Blokes in sheds

Top Gear's got form building stuff in sheds - stretch limos, S-Class cottages, police cars, caravan airships, convertible people carriers, amphibians, electric cars, snow ploughs, trains...

But we do rather enjoy looking at the stuff you lot are nailing together. What follows is a mere taste of the submissions you've made to editor@topgear.com - some of them sublime, most of them ridiculous, all built in sheds.

We're always on the lookout for the amazing cars you've put together with your own, callused hands, so do keep sending ‘em in. Don't forget to include pics and details. Keep those spanners twirling, TopGear.commers.

As the Wörthersee GTI Treffen continually demonstrates, when VW Golfs get modified, they tend to get closer to the ground, not further away from it.

Which is why we rather liked this MkV Golf - or Rabbit, as the Americans insist - built by Marcus Douthitt, which has been made slightly more... usable.

Are you a bloke in a shed building a mad car? Email editor@topgear.com and tell us what you're creating.

The oversized 29-inch tyres needed some wheelarch cuttery to fit, and the control arms have been braced. There's also been some suspension upgrades, and a Chuck Norris-spec continental kit on the back.

Its front-wheel driveyness might make it border on the Polo Dune, but there's something peculiarly wonderful about this. And a supercharger in the pipeline, which we can only encourage.

Well played, sir. Well played.

Thanks to VWVortex

Are you a bloke in a shed building a mad car? Email editor@topgear.com and tell us what you're creating.

You need massive, heavy sex-parts and a fairly well-stocked bank account to restore a knackered old classic car at the best of times, but this... This is mental.

It's a 1957 Volkswagen Samba Deluxe found underwater in a Norweigan fjord in 2003 following a tip-off from the chap that put it there in 1973 (it was rolled into the water when its gearbox broke).

Morten Lunt - said mentalist - sent down a mini ROV sub, spotted it 15 meters deep, figured its woes would probably buff out, then hired a crane to pull it out.

Are you a bloke in a shed building a mad car? Email editor@topgear.com and tell us what you're creating.

Unbelievably, just a year after the rescue mission in 2009, he'd put it back together enough for it to drive. Apparently, the water was so cold it helped preserve the steel sheet metal. Things like the gearbox and differential didn't fare so well, though - they actually dissolved during its 36-year swim.

Work continues In Morten's shed. We salute you, brave knight.

Are you a bloke in a shed building a mad car? Email editor@topgear.com and tell us what you're creating.

If you're a regular TopGear.commer, you'll have noticed that we recently went to Pikes Peak International Hillclimb. And that we may have got a little bit excited when we saw this - Cody Loveland's insanely bewinged Acura NSX, which made it up the hill in a respectable 11:39.

The concept for it was dreamed up by Cody, and his pal Matthew Noble, in a hot tub. The scheme was to remove most of the body, then replace it with carbon fibre and MASSIVE GREAT BIG SPOILERS.

Are you a bloke in a shed building a mad car? Email editor@topgear.com and tell us what you're creating.

Cody's rear wing was creating so much downforce that the front wheels couldn't find traction. So did he make it smaller? Hell no - more is more, so some canards were added up front.

Despite the car crashing out during practice, the team managed to totally rebuild it within 12 hours then finish second in class.

This is blokes in sheds at its most mental. And we like it.

Watch it here

Are you a bloke in a shed building a mad car? Email editor@topgear.com and tell us what you're creating.

Wait, what? A rebuilt Ford Mustang WITHOUT a tuned V8? Yep, this little chap's got a 2.3-litre four-cylinder turbo under the bonnet, on long-term loan from a Ford Merkur (Sierra, to us Brits)....

Are you a bloke in a shed building a mad car? Email editor@topgear.com and tell us what you're creating.

Its owner, Beau Miklethun, rolled in a lot of other work with the brilliantly obtuse engine swap - it's now got disc brakes up front, lowered suspension, a hidden sound system and the bodyshell's been purged of rust.

Watch it being confusing here

And thanks to Build Threads for the heads up

Are you a bloke in a shed building a mad car? Email editor@topgear.com and tell us what you're creating.

Pre-1949 three-window Ford Coupes, Model Ts, Willys two-doors - all your pretty standard hot-rod fodder. A Land Rover, though, is not.

Built on a 1960 Rover P4 chassis, this has got original front suspension, a narrowed Discovery back axle, and a 3.9-litre Rover V8 running on LPG.

Are you a bloke in a shed building a mad car? Email editor@topgear.com and tell us what you're creating.

But the best bit is the bodywork. According to its builder, Steve Dyer, it's one of the first Landies ever made.

For this we salute you.

Watch it doing burnouts here

Are you a bloke in a shed building a mad car? Email editor@topgear.com and tell us what you're creating.