Online Hot Rod Magazine and Custom Car Pics

1955-1959 Chevrolet Truck New Gauge Style   I'm happy to showcase another great new product from our friends at Auto Meter. To complement their 1955-1956 Chevy Bel Air gauge panel, they're now custom making a gauge set for every Chevy Truck from 1955-1959. Set your truck apart with this great looking new panel!  MORE in the official press release below... read on!   From Auto Meter:   Introducing Auto Meter Nostalgia Series Five Gauge Mount for 55 - 59 Chevrolet Truck   July 17, 2013, Sycamore, IL - The dashboard design of the 55 - 59 Chevrolet "Task Force" trucks is regarded by many enthusiasts as one of the hallmarks of that generation of pickups. However, the nearly 60 year old original instruments are hardly up to today's standards. Whether you're working on a resto-mod or a full blown hot rod issues of installation and compatibility where newer performance engines and transmissions are concerned are likely to cause you some headaches.     Historically the unique V-shaped opening of the original speedometer cowl in the dashboard made the upgrade to better aftermarket instruments a difficult task without disrupting the...

Drop's Good Enough for Shelby are Great for Me! Well, I finally got it done! After tons research, probably too much, and asking around about what's commonly known as the "Shelby Drop", if braved the Arizona summer and dropped my 1963 Ford Falcon wagon. Wish I could tell you how it handles, but it's still a project. Why the Shelby Drop? To find out, I did some checking in with my Falcon and Mustang buddies at Fordsix.com. Fordsix.com's a great place to learn about all kinds of six cylinder engines, as well as the cars and trucks that use them. There's folks from all over the world helping out... The main benefits of the Shelby Drop may not be what you think... it does lower the ride height (maybe up to 5/8"), just a little, but the biggest advantages are: Improved suspension geometry Improved body roll (resistance to roll) A higher tendency to oversteer instead of understeer as designed by Ford Better use of slightly wider, better constructed modern radials There's quite a bit of info out there, mostly for Mustangs, to look over. Check out these if you're still on...

Cheap Paint Guns Still Shoot Metal Flake   When I posted  my metal flake FAIL I heard from my new friend Chris at Chaotic Customs. He made a great how-to story about creating a custom metal flake roof for your ride.   (Picture from my vast photo archive, I have no idea what paint gun was used here or who's ride this is...)   Great Chris, but I don't have a $300 paint gun, and guess what, as often as I use one, I doubt I'll spend the money on one since we all have so many toys we want. (plus, as my friends would attest, I'm a tight-ass!)   Challenge accepted! (and then some) Chris came through with a how-to video for shooting metal flake and he used a cheap Harbor Freight gun! I hope we can all afford $30-40 for a gun and if you watch, Harbor Freight has 20% coupons available almost all the time. Chris also shows a few more details about setting up the gun and what he literally throws away when using the HF gun.   It's a fun video with great commentary... Thanks a million...

I seriously hope this is the newest trend!   Saw this picture on Facebook and fell out of my chair. Had to share it. Cause I care. To be fair. Stop there.   Searched around and found some more pictures and the source of the article. It's on a website called "The Amazo Effect". Here' s a link to the story called: Saab 92H & 92HK - The Caravans Of Love   I'm a wagon fan, and a fan of the generally wacky. These fit right in! Like...

Now Available...2013 Russell Performance Plumbing Catalog TORRANCE, CA (July 10, 2013) - Russell Performance, a division of Edelbrock LLC, which offers a complete line of Advanced Fluid Transfer Systems, has a new catalog available for 2013. Since Russell joined the Edelbrock family in 2000, the Russell brand has established itself as a leader in the performance plumbing market.   The 2013 edition of the Russell Automotive catalog includes over 2,200 automotive products, including stainless steel and fabric braided hose, hose ends, specialty fittings and adapters, complete brake lines, clutch lines, tools and more. One of this year's new products includes a line of Full Flow Swivel Hose Ends with a mirror polished anodized finish. They feature a two-piece socket and hose end design for stocking flexibility and selection. This new line of hose ends is available in five colors, giving the consumer a variety of colors to choose from for their build.   This catalog is available for free, in print or on CD and is also viewable online. The online catalog is offered in a media rich format that can be viewed on both PC's and mobile devices, including...

Chaotic Customs shows us how Metal Flake's done! The internet can be a great source of info, and if you're lucky, you'll find some good friends generous enough to help make a giant metal flake FAIL a big win. I got this email:   Hi, my name is Chris Carlson and I own Chaotic Customs. I saw your metal flake fail on Royboy Productions FB page and thought I'd give you my two cents. Painters have a few tricks up their sleeves to make it look easy. I've attached pictures of the 1965 Thunderbird we're building for the girls here at Chaotic. The roof is flaked, panel painted and laced. Hope this helps you out!   Shooting metal flake and getting the flake to sparkle and dance does take practice. However, I’m willing to let you in on a few tried and true custom painting tricks!   First off, spray a base color that has coarse metallic in the paint.     For the flake, you need two guns, this makes it so much easier for the layering process! Unless you are using Monster Flake, you can use a...

