2011 Viva Las Vegas Car Show Pinstriping Designs If you've never been to Viva Las Vegas Car Show, you're missing out on some of the best pinstriping designs. The suede paint of the custom cars and the vintage hot rod style both fit perfectly with a few carefully placed pinstriping lines. To give you some ideas for your ride, here's a collection of pinstriping from the car show. [nggallery id=50] See all of the MyRideisMe.com coverage of Viva Las Vegas here:  Viva Las Vegas Car Show or you can go straight to more pinstriping here: Pinstriping Features and...

2011 Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Car Show To late for any more info... here's the customs I liked from Friday at Viva Las Vegas Car Show. Which one's your favorite so far? All the way from Australia. Wagons Rule! Maybe the coolest custom at the show. Suede paint Ford Thunderbird with some cool pinstriping. Was orange the theme this year? This Fury had some kick'n flake on the roof. To see what you might have missed from years gone by, here's the Viva Las Vegas Car Show pictures from the last 3 years....

2011 Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Car Show It's time! Don't wait for months for magazine coverage, you got it right now! Las Vegas, Nevada greeted visitors from all over the world with near perfect weather and some great traditional styled hot rods. Here's pictures from Friday April, 22 in one small part of the greater Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekender event, but of course our favorite at MyRideisMe.com... the car show. Let's kick it off with the hot rods. Viva's car show might have been known for "rat rods" in the past, but I see fewer and fewer rides that most would label as rat rods. They're more accurately called traditional style hot rods. If you think this is a rat rod, it's time for a lesson. Traditional hot rods choose vintage engines like flatheads instead of more common, later motors like small block Chevy's.  They're also alot more likely to run wire wheels and bias ply tires. The one thing they may have in common is a total lack of paint or a rusty or patina look. Why? It could be the owner just hasn't got to paint...

Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Car Show Pre-view First pictures from the 2011 Viva Las Vegas Car Show - Hot Rods! 2nd set of pictures: 2011 Viva Las Vegas Car Show Customs Hit'n 3rd Gear! Pinstriping this time...  2011 Viva Car Show Pinstriping Pictures Yea, the best! SEMA brings in maybe twice the crowd, but SEMA's got no pinups and none of the best Rockabilly bands! Take a look at past Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekender car show pictures and then review the schedule for this year's show, then decide for yourself... go or wait for more coverage from MyRideisMe.com... and you won't have to wait months for it to come out in print! The first look at VLV14 will be published on April 22, in just a few days... Until then, here's the car show schedule and the bands playing at the car show and a little history of the show at MyRideisMe.com. Schedule: There's bands playing from Thursday to Sunday... Headlining the Car Show bands is Rock and Roll "Hall of Fame" member Jerry Lee Lewis! 12:00PM - Lustre Kings 2:00PM - Dynotones 4:00PM - Blasters 6:00PM -...

Mild to Wild Car Show , Puyallup,WA. We don't have the weather like California , so when we have a custom car show this early in the year is kinda of a bonus! The Mild to Wild Car Show has been around for 20 years and recently return to the Puyallup Fair and Events Center after many years at the Tacoma Dome. The was actually the car show's original starting location back in 1989. This year it was inside three of the buildings at the Fair grounds, unlike the Gooduys Show that takes over the inside and outside of the complex. Not a real big show, but had some really cool customs from the northwest. Check out this Gold 1932 Hot Rod coupe wtih a Chevrolet 572, From Ravensdale, Washington. Here is some real history "The Orange Crate" 1932 Ford Sedan all steel, Built by Bob Tindle from Portland,Oregon. It made the cover of Hot Rod two times 1960 and again in 1962. In 1963 the Revell Company created a 1/25th scale model of the sedan. Which you can still buy, they released it. It would turn 10.60 in the quarter...

The Chill Car Show in Wichita, Kansas It’s rare that a 2nd year car show has a big turnout in this area, lots of shows go years and years before building up a following. Not so with The Chill car show in the Wichita, KS area. In it’s second year The Chill has gone from a very bike heavy show with some cars here and there to a really great car/bike show. Held at the Kansas Pavillion in the Wichita suburb of Park City, KS this show had something for everyone. The first building you enter was all about bikes; from new Indians to stretched out rockets to old board track racers, every type of bike build you can imagine... They were all on display. Two other buildings on site were filled with cars with some nice surprises thrown in that I hadn’t seen at other shows in the area. There was even a new to me vendor selling custom coffins with one that was scaled down version of a kustom Merc. Going through the enclosed corridor from building #1 to #2, one of the first cars I saw...

Exotic Car Exhibit At The Petersen Museum Every time I step into the Petersen Automotive Museum I learn something new and enjoy being amazed by works of art known as automobiles. The newest exhibit at the Petersen, Supercars, is no exception. If any automobile could be called art, the Supercar would be a top contender. What is a "Supercar?" I think the Petersen's curator, Leslie Kendall, explains it well: Like supercomputer, supermarkets, and supermodels, supercars represent an extreme. More than mere transportation, they offer a bold and extroverted means of self expression. Supercars have existed since the first decade of the twentieth century and while their mechanical and design specifications have evolved from era to era, they have always had in common immensely powerful engines, minimal passenger carrying capacity, adventurous mechanical specifications, and a commanding presence. Such attributes guaranteed that supercars always had far more power and performance than would ever be thought necessary for everyday motoring. That they have always been extremely exotic in appearance and impossibly rare makes them even more special. So while just looking at modern Supercars didn't seem very exciting to me at first...

