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...

1933 Hot Rod - Like it Rolled out of the 50s At the 2013 Grand National Roadster Show in the Suede Palace, I found this vintage hot rod 1933 Ford Roadster. I spent the next 20 minutes trying to get a picture that showed it's true nastiness. It's almost like a barn find rolled into the show and took center stage... (Click any picture for full size) 1933 Ford Roadster owned by Marlon Bledsoe of Pasadena, CA The Suede Palace has a mix of shiny, flat and "other" paint jobs. What's left of the paint on Marlon's hot rod looks perfect to me. I wouldn't change it and I doubt he plans to. The uneducated might call this a "Rat Rod". Kindly, it is not. It's as far from a rat rod as it could be. This is a vintage hot rod and to avoid yourself some embarrassment, don't call it a rat. Front and Center at the 2013 GNRS It's hard to shoot any really good shots inside the palace... light's tough, tons of people and on top of it all, it was overcast and rainy. Here's a little darker look......

What Custom Car Show has the TOP Hot Rod?  This contest is CLOSED as of 5/5/13. Thank you. Got an opinion? Speak up now and win a set of Auto Meter Gauges worth $500! I believe: The Ridler Award - handed out at the Detroit Autorama in Feb/March America's Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR) award - handed out in January at the Grand National Roadster Show (GNRS) Are the most prestigious car show awards a hot rod or custom car can win. I suspect few, if any, will disagree. Well do ya? Let's talk about it! To settle the score and to check-the-pulse of MyRideisMe.com readers, I've arranged a detailed look at past Ridler and AMBR winners RIGHT HERE. Take yourself back a few years, then answer: Which car show presents the best hot rod or custom? Taken year by year, side by side... pick one! Then at the end of this post, cast your vote and you'll have a chance to win the Auto Meter Gauges. (Click on any picture for a larger, closer look.) I'm also posting links to the contenders (called, "Great 8" in Detroit) for each award for...

Challenger 2.5 Rebuilt by Danny Thompson for Bonneville Land Speed Racing   I 'm honored to hear Danny Thompson's story of how he'll rebuild the race car his father, legendary racer Mickey Thompson, originally built in 1968 with help from Ford.   I believe, and I've said it before, land speed racing folks are extraordinarily kind people. Count Danny Thompson as one of those people and as a brave and dedicated man. After losing his father roughly 25 years ago, Danny now knows:   "... It's still a father son project, nothing's changed... he's just not going to be there in physical being."   Please enjoy this interview with Danny Thompson with historic pictures from the build website thompsonlsr.com. Additional images courtesy of Holly Martin Photography. [youtube]http://youtu.be/xG5n4kFNlsA[/youtube]   What a great story of perseverance. Thanks for sharing it Danny!   Please show your support for Danny and the team by checking out their online Challenger 2.5 store, or please leave a comment if the story's got you thinking about projects you worked on with your pops. I know I am.   Click here for all of MyRideisMe.com's Bonneville Salt Flat...

2013 Barrett Jackson Scottsdale Muscle Cars and Mopars Story and photos by Chris Voyles This years Barrett Jackson Scottsdale auction was a awesome one! Last year was a great auction but I think there was a little more excitement this year with some super unique vehicles crossing the block. Who could have predicted the Batmobile would go for 4.3 million?! There were a lot of great vehicles that had the proceeds go to charities and nothing is better than to see the price climbing on those cars with the bidders out doing each other, at some point solely out of kindness. I'm sure most of you have watched coverage of the Barrett Jackson Auctions on Speed Channel at some point but nothing beats being there in person and soaking in the true beauty of what we all love: Custom cars, muscle cars and for me Mopars! Whatever's your favorite, there's something for everyone at Barrett Jackson. Here's a few of my favorites. Let me know what you think... Chris #1 The pro touring 1970 Dodge Charger with a modern Hemi transplanted into it. While my favorite Charger of all time the 68,...

How to Build a Custom Dash for a Barracuda My buddy Scott Hallner's a hard working man! He found a 1967 Barracuda that I think alot of people would have passed on. It had what's known as some, "rust issues". OK, the car was rusty BAD! Check this out: Scott did a pretty amazing job replacing body panels and a host of other body work & paint, then he got to work on updating nearly everything in the car to install a pretty nasty Dodge small block. See all of his work in his MyRideisMe.com Garage. Along the way, he turned his attention to dash. He'd already installed a Vintage Air system, so to finish it off, he made a completely custom dash. Here's the finished product, then you can see how he did it below. Making a Custom Dash and Gauge Cluster 1) The plastic cluster and trim were trashed so I started w/sheetmetal. A local HVAC shop bent my piece for free. A piece of cardboard was used to mock up the layout. 2) Making the gauge pods: Scott used exhaust scraps that were 3.5 and 3" in diameter. 3.5"...

