1963 Ford Falcon Squire Wagon Images Courtesy of Daniel De Silva   In case you didn't know, Ford Falcons were made and sold in Australia while the "compact" Ford was selling in the USA too. The cool old Ford Falcons we enjoyed all through the 60's were replaced with some 70s Falcons that looked like... cars from the 70s. In a word, YUCK. But that's another story...     Daniel De Silva of Bandit Films has teamed up with Luke from Fuel Magazine to make Fueltank.tv. It's a collection of great hot rod and custom car videos all done in HD. I've watched a few, especially this trick Falcon wagon, and I'll be back!   Dig the groovy sounds and especially dig this gorgeous right hand drive Falcon. I want it!! Hopefully my 63 Falcon Wagon Project will turn out half as nice!   [vimeo]http://vimeo.com/20471414[/vimeo]   For more Falcon fun, check out Pikesan's project: 1963 Ford Falcon Wagon Build...

WyoTech-Long Beach Helps Turn a Dream into a Reality for a Wounded Warrior Long Beach, Calif. (August 24, 2011) – On Sunday, August 14, WyoTech and the Semper Fi Fund unveiled a brand new Chevrolet Camaro for Marine Staff Sergeant (SSgt) Guillermo “TJ” Tejada during the 4th Annual Wounded Warrior car show at WyoTech in Long Beach, Calif.  It was a fitting tribute for SSgt Tejada who had lost both legs above the knee when his patrol encountered an improvised explosive device (IED) in Afghanistan in November of 2010. The Semper Fi Fund and the Nice Guys Victory Fund provided the funds to purchase the car, which was then customized by WyoTech students to make SSgt Tejada’s dream of driving a Camaro come true. SSgt Tejada has been serving his country for 12 years. Since joining the Marines right out of high school, he’s been deployed twice to Okinawa, Japan, once to Iraq during the invasion and once to Afghanistan. On November 11, while conducting foot patrol in Sangin, Afghanistan, he was struck with the IED that immediately took off both of his legs. Due to heavy enemy fire, they...

Going to Impound - That's a GOOD thing! 2011 Bonneville Speed Week sponsored by Spectre Performance It's a thing of beauty. The 1969 Plymouth Barracuda built by Rad Rides by Troy. So imagine that everyone's happy they're off to impound! You should remember that when you run faster than a record, the car goes to impound, then the next morning you back up the record or start over. Review: Setting a Record at Bonneville The thrash is on! In impound, the team has 4 hours to make any changes and get ready for the back-up run. Blowfish is owned by George Poteet and nobody's more excited to see what the team has almost accomplished in the B/BFCC class. The record is held by a family everyone knows, the Burkland's. Tom Burkland set the record way back at Speed Week in 1985 with a coupe named "411 to Bonneville" at 294.868 mph. Blowfish ran 303 and change, so a new record, and a coveted blue hat (300 mph club) are within reach. Stay tuned for an update... Update! I caught up with Lawrence Laughlin, the shop manager from Rad Rides...

Custom 1953 Studebaker Coupe Altered Into A Fastback Studebaker folks are unfailingly interesting. So when I met John Saltsman at the 2011 Grand National Roadster Show this past January standing by his amazing Atomitron, a highly customized 1949 Studebaker pickup, I wasn't too surprised to hear that he had other Studebaker stories to share. However, when he produced the few pictures in existence of the 1953 Studebaker Coupe he modified as a teenager, I couldn't believe what I was seeing! The first unbelievable thing about this custom... It was built by John while he was still in high school! The year was 1970 and Fastback Mustang's were all the rage. He liked 'em, but couldn't afford one. What he lacked in cash he made up for with a wealth of car building knowledge in his family. Looking at the lines of the  '53 Coupe he figured it could be built into a fastback all his own. The main modification was creating the fastback. To do this, he took the trunk out of a 1949 Cadillac and covered the whole trunk section and back window with it, integrating it into...

2011 AAF Tank Museum Military Extravaganza Editor's note: Bubba got some great shots of some of the baddest rides around on a recent trip to Virginia. When at the helm of  one of these tanks... protecting yourself and the soldiers with you, this is "My Ride is Me." So endulge us here and enjoy the heaviest hot rods around! What do you do if your hot rod is a 44 ton M60A2 tank? You crush stuff of course! In the three years that I have been working for MyRideisMe, I have covered hot rods, customs, street rods, lowriders, classics, rat rods, race cars, and a many other vehicles. It' s hard finding different vehicles that I can share with you. So when I saw that the AAF Tank Museum in Danville, VA was holding their Military Extravaganza once again I knew we had to be there. The Tank Museum houses over 117 tanks and armor. Many of these pieces are rare like this US M1917 known as a “Six Ton Special”.  Out of 950 built, only about a dozen still remain. What’s it like to stare down the barrel...

Viva Las Vegas 2011 Car Show - Best of Show   Sonny Vasquez and his 1949 Buick custom have both been around for awhile. But when a car looks this good and has the amount of hours in it that a custom such as this requires... I'm happy to see it named Best of Show at Viva Las Vegas.     Because there was SO much going on at VLV 14, (see it here) I didn't make it to the award ceremony. Honestly... I didn't even know they were officially awarding a "Best of Show" car. At past VLV car shows, I've seen various clubs give out awards but don't remember there being an official "Viva Award."     So when I walked up to this Buick to check out this stunningly original dash, I was surprised to see the "Best of Show" plaque sitting inside. I was even more surprised that the car's owner, Sonny, was standing nearby!     Being the modest guy that he is - he said he was just as surprised when they called him up for the award. When he realized the only...

