Ford Falcon Inline Six Long Block Build Video I've been working on my 1963 Ford Falcon wagon for way to long now. Ever get the feeling about your project like... "It'll never be done!" Well, let's celebrate some progress! The short block's put together and waiting the next couple steps in the powertrain build:   Assemble the head and the rest of the long block Prep and Install of the T5 transmission (I know, I was planning on re-using the Dagenham 4 speed)   The video below is a step by step build of the 200 inline six. With guidance from my pops, a retired Ford mechanic, he shows me how-to, then I proceed to give it my best shot. I'm not always successful the first time, maybe like you might be... so, I hope everyone interested in building their own engine can learn a little something, and maybe have a laugh at the same time!   If you're looking for more info on building or modifying a ford inline six engine, make sure to check out this discussion forum:  Fordsix.com. With members from all over the world, including...

1931 Model A Hot Rod with Something More Hot rod builds start all kinds of ways... some with an engine taking up space in the corner of your garage, some with pop's left over parts or a great swap meet find. This one started with a can of flat green paint. Voodoo Larry's a well know name in hot rods and custom cars. For some 30 years, Larry's been building custom cars and worth noting including the "Voodoo Idol" shown hear with the lovely, November 2012 Pinup of the Month Monica Renee. Larry runs Voodoo Larry Kustoms out of Elk Grove Village, IL where in his words, "The shop is not state of the art, but VooDoo Larry puts his heart and soul into every build and modification." For Larry's latest creation, "Voodoo Psychosis" the first thing you might notice is the wheels. (if you're not currently looking at Ms. Renee!) These are 1939 Dodge "high clearance" wheels, not to be mistaken for "Milk truck" wheels. The fronts are 20's and out back 18's wear  7.50-18 Firestones. Larry waited 10 years to find a set, then made a deal...

Custom Car Gauges by Classic Instrument Motor Through Detroit Recognize this car? This is the Peace family's 1955 Ford Thunderbird that won the 2012 Ridler Award. If there's one word to describe it, it's CUSTOM. You could also say, "One-off" or even "One of a Kind". All of those words would accurately describe the cars found in the "Great 8" contending for the Ridler. They're all amazing- amazingly custom, all the way down to their custom gauges. Rules for winning the Ridler read fairly simple: The cars should show: Creativity, Engineering and Workmanship. One of the accepted, maybe expected, ways to show creativity and workmanship is with one of a kind parts, like custom gauges. That's why SEVEN of the "Great 8" cars from Detroit chose Classic Instruments. Here's where the Peace's 55 T'Bird started and how it all ended up: Johnathan Peace is an Art Center student, so every part of this 55 was carefully planned, then perfected... then covered in gleaming red paint, leather or chrome! Keeping things simple, the Thunderbird now runs a single gauge, a custom tach. When finished, here's how it looked: If one...

Traxxas and  Courtney Force to Scale In case you've missed every NHRA race this year, you should know that Traxxas has stepped up big time to sponsor quite a few professional drag racing teams, especially the gorgeous (and hard working racer) Courtney Force, daughter or the legend John Force. MyRideisMe.com has been posting race updates from John Force Racing so we got this info about the 1/8 Scale Funny Cars that Traxxas is making now. Here's more info from the source. TRAXXAS HITS IGNITION ON 1/8 SCALE RC FUNNY CARS FOR JFR CHARLOTTE, NC (April 13, 2012) – NHRA Full Throttle Racing fans around the country have been awaiting a John Force Racing RC Funny Car model since the beginning of a new, unique and energetic partnership between Traxxas and John Force Racing was announced in early January of this year. Today fans at the 3rd annual Four-Wide NHRA Nationals got their first peek at the four JFR Traxxas Funny Cars during a photo shoot beside the Traxxas fan experience zone. Traxxas revealed last week a collection of fully assembled, Ready-To-Race®, Traxxas RC Ford Mustang Funny Cars. The new models run...

Traditional Hot Rods, Drag Racers & Muscle Engines Sponsored by Speedway Motors - Build your hot rod engine with Speedway! #1 Start off with a cold Coors? The Atomic Rocket front engine dragster has a supremely detailed, blown & injected Rocket motor for motivation. Just like when I shot the "17 best wheel and tire" story from the 2012 Detroit Autorama, I made my way around the show shooting the best hot rod engines too. just like wheels and tires, and especially in a hot rod (cause you can see it most times) the engine says, "My Ride is Me" and sets the tone for mild or wild, traditional or... more towards the street rod style. Whatever the case, the shine and for an outside show, the rumble let's people know what's on your mind. What are these folks saying?? (Click any image for the full size picture) So here's my favorites... divided into: Drag Racers Muscle Engines (what else ya gonna call them?) Traditional Hot Rods (reserved for the flatheads!) Tell me what's your favorite or if I shot your engine... I'll put your name with the picture....

Wide Whites Walls, Redlines & Muscle Car Style & Speed #1 Kicking of the "Wide Whites" collection of pictures - this sled had a custom hub-cap, I think... that doubled as a secret agent weapon. Walking around the 2012 Detroit Autorama, I took in what must be a FULL charge of hot rods, customs and full-tilt show cars when it came to the Ridler Contenders. Then, while shooting this over the top, flamed custom shown above, it hit me... what says, "My Ride is Me" more than your wheel and tire choice? (Click any image for the full size picture) So here's my favorites... they'll be divided into: White Whites Modern/Race and Muscle Which one's are your favorites? (leave a comment below and we'll discuss) Photos of Tires & Wheels at the 2012 Detroit Autorama #2 Custom Mercury with wide whites and 'caps. Can someone help me out with the name of these hubcaps? #3 This bright green hot rod pickup chose red steelies, mostly covered by a slick hubcap (custom center?) then covered'em with a white wall cheater slick. #4 Buick Riviera sport'n wide whites and Supreme's. A...

