I only heard it was a "Rat Rod" car show in Phoenix. My roadster's a rat rod, whatever that means anymore, so I figured I'd fit in. Later I found out the party was hosted by my online friend Cadillac Cowboy (Bob) and his buddies from the Arizona Sinners. Bob's got a few pics of his nasty Blown 427 Model T in his garage here at MyRideisMe.com. The Arizona Sinners I've met have been easy going and die hard car guys. They build what the drive and they drive'm hard. One sinner at the party, Jerry, introduced me to the HAMB message board way back in 2002. If you want to find Jerry, look for his Hawaiian/Vintage style shirt at just about any swap meet in AZ. He'll be there carrying a handful of vintage tools and an old gauge or two. He's one of those guys that's always there early then stays late to get the deals. I also think he'd drive his old Chevy truck (old cause he likes it that way!) across Arizona uphill both ways to help a friend. It was cool to meet Bob...

I've written before that the new friends I've made after starting MyRideisMe.com are so much better then the friends I used to have. Wait, no... I mean... I've met some great people.   One of those outstanding new friends is Jimmy Smith from Jimmy's Hot Rod Design. I called Jimmy to see if he could give some advice for the interior of my 1927 Ford Modified, "Bonnie". I've owned the car for (god has it been that long?!) over 7 years and I've never put an interior in. I've got buy with a foam pad and recently a crappy seat I made myself. I've also had to put up with the, "You gonna put an interior in that thing?" questions. Well yea, finally I am. That's where you come in.   When I asked Jimmy for advice, I was hoping for reference pics or maybe some color ideas or even a magazine or two to check out. Jimmy's another guy who routinely flushes more hot rod history and knowledge then most folks, probably including me. That's why he does work for several well known hot rod shops like Squeeg's...

Run to the Pines - 2008 By our friend Devin Squire (Devin's all Ford Garage) The weekend of Sept. 26th, 27th, & 28th, was the 25th anniversary of the "Run to the Pines" car show in Pinetop, AZ. My wife & I have been going to this show for at least 15 of those years. It's a great weekend getaway in the cool pines of Pinetop – Lakeside, AZ. The show is limited to 550 cars, of pre 1973 vintage, and it always gets sold out. If you don't get your registrations in early, you might not get in, and there is always a waiting list in case of any cancellations. This year, the show sold out in only four weeks! Hotels, Motels, & Cabins in the area are the same story...get your reservations in early. Before we caught on, we had to get rooms in Showlow, which is about 15 to 20 miles away. This show is part of the Pinetop-Lakeside's "Fall Festival", which brings in a lot of people, as well. Some folks love all the “arts & crafts”stuff, and it gives the ladies something else to...

Friends sometimes make it easy on ya. Here's one of those times. Dig this hot rod art from Brian Stupski, my buddy from G-town (Gilbert, Arizona, but it's really not that hip). I've said before that making new friends in the hot rod and custom world is one of the coolest parts of making and running MyRideisMe.com. Brian from Problem Child Kustoms Studio is tops on the cool list of new friends. Never mind that Brian's crapped out more knowledge about cars, especially historically significant hot rods and customs, then I have to this day, but on top of that, the man's got skills! Skill in design. You don't simply get a "pretty picture" you get a design, the whole DESIGN! Want to know the part number of the Air Ride setup you'll need? He's got it. Want to know the offset of those new 18's and 19's you'll be running? He knows. That's the detail you get when hooking up with a professional designer. So check out the December 2008 issue of Rod and Custom, page 8-9. That's Brian's Shine-Runner 500. That came out of his head and...

UPDATE: 10/10/09 - I've been getting a few calls and emails about restarting Church of Hot Rod. If interested, leave a comment here or reply in the forum. Ah brothers... It was another fine couple-o-Sundays. Cool morning air and hot coffee strong enough to peel paint off our vintage rides. After notifying a few people at the Chandler/Gilbert Community college car show, I expected there to be a few more members. I've also been fulfilling my duties as an elder in the church by notifying RoddinandRacinTV.com and cruisinarizona.com. If you're looking for a great excuse to get out of bed and meet some fellow rod and custom car enthusiast over on the East side of town on Sundays, please come on over. Time and Place: Every Sunday morning at 7 AM over at the Starbucks in downtown Chandler. The address is: 1 San Marcos Place, just west of Arizona Ave, south of Chandler Blvd. We're kinda hard to miss, just look for the Hot rods! Can I hear an AMEN? For winter (yea right, it's still in the 80s in November!) we're meeting at 8:00AM.  Feel free to email...