Tammy Ray wins the Northeast Cup with "Gold Digger" custom hot rod. The inaugural Northeast Rod and Custom Car Show, held at the Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, PA, was an awesome show by any standard. There was so much to see and do, including hot rods, historic customs, a Pro Mod Alley, a kid's zone, air brush artists, and local celebrities, that you would have had a hard time not finding something to peek your interest. The Expo center is large enough that we didn’t feel crowded as we gawked at the more than 300 cars on display. The major competition at this show is known as the “Elite 6”. From the organizer’s website, “This award package was created to recognize the creativity, engineering, workmanship, and also the “appeal” that each car has within our Show Class. Each car within the Show Class will be judged using traditional judging guidelines instituted by the ISCA, but will also judged using the above mentioned criteria.” Winners of the Elite 6 are awarded $2000. Out of those 6, one vehicle is selected to receive the Northeast Cup. “The NorthEast Cup is...

America's Most Beautiful Roadster Winner & Contenders Is All About The Details At 2011 GNRS At big-time car shows such as the Grand National Roadster Show I sometimes feel a little "out of my league" as a beginner. Sure...there's always personal opinion when it comes to building a car of your own - and when it comes down to it that's most important. But when you step into the big league such as entering a car into the America's Most Beautiful Roadster competition at the Grand National Roadster Show - its much more than just your personal opinion thats up for being judged. Although I'm only in the beginning stages of learning about cars, I do have an eye for details. So while I can't give more then my own opinion on which of the twelve AMBR contenders was the most beautiful - I can share with you first impression details that I thought made each car special. This 1933 Ford Roadster, Nugget, is fiberglass bodied, which deducts points in my book. But that still doesn't take away from the pretty lines of a full-fendered '33. How sexy is that?!...

Feeling at Home with Custom Cars and Hot Rods at GNRS So many great classic cars appear in every hall of the annual Grand National Roadster Show - from hot rods to lowriders to custom cars, dragsters, and of course the America's Most Beautiful Roadster Contenders. But of all the halls, I have to say I feel most at home in the Suede Palace. Maybe it's because my own Studebaker hot rod would be most at home there. The Suede Palace was created for those cars that, although perhaps fabulous examples of workmanship and ingenuity, might be lacking some of the more traditional "show quality" characteristics. Such as a shiny paint job - thus the "Suede Palace." So if you missed out on the 2011 GNRS, let me take you on a little walk around my favorite building, the Suede Palace.This 1930 Ford Model A Five Window Coupe has a pretty vicious stance. Not only customs, roadsters, and rat rods claim suede. This 1940 Chevrolet Gasser Coupe of the Devil's Car Club is showing off the suede well. This 1950 Oldsmobile is still in it's original paint! It's in great condition but...

2011 Ridler Winner - It's Official Picture by: Dan Baker of Alumicraft Well if you were watching Facebook, you'da found out 30 minutes early, but the results are in and this 1956 Ford Sunliner Convertible owned by Bruce & Judy Ricks of Sapulpa, OK is the Ridler winner for 2011 from Detroit Autorama. I couldn't agree more and, in fact, I picked this car to win it on Friday night! Here's what we know about this bad Henry Ford from the Oh-kay: In the custom engine compartment, there's my favorite, the 427 SOHC. Why's it my fave? Have you ever heard one? They rev-up nearly instantly and make a sound like no other. (There's a 60's Sunliner running around Phoenix with one that I need to do a story on!) According the the build card, this is an original 427 SOC "Cammer" motor. (Thus the name, "Suncammer") Sitting on top of  a one-off, custom made, cross ram intake manifold that even has a "Ford prototype" casting number on it (super cool touch!). Feeding fuel are these rare of rare Autolite inline four barrel carbs.  Back in the 60's when...

2011 Ridler Winner? Picture by: Megan Boyd Join hands now as we call upon the spirits of past Ridler Award winners to psychic-ly or maybe psychotic-ly choose the big winner for the 2011 Detroit Autorama. Hear me now great and all knowing Chip Foose, here me wise-one, Mr. Troy Trepanier... are you there? Is that you Tammy Ray? Help me Obi-Wan Don Ridler! I see a Ford. It's AMAZING! It even has a Ford engine in it... an original 427 SOC "Cammer" motor at that. Thus the name, "Suncammer". On top of a one-off cast intake manifold sit equally rare Autolite inline four barrel carbs. Fantastic!! From there, add interior by Gabe's, all nickel plating by Jon Wright Custom Chrome Plating and custom mixed Dupont Hot Hues and I see our new champ! I give you the 1956 Ford Sunliner Convertible owned by Bruce & Judy Ricks of Sapulpa, OK. Agree? Vote with me or against me here: 2011 Ridler Award Contenders - You Vote I was right! The "Suncammer" took home the Ridler Award and from the comment left by "Grilleguy" over in the voting story, it sounds...