Custom Vans at 2013 SEMA Show   Vans. They're not just for living down by the river anymore. (RIP Chris Farely aka Matt Foley)   One of my EASY picks for "Favorite at SEMA" has to be this custom Ford Econoline Van. Not since Church's VanGO has a van made a statement like this. With metal flake shining in the Las Vegas sun, I had to grab some pictures and share. If metal flake's your thing, make sure to look at the other metal flake paint stories and pictures we've done including a "how-to" about spraying flake yourself.     Complimenting the cooper-gold flaked flames and stripes, the gold leaf lettering spelled "Chrome Gypsy Tattoo" a Las Vegas based tattoo and piercing shop. A perfect calling card for the shop, yea??     How do you paint metal flake on a roof with this detail? Standing on a latter for days!!?? Someone lets us know who did the paint... they deserve credit!     Custom details and more metal flake covered the interior. I heard the engine's detailed and flaked too. I'll try to grab a picture tomorrow.  ...

A Necessary Part of the SEMA Show: Booth Babes   Should I bother to write anything? Just enjoy the pictures. Click on any image to see them in their full beauty!   These lovely ladies, at first glance were buck nekkid! In Vegas? Yea, maybe!! But no, they weren't completely, but that didn't stop an enthusiastic crowd of folks stopping by for a pic and a closer look. (it was worth it, don'tcha think??)     Just like last year's SEMA Show, and most likely every year, Giovanna brings talent and suede wrapped exotics. Both suit me just fine!   Follow Joselyn Cano on Instagram here. (you'll be glad you did)   Not to be outdone... (help with a link if you know it)   Like classic Ford Muscle? Got a booth babe for ya...     Or you prefer import models? Kawaii desu ne? Harajuku ni isshoni ikimasenka? I gave her my cheesiest Japanese pickup line: Asa kohi isshoni nomimasen ka?     Rockin' the house!!   I saved some of the best for last... from CB Model your first (or possibly wisest) choice for models at your next...

OPTIMA Invitational Qualifier Lynda Jacobs   It's been my pleasure to work with Optima for their after-SEMA race called the Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational. What is it? Well, check this out to catch up... Basically, it's a race of the best cars from the SEMA Show floor and qualifying races all over the country.   One racer happens to drive a road hugging, original appearing 1966 Chevelle SS 396 convertible and SHE is every bit the muscle car enthusiast and race car driver you'd ever imagine!  Qualifying at LS Fest, she's the real deal. Meet Lynda Jacobs.     Lynda kindly told us her story of racing and her first muscle car, this black-plate 1966 Chevelle.   Words and Pictures from Lynda...   My husband Chris and I have been married for 15 years. We both had cars and racing in our lives and that also played into our meeting as well. A mutual friend who had a body shop helped make the introduction and the rest was history. We went to Great Lakes Dragway on our second date. Chris has been into Chevelles his whole life. First car was...

Chaotic Customs SEMA Build - 1940 Ford Pickup   Pictures and words by Karma Carlson   Want to see the finished truck at SEMA 2013? 1940 Ford Hot Rod Pickup at SEMA   It all started with a hole in the hood of a 1929 Model A roadster. Mike Young brought his roadster to Chris & Karma Carlson at Chaotic Customs in Mulvane, KS, to have the hole in his hood repaired after removing a blower motor. The repair turned into a complete rebuild of the car and a friendship was formed between the Youngs and the Carlsons. After driving the roadster, Mike discovered his wife, Glenna, was not a roadster chick. Roadsters in the Kansas heat and wind were not her cup of tea. They decided to build an enclosed car so that Glenna would enjoy riding longer distances to car shows. Mike knew Chaotic Customs was the shop for the job.   Learn more about Chaotic Customs painting skills in this Metal Flake on a budget Painting How-to   Mike had his eye on 1949-1951 Chevy Fleetlines but Chris had a line on a 1940 Ford pickup....

How about a 120 mph Custom RV? You won't be complaining about being caught behind this rig! Words and Pictures by Jim Vogarino Sitting on the huge expanse of pure white salt, the evil looking all black motorhome looks even bigger than it is. Everything is black…windows, trim, head and tail light covers. It couldn't be more sinister.   Britt Palmer pulls himself out of the custom racing cockpit, ducking under a complex structure of roll cage. He’s a good sized guy, 6-2, maybe 6-3 and he gives a solid hand shake. You’d never know he is suffering from a debilitating disease that eventually will rob him of all movement. Right now he’s too excited.   "We’re headed home,” he says, slipping off his race togs and giving high fives to people who have gathered around the vehicle in his pit area during Speed Week 2013. “We came to just run for speed and I think we did pretty well." Bonneville Speed Week is pretty well known for odd vehicles and the 1977 GMC Kingsley motorhome easily fits that category if only because of its size. Sitting at the...

1930 Ford Hot Rod with Traditional Style (Click to see Trent's great pictures full size)   Time – that one thing you can never truly get back and the one thing you can never seem to have enough of. There are those times though when a little patience, a bit of preparedness and a calculated bit of timing pay off dividends when a long awaited opportunity raises its head.   For Kopis Georgalos, that time came at the 2008 LA Roadster show. Despite a good rep as a fabricator and custom builder, with a mild 1951 Pontiac custom to showcase his work, Kopis long had plans in the works for a project yet to occupy a space in his garage – a traditional rod. Notice I said his garage, not so and so’s customs or such and such’s garage. Nope – this build wasn't simply just for Kopis to have the traditional rod he had always wanted, but a chance to push himself, test his skills and learn some new tricks along the way.   Kopis knew an open car, maybe a roadster would be right for him. Coupes...

