Online Hot Rod Magazine and Custom Car Pics

While cruising Myspace looking for car and bike enthusiasts to bring to the light of MyRideisMe.com, I learned of the 16th Annual YOKOHAMA HOT ROD Custom Show 2007 that happened December 2nd in Pacifico Yokohama sponsored by Mooneyes Yokohama. I’ve got a special interest in what’s going on in Japan since I work for Nissan and I lived in Harajuku, Tokyo, Japan in 2000. When there, I’d occasionally see a car that was completely out of place: an old Chevy wagon or a vintage Mustang, but nothing like what’s at this show. To find the best pics of a Japanese show you look at Japanese websites, right? Good luck! That's where a new friend from Myspace named Jiro from Gifu, Japan (near Osaka) helped me find some of those websites, especially this one: SP@RETIME. Maki Kurata from Nagoya, Japan runs Sp@retime and it is LOADED with outstanding pictures of the bike and hot rod scene in Japan. The picture to the left was just loaded. Maki and his buddies are riding in Japan now and it is COLD there now! This gallery's called: いつものメンツで極寒ナイトクルーズ！ which loosely translates to: "The...

With a name like KillaCycle, why wouldn't you want to ride it? Here is the world's fastest electric drag bike. Being a devout, fossil fuel burning, carbon dioxide emission making biker I’m usually skeptical of anything linking the words electric and motorcycle. However, this bike garnered my interest for two stories that I heard. First, it holds the world record for electric motorcycles by running the quarter mile in 7.824 seconds at 168 mph. Second, it made quick work of the owner, Bill Dube of Denver, who attempted a burn out and nearly proved that the bike’s moniker is accurate. It appears that the bike is about 200 pounds of batteries connected to two DC motors than run a chain drive to the rear wheel and not much else. For plenty of pictures, video and information check out...

Where do I start? Gregg’s cord of woody wagons, Dale’s nostalgia RPU or their dad Terry’s custom gauge panels? When you meet a family as nice as the Seaholm’s out of Tucson, AZ, their story needs to be told. Stories like this define My Ride is Me. My dad and I have been going to shows and swaps forever, so I know what it’s like to be there with family. For kindling, here’s Gregg’s other woody… (click on any picture to make it bigger!) I didn’t grab too many details on this one, but as you can see it’s got perfectly restored wood, a killer stance and Radir wheels with wide white walls. I dig the picture I got where it’s behind Gregg’s prize. This woody is one of my favorite rides from the entire show. Dug out of a garage in Pasadena, CA, stored since 1964 by the 2nd owner, dig this 1940 Ford Woody. Can you believe, after all that time, in 2006, the guy’s wife said, “Get it outta here!” Gregg’s got a good friend in Wes Aplanalp over at Woodies USA in Cave Creek, AZ...

By now, this isn't breaking news, but I just heard it. I thought I kept up with hot rod and general car news, but I guess not. On top of that, I'm a big fan of Chip Foose. There are several good blogs that are writing about this story. Basically, Unique Performance has been busted and raided. Check it out: Shelby severing ties with Unique Performance Round 2: Unique Performance fires back at Shelby Foose Cuts All Ties With Unique Performance Unique Performance raided by local police What a mess! Uniqueperformance.com website is DOWN... I'll try to update this story as I follow it. I hope Foose's name is cleared. Everything I've seen or read says he's a solid guy. The NY Times added this: A Cloud Over Reborn Shelby...

Written by MyRideisMe feature Member: Mr. Freeze Let me start off by saying that I didn’t think that Goodguys Scottsdale would be the premier show for this build or that the truck would set new standards in the hot rod world. Goodguys was only a time goal for this build. The 40 Ford Cab was purchased for some parts for another project and then it was to be discarded or sold. The more I looked at it the more I thought that it would be a neat build. A friend and I started building the 2x3 box frame Z’d 6” in the front and 14” in the rear and after only a week we got it rolling. We chose a 292 Y-block and for that eye candy factor topped it off with a 6 deuce intake. After some deliberation we decided that this ride would be much cooler with a three speed. Out back, we chose a 56 Ford 4:11 truck axle with 56 front brakes. But it was soon pushed to the side for another project. Here's where we sat so far... It sat for a while and...

Custom Van with a Blown 428 Pontiac So you’ve owned it since you were 16?Yes.And that was when?1973.So then, what’s the next obvious question…Why’d a 16 year old kid buy a van?I’m a drummer! Mark Greenwell of Phoenix, AZ drove this 1966 Chevy Van to the 2007 Scottsdale Goodguys show and immediately caught my eye.The sun setting on those retro-perfect murals blew me away.I knew right away this van had a story.Check these out: (click to enlarge) I hadn’t looked inside yet. The original murals were painted in 1978.That was right after the van was totaled in an accident coming back from Flagstaff, AZ in the snow.$550 bought the van back from the insurance agency and Mark, a mechanic by trade, went to work.His work paid off when the truck was featured in the 1982 centerfold of Truckin Magazine.Back then, it ONLY had a turbocharged 350 mounted between the seats.Then, in 1987, Mark rebuilt the truck again.This time, he went over the top.Take a look inside: You’re looking at a twin turbo 428 Pontiac with and Hillborn Fuel Injection backed by a Powerglide trans with race converter and trans...

