Built to be Driven one off NASCAR Inspired Torino Talladega   George Poteet's Rad Rides Built Talladega At any show there might be a ride you call out as your favorite with your buddies. Something, "not to miss!" I hear that... it's fun to pick a favorite, right? But then... every once in a while, there's a jaw dropping ride that grabs your attention and holds it for not just that afternoon, but for months. For me, with George Poteet's Rad Rides built Torino Talladega, I've been lusting over this car for almost a year.   (Click any picture to see it full size)   I saw pictures of the Talladega either online or in a magazine, but at the time, it wasn't killing me to see it. I knew Poteet's style of "ALL OUT" hot rods, and I knew with Troy Trepanier and his crew doing the work, it'd be built with beyond amazing details. Still, it wasn't until the 2012 Grand National Roadster Show debut, when I finally saw it first hand... in metal.  Should an unfinished car shouldn't be your pick for "NOT TO MISS"??  ...

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....

What Custom Car Show has the TOP Hot Rod?  This contest is CLOSED as of 5/5/13. Thank you. Got an opinion? Speak up now and win a set of Auto Meter Gauges worth $500! I believe: The Ridler Award - handed out at the Detroit Autorama in Feb/March America's Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR) award - handed out in January at the Grand National Roadster Show (GNRS) Are the most prestigious car show awards a hot rod or custom car can win. I suspect few, if any, will disagree. Well do ya? Let's talk about it! To settle the score and to check-the-pulse of MyRideisMe.com readers, I've arranged a detailed look at past Ridler and AMBR winners RIGHT HERE. Take yourself back a few years, then answer: Which car show presents the best hot rod or custom? Taken year by year, side by side... pick one! Then at the end of this post, cast your vote and you'll have a chance to win the Auto Meter Gauges. (Click on any picture for a larger, closer look.) I'm also posting links to the contenders (called, "Great 8" in Detroit) for each award for...

Hot Rods & Customs Long Exposure Photography It's never supposed to rain in Southern California! But it did and everyone attending the 2013 Grand National Roadster Show made the best of it. When the rain let up, I took full advantage shooting this vibrant 1950 GMC pickup owned by Eric Conner of El Cajon, CA. Ya dig? I couldn't stop at just one... but I noticed on nearly the last couple pictures I wanted to take that my lens had water drops all over it. Luckily for this pic, you can't really see it cause it's hiding in the grille. There looks to be a dent below the headlight, but that's not a dent, it's just a water drop! (click to see the water droplets!) I had so much fun with it, I decided to do a few more... (minus the rain this time) Paul Medina's 1947 Ford Business Coupe - Throttle Kings 1956 Ford Victoria (The blurs you see are people walking by. The shutter was open for 13 seconds) My Man Kopis' 1929 Ford Cabriolet Traditional Hot Rod - Throttle Kings 1955 Cadillac series 62 owned by Steve (last...

Cadillac's Top Model - Eldorado Biarritz When I saw this sexy Cadillac for sale at Auctions America Auburn Fall Auction - sorry, we missed it, it was Labor Day weekend... I immediately thought of a couple other Custom Cadillac Biarritz stories I did. Before we get to that, what's up with this award winning "Champagne Iridescent" Caddy? The experts predict the sale price at $80-100k. Here's what that gets you: By the 1960s’ Cadillac had claimed its supremacy as the flagship line for General Motors and bested the rest of its competition in the luxury car segment. Although the Eldorado line was heavily equipped with many luxuries that were standard on most models, it is worth mentioning the accessories that complete this outstandingly restored Biarritz. This particular car includes all power steering, brakes, windows, seats, top, antenna, plus Cadillac Air Suspension, cruise control, air-conditioning and much more. It is finished in Champagne Iridescent with complementing gold leather interior and black vinyl top. It is powered by a 390-cid V-8 with a Hydra-Matic Drive transmission. Most importantly, this example benefits from a no-expense spared restoration and is the recipient of an...

Hot Rod Pinstriping from Detroit I've been to many shows in the west... California, especially SoCal has hot rod shows or a cruise-in just about every day of the week and you can count on it on several on the weekends. So it's easier to grab pinstriping shots from the big shows like Grand National Roadster Show or LA Roadster Show or even Viva Las Vegas. So how does the pinstriping out in Detroit stack up to the west? You tell me. (Comment below, you don't have to join anything...) [nggallery id=63] See all of the MyRideisMe.com coverage of Detroit Autorama:  Detroit Autorama Hot Rods and Custom Cars or you can go straight to more pinstriping here: Pinstriping Features and Pictures I'm always looking for good pinstriping pictures. Got any to share? Please get in...