Grand National Roadster Show - 2013 AMBR Winner Results are in! More info to follow as I track down owner John Mumford and the team of builders at Roy Brizio Street Rods. For now, please enjoy these pictures! As always, for any picture, click to see the full-size image. 2013 America's Most Beautiful Roadster The Kelly Brown Track 'T' 1927 Ford Roadster According to the show card: Kelly Brown "1978 NHRA Top Fuel World Champion" - For his determination and vision. Special Thanks to: Steve Davis Team Brizio Pete Chapouris Pete Eastwood Kent Fuller Also from the show card: Special Features: V8-60 Ardun Heads Halibrand Culver City Quickchange rearend 4 wheel kinmont disc brakes 1937 Ford tube axle Schroeder Steering I showed you the story: 7 of the best Roadsters contending for 2013 AMBR Award then, here's the rest of the contenders: 5 other roadster trying to win Did the judges pick the right one? Your comments are welcome. Download a long group of photos of this...

Hot Rods and Custom Cars at 2013 GNRS in Pomona, CA If you're looking for the "America's Most Beautiful Roadster" Pictures Click here. Welcome to 2013! If you're reading this before January 28th, 2013, you still have time to make the show! The Grand National Roadster show is worth seeing every year, but certainly at least once!! Just in case, MyRideisMe.com has you covered with pictures of every great car. (Almost... ok, not even close, but we try) With the Pomona Fairplex convention halls packed with hot rods, custom cars, lowriders, muscle cars, and look below... lots of surprises... it's no wonder we don't shoot everything. Leave us a comment for what you like so we'll know what to shoot more of next time. And don't forget to click any picture to see it full size on your screen. D'Agostino's "Sophie 1940 Cadillac Custom It's so good you need another look! George Poteet's Rad Rides Built Talladega Chyrsler 300 Custom Rock and Roll Hot Rod 1932 Hot Rod 3 Window Coupe 2.3L Pinto Powered 1929 Ford Roadster Pickup Just NASTY Blown 1933 Ford Coupe The Throttle Kings Representing in...

Hot Rods & Customs Long Exposure Photography It's never supposed to rain in Southern California! But it did and everyone attending the 2013 Grand National Roadster Show made the best of it. When the rain let up, I took full advantage shooting this vibrant 1950 GMC pickup owned by Eric Conner of El Cajon, CA. Ya dig? I couldn't stop at just one... but I noticed on nearly the last couple pictures I wanted to take that my lens had water drops all over it. Luckily for this pic, you can't really see it cause it's hiding in the grille. There looks to be a dent below the headlight, but that's not a dent, it's just a water drop! (click to see the water droplets!) I had so much fun with it, I decided to do a few more... (minus the rain this time) Paul Medina's 1947 Ford Business Coupe - Throttle Kings 1956 Ford Victoria (The blurs you see are people walking by. The shutter was open for 13 seconds) My Man Kopis' 1929 Ford Cabriolet Traditional Hot Rod - Throttle Kings 1955 Cadillac series 62 owned by Steve (last...

The Air up there: 2013 America's Most Beautiful Roadsters   Vote for your favorite below by leaving a comment...   There are a few advantages to being tall. If you can put up with bumping your head hard enough to see stars once in a while, you get shots like these without carrying a step ladder. So... even though I shared the Best 7 AMBR Contenders already, here's another look from up high.   For all pictures, click to see the full-size image. Can't wait?  Click here to see pictures of 2013 AMBR winning roadster America's Most Beautiful Roadster Contender - Bad in Black 1932 Hot Rod! America's Most Beautiful Roadster Contender - 200+ MPH Bad & Beautiful America's Most Beautiful Roadster Contender - Australian Hot Rod America's Most Beautiful Roadster Contender - The Kid's Cruiser America's Most Beautiful Roadster Contender - Indy Racer's Dream 1932 Hot Rod America's Most Beautiful Roadster Contender - Cooper Elegance America's Most Beautiful Roadster Contender - Track Nose Champion America's Most Beautiful Roadster Contender - Possessed Pickup Which one's most beautiful and which is your favorite? Are you answers different? Feel free to vote for...

America's Most Beautiful Roadster Contenders for 2013 Vote for your favorite below... The Grand National Roadster Show is the best west coast hot rod and custom car show. Anyone want to argue that? I showed you the 7 Roadsters that could win the 2013 AMBR Award but there are 5 other roadster in the show... they're all shown here. I'm not saying these hot rod roadsters aren't all amazing, I'm only saying, they're not likely to win based on my experience and the way I understand the rules. (I don't think the owners would argue... Am I wrong?) Enjoy the pictures and for any picture, click on it to see the full-size image. America's Most Beautiful Roadster Contender #8 This is a RACE CAR! The Bonneville Salt Flats have never looked so good than when this 200+ mph beauty rockets down the road! Make no mistake, this roadster is beautiful! Built by the true craftsmen at Rad Rides by Troy, you won't find a nicer race car anywhere (OK, except maybe for Blowfish) but still, this isn't enough to win the AMBR Award. Owned by Mark and Dennis Mariani...

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...