Barn Find Hot Rods and Muscle Cars from MCACN   Yup...They're Still Out There!! Bob Ashton, who directed the 2013 Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals event, not only looked high and low for rare or unique super cars, concept vehicles and one owners, but he must have looked under rocks and hay bales to track down the 22 “barn finds” that were displayed at the annual show held in Rosemont, Illinois in November. Barn finds are another relatively “new” car show entry with more and more cars and trucks turning up from storage units, sheds, long sealed garages and, of course, barns.   The “finds” are also running the gamut of rarity, some having a brief history as a family driver or as a quarter miler that someone decided to stash away, maybe when the money ran out. Whatever the reason, these relics are interesting to view and the MCACN show allowed spectators to not only see but touch the goods. You got to take a bit of the dirt and grime home with you!     We received a comment from the owner of this one of a...

 The Rarest Corvettes and Muscle Cars - The Rarest of the Rare Up Close and Personal! Bob Ashton hit another home run with the 5th Annual Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals held November 23 and 24 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois. The show, which uses nearly 400,000 square feet of space in the sprawling convention center, again brought together an amazing collection of muscle cars, many of which are rarely seen outside of private and museum collections.   See all the car show pictures right here   If you like what you see here, stay tuned! We'll add more pictures and details to our favorite muscle cars from the show. 1967 Camaro Cherokee Concept Car 1958 Desoto Firesweep convertible   The Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals is the nation’s largest, all indoor specialty show and swap meet devoted to Muscle Cars, Dealer-built Supercars and Corvettes. Ashton is Managing Member of the group of enthusiasts who got together and staged the first show back in 2009, replacing the long running Chevy Vettefest.   1963 Buick Riviera Silver Arrow I   Ashton is a long time muscle car...

2013 SEMA Show Custom Car Pics   Hot rod and classic car parts makers, buyers, sellers or just gawkers all came and went this last week November 5-8th.   The 2013 SEMA Show is done.   The show, from everyone I talked to, was a huge success. Everyone commented on how full the show floor space was, and how many people came by. Despite all the gawkers and media hacks (like me!) business was handled, so now it's time to do mine!   See all of the 2013 SEMA Show Stories here. Or... if you just want pictures, check out the very large... and still growing SEMA Custom Car Picture gallery here.   Here's just a few samples...   Something EXOTIC Something CUSTOM   Something REALLY CUSTOM   Something HOT ROD   Something OFF ROAD   OF COURSE there's more!!!  See the rest of the pictures here: SEMA Custom Car Pictures   Thanks for stopping by! What'd we miss that you want to see?   Catch all the action from SEMA - "Live from SEMA" - Click the banner below or follow this link to see all the coverage from SEMA...

Best Hot Rod Parts at SEMA 2013   What is SEMA? A reason to meet friends, drink too much and gamble? No! Not during the day!   It's a trade show for all things automotive aftermarket... I tell people, "Anything with wheels" is at the SEMA Show. Lucky for me, helping out with the Live from SEMA website, I get to cover my favorite part of the show: Hot rod parts! So here's 13 of my picks for cool new hot rod products from SEMA 2013. Blown LS - For Function and Style   Edelbrock's E-Force Supercharger system for Chevy LS engines is a hard piece to miss! Who wouldn't want to have this polished positive displacement bad-boy poking out of their hood? The E-Force Systems run dual 4150 style bolt pattern flanges, so bolt up your favorite carb or run a set of EFI throttle bodies...  Your final choice? Get your blower polished like this one, or go with a satin finish, either way, both get the job done better than the stock intake setup. No? See a tasty 750+ HP in the video here.   Boost, RPM and Pressure...

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...

Top 10 Tips to Survive SEMA   by Karma Carlson of Chaotic Customs We live in Kansas. That’s a long haul to Las Vegas! 1,262 miles to be exact which equals out to 17 hours and 50 minutes of driving. Pull a trailer and travel with two women and that time increases by a good six hours. We installed a 75 gallon fuel tank in the bed of the truck. It’s great because you don’t have to fill up as often. It’s not great because we don’t stop as often. In order to make it from one stop to the next, I forgo all liquids for two days before we travel. Arriving in Vegas dehydrated is never a good idea. (Have you seen that 100 ounce margarita at MargaritaVille? Not the best idea when you are thirsty and dehydrated!)   SEMA is a great place to network, see all the latest products and get new ideas. You can see what other people in the industry are doing and showcase your own workmanship. The best part is seeing the talented builders and innovative ideas that keep the hot rod market fresh...

Unlimited Everything SEMA Show Pantera   Concept Art Provided by Problem Child Kustoms   Just your standard 1971 De Tomaso Pantera. Well, not quite. Add a combined 10 ka-jillion hours of design study, meetings to select from the many bitch'n ideas presented here, then a ridiculous amount of skill, passion and labor by the Ring Brothers to make this Pantera happen.   This is ADRNLN.   Now that the "cats out of the bag" (sorry, couldn't resist) my good buddy Brian Stupski from over at Problem Child Kustoms shared these design sketches. I guess before we get too far into those... better review what a Pantera  looks like like uncut:     Now compare that to the beast shown at SEMA Show 2013:     Fantastic execution like this doesn't happen by accident! So... light a candle, grab a beer or take 2 minutes to meditate on the best looking Pantera ever. Finished? What design cues would you choose? Scroll down these never seen before sketches that led to the final design. As you can see, Brian's got skills.   Need more info? Let us know? Brian can be reached...