Custom Studebaker Pickup from 2011 Grand National Roadster Show I promised I had a few customized Studebakers up my sleeve that I found at the 2011 Grand National Roadster Show....so here's #2 (Check out this Studebaker Ute if ya missed #1!) Who's ever seen a Studebaker pickup like this one!? Believe it or not, this 1949 Studebaker Pickup has been in the works for about 25 years. When the current owner, John Saltsman, got the truck it had already been chopped about 6" by "Merc John." With a small block Chevy drivetrain (just like my Studebaker coupe,) John used it as his daily driver on long commutes for at least 8 years. As John drove it, his vision for what he wanted it to become grew. He had a "wild and mild" proportioned-custom in his mind. As its been completed, this Custom 1949 Studebaker Pickup has a laundry list of custom items from customizing legends! It started with the 6" chop of course. To that was added a 15 1/2 " channel. And as "one thing led to another," this pickup was transformed with: a 59 Chevy trunk lid, 55...

Restomod Corvette "58REDUX" Story by Dave Semel Restomod, protouring, modified,” whatever the terminology used, I say it's the best of both worlds! There’s nothing like the lines of a classic muscle car. They have the ability to turn heads of young and old alike. Many classic cars catch the attention of the young generation that weren’t even alive when 409 Impalas and Boss 429 Mustangs tore up the street as new cars. In others, they spark something that takes them back to a different, often better time. However, those with experience driving classic muscle cars know they’re great in a straight line, but if you need to turn or stop watch out! So what do custom car guys do? How about a Restomod? Restomod Definition: Classic American cars that have been restored using modern components to enhance their performance, safety, comfort and beauty. In short: restored old bodies modified using new technology: "restomod". (Here's an example of a 1959 Cadillac Restomod I called a "Custom Restoration") The possibilities are endless. Imagination, technology and of course a fair amount of money can produce one of these beauties. The great thing...

Shelby Cobra DragonSnake, CSX2093 All photos used with permission from Mecum Auctions Out of six pictures in this story, it was tough to pick one to lead with. In the end, I chose this one to feature one of the baddest drag race cars ever, the Shelby Cobra DragonSnake. Note the knockoff slicks in the back, the slight nose-in-the-air stance and finally that open header pipe looking right into my soul. I need to hear this serpent run! This photo was a close second! DESCRIPTION provided by Mecum Auctions CSX 2093 was the 93rd Cobra built and is one of only eight cars modified with the Shelby-developed Dragonsnake package designed to maximize drag racing performance. Depending on options, the package could swell the bottom line to a whopping $8,990, a huge sum in 1960s-era dollars. Owned by Jim Costilow and piloted by drag racer Bruce Larson, later of USA-1 Funny Car fame, the Dragonsnake dominated the NHRA’s A/SP, AA/SP, B/SP and C/SP classes in 1964. It set all new records in the 1965 season and won the NHRA Springnationals, Winternationals and U.S. Indy Nationals that year. The Cobra was...

Odd Custom Van Story and pictures by Mr. Freeze: Rob Zollar I swiped this little jewel from the big bad Ebay monster. A local guy had it up for sale and I talked him into selling it to me directly, (sorry if the guy in NY reads this) . For those who know my taste in vehicles this recent acquisition should come as no surprise , it's ugly, weird , strange , unique and you don't have one! It's right up my alley! Funny thing is, I was searching for a 1963 Chevy truck and on Ebay I typed 1963 and selected distance nearest and this thing came up! Info and old photo from Offroaders.com: These were produced for the federal government as postal vans from 1961 to 1965. At a mere 81” wheelbase 135” overall length and 64.7” width, they were a snap to maneuver in tight streets. In 1969 a mistake was made and a mere 100 still in inventory were auctioned off before Willys reminded the US government they were supposed to be returned not sold... a few others escaped but the rest were eventually scrapped....

SEMA Car Show - Our Favorite Engines I tripped over my normally aspirated tongue on the way to this insane twin turbo Dodge Viper in the K&N booth at SEMA 2010 in hot rod alley. How do you take it all in?  I was so "blown" (I'm hella funny) away that I didn't grab any overall pics or get the rest of the details. I'll leave that to our friends at Speedhunters.com: From Speedhunters: What you're looking at is a stroked 510 CI Viper V10 featuring two Bullseye Power Borg Warner T-4 80mm turbos with a MoTeC M800 Engine Management System that was calibrated by Shane Tecklenburg. The result? Roughly 2000 horse power at 12 psi. No biggie. I agree, tame and ordinary! The guys at Twins Turbo Motorsports built this beast. From their website's "About Us" page,  "Twins Turbo Motorsports specializes in fuel injected turbo systems for race and street vehicles. We have been building and setting up vehicles for competition as well as for the street since 1996." It shows and their efforts landed them a prime spot at SEMA with K&N. Read the rest of the...

SEMA Car Show - Our Favorite Muscle Car Engines Feast your eyes on a little on cubes 4.6L DOHC Ford modular motor that's long on horsepower. The valve covers read "720 HP". What looks like a Kenne Bell supercharger rests on top of another super clean, not-a-wire-outa-place layout that totally makes the engine bay for me. That's the detail you'll find at the SEMA Las Vegas Car Show. Outside the convention halls, I spotted this slick custom Mustang Fastback. Maybe some can say if it's a 1967 or 1968 Mustang. It's got the 68 side scoops, but doesn't have the side marker lights of 68. I could see those shaved off for this car, but I'd also say the 67 side scoops aren't as attractive as the 68's. So in the best of both worlds custom car scenario, let's call this a 1967.5 Mustang Fastback! I'd like to tell you more about this car, but unlike most cars at the SEMA show, there was no show card and I didn't notice any sponsor stickers. Clean execution all the way! (too clean?)  Too busy trying to get the best coverage...