1937 Chevy Coupe with Hot Rod Pinup Kelly Lindahl Car Owner: Keith Goettlich - Click any picture for full size As with most car guys, automotive make and style preferences are more often than not generational; Traits passed down through generations just like hair or eye color. For Keith Goettlich, it was a passion for Buick’s, and more specifically, their legendary Torque-bomb Nailhead V-8s that Keith inherited from his father.   Keith’s father, like few others in the 60s, steered away from the more popular (and generally cheaper) Bowtie and Blue Oval route and took the path less traveled in the big displacement horsepower wars with a 1964 Buick Wildcat ragtop sporting a 425 Nailhead guzzling leaded gas through dual quads. This would spark Keith’s lifelong passion for Buicks vertical valved line of V8. Keith would build a few customs and rods throughout the years, including a 1933 Pickup that gained quite a bit of recognition along the East Coast. Each ride containing his signature trait: A Nailhead tucked in where most would expect to see a SBC. The Nailhead made Keith’s creations a bit more memorable, and before...

1964 Chevy C10 Dually - Dino's Dually (Click to see any picture full size -- want any of these for a desktop screensaver? leave a comment)   Dino builds bad Chevy C10 custom trucks. This one's no different as one of five C10's he owns right now. I posted one teaser image and was holding out posting the rest until the NEW version of MyRideisMe.com was out. Well here it is! And here's the rest of the pictures...   I'm hoping for the same crazed reaction to these photos as the one we saw after posting Dino's truck on Facebook.   You like? Here's what it started as! See more build pics including the custom fenders   Want to see more of this AMAZING Custom C10? I spent quite a bit of time editing the pics I took. Dino's a good friend and I knew he'd like some different looks... which one of these do you like better? In that cool evening light, I get lucky and snap some good ones here and there!   Looking under the hood, Dino keeps it pretty sanitary. The truck came with a...

1964 Chevy C10 Dually - Dino's Dually Build Here's what it started as! (Skip to see the Finished Truck! 29 Additional Photos) I'll let Dino tell the story of this build. When it's done, you'll agree, this is the baddest C10 Dually ever.   "I found this truck on craiglist and watched it for a few months and finally pulled the trigger. After helping my friend dbomb on his short bed, it got me fiending for another project. This 1964 C10 dually work truck was a friend of mine's that he drove for 30 years in the appliance install biz. He sold it a few years back and it just resurfaced.   My plans are to bag it with a pancake front cross member, Nate built me some arms for it and a center trailing arm support and a huge notch for the rear with the p/b hinges. I'll also install a big back window. The truck came with a new 350 crate motor and a turbo 400. I've been gathering parts for a week or so and have almost every thing I need to get it done... not...

Detroit Autorama Favorites - Chris Voyles Picks MyRideisMe.com's show sponsor: Auto Meter Gauges Who's Chris Voyles? He's the dude with the GIANT camera hustling around the Detroit Autorama so you can enjoy what we saw from your computers and phones. I recruited Chris to help me with photos and get his favorites from his first year at the Detroit Autorama. Here's what he thought... He's shy so let him know if he screwed this up. We might be able to shame him into a reply? Also see Chris' picks for Ridler Contenders that weren't. Words and pictures by Chris Voyles: (High quality pictures!! Click to see full size) Walking around the 2013 Detroit Autorama, I made note of the cars I considered my favorites. Just some very nice rides that made me take notice and click a few extra shots. 1968 Dodge Charger R/T: I grew up around cars as a kid and by far this is the car I want most of all! See, my Dad had 1968 Charger R/T very close to this one here, minus the Hemi motor. His was also red with a black top but...

2013 Detroit Autorama - Voyles' Picks For Ridler Award Words and Pics by Chris Voyles MyRideisMe.com's show sponsor: Auto Meter Gauges   The 2013 Detroit Autorama was a great one indeed with eight cars nominated for the prestigious Ridler Award. These cars where exceptionally nice, but I think it’s safe to say we all said to ourselves, “Hey! Why wasn’t that car nominated?”   We’ll Pikesan and I thought the same thing... while he's still deciding which rides he would have picked, I'm done! Here's a few of the custom cars I thought were the best of the best, and could have, or should have been nominated.   1961 Impala: This was a very nice done 1961 Chevy Impala owned by Gil & Janet Losi. The body channeled, shaved, nosed, decked and roll pans worked... it flowed very nicely. The chassis on the car was done by Morrison Custom and finished off with Ridetech air suspension. The Impala had a 2,000 hp 540 cubic inch twin turbo motor  by Mike Moran between the fender! Completely stunning car!   1934 Ford: Bill Hughart is the owner of this awesome 1934 Ford hot rod....

2013 Ridler Award Winner: 1940 Ford MyRideisMe.com's show sponsor: Auto Meter Gauges The Results are in! The 2013 was a tough competition! After talking to just about everyone I knew... I think the consensus pick is the winner. This 1940 Ford is outstanding top to bottom, and as owner Ron Cizek told me, "It's too bad the car's not displayed upside down!" You can check the detail pictures in the gallery below. I overheard it's the same/similar setup as the unbelievable 2007 Ridler Award winner, a 1936 Ford called, "First Love". Just my opinion, the paint, by Charlie Hutton, and the gold accents just set it off. There literally was no other car like it, and to win the Ridler Award, there shouldn't be. I'm happy to have shot it Sunday morning without the HUGE crowds in the Cobo Center, especially with the hood down. It's even more impressive! Hats off to all the other Ridler Contenders. As always, there'll be some discussion, dissention and plain-old calls of bullshit! But... from my point of view, this classic hot rod '40 Ford was the winner. I'll do my best to contact the owner...