Hot Rods, Cold Weather... Now We're Talkin'!   John Wells definitely lives a life of danger. Putting together a first-time indoor hot rod show in the midst of a Midwest winter is bordering on madness, but watching Wells work, you know there's just a bit of madness lurking in that fast moving director of organized mayhem.   Retro Rewind 2014 is now in the history books, an event only Wells could conceive, plan and implement as a sibling event to his already successful TorqueFest and Iron Invasion gatherings. Retro Rewind brought together an amazing collection of traditional hot rods, custom cars, vintage bikes and go karts, classic guitars, pinstripers, pinups, hot rod films, high jammin' rock and roll, food, art... hey, you could even get yourself a super cool haircut by a real barber! Wells thought of everything and the packed event center in Dubuque, Iowa was diggin' it.     Of course it was the cars that headlined the event and there was enough diversity that anyone with a pulse of any kind could appreciate the mix of good old school, flat out cool hot rods and custom...

  Traditional hot rods and customs just aren’t complete without traditional pinups accompanying them either on the street, at the track or at a great indoor show like Retro Rewind which is happening in Dubuque, Iowa January 11 and 12, 2014.   Retro Rewind is another great show creation from the mind of John Wells who has found great success with his Midwest-bred Torquefest and Iron Invasion events. This first ever indoor event promises to not only bring out the best of traditional hot rod culture, but give both participants and spectators alike an incredible range of great entertainment.     A pinup contest will highlight Saturday’s event schedule and quite a number of young ladies, sporting only the best traditional style, have already committed to be part of the festivities. But, you might ask, where did pinups come from? Who came up with this crazy idea of hot rod babes dressing up the iron and leather of the custom car, truck and vintage bike crowd? Need we explain?   The term pinup girl was coined in the 1940s, but its beginnings were a whole lot earlier when female...

Hot Rod Art and Motorcycle Helmets The Barber Motorsports Park Vintage Festival draws thousands of two-wheeled enthusiasts each year who are excited to see not only the old, but also the new. Larry Gardinier decided it would be the perfect spot to display and sell the work of artists who could paint on, what else? Motorcycle helmets! “I’d seen a video of a helmet show out on the west coast,” Gardinier explained, “and thought maybe I should try something like that myself.” Gardinier is a 20 year veteran automotive artist and admits he’s always ready to try new things. Painting on helmets seemed a natural.   “Of course I had someone ask me why I didn't organize a similar event on my side of the country,” he says. “I couldn't think of any good reasons and Skull Canvas was born.”  Plans are already underway for the third annual 2014 Skull Canvas display and Gardinier is excited to pull together another group of great artists who can show off their talents…and sell some creative helmets.   The 2013 Vintage Festival featured 27 artists, including Gardinier, who exhibited an incredible display...

Full Blown Dirt Track Ready Race Car For The Street! A true gearhead can point to some seminal moment when he or she was struck by an unexplainable epiphany. That moment when you knew things had changed and suddenly every motorized creation became a point of interest. It was that one time when you realized you’d never again look at any vehicle of transportation, play or collectability without the quickening of your heartbeat and a shortness of breath.   For Iowan Keith Larson, it was a walk past a car dealer’s lot in the late 1960s where a ’64 Chevelle dirt track car resided, painted up in red, white and blue and sporting all the proverbial race car stuff…full roll cage, stinking big tires, cut out fenders.   The race car didn’t make Larson want to go racing, however. His young mind thought, “Wow, wouldn’t it be cool to drive something like that on the street?” Speed forward 44 years and Larson has his “mechanical symphony on wheels”, but it was an 18 year journey only a gearhead could understand.   A race car on the street? Yup, it’s...

Hot Rod and Custom Car Show from John Wells   Midwest hot rodders are a very special breed. We hide out all winter long, suffering through extreme cold and mounds of white stuff that seems to clog virtually every nook and cranny of our otherwise pretty cool lives. (I know, I know… east coasters seem to have the same issues, but we’re talkin' the center of the country!)   John Wells has become the pied piper of us Midwest rodders. He says “come with me” and we follow. It’s just that simple and Wells’ newest event promises to be every bit as creative, exciting and traditional as his past projects where he has been able to make hard core hot rodders one very happy bunch of people!   Retro Rewind is Wells’ newest creation, happening January 11 and 12 at the Five Flags Arena and Theater in Dubuque, Iowa. Even Voodoo Larry thinks it’s going to be cool enough to show up and Wells is determined to make this bigger and better than anything he’s pulled together.   Wells is creator and chief honcho of the successful TorqueFest events,...

One of the Rarest 1967 Camaros In November 1989 an exhibit was on display at The Henry Ford that chronicled the life and career of famed automotive designer Bill Mitchell which talked about his two lifelong passions…drawing automobiles and driving them. 1967 Chevrolet Camaro Cherokee design concept   “They joined uniquely to create one of the great design careers in automotive history. Throughout his life, as artist, automotive designer, and General Motors executive, Bill Mitchell's best work combined a sleek, sharp-edged appearance and the sensation of great power and all-out speed.”   So the opportunity to see one of Mitchell’s personal creations at the 2013 Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals was extra special and reflected the “car guy” mentality Mitchell had for every one of his “special projects.” The 1967 Camaro Cherokee is not only unique but provided Mitchell with a canvas where he could explore what the new GM pony car might become in the new war that was evolving in Detroit. Ford had introduced the popular Mustang just two short years earlier which started the salvo of vehicles that even today we enthusiasts still embrace.   Mitchell’s...

