Online Hot Rod Magazine and Custom Car Pics

I'm a huge air-cooled vdub nut at heart.  My first car was a 1972 Standard Beetle that I bought for $500.  With my dad's help we turned it into a nice Cal-Looker with new bright Corvette yellow paint, black 8 spoke Empi's, freshened heads and new interior kit.  I was even a member of the Wasatch Vintage Volkswagen Club for about a year until I sold that Bug to get wedding/honeymoon money. On to this past Saturday, where I took my wife and 3 young sons to the No Show in Kaysville, Utah.  This was the 4th annual show and is put on my the Northern Utah VW Club.  I've been to the 2nd and 3rd annual shows as well.  This year's show was at a new venue and it seemed bigger and better, with more cars and people.  This No Show is a laid back affair, just the style of VW owners.  They have a Hot Wheels track set up for the "kids" to race and the trophies are miniature vdub scenes using rusty hot wheels.  As we were driving up to the Show, we pulled off the freeway...

I've been havin' a hard time getting any grease on my hands lately as there's just too many cool things to do during summer! I got wind of the 8th Annual Main Street El Segundo Car Show just the day before while at Loyola Auto Interiors (thanks Luis for helping me out with fixing my side panels!) Lucky for me I heard about it because I sure enjoyed strolling along Main Street on a beautiful Saturday afternoon with about 125 cars to gaze at of all different shapes, sizes, and styles. The atmosphere was just how a So-Cal beach town should be - laid back with a variety of cool people.. While I enjoyed the whole event, below you'll find my choice picks...enjoy! Let me know if ya happened to be there and which picks you like too! 1. Most Artistic Hot Rod. This 1930 Ford was customized in Ngoya, Japan and now calls Carson its home. It was a treat to see it on the street! 2. Best Summer Cruiser. Gee it'd be nice to cruise down the coast in this beauty wagon/tear-drop trailer combo wouldn't it? Surf,...

Bonneville Salt Flats Inspired Hot Rod Thanks to Speedhunters.com for this beautiful shot of Rex's amazing Lakes Modified roadster at Speedweek 2009. If you had the engineering and fabrication skills of Rex Schimmer, how would you build a Model A roadster?  If (or when) I build a roadster, it could look much like this 1929 Lakes Modified Ford roadster!  Rex is actually a MyRideisMe.com member.  You can see his MyRideisMe Garage and make his ride one of your favorites and put him in your "crew" like I did. Rex's roadster is unmistakeably a traditional style Lakes Modified build, but it is also very unique and one of a kind.  Read on to find out exactly what went into this 7 year project, which culminated in the ultimate drivable roadster you see here. Rex: How did I get into cars? Been a car guy since I was 11 or 12. I started reading the "small" magazines, Rod and Custom, Car Craft, etc. around 1955 and bought my first car, 1953 Ford Victoria hardtop in 1958. I dropped it using dropped spindles, cut coils and a de-arched spring, removed the hood and trunk chrome, frenched the head lights...

During one of my daily classifieds searches, I happened upon a really cool vintage toolbox for sale that was pinstriped.  In the ad was a pinstripers blog, Andy's Pinstriping.  Of course I had to check it out (and so should you) and that's when I knew we had to feature Andy's work at MyRideisMe.com and add his work to our Pinstriping Gallery. So take a look at Andy's work and read below a little background info on how he got started.  Believe it or not, Andy's relatively new to pinstriping, but you wouldn't know it by looking at his lines.  Go ahead and see what Andy has to say about pinstriping and get ready to be inspired.  MyRideisMe: How did you get into pinstriping? Andy: I grew up around hot rods and custom cars, and have always had an artistic streak inside me; I got into painting cars while I was in high school, and I took a 2 year college course in Auto Body & Paint. I have never had any formal training in pinstriping, but I have always respected it as a nearly lost art form, and I...

The Legendary Custom Cars and Hot Rods of Gene Winfield is a new offering from Motorbooks written by David Grant. The title could have had an addendum that says "A pure automotive styling genius far ahead of his time." I became a huge fan of Gene from the first time I laid eyes on his creations in the "little books" when I lived on the East coast. The book gives you a tremendous insight as to how he did what he did. This man just went out and built his dreams. If there was a part he needed and was not available, he manufactured it. Gene fabricated his own dual carb intake manifold for his '31 Model A, constructed custom headlight rings from hub caps, fingertip control steering and a camera & small television to substitute for a rear view mirror are a few of his innovations.     Within the storyline of this book we are allowed into his private life by hearing stories about him from former members of the Century Toppers Car Club as well as former coworkers "Hammer Happy" and Sam Foose. The text is...

Dean Jeffries 50 Fabulous Years in Hot Rods, Racing and Film By Tom Cotter This new book on Dean Jeffries, written by Tom Cotter (and forwarded by Bruce Meyer) is a fun look at the career of one of the most under-rated builders of all-time. As stated right from the beginning, Jeffries was never one to "toot his own horn", and this may be a large part of the reason that many folks don't know that much about this incredibly talented man. While he was one of the pioneers of the custom car movement (alongside the more "celebrity" names like Barris, Winfield, Von Dutch and Ed Roth), he's always been relegated to the footnotes, or seems to play the "behind-the-scenes" role more often than not. The humble visionary was born in Lynwood, California in 1933, the second of three children, and from an early age took an interest in cars... but preferred metal work to mechanical, as he hated to get his hands dirty. His father being a mechanic and truck driver who wrenched on race cars (midgets, namely), took young Dean to the races, further inspiring him. Jeffries...