Your 1955-1956 Chevrolet Bel-Air Never Looked Better!   It may be official now... Auto Meter's making just about every custom gauge set except what I need for my 1963 Falcon Wagon! Now with the 1955-56 Chevy Bel-Air custom gauge set ready to ship, what else would set off your custom Chevy better? Get the gauge panel then pick the perfect gauges to fit your ride. MORE in the official press release below... read on!   From Auto Meter: Introducing Auto Meter Nostalgia Series Five Gauge Mount for 55 - 56 Chevrolet Bel-Air   July 2, 2013, Sycamore, IL - The dashboard design of the 1955 - 1956 Chevrolet Bel-Air is regarded by many enthusiasts as one of the most beautiful and iconic interior stylings ever produced. However, the nearly 60 year old original instruments found in those cars are hardly up to today's standards of technology, response and accuracy.   Whether you're working on a resto-mod or a full blown hot rod issues of installation and compatibility where newer performance engines and transmissions are concerned are likely to cause you some headaches. Historically the unique arc-shaped opening of the...

OPTIMA Faceoff at Road America Awards - A Hot Rod Wins! Optima Faceoff at Road America Awards Four OPTIMA Invitational Entries Among Largest Group of Participants in Faceoff History, 1964 Chevy Corvette, 2013 Nissan GTR, 1963 Pontiac Tempest and 1981 Pontiac Trans Am earned entries to the 2013 OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational   June 25, 2013 (MILWAUKEE) – The OPTIMA® Faceoff at Road America, presented by Royal Purple and K&N Filters, returned to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, this past weekend with more than 70 participants. The event, which will be showcased on television later this fall, kicked-off on Friday, June 21 at Johnson Controls Headquarters with a car show and charitable OPTIMA Build-A-Bike event benefiting Milwaukee area Boys & Girls Clubs and Neighborhood House of Milwaukee. The Faceoff at Road America is a Regional Qualifier event leading up to OPTIMA’s Ultimate Street Car Invitational, to be held in Pahrump, NV, after the SEMA show in early November.   The driving and fun began Saturday as all of the Faceoff participants drove more than 60 miles through Wisconsin’s scenic Kettle Moraine State Park to the Road America facility in the Detroit...

The Random Best of - Ahhh... you were sick of engine pics Well, I've done "Best of" for engines at the LA Roadster Show the last couple years. You didn't want that again did ya? Well here are those stories, just in case: 2011 Best engine and 2010 Best Engines   Otherwise, here are a few random, "Best of's" from the 2013 LA Roadster Show.                               Until next year! If you've got some "best of" shots I missed, let me know. I'd love to see them. Email to...

Chevrolet Advance Design Series - Custom Hauler Another sweet ride for sale at the LA Roadster Show. (click to see pictures full size)   If you haven't been around MyRideisMe.com much, I'll let you know, I usually don't feature cars for sale. I mean, if it's "My Ride is Me" then why you selling it? Also, I don't typically get into bikes. Like to look at them, love the way they sound... just not my bag. But... this old Chevy truck spoke to me!   As part of the universal "ACME Services" this truck does it all. From Used Tires to Bail Bonds to Speed Equipment. I'm sorta guessing that this is a 1953 Chevy truck by the "Est 1953" on the door. The Chevrolet "Advance Design" series as they were called from 1947 until 1955 had some pretty small changes year to year. Did I get it right? Wing  or vent windows in the door didnt' appear until 1951 and push-button door handles (like this truck has) didn't appear until 1952. 1953 showed a change to the hood lettering for 3100, 3600 and so on based on load...

Gasser Rambler - Four Door Baddess! Feast your eyes on this beauty spotted at the LA Roadster Show.   Yea, I thought I was the only one crazy enough to dream about a 4-door wagon built as a gasser. While I dreamed about it, this person (be happy to publish your name if I knew it) actually built it, then had it for sale in the swap area. Pure madness! I love it!! (Dig the super long ladder bars showing here!)     From the other side. You see the only (small) flaw in the as-found patina of this Rambler Ambassador "Super". I'll say! (Can someone verify the year for me?) I dig the way the flaked helmet is reflecting on the front wheel. Dream yourself behind the wheel... on the track or rolling through your neighborhood with neighbors shaking their heads and kids running for cover!   So I said I dreamed it and my buddy Joel drew it for me! This bad boy's still sitting on the side of my house waiting for it's turn. My friends will tell you, don't hold your breath! One day, some incarnation...

More Favorite Flake Roof Photography   (Click on any photo to see it full size)   The LA Roadster Show's about as good as it gets for finding customs and hot rods. Nobody argues that SOCAL was where it all started. Among all the cool rides Brian (from problemchildkustoms.com) and I saw at the 2013 event, we collected just a few of our favorite "Flaked Roof" examples to continue on what's been a popular story: Metal Flake Roof Dazzling Photos. So here goes... Which one's your favorite?           Turns out this is Eric Conner's custom 1950 Chevy Deluxe. I shot Eric's old truck at night and was really happy with how it turned out: Night Shots - Long Exposure (no, I'm not stalking him... The Fellas Socal are doing it right! Bo Swan's a Fellas too.)               I guess I'll close with this shot. This all black sedan had a crazy rainbow flaked roof. I shot the palm trees, then turned the photo around 180 so the trees weren't growing out of the sky. Kinda like this one, so I...