2014 Detroit Autorama - Hot Rod's at Their Best #3     Many times, I'll take bunches of pictures of hot rods I like at a car show. Too many times, I don't post those pictures cause I never interviewed the owner. It's best for me, and hopefully you the reader to see AND hear why, "My Ride is Me" but if should I hold back the pictures? How many visitors only look at the pictures anyway??   The Other Best Hot Rods from Detroit Best Hot Rod #1 -  Nostalgia 1932 Ford Roadster Best Hot Rod #2 - 1930 Ford Model A Best Hot Rod #4 - Big Block 1947 International Pickup Best Hot Rod #5 - Dual Hemi 1956 Ford F100   Want to see more great hot rods? Check out the Hot Rods Page at MyRideisMe.com     Here's a 1929 Model A with a blown Hemi shown proudly in the UP-stairs car show at Detroit Autorama. This hot rod's clearly one of my favorites... I picked it as a Best Hot Rod for a story I did at Power and Performance News. Check it out!    I'd...

2014 Detroit Autorama - Hot Rod's at Their Best #2     Like I said in the 1932 Ford "Perfect Deuce Hot Rod" story, many times, I'll take bunches of pictures of hot rods I like at a car show. Too many times, I don't post those pictures cause I never interviewed the owner. (I did a little this time!) It's best for me, and hopefully you the reader to see AND hear why, "My Ride is Me" but if should I hold back the pictures? How many visitors only look at the pictures anyway??   The Other Best Hot Rods from Detroit Best Hot Rod #1 -  Nostalgia 1932 Ford Roadster Best Hot Rod #3 - Blown Hemi 1929 Model A Best Hot Rod #4 - Big Block 1947 International Pickup Best Hot Rod #5 - Dual Hemi 1956 Ford F100   Want to see more great hot rods? Check out the Hot Rods Page at MyRideisMe.com   So here's another fantastically done Model A hot rod coupe from Dave Debaar. Dave told me this is one good thing to come out of long winters! He said, "When the...

Get $2500 from Gumout for your Hot Rod Project   Are you working on a hot rod project? Maybe your project is stalled? Is it taking too long (that's me!) or you haven't even started yet? Don't worry! Make it fun, and take advantage of Gumout's offer to help out with $2500!   To inspire or maybe just give ya the friendly kick in the pants you need to get started, I wanted to tell a couple stories about successful hot rod projects and one slick Chevy truck getting dropped and bagged in one day.   First look above... you see Victor, closest to his home built Model A hot rod coupe, standing with Jim and Chris. I know Vic's a hard worker and talented building just about anything he sets out to make for himself or his Throttle Kings Car Club buddies. I met Vic when his hot rod was just getting started:     Vic enjoyed this hot rod coupe as much as anyone could with multiple trips to Viva Las Vegas Car Show and LA Roadster Show visits. Maybe that's the trick to long term project...

Artist's Eye on a Model A Hot Rod   Which do you prefer? The real thing or Haropcat's drawing? Check out the "real thing" in the feature story I did on Voodoo Larry's Voodoo Psychosis! from the Detroit Autorama.     The engine shown was featured as a "Top 11 Hot Rod Engines of Detroit" and it was very cool to meet Larry down in the basement of the Detroit Autorama.   Check out more of Harpocat's cool drawings in his garage at MyRideisMe.com. Then, get your...

Meet Uncle Jed: A Robert Killian creation aimed to run 200-plus mph Story by Ben Mozart Photographs by our friends at Moore Good Ink Now here's something you don't see every day! You've seen mash-ups of a pro-touring Mercury Comet, but this one's the ultimate combination of hot rod style and pro-style motivation. Robert Killian, you out did yourself! Robert Killian hails from Canton, Georgia. He’s been building hot rods for most his adult life, and he has always indulged himself in the unorthodox.   But when contemplating Uncle Jed he told his chassis builder, “Let’s have one last adventure into the unknown. I’m reaching a point in my life (58) when I don’t anticipate foolin’ with 200mph cars much longer.” So this was how he approached his latest creation: a 1,900hp big-inch Pro Stock-powered road-legal Rat Rod. “Mind you,” said Killian, “I’m hesitant about calling Uncle Jed a Rat Rod because some Rat Rodders take offense. They’re adamant that it’s not low-buck enough, but obviously there’s not enough gleaming paint on it to call it a hotrod.” So its genre is uncertain.   What is certain, however, is...

2013 Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Car Show Another pinup model and Pabst packed Viva Las Vegas car show is in the books. In some unscheduled laziness and a fit of working too much on MyRideisMe.com... I didn't go. Luckily, my good friend and photographer Mark Jacobs covered for me. So here's just a couple of his favorite rides from the 2013 Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekender. Want to see all the pictures? Here's Mark's 2013 Viva Las Vegas Car Show Gallery I think this slick custom is a Pontiac based on the door trim? It's hard to tell sometimes. All I know? I agree with Mark, this is tough! It's great to see someone else's take on Viva. What cars caught their eye and then how'd they shoot them? Watching other photographers, I try to up my game too. Mark's the second photographer to shoot this trick custom: Someone help with info on this beauty! One last picture, then you can scoot over to the Mark's picture gallery:  2013 Viva Las Vegas Car Show Favorites Mark's a wagon guy too! This Squire wagon surf machine is right up my...