Salt Flat Recap: Story by my Dad, Greg Martin, who I was lucky enough to spend speed week with! I’ve never seen such a group as these speed freak, salt flat hot rodders. I do believe they would all agree with Mark Twain’s adage, “Let us so live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry.” My first impression after riding my bicycle down the three-mile-long pits was that maybe I had stumbled upon a movie set for yet another Mad Max movie. I fully expected to see Mel (Max Rockatansky) Gibson or Tina (Aunty Entity) Turner come screaming down the pits followed by a cackle of hyenaish groupies. Oh, well it must have been the immediate effects of the blazing reflections off the salt – the old timers told me to make sure you put plenty of sunblock on the bottom of my chin and nose. I was amazed by the diversity of cars and syckles that ranged from the do it yourself bring what ya got to the high-tech, hyper-slick long blown fuel streamliners with a million secrets beneath their perfect skin. The...

Bonneville Salt Flat Pictures: One great thing about attending Speedweek at Bonneville Salt Flats is that there's something for everyone. You get to watch all sorts of vehicles leaving from the same starting line, all seeking to break the record of whatever class they're in. And just like in the "good ol' days" of hot rodding - the only thing anyone really cares about is going fast! But until I get to sit behind the wheel and drive down the salt at record breaking speeds, I've gotta pay attention to some of the other details that just might not have anything to do with speed! So here it is...Grease Girl's picks for Salt Flat Favorites 2009. Best Way to Get Around. This isn't a mini-sized hotwheel! This is a monster-truck sized red wagon! Best Body Type. Call me partial, but I can't help but have a little pride when the most common body type ya see at Bonneville is nearly as old as Speedweek and happens to be almost identical to my own daily driver! That's right, Studebaker Coupe's were aerodynamic when first made and they just keep on...

She started out as a yellow, fairly stock, 1962 International Scout 80 2WD.  She was powered by the original slant 4-cylinder, producing a shattering 83 horsepower while sitting on the original frame and suspension which included leaf springs all around.  Seating was less than luxurious, sporting the stock bench seat with broken springs. By the time “Unbound” hit the streets, not a square inch was left untouched by the builder, Marty Schreiber of n2 Hot Rods (n2HotRods.com), and designer/owner, Chris Adams (SYTCN@cox.net). The stock chassis and suspension were replaced with a custom full Art Morrison chassis with independent front suspension and a 4-bar rear end with panhard bar.  The ride was smoothed out with adjustable coil-over springs on all four corners, and stopping power was updated with a host of Wilwood components including dual master cylinders, 13” 6-piston discs in the front and 12” 4-piston discs in the rear. The new power plant was put together by Turn Key Engine Supply and came in the form of a LS6 Corvette engine producing just over 400 ft. lbs. of torque.  The LS6 got mated up to a 4L60E transmission, controlled...

Bonneville Hot Rods Yearly Car Show:     2009 Bonneville Nugget Casino Car Show Picture Gallery is now online!   After the Salt closes on the first Friday and Saturday of Speedweek, hot rods, street rods, a street-driven belly tanker and any ride that made the trip to Bonneville congregate to relax at the Golden Nugget Casino parking lot.   This is not your typical car show, these cars are driven hours and hours to make this show.  There were numerous cars from California and as far as Nebraska. (any farther?)  Make sure to check out the Nugget Car Show at next year! Check out the Nugget Car Show Gallery for more pics!...

Bonneville Salt Flats Hot Rod:   One piece of the Bonneville Speedweek recipe that can't be forgetten is the get together on Friday and Saturday night at the Golden Nugget in Wendover. From a Salt insider, the Nugget Car Show is not an official car show. You won't find any websites announcing the Car Show, but it just sort of happens. It has become a tradition. Enter Jerry Armijo and his 1933 Ford Pick up hot rod.     As I was strolling the Nugget parking lot soaking in the hot rods, I saw this pick up full of Salt. It was not the only hot rod with salt covering it, but it appeared to be the rod with the most.   One of my favorite parts of the Bonneville Salt Flats is how the salt gets everywhere. These open wheeled hot rods are especially good at flinging the salt. I started snapping pictures of this rod and how the salt was basically covering the windshield when I met Jerry, the proud owner.Here's what I found out about this cool ride.   It's a 1933 Ford Pick up. When...

Bonneville Salt Flats Tragedy: With all the excitement about Bonneville Speed Week, before I post my first blog and pictures, I want to show my respect following the tragic death of a great family man and land speed racer, Barry Bryant. Unfortunately, I only knew of Barry Bryant of Anderson, California by his race car.  I told some friends about a sinister looking, long and bad, silver and black competition coupe that stood out as one of my favorites on the salt.  After describing the car as best I could, I learned it was the Bryant family's "Tom Thumb Special" Late in the afternoon of 8/9/2009, Barry Bryant crashed near the 5 mile marker on the long course at Bonneville traveling close to 200 mph. MyRideisMe.com would like to express our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Barry Bryant. If you knew Barry, please leave a...