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...
First Look and Still Rock’n – Viva 15
posted by MJacobs
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...
Edelbrock’s Rev’ved up Car Show for Charity
posted by pikesan
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 Sacramento Autorama – Hefield Domination
posted by pikesan
Custom Cars and Hot Rods in Sacramento Story Contributed by MyRideisMe.com member: Nick Koljian "Hellcity316" Oh it's that time of the year again.. The Sacramento Autorama kicks off the beginning of another soon to be amazing car show year here in Northern California. The Sacramento Autorama is now in its 62nd year with Sacramento known as “The Kustom Capital of the World” and boasts being home to one of longest running indoor car shows in the world. The Autorama is recognized as the premiere custom car show on the West Coast featuring over 450 of the finest custom cars, hot rods, classics, motorcycles, and specialty vehicles from around the county. As always,Autorama weekend is held at Cal Expo and take up the entire Expo Center. Let me give a little tid-bit of show facts for this years show. The 2012 show theme is Futuristic. Cars and Vendors are encouraged to decorate with this theme. Cool. Over 500 show vehicles will compete for awards inside all of the Cal Expo buildings. The Clubhouse will be in The Pavilion and up to another 500 vehicles will join the event Saturday and...
2012 Ridler Winner – Family Peace 55 Thunderbird
posted by pikesan
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...
Going Down – Basement Best at 2012 Detroit Autorama
posted by pikesan
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...
Damn Great, but Not Great 8 – Detroit Autorama’s Best
posted by pikesan
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,...
It’s the Great 8 – Ridler Award Contenders 2012
posted by pikesan
2012 Detroit Autorama Ridler Award Contenders More fun than the republican primary! Vote for your favorite below. Can't get enough of the Autorama? Check out these other stories: -- Here's the winner! Skip ahead and see the Ridler Winner -- Damn Great, but Not Great 8 – Detroit Autorama’s Best -- Going Down – Basement Best at 2012 Detroit Autorama It's about time. I've been grabbing photos from friends for long enough. It's time for a personal account of the hot rods and custom cars that make up the Detroit Autorama, especially the best of the best, the Ridler cars. For the 60th Anniversary of the Detroit Autorama, the competition is extra tough... Fact is, I couldn't figure out what cars were the "Great 8"! Rules for the Ridler are pretty simple: The cars should show: Creativity, Engineering and Workmanship. (What they don't mention is that the winner typically shows all three of these in a way, most likely, never seen before or done in a way that'll cause mouths to hit the floor) Just a few other rules, the Ridler contenders must be showing for...
Get Your Race On With OUSCI
posted by GreaseGirl
For the past 4 years, Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational has been bringing out the best of the best for real road-proving competition. Directly after the SEMA Show in November, chosen vehicles drive out to Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch in Pahrump, NV. Each year, the competition has gotten hotter. Click here to see a 2-minute teaser on Optima's YouTube Channel! This coming weekend is the first chance for you to see the action of all four catagories up close and personal on SPEED. The special's premier will be this Saturday, February 25th at 2 p.m. ET. In addition to the Saturday, Feb. 25 airing, the 2011 OPTIMA Invitational is scheduled to re-air on SPEED at the following times: · Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012 at 3 a.m. ET · Sunday, March 11, 2012 at 2:30 p.m. ET · Saturday, March 24, 2012 at 11 a.m. ET If you catch the action, let us know what you thought of...
Hot Rod Pickup at Night – Desktop Photo
posted by pikesan
Hot Rod & Custom Car Photography - 1936 Ford Pickup Download this hot rod pickup for your desktop. It's a big file, so give it some time... I get some cool shots sometimes too! I just posted the combo of Coby and Tim Sutton's beyond sick 1937 Lincoln Zephyr photo which is a shot, of a caliber (get it?) I aspire to create some day. Through some luck, good timing and maybe a developing eye for light, I got this shot of my friend Jim Ramirez's hot rod pickup. I knew this hot rod 1936 Ford pickup in suede blue paint with a really tough looking spade pinstriped on the door. That's going back to 2008, the first year I covered the LA Roadster Show. His pickup has changed! Last year, Jim parked in the suede palace, but this year, he's outside sip'n Tecate's with his car club pals the Throttle Kings. One thing you can count on with the Throttle Kings, their hot rods evolve... and they don't have air ride! From back in 2008 at the LA Roadster Show: Closer to present day... here's some other shots of Jim's...
Courtney Force – Learning to Drive 300 mph Video
posted by pikesan
Courtney Force of John Force Racing Team Hard work pays off... It's working for MyRideisMe.com to get me access to the best, bar none, funny car and drag racing team there is: John Force Racing for this interview. It's also working for Courtney Force. Sure, she's got a leg up as the daughter of 15x funny car champion John Force, but do you think he's the type of guy that'd throw his beautiful daughter into a 300 mph funny car without her wanting it? Earning it! No way. So learn a little more about Courtney and driving 300 in this video. Thanks! [youtube]http://youtu.be/v6SPxrlpqhM[/youtube] Behind every great driver is a great team. Here's Courtney's crew: Thanks for letting me poke around all day...
Polish Drifting – No Really… Polish Drifting
posted by pikesan
Drifting at it's best in the mountains of Poland Story courtesy of Drift.ro It was mid-September, 2011, and something big was about to go on in Poland, in the small mountain resort of Karpacz, near the border with the Czech Republic. The usual quietness of the whole area was about to be heavily disturbed as preparations were being made for the 4th Round of the Polish Drift Championship, currently seen as one of the highest rated drifting championship in the whole of Europe. The event had been stirring up quite some interest in Europe in the preceding month, as the course layout was going something never witnessed before in the history of Official Drifting Competitions. It was no racetrack, but it was a street course. More exactly, the event was going to be unfolded on what every drift fan would recognize as being : the Touge. An almost 1km long track, set up at the base of the mountain, going up using two narrow lanes, winding all the way up to the finish line. In two days, more than 25,000 people attended to the event , and it is...