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,...

James Hetfield's 1937 Lincoln Zephyr Speechless. Hetfield showed two amazing rides at the 2012 Grand National Roadster Show. This is one. Unlike the photos I usually take, when I review them, I'm not moved like I was seeing the car first hand. Not, NOT true with this piece from photographer Tim Sutton with finishing by Coby Gewertz (of Church fame). Even more amazing? They were giving these away! Did you get one? So I asked Coby about the poster and how it was made. (Alert! Learning opportunity here...) Here's what Coby told me... Transforming a Hot Rod Photo: Rick Dore called and said he needed someone to design a poster for James' Zephyr in a hurry. I agreed to do it after hours from my day job under the condition that he had decent photography. It needed to be done in 3 days so they would have time to get it printed in time for the GNRS. He sent me 3 pics Tim Sutton had taken for Rod and Custom and away I went. I retouched all the reflections out of the car, added a new one, changed the...

Background and Details on the 2012 AMBR Winner How did editors and writers work before Google? I searched for some info on the man who started the 2012 America's Most Beautiful Roadster winning hot rod: Jack Howerton. I found this great video of "Jackie"  from back in the day: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUDD3gph8LM[/youtube] You can really see the expression of Jack's racing past in the AMBR car. Then, I found this great video by Cars.tv from the SoCal shop interviewing Pete Chapouris about the Indy Speedster following the shakedown runs. Needless to say, Pete likes it... [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cmFefotPwg[/youtube] So here it is: America's Most Beautiful Roadster: Bill Lindig's Indy Speedster If you missed them: Past Winners from the Grand National Roadster...

Hot Rod Pin-up Calendar If you're a poker player, peaking at your cards and seeing pocket aces, or in five card draw holding a set on the deal, you're feeling like you can't lose... Same thing's true with pinup photographer Mitzi's 2012 Pinup calendar. Mitzi's a long time friend of MyRideisMe.com shooting  and sharing pinups and the best hot rods custom cars from SoCal and beyond. Now she's delivering 12 months of hot rod pinups for your viewing pleasure. I just called for service, beer's on the house... tilt one back and check out the winning hand below. On the cover shown above is the lovely Miss Doris Mayday. Also seen as Miss September, Doris is welcoming you to Vegas in front of the Wild Cad hailing from Australia. Featured in magazines and online everywhere, owner Mario Colalillo's 1959 Cadillac Coupe de Ville has every mod and custom trick available and thanks to legendary customizer and painter Gene Winfield, has an amazing purple fade paint job. When you see Doris dealt face up like this... raise. Next up is Miss April, simply known as Mosh. Look closely and there's...

Hot Rod & Custom Car Photography Jeff Norwell's perfect hot rod pickup at the Moody Mile in Syracuse Whether your building your first hot rod or a website about hot rods, it's best to have a little help. The most generous people you meet help when really, there's nothing in it for them. They're just, "Like that".  That's the case for this featured photographer, Chuck Vranas. I met Chuck at the Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona, CA. He was floating around shooting here and there, but didn't look overly busy and rushed (like me), so I asked who he shoots for. At the time, he was shooting for Source Interlink powerhouse Street Rodder Magazine.  Chuck shoots and writes feature car and tech stories for Street Rodder quite a bit, especially lately. Check out the newest issues and you'll see stories Chuck did. It's almost like seeing someone you know on TV! (but totally different) Chuck is the real deal when it comes to hot rods too. Doesn't it kinda show when a photographer really likes what he's shooting? Ansel Adams can shoot some landscapes like nobody's business, but...

Custom 1953 Studebaker Coupe Altered Into A Fastback Studebaker folks are unfailingly interesting. So when I met John Saltsman at the 2011 Grand National Roadster Show this past January standing by his amazing Atomitron, a highly customized 1949 Studebaker pickup, I wasn't too surprised to hear that he had other Studebaker stories to share. However, when he produced the few pictures in existence of the 1953 Studebaker Coupe he modified as a teenager, I couldn't believe what I was seeing! The first unbelievable thing about this custom... It was built by John while he was still in high school! The year was 1970 and Fastback Mustang's were all the rage. He liked 'em, but couldn't afford one. What he lacked in cash he made up for with a wealth of car building knowledge in his family. Looking at the lines of the  '53 Coupe he figured it could be built into a fastback all his own. The main modification was creating the fastback. To do this, he took the trunk out of a 1949 Cadillac and covered the whole trunk section and back window with it, integrating it into...