1928 Model A Hotrod from Texas The Suede Palace at the 2013 Grand National Roadster Show had a couple of crusty, like-a-barn-find hot rods to enjoy. This one's from Texas and is called, "The Waco Kid". The story I'll tell here is quoted from the show card. Thanks to Tom Orren, the original owner, for preserving this hot rod! (Click any picture for full size) 1928 Model A Hot Rod - Ford Roadster The Waco Kid "At the end of World War II, a young soldier named Tom Orren was discharged from the military in San Diego, California anxious to return home to Waco, Texas. He bought a stock 1929 Ford Model A for $75. A week after getting it on the road, he arrived home in Waco. While serving in the military his mechanical skills were honed, like many young soldiers, and he began modifying the stock Model A. He bought a used donor car - a 1939 or 1940 Ford - and built what you see here: A very early version of a chopped, channeled, and flathead V8 powered hot rod. With all his modifications and added power, by the late 1940s...

Winning "America's Most Beautiful Roadster" for 2013 Vote for your favorite below... So much has been said here at MyRideisMe.com about the Grand National Roadster Show. In the fewest words, it's the best of the west kicking off 2013. As we've said before... (and I haven't heard any arguments.) This year's America's Most Beautiful Roadster contenders, "AMBR Cars" (pronounced like "amber") total 12 in all. I've got shots of all 12, but without throwing stones and certainly without criticizing, let's be honest: Five of the contenders can't win. If you've been to GNRS before and seen what wins... you can narrow it to 7 and really, I think there's only 4. (We couldn't be happier they changed the AMBR judging rules 2 years ago) So let's get started! Here's the four-with-a-chance plus the three long shots for America's Most Beautiful Roadster: For all pictures, click to see the full-size image. America's Most Beautiful Roadster Contender #1 This was the winner! Click here to open additional pictures. Out of the shoot, here's the 1927 Ford Roadster owned by John Mumford of Woodside, CA. Roy Brizio Street Rods is listed as putting...

Hot Rod Pinup Kelly Lindahl Continuing to get to know hot rod and pinup model photographer Trent Sherrill, let's get to know his girlfriend, pinup model, hair stylist and makeup artist out of New York: Kelly Lindahl. Describe the best date you ever had. My Best Date was when my boyfriend Trent, flew into NY then took me to Yankees Stadium, (which I've never been to a baseball game ever) but we got sushi. then we walked around NYC even though I live/work here it was nice to spend time with him and show him around a bit. How about the worst date?  One time I was on a date and the guy I guess "googled" my parents name, I guess he got their names off my Facebook , he thought he found out what they did for a living, it was creepy, never saw him again. What's your favorite car ever and what's your favorite that you've actually owned? I like 1964 Impala's, really anything that’s a lowrider, or I really like low, big kustom cars. For my favorite car I’ve owned, it has to be my Jeep. It...

Drive your Hot Rod! Nebraska to Utah in a Model A Roadster Download image for your iPhone here.   Nick Hoesing's a cool guy. We met at Bonneville Speed Week 2009, my first year there. He was cruising a great looking 1962 Ford Galaxie he'd driven from Omaha, Nebraska to the Salt Flats in Utah.   As friends on Facebook, I caught a glance of the model A roadster he was building, but hadn't made it over to the HAMB for a full look. I wish I had before I shot these pictures because I missed some fine details of this roadster. I'll write a brief history of the build, but you should read the 40 or so pages of posts at the HAMB where Nick supplies details and photos of the build and fellow HAMBers encourage him and help when needed. That's a community to be proud of.   Build of Nick's Model A Hot Rod   In the shortest summary of Nick's supreme one-car-garage hot rod build... Nick started with a 28/29 Ford Model A Roadster body, then added a Blackboard Hot Rods 1932 Ford frame. The...

Hot Rod Pinstriping from Pomona (click to see these pictures full size) Like most shows with a hot rod and custom car theme, the pinstriping and custom lettering is everywhere. Telling a story of bygone racing years or thin, symmetric lines setting off a deck lid, we dig it all! So here at the 2012 LA Roadster Show, pinstriping found my lens often... Here's a few of my favorites and the complete gallery below. Keeping the lettering theme going, dig this! The gold leaf pinstriping is sexy and get the Cali vibe from the palm trees visible in the reflection. This is the cowl of Throttle King Car Club provisional member Chris. His Model A Hot Rod carried un-fakable patina and some great new-but-looked-worn pinstriping. One of my favorite shots from the show so far! More from Chris's hot rod. You tell me... If you're an artist, get in touch! I'll feature your pinstriping in your own gallery: admin@myrideisme.com If you can't get enough pinstriping, there's more here: pinstriping pictures. Here's the pinstriping pictures from last year:  2011 LA Roadster Show pinstriping [nggallery...

1931 Model A Hot Rod with Something More Hot rod builds start all kinds of ways... some with an engine taking up space in the corner of your garage, some with pop's left over parts or a great swap meet find. This one started with a can of flat green paint. Voodoo Larry's a well know name in hot rods and custom cars. For some 30 years, Larry's been building custom cars and worth noting including the "Voodoo Idol" shown hear with the lovely, November 2012 Pinup of the Month Monica Renee. Larry runs Voodoo Larry Kustoms out of Elk Grove Village, IL where in his words, "The shop is not state of the art, but VooDoo Larry puts his heart and soul into every build and modification." For Larry's latest creation, "Voodoo Psychosis" the first thing you might notice is the wheels. (if you're not currently looking at Ms. Renee!) These are 1939 Dodge "high clearance" wheels, not to be mistaken for "Milk truck" wheels. The fronts are 20's and out back 18's wear  7.50-18 Firestones. Larry waited 10 years to find a set, then made a deal...