Return to Viva - 2012 Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Car Show Editor's note: Mark's been very kind to show his behind the lens work in this story and the last story about the great Rockabilly Weekender in Las Vegas. This time, take a listen as he give his impressions of the rides, the show and most importantly, the people that make the show great. Please make him feel welcome! Going back to Viva Las Vegas again this year, can't wait to see the Grease Pit Car Club from last year. A great group of guys and gals from LA, CA that have let my wife and I hang out with them every year. As a bonus this year, sounds like we have more members from San Diego, CA that are going to join us. Thursday afternoon I arrived and couldn't wait to get to the car area. The Valet parking lot all ready has cars lined up waiting to get in. Not a lot of cars in the car show area yet but that makes for better pictures. I like the contrast red and silver (on bad ass!) Grease...

2012 Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Car Show Before you even enter the show, customs like this greet you. Grab a beer and enjoy the first photos from the 2012 Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekender. Found out this is Ashley Alyson Bryce aka Miss Leggy May... Find her on FB here. If you've never been to the show. Stop now and catch up some with MyRideisMe.com stories and photos of Viva starting back in 2009. It's been a fantastic run of hot rods, all kinds of custom cars and of course what most would call rat rods. But Viva's about the people and the music as much as anything else. For example, check out the lovely lady above! Pinup? 70s go-go dancer? Why categorize? Let's just thank my man Mark Jacobs for the cool shots! You'll see the personality of the show come through in the photos, of course, but you'll also see the photographer too. I asked Mark for some of his favorites and he couldn't stop talking about this 1957 Chevy custom. He told me... " The headlights are stacked and the grille... and the, and the.." As the saying doesn't...

2012 Edelbrock Car Show at Vic's Garage Edelbrock to Host Rev’ved Up 4 Kids Charity Weekend to Benefit Children with Learning Disabilities TORRANCE, CA (April 3, 2012) – Edelbrock is excited to host the Rev’ved Up 4 Kids Charity fundraising event from May 5th through May 6th. This year’s event promises to have something for everybody, especially people with a passion for the automotive and aftermarket industry! This charity fundraising event benefits The Center For Learning Unlimited; a private educational institution that provides comprehensive education to students with complex learning disabilities. The weekend’s festivities will begin with a shop tour of Edelbrock’s corporate headquarters and manufacturing facilities in Torrance, CA. This will be your chance to take a one of a kind guided tour through Edelbrock’s facilities and see what 74 years of dedication to performance products has built. Each tour will include a complete overview of everything from R&D to finished product manufacturing. This is a unique chance for automotive enthusiasts to get a sneak peek into what it takes to design and manufacture high-quality performance products. The shop tours will take place on Saturday May 5th from...

2012 Ridler Winning 1955 Ford Thunderbird The Results are in! The 2012 Detroit Autorama's highest award (and the $10k!) goes to the Peace Family for a 1955 Ford Thunderbird that bested the Great 8 at a show where there could have easily been a "Great 12 or 15". The competition was TOUGH! To catch up on photos and info from the show, check these out: -- Toughest field of custom cars I've seen: Rilder's Great 8 Contenders -- Damn Great, but Not Great 8 – Detroit Autorama’s Best -- Going Down – Basement Best at 2012 Detroit Autorama The reasons why this subtly beautiful 'bird won the Ridler may not be apparent in pictures. Heck, I saw it myself and while "blown" away from the super-sano twin turbo hold'n engine compartment, gleaming chrome and dead nuts fit, I thought this was top three in the Ridler's Great 8. I really didn't know who'd win... (who ever does 'cept the judges) So rather than guess why the Bird won, I went to the source. The Peace Family and Greening Auto Company. Now this makes sense... and I should admit, I...

2012 Detroit Autorama - Basement's Best Hot Rods Bottom floor, everyone out! In the far corners of the grand Cobo Center convention hall, escalators carried you down... Down to an area where mortgage size dollars were spent on... mortgages! It's a place where hot rodders and their buddy who could weld hooked up with a dude from work who knew a painter then banded together to make a custom car they could all be proud of. Then Friday night, or Tuesday or whenever they'd terrorize the streets and strips. They're loud, rough and built with the true spirit of, "My Ride is Me". Down the escalator, a birdseye view of the basement turned into a closeup of the "Voodoo Hellion" and the Voodoo Kings car club. In the trophy area, I saw a, "Best Car Club" trophy, so the area clubs bring out their best and put in the extra effort on the setup too... I got tired of seeing thin white rope-like barriers. Dig the custom machined pieces here. Next door was the Brothers Custom display. Why this nasty black coupe (shiny paint and all) with a supremely...

2012 Detroit Autorama Not Ridler Contenders?   I took alota pictures at the Detroit Autorama. I had too...  at first, as I mentioned in the Great 8 Ridler Contender story, I didn't know which of the MANY fine rides at the show were actually in the running for the big award, the Ridler. So... I snapped away. No harm done cause that gives me a great reason to highlight the Autorama's "Not Great 8" hot rods and customs and let you decide if they shoulda been included. That'd mean one of the chosen Great 8 cars would have to go, so you decide... Did the judges pick the right cars? Leave a comment if you have an opinion.   Keep in mind, if any of these cars have been shown before, they're automatically out of the Ridler competition. If anyone knows specifically why one of the following weren't included, please let me know. (I'll speculate too)   As always, click to see the full-size photo.   Not Great 8 - 2012 Detroit Autorama's Best   This 1933 Hot Rod Ford coupe owned by Gregg and Jodi Blackford was built,...