Bill Mitchell's "foggy" vision foretold GM styling cues   A class reunion typically brings together those who want to show their classmates just how “cool” they have remained, despite the passing of some years. At the 2013 Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals, the annual “Class of” display showed that 1963 was indeed a pivotal year for the auto industry, where luxury and sport styling were vying for public acceptance. The Class of 1963 at this year’s MCACN event displayed the very best of that year…power, grace, luxury, sport. It was a very good year indeed.   What had to be one of the most unique of this group was GM icon Bill Mitchell’s 1963 Buick Riviera Silver Arrow I. Mitchell is said to have been inspired by seeing a Rolls Royce emerging from an English fog to decide he wanted to create something very special using the newly designed (and yet to be released) Buick Riviera.   Mitchell reportedly ordered a Riv taken from the very first day of production and had it sent over to the Detroit styling studio, Creative Industries, where they fashioned Mitchell’s original vision for...

Hot Rod Artist Larry Gardinier Shares His Passion     I can remember sitting in junior high school (yeah, we called it JUNIOR HiGH back then…what of it?) with a friend who was really good at drawing those Ed Roth style hot rods with the weird driver poked through the roof, slobbering all over and looking nasty. We loved it and thought “maybe someday we’ll just sit around all day and draw cars for a living.” Uh…didn’t quite work out that way.   Tons More Stories about Hot Rod Art (will open in a new window)   Larry Gardinier, on the other hand, probably dreamed of the same kind of life, but until he lost his “real” job as an architectural illustrator, there was little chance he would actually swing his legs off the bed every morning and go…draw cars! Gardinier sees his good fortune as fitting him perfectly. “I’ve always been an automotive artist,” he says. Since “going professional” in 1990 Gardinier says he’s been able to take this crazy car passion to new levels. “How could I not love it?”     Gardinier may have come by this...

Ya Just Gotta Ask...What's The Deal With Gassers? (And Why We Love 'Em!) In the very early years of the NHRA, gassers were nothing more than slightly modified gas powered sedans that could compete in five gas classes, determined by engine size and weight. In 1958, a gas class racer was basically a street coupe with no engine setback allowed. All “gassers” had working lights, wipers, starter, generator and all other street equipment.  Fans and belts were optional, but radiators were required. Full exhaust systems, including mufflers, were required but could be unhooked for competition, but they had to remain on the car.  Cars even had to be currently licensed for the street.   Cars in the gas classes were required to have full “factory-type” upholstery but two buckets could replace the standard bench seat as long as both were fully upholstered.  Customs were allowed as long as the car wasn’t chopped, channeled or sectioned a total of more than four inches.  Cars had to have four stock fenders and the stock bumpers had to be in place.   More Gassers and Altered Wheelbase hot rods (opens in new window)...

Barn Find Hot Rods and Muscle Cars from MCACN   Yup...They're Still Out There!! Bob Ashton, who directed the 2013 Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals event, not only looked high and low for rare or unique super cars, concept vehicles and one owners, but he must have looked under rocks and hay bales to track down the 22 “barn finds” that were displayed at the annual show held in Rosemont, Illinois in November. Barn finds are another relatively “new” car show entry with more and more cars and trucks turning up from storage units, sheds, long sealed garages and, of course, barns.   The “finds” are also running the gamut of rarity, some having a brief history as a family driver or as a quarter miler that someone decided to stash away, maybe when the money ran out. Whatever the reason, these relics are interesting to view and the MCACN show allowed spectators to not only see but touch the goods. You got to take a bit of the dirt and grime home with you!     We received a comment from the owner of this one of a...

2013 Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals- Sleeper 1965 L-79 Chevelle     Gordon Rohde looked over his plain-jane 1965 Chevelle 300 like a proud papa and said “losing just 17 points in judging sure isn’t too bad.” Particularly when you find out this car has a racing history which many times can complicate a restoration. “I left some of the parts on the car from when I originally raced it,” said Gordon. “Just couldn’t see taking them off for a few extra judging points.”   On display at last month’s 2013 Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals, the 38,000 mile L-79 equipped two-door sedan looked almost out of place among the surrounding muscle cars and Corvettes. Plain Jane and super subtle, you bet! Gordon brought it to the Rosemont Convention Center to see how he had done in bringing the little street terror back to life. “Lost some points for some incorrect bolts on the flywheel cover and the homemade driveshaft loop plus I still have the mounting pads welded up front for the tow bar.” He just didn’t have the heart to pull them off.   Gordon knows this...

1959 Devin is the "Bontrager-Wilbeck Drag Special" It was 1962. Dean Bontrager and Jay Wilbeck wanted to go drag racing, but they didn't want to do it like everybody else. They could have gone the way of a “factory-produced” muscle car or even picked up a nice little Ford coupe or roadster to go haul the mail.   But... they wanted to do something different and the Bontrager-Wilbeck Drag Special was born, using the ingenuity, hard earned cash and long hours of both Dean and Jay. They were going racing and this was going to be their “steed of choice”.   Both racers knew going lightweight was going to be key, along with some big time horsepower. They chose a 1959 Devin SS, a lightweight body produced by Devin Cars, a company founded by Bill Devin, who specialized in various racing cars and fiberglass kit cars in the 1950s and 1960s. Devin built a car that had the style, sophistication, and performance of a Ferrari but sold for a lot less. Ferraris demanded a high price due to pedigree, but Devin decided to exploit the market and offer a nearly...