Written by AZAmber (Amber's Nash Metropolitan "MetroSxl") There’s nothing better than saying goodbye to the Phoenix heat and heading up to the pines to look at some cool rides. The 2008 Route 66 Car show was held Sept 5-7 in downtown Flagstaff, and I have to say, this historic town was a great backdrop to showcase some 375+ cars. Amongst the crowd were many of the cars you would expect to see, like the old Bel-Aires and T-Birds, but a few unusual rides made quite an impression as they lined the streets in front of antique shops and mom and pop delis.   There was also a smattering of “tricked out” newer PT Cruisers and the members from a Corvette Club on hand to look at. In a grassy patch in the center of the town square, a few food and souvenirs vendor stands were set up and a DJ from a local radio station played oldies while some fresh squeezed lemonade topped off the day. According to the program, the weekend was full of activities for car enthusiasts. All in all, it was a great way to beat...

UPDATE: 10/10/09 - I've been getting a few calls and emails about restarting Church of Hot Rod. If interested, leave a comment here or reply in the forum. Whatever you do on Sunday, it's always a great to meet friends and go for a drive. We're pushing it here in Chandler, Arizona cause it's still damn hot, even at 8 AM in the morning. This was a special Sunday cause our better halves joined the normal Sunday coffee run and we made it a breakfast cruise over to the Good Egg near Chandler Heights and Alma School. We had some special occasions to celebrate too. (click and save this photo, it'd make a great desktop!) Bonnie, my hot rod, was celebrating the repair of a CRACKED FRAME, found, luckily while the car was parked in my garage. Doug from Squeeg's Kustom, helped me fix the crack on Saturday and make today's breakfast 5 roadsters strong. More on that later. (of course I took pictures!) I celebrated the cruise-in by putting a new red rag on the oil breather. (nothin but the Sunday's best!) My lovely wife Miyuki also joined...

A short 55 miles away from my house in Chandler, AZ, I met up with AzAmber, at the Saturday night 83rd Ave and Beardsley cruise-in. What a great show! I took off Saturday and stopped by Industrial Chassis, then hit the Safeway parking lot at about 6PM. There weren't many spots left! The show was a nice mix of cars. You had your hot rods, street machines and even a few exotics, but there were also a couple low riders mixed in with the new factory muscle. Something for everyone! I handed out every card I had that night to a warm group of people saying I'd write a blog about it, so here it is. I won't feature the cars I saw in this blog, but they're coming! (Leave a comment if you see your car!) Here's the sneak peak: That nasty looking 1954 Studebaker's running a former NHRA Top Alcohol dragster engine! Watch for a feature story on that one! The pretty Jag's for sale and will be show at the Brighton Ranch Paint and Body show coming up next weekend 5/17/08. Look at their website for...

It takes a while for a cruise in to catch on, but that doesn't mean while it's growing you won't see some super nice cars. Plus, when it's new, you won't hear the old... "Hey, I'm saving that spot..." or "This is for XYZ cars only..." Whatever. So here's a few of the cars I've spotted at the Friday night cruise-in at Arizona Ave. and Ocotillo. It gets started at about 6PM or so and runs until about 9:00. I think it's sponsored by the Checker Auto nearby, so they supply a DJ and once a month there's a bouncer for the kids. I'd have a few more pics if I could ever get there earlier! Me (aka shaky) and poor lighting don't get along well at all. What I should be sharing with all these pics is who owns the cars and where there from... or something interesting like how the car is completely homebuilt with only a screwdriver and duct tape. Too bad I can't read my able assistants hand writing is so hard to readl! I hope to see you down there. Make sure when you...

In addition to the sleek new set of 26x10" wheels and tires from Dubs, I'll also be installing a new LT1 fuel injected crate motor to replace the pinto power! Check out these new rims! (They make spinners look like 13"Centerlines!) Gonna be ROLLIN baby!! go back Oh, and APRIL FOOLS! (did I get'cha? Please leave a comment) (MyRideisMe.com is not receiving advertising money from Dubs, I just thought this was outrageous and a good prank for April...

For more information on the November 8th, 2008 Memories on Main Street cruise, go to the Mainstreet Garage. While most parts of the US are still half frozen, Mesa, Arizona launches the first big cruise of the year (and first minor sunburn). Brought to us as, "POP's Memories on Main Street" by the Prostate Checkup All Sports Foundation, it was a good time had by all and we had near perfect weather for it. Cruising between Country Club and Mesa drive with parking on Main Street and in the several nearby city lots, for the $5 per car donation, I think everyone had a place. I was expecting a few more cars, but there was no lack of quality. Main street was lined with lawn chaired folks cheering for the next guy to, "light'm up!" I'm pretty sure Mesa PD did just that cause most burning rubber was followed closely by howling sirens. For the most part though, I think every had a good time enjoying their cars and making new friends. I know I did. Here are a few of the cars I especially liked. Most of the...

Every so often, mixed in with the news that makes you wonder where the human spirit is, you find news that's uplifting and genuine. That's the story of United States Marine Jared Foster and his 68 Camaro. This is the spirit we're trying to capture at My Ride is Me. During the Iraqi war, 24 year old Corporal Foster took a round in his back, effectively blowing him apart. After months in a coma and many surgeries, Corporal Foster returned to