Thanks to our new freinds at T and L Engine Development, Inc for this How-To article. Stay tuned for an article and build info on their 575 HP all aluminum Ford Small block 427! Also, be sure to check out their Ebay Store for the best in Ford and Chevy engines. Upgrading to a roller camshaft; is it cost efficient? Pictures and text by Eric LaBore Camshafts have always been and continue to be the basis of argument among many engine builders and car enthusiasts alike. How much lift, the right duration, lobe centerlines and separation angles, there are so many aspects and conditions to consider. It requires many years of research, experience and an in depth understanding of the internal combustion engine to become an expert in choosing the best possible design. However, one thing that is widely agreed upon; for the best performance and reliability, a roller camshaft is the way to go. There are two basic categories among camshafts; flat tappet and roller. Flat tappet cams are the ones most people are familiar with. Most of your V-8 engines in the muscle car era came standard...

I’ll be doing several feature stories about the cars I liked at the show. I expect you won’t like all of them. Isn’t that what makes MyRideisMe? Otherwise, we’d use the name ThatOtherGuysRideAintMeAtAll.com.biz.tv.net.org. (we would have, but that domain’s already taken!) Here’s what’s in store: The Dragon Wagon owned by Mark Greenwell of Phoenix, AZ Kissing Cousin (to my car!) owned by Joe Clifford of Scottsdale, AZ The Hand-Me-Down 65 Dodge D200 owned by Mike & Luz Wilson of Phoenix, AZ The Cool Gold 38 Chrysler owned by Mike Flynn of Lake Havasu, AZ Swede with a Need for Speed – Tucson, AZ’s Seaholm family rides and service with bonus info about Hi Speed the hot rod shop that’s been helping the Seaholm family. Hank’s Killer Anglia (Who knows Hank? or his wife’s Willy's truck?) My Pops freshly built T-bucket (You did great dad! You’re my inspiration!) Mr. Freeze, Rob Zollar’s “Up All Night” 40 Ford Pickup Then, if that wasn’t enough, I’ll be breaking the story on this car and what’s happening at Squeeg’s Custom in Mesa, AZ. First time out, this amazing car fittingly won an award....

Mess-up fuel pump, lost air bleed screw for the new carbs, broken rocker stud, up all night getting ready for the show and sore-as-hell-legs. We had a great time! Here’s my recap of the 2007 Goodguys Show in Scottsdale, AZ. That all didn’t happen to me, I did change the fuel pump on my car, but probably didn’t need to. The new pump only hit about 1.5psi to start, then up to 3, back to 1, all over the place. Finally, she settled in and makes 3 psi as I’d hoped. My friend Joe helped out by taking this photo. By the way, your battery will go dead if you leave the pump on. sigh. For the big day, Saturday, we met at 6AM at a gas station. 6 of us left together headed north on the 101. Just as we hit the freeway, I decided I’d better get gas… duh, shoulda done that before. As soon as I got back on the road, I saw my pops and his friend Larry on the side of the road. Broken rocker stud. Larry had it at the show by 11!...

It takes 3 months for show coverage to make it to Street Rodder or Goodguy's Gazette, but with the internet, I can tell stories the same night! CNN eat your heart out! Tonight, thanks the club president Bob Bailey, I met the Phoenix, AZ members of the Over the Hill Gang. Bob said there'd be about 40 member attending, and there were. I was pleasantly surprised to see so many women members attending too. Whether they're supporting their husbands or driving their own hot rod, I think it's fantastic! The 'Gang's busy getting ready for the November 16-18 Scottsdale Goodguys show. Not only are they bringing their cars, they're also the host club helping with everything from admission to the swap meet. They're also leading the shop tour that starts from West World at 9 AM. When you see their yellow shirts, say hi! The member's gave me a few minutes to explain who I am and, "What's a My Ride is Me? I hope they all take a look and join. It's all FREE! Thanks again for the great opportunity to spread the word about MyRideisMe.com. Here's a...

I'm not sure when I started working on this project, but it was at least 4 years ago. I wanted to build a trick intake setup for my Pinto Powered Roadster called Bonnie. Bonnie's always turned heads, even parked next to MUCH higher dollar rods. I have to admit that I like that. The intake design is from a tech article I read from the Inglese website. It explains why individual runner intakes and weber carbs are the hot setup. Now, with the new intake finally on, I'm gonna get more people asking, "What engine is that?" So here's where I left off... the last thing to do was weld the flange that would hold the throttle cable: My Friend Aaron welded everything up for me. It came out nice, then I took it to the sand blast cabinet. After, it looked like cast aluminum, but it weighs less than 3 lbs. These are the before and after blasting shots. Then finally, here's what it looks like all mounted up. I can't wait to spend hours trying to tune this thing! But, I'm gonna wait to fire it up...

From Lincoln Electric A Guide to Aluminum Welding Reprinted courtesy of Welding Design and Fabrication magazine. Equipment Selection, Material Prep, Welding Technique... A Guide to Aluminum Welding Reprinted courtesy of Welding Design and Fabrication magazine. Follow the rules of thumb offered here for selecting welding equipment, preparing base materials, applying proper technique, and visually inspecting weldments to ensure high-quality gas-metal-and gas tungsten-arc welds on aluminum alloys. Even for those experienced in welding steels, welding aluminum alloys can present quite a challenge. Higher thermal conductivity and low melting point of aluminum alloys can easily lead to burnthrough unless welders follow prescribed procedures. Also, feeding aluminum welding wire during gas-metal-arc-welding (GMAW) presents a challenge because the wire is softer than steel, has a lower column strength, and tends to tangle at the drive roll. To overcome these challenges, operators need to follow the rules of thumb and equipment-selection guidelines offered here... Gas-metal-arc-welding: Base-metal preparation: To weld aluminum, operators must take care to clean the base material and remove any aluminum oxide and hydrocarbon contamination from oils or cutting solvents. Aluminum oxide on the surface of the material melts at 3,700 F...