Classics for sale on Nebraska Farms   Story and photos by Jim Volgarino   Pierce, Nebraska was the scene last month of an incredible auction consisting of probably the largest collection of original survivor cars that have been all in one place in the past 50 years. This was the Lambrecht Auto Auction.   Tiny Pierce had never seen anything quite like the spectacle that drew 20,000+ buyers and gawkers to the 80 acre plot where the 500 vehicles were sold off to the highest bidders. But that wasn't the only action happening!  Traveling from nearby Norfolk, Nebraska to Pierce was a show all of its own. Hundreds more vehicles, some easily as rare and collectible as those that fell under the auctioneer's gavel. From fully restored muscle to street rods, the entire 14 mile distance between the two towns was lined with enough iron to make any true car lover just quiver with joy. Here are just a few...   To see the rest, check out this Road To Lambrecht photo gallery.       Check out the Lambrecht Auction Page to see every...

The best Datsun Roadsters, 510's and Z's in Williams, AZ 3rd Annual Multi State Datsun Classic Wrap-up   Story and Pictures by Dale Herseth - All pictures from the Classic Datsun Show HERE   Dale already gave us a quick run-down of the event. If you missed that story here: 3rd Annual Multi State Datsun Classic. After that, I asked him to let us know who won and which cars he liked best. Thanks Dale!   Best of Show: Owners: Ryan and Shaunde Romaine Home town: Winchester, Ca Car: 1974 Datsun Bluebird-U SSS-E   This is a very rare car that was only built for the Japanese market.  In fact it was only built for approx 6 months in Japan.  Even though most Datsuns in 74 were carbureted, this car has factory fuel injection that feeds its L16 (1600cc) engine.  It was a very pristine car and deserving of Best in Show       1st place, 510 category Owners: Randy & Lisa Lewis Home town: Scottsdale, AZ Car: 1972 Datsun 510 Sedan   A very low mile example of a Datsun 510, with a unique story.  Randy purchased this car...

One of the best Datsun Car Shows in little Williams, AZ 3rd Annual Multi State Datsun Classic Story and Pictures by Dale Herseth - All pictures from the Classic Datsun Show HERE   Over the weekend of Oct 4th- 5th, Datsuns from several states including Arizona, California, Nevada, Washington, New Mexico, Texas, Florida and even Mexico migrated to the small town of Williams in northwest Arizona for the “3rd Annual Multi State Datsun Classic” car show.  Williams is a perfect spot for the automotive enthusiast and is right in the heart of old Route 66!  The whole town really gets behind this event and offers discounts at many food establishments as well as souvenir shops.   This year there were approx 80 classic Datsuns in attendance and it’s growing every year.  The organizers of this show are SOCALROC (Southern California Roadster Owners Club) and www.nostalgicdatsun.com.  They do a fantastic job putting on this event which is no small task.  They had T-shirts, dash plaques, awards, raffle prizes, and all the usual stuff that goes with any quality car show!   We drove up from Gilbert on Friday and stayed at a...

Lambrecht's Chevy Auction Wows'm all in Nebraska "Every state, including Alaska and 20 countries represented"   Story and photos by Jim Volgarino   It may have been the most common sentence stated during the entire Lambrecht Chevrolet auction.   “This is just crazy!”   Following a first day session where the group of MSO vehicles brought prices that were making people gulp pretty hard, there was still an expectation that the remaining inventory, much of it rated #5 which meant it was close to being just good for parts, might still get some solid prices. That remainder didn’t disappoint.   The auction company has a complete listing of the final sales prices on all the units, but some of the best examples may have been these:   1967 GMC pickup, no box, ¾ ton, decent sheet metal, engine frozen, interior trashed--$4500   1949 Chevy 3600 pickup, the heavy duty version with long box, etc., windows broken, interior eaten by mice--$5500   1960 Chevy Apache pickup, ½ ton, nothing special--$6300   1958 Ford Ranch Wagon, rated #5, yes, there were Fords available--$9000   1980 Chevy Monza, 9.4 miles, but who...

Lambrecht's Chevy Auction ready to start in Nebraska   Story and photos by Jim Volgarino The locals in Pierce, NE are simply amazed. For years the land just outside town near the golf course had held a collection of junk, hidden in the trees and underbrush until one day some heavy equipment arrived to begin clearing the area and carefully lifting rusted relics of vehicles from the grip of the undergrowth.   But today the tiny town of 1700 was swarmed by the masses of car enthusiasts, some estimating the crowds at easily 20,000, with traffic backed up for miles and news media recording the entire scene. It was indeed a Woodstock of sorts, but for car people, and the town folk embraced it. Let's call it, "Carstock".   “I’ve lived here all my life,” said a Pierce father who was corralling two young sons who kept saying, “Dad, why are all these people here?” “I’ve never, ever seen anything like this.”   Looking out over the crowd this first day of the much anticipated auction, you can just barely make out the shapes of the 500+ vehicles that are...