut towers to remove some of the excess sheet metal. This little bit of progress netted me another 12 lbs. Which brings my running total to 804 lbs that have been taken off this guy. I'd still like to get another 200 lbs off but I'm going to have to get creative and really picky. There is still all of the factory seat belts, the passenger airbag, radio, and all of the sound deadening underthe carpet. I don't think all of that will come close to the 200 lb mark but every little bit helps. Also crammed some old tires under the back and roughly measured the distance between the wheels. Huge score for me, because the axle that was out of a previous build is 2.5" narrower than my measurement. Today was a win and I'll take'em any way I can get'em!

Been chipping away at this project and I like how this has come out so far. It's been slow but I like it. I've gone throught all of the tubing that I previously bought and it's time for more. But I have the floor bar mostly done, still needs a few more small bars in the corners. 

I gutted the dash and removed all of the unnecessary bits. Main dash support structure, passenger side air bag, steering column, etc. I'm going to keep the main pieces of the dash so that it still looks like the scion interior just won't be much behind it. This cage is tucked way up in the headliner and fits super tight everywhere. A couple more sticks of tubing and the main section of the cage will be done. Also fabbed up some 4 link brackets which really sucked drilling. This yielded me tons of adjustability for cheap, including the drill that I burned up doing this, I'm still way ahead. The welding came out ok, not quite stacked dimes but it should hold. But for now this thing keeps the mind going with fresh ideas and motivation.

20210831_182518 by Jason James, on Flickr20210912_162307 by Jason James, on Flickr20210912_162332 by Jason James, on Flickr20210831_182518 by Jason James, on FlickrScreenshot_20210822-194037_Gallery by Jason James, on FlickrResized_20210120_130542 by Jason James, on Flickr20210101_163048 by Jason James, on Flickr20210531_175842 by Jason James, on Flickr

20210912_162402 by Jason James, on Flickr

You have no idea how many times I've looked at my wife's xB and thought about something like this. Now I'll know......keep it up, this will be fun.

Nice!

Looks cool!  Glad to see an update.

Suuuper cool. As a fellow xb owner, I'll be watching!

If you put a tractor grille on something that rad, I will berkeleying dome you. 

Real life execution of Thom Taylor's Trucksters from ROD & Custom.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.motortrend.com/features/freak-show-friday-truck-insanity/amp

This is the "thing I always wanted to see built that I never heard of until now".  Great project.

Many years ago I helped a guy I worked with at a junkyard did a similar build with a geo storm wagon on an S10 frame. Ever since I've been eyeing up everything looking for the next weird Idea I didn't know I needed.

Daily Turismo just featured a MINI that had been given similar treatment - with a flathead Ford.

https://dailyturismo.com/flathead-v8-rwd-wtf-2003-mini-cooper/

My oh my, it's been forever it seems since I've been here. So much has changed for me and the wife. New jobs for both of us, new house (new to us), more things to do..........just doesn't stop. BUT!!!..........car work doesn't stop. Slows down, but doesn't stop.

Slowly, I've been plugging away at this project. Cage work is probably about half way done. since these pics, I've got the front section of the bar welded in and painted on the places where I won't be able to get to once everything is finally welded in. The side bars are in and welded with swing outs. However they don't swing out technically, but they can be removed for getting in and out easier. A rough cut in the rear floor section was made for working easier, final cuts to come later. This project is going to take quite a while to complete. I have also taken the motor apart, changed the camshaft, gapped the ring, and mostly reassembled it back together. Once the cage and rear frame structure is complete, the old factory frame rails can be cut out and 4 link bars can be made. I knew this was going to be quite a big project but all the planning to take into consideration when welding is needed can make your brain hurt. "I can't do this until this is finished. But I can't do that until this is done. None of this can be welded until I do that!" so much planning. But I love it!

Cage work by Jason James, on Flickr

Cage work by Jason James, on Flickr

Cage work by Jason James, on Flickr

Cage work by Jason James, on Flickr

In for this, love it!

What engine/transmission/rear end combo are you using (sorry if I missed it earlier in the thread)? I'm not schooled in LS engines enough to be able to tell from sight...