Custom Cars and Hot Rods in Sacramento Story Contributed by MyRideisMe.com member: Nick Koljian "Hellcity316" The Sacramento Autorama is “The Kustom Capital of the World”. Believe it. After 61 years the Sacramento Autorama is one of the longest running indoor shows and with 450 custom cars, hot rods and specialty rides of all kinds covering Cal Expo's buildings and fairgrounds. The Sacramento Autorama started back in 1950,  when Sacramento businessman Harold "Baggy" Bagdasarian and his car club, the Capitol City Auto Club Thunderbolts, Baggy convinced club members to, "Settle friendly arguments over the outstanding merits of their personal customized cars." This according to the show's current host, Rodshows.com, the same folks who bring you the Grand National Roadster Show. The original show attracted 22 entries and 500 spectators with the first "Best Custom Car" trophy going to Leroy Semas for his 1937 Chevrolet coupe. (photo courtesy of Kustomrama.com) Once again, the 2011 NorCal car show season is under way! Kicking off the car show season is the 2011 Sacramento Autorama. Bay Area car clubs and car clubs from far and wide come to open the car show season at...

Hot Rods and Custom Car Show Pictures Story Contributed by MyRideisMe.com member: Nick Koljian "Hellcity316" The first thing you think of when you hear Skoty Chops name is insane customs. I recently had the pleasure of meeting the custom creating madman and owner of Skoty Chops Customs at the Concrete Massacre Car Show in Redwood City, CA. The first words out of this humble genius aside from nice to meet you was, "Anytime you want have a shoot or use my shop for a shoot, here's my number." I just met the guy and he is offering his laboratory where some of the sickest pieces of steel are conjured up and fabricated. Honestly rod fanatics... I was speechless. So when I heard that Skoty was putting on his Shootout #2 you knew it was one that this lens junkie was not going to miss. There's a few things that are a lock when Skoty Chops puts on a show and at The Skoty Chops Shootout #2 in Redwood City, Ca they held true. The first thing is, you know you're gonna witness some of the baddest pinstripers from the...

Hot Rods and Custom Car Show Pictures Story Contributed by MyRideisMe.com member: Nick Koljian "Hellcity316" Sarahlee, a pin-up gal from the Devious Dolls I shoot from time to time, gave me a flier for a show out in Santa Cruz, CA and said, "You gotta shoot this show!" I thought, "This could be cool, the girls could hang out with grandma in Capitola and could run over and shoot the show." As I was driving I just couldn't get the title of the show out of my head... "Concrete Massacre". To me that's a "not so original" name for what I heard is a cool car show put on by the Alley Boys Car Club. I thought, "How many times have I heard a show called this or something involving concrete?" After dropping the girls off at Grandmas house I headed up Soquel Ave towards the show. Soquel Ave's the main drag that connects Capitola to Santa Cruz. I was still stuck on this "Concrete" thing until I made my left on Encinal St.  and drove by Las Animas Concrete plant... Looking inside, I saw nothing but sick steel!...

Hot Rods and Custom Car Show Pictures Story Contributed by MyRideisMe.com member: Nick Koljian "Hellcity316" It was that time of year again to mosey on down to the wharf and check this years Nite of the Hot Rods car show put on by the bay areas own Dragoons Car Club. You may well know already from my past write up on last year's show, Nite of the Hot Rods is held at the Riverview Lodge in Antioch, CA. Now for those you that are new to MyRideisMe.com let me break it down like this. For the past 4 years the Dragoons CC has been putting on a little shindig entitled "Nite of the Hot Rods". What makes this car show so special is that the lodge is right on the wharf and the show itself is held on a pier. The Riverview Lodge is a bar/seafood restaurant and was built back in 1948. As a staple of Antioch for years, it still carries that beat up Elks Lodge flavor with old wood seating and jacked-up dinning tables... a very cool and comfortable place to hang out or have a...

Hot Rods and Custom Car Show Pictures Story Contributed by MyRideisMe.com member: Nick Koljian "Hellcity316" More pictures from the NorCal Knockout Car Show I can't let my friend Nick K have all the fun taking pictures and enjoying the 2010 NorCal Knockout. We finally got to meet and I snapped a few pictures myself. I'm aspiring to take pictures as well as Nick and Swanee, so I keep practicing. Sometimes the light and shadows (and stars) align to get something decent. If I grabbed a pic of your car, please let me know, I'll email it to you. Some folks made it easy with show cards. One of those is this 1963 Galaxie race car called the "Moonshine Hauler". Currently owned by Mark Brothers out of Saratoga Springs, UT, the 1964 NHRA record holder now sports a "worked" center oiler 427 with twin 700 Holly carbs, a T-10 4 speed and a 4.11 locker. What else would it have?! The lettering on this car screamed 60's racer. There's another picture in the gallery below. Thanks to another show card from owner Goran Lassell out of Sacramento, CA. From the...

Hot Rods and Custom Car Show Pictures Story Contributed by MyRideisMe.com member: Nick Koljian "Hellcity316" Capitola, CA is a beach village tucked in a river valley in Santa Cruz County on the Monterey Bay. It's well known for it's antique shops, beach side surf condos and grub huts like Pizza My Heart and El Toro Bravo. And in recent years the Capitola Rod and Custom Classic. This the 5th annual Capitola Rod and Custom Classic, they pulled all the stops for this 2 day event.  I would like to say for those of you that can't make it to the Ink-n-Iron festival (more coverage of Ink-N-Iron) that in past years, this show falls on the same weekend and makes a great substitute! When you pull into Capitola they have all of the village, as the locals would put it, closed off. The streets are lined with roadsters, classics rods, customs, woody's, rats and so on. For that matter I could have sworn I saw a dragster this year. This show, hands down, is for the hot rod lover in all of us. The show carries on through the village...