Speeed You probably recognize James Pumphrey as the former face of Donut Media and the king of herspers/mo powah. I'll be honest, I kind of found his Donut affected persona to be a bit on the edge of insufferable, despite how entertaining it may have been. Ever since he struck out on his own and started his Speeed channel, however, I find the "new" James to be infinitely more adult, warm, friendly, and dare I say responsible? He's one of those Volkswagen fanatics, and his recently "finished" MK3 Golf five-door named Normie is a pretty refreshing look at what goes into building a cool car. It goes against everything the YouTube algorithm teaches us, because it's not a Lamborghini, it's not a big-power turbo car, and it's not some wild big-dollar thing. He bought it for $1,500, for crepe's sake. Speeed The most important thing about this build, however, is that James actually finished it. He went through the trouble of actually finishing his projects. That's more than you or I could do on our best days, so I have to give him some credit where it's due. This is a seriously cool car that pretty much anybody could build, and I'd be willing to bet he's got less than your average 5-year-old crossover invested in it. That's why we're taking it upon ourselves to highlight some of our favorite underrated builders in a new series we're calling Wrenchers You Should Know. Not only do some of these people deserve way more views than they're getting, but they're typically the Do It Yourselfer type, rather than the big corporate-sponsored four-figure-horsepower slop that's dominating your feeds. In each installment we'll introduce you to a cool new builder, talk about some of their work, and give you a few reasons why you should be watching their progress. Here we go, up to Speeed! Good to the last bolt Speeed I think without even thinking about it, this project is the one that inspired this series when I first wrote about it last July, but here we are in the 8th installment, and I'm finally getting around to writing about it. I am not a Volkswagen guy (despite daily driving an Audi and being a Porsche fanatic), and I'm not much for polished wheels and silver paint, but this project is philosophically inspirational. It's a simple do-it-yourself kind of build, and despite some help from more experienced friends and mechanics, it could all have been accomplished without really fabricating anything. Most mechanically inclined enthusiasts could have built a similar car in their driveway on jackstands. In the end, this car got a junkyard engine swap, a set of coilovers, some cool bumpers, a bumpin' (but not overkill) stereo system, a cool set of wheels, a color pop interior, minor bodywork, and fresh paint. It's not that daunting a task if you take your time and eat the elephant one bite at a time. This car is the antithesis of what most of the Social Media dorks will tell you appeals to the algorithm. Building cars for the algorithm is ruining car culture. Build cars for yourself. Build cars with your buddies. The whole point is to get out and be social, to share your passions and hobbies with other human beings in real life, to get out and drive, not to build for clout on Instagram. It's just that simple, and I think James has figured it out. I will say this, however, to James and the gathered masses, the fear mongering over stacking two wheel spacers on one wheel is overblown. I've done it and it's probably fine if you check your lugnut torque now and then. It's about more than just cars Speeed One of the things I love about Speeed is that it's more than just car stuff. James is out to improve his own life, and he's bringing us all along for the ride. He's a car guy, dyed in the wool, so that comes with the territory, but he's also working on getting fit, being a better part of his community, and helping improve the internet as well. He'll take on viral challenges to see what actually improves his life and reports on it pretty genuinely. He'll provide some advice about home decor, fashion, or health just as easily as he does car stuff. Just as you don't need to spend a bunch of money to get your car in order, you also don't need to fall for the hype of getting superhero movie swole. Maybe you want to start getting into cycling. Do you need to go out and buy yourself a brand new carbon fiber frame thing for several thousand dollars? Last year, they investigated the possibility of turning a cheap Walmart bike into a serious ride. One of my favorite videos the Speeed team put out last year involved a test of camping gear through the decades. I love hiking, camping, and being in the great outdoors, but all my gear is old. Maybe I should upgrade. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Us6AVVkx_8] You should go watch Speeed for the car content, but you should stick around to watch James just kinda try some stuff out. Do you want to learn about what it's like to buy and trade memecoins full time for a week? Do you want to learn how to lose some weight? Do you want to have a great summer? It's all there. If you have suggestions for some lesser known builders on social media, please feel free to drop them in the comments section as well. I'm always on the lookout for folks out there doing cool stuff. It doesn't have to be just cars, either. While I'm well apprised of the car and motorcycles building scenes, I'd love to get deep into the nitty gritty of some more niche topics. Do you follow some cool folks building snowmobiles, jet skis, or DIY fighter jets or something? I want to know about it. And yes, you're welcome to do some self promotion in the comments as well. Let everyone know where they can follow your build and what you're up to. If it's unique or good, we'll feature it on the blogs.
