Detroit auto shop turns classic Caprices into high-powered donk cars - To be considered a donk, a car must be a customized 1971 to 1976 Chevrolet Impala or Caprice. - Brandon Pypkowski likes to load his donk creations up with aftermarket parts and engines that deliver lots of horsepower. Brandon Pypkowski knows not everyone likes donks, but he’s partial to these particular cars. That’s why the Detroit man builds them at his garage, Well Connected Customs, on Gratiot Avenue, north of downtown near the Faygo plant. On a recent afternoon as he sat near a few of his creations, Pypkowski attributed any dislike of the big-wheeled car's style to a misunderstanding. Donks aren’t just any cars with big wheels, he said. They’re specifically customized 1971-1976 model year Chevrolet Caprices and Impalas. They were full-sized, affordable family cars in their day, and lots of people have told Pypkowski, 39, they remember their families had them growing up. But now, Pypkowski builds them to stand out. “They’re not hot rods, but we turn them into hot rods. They have a lot of characteristics of Chevelles, your Camaros, your Corvettes, as far as suspension and engine goes, but they have the ride of a Cadillac,” he said. “You see a big old car like this that somebody’s grandma would drive to the grocery store and pick up her groceries, but it’s got a 1,200-horsepower motor and it don’t look like it.” A few cars come to Pypkowski in good enough condition that they will keep a lot of what they had originally, with key upgrades. Others will be almost completely remade. Pypkowski works with his customers to develop a plan for what the build will become. Then the work gets underway. “I build a cart and take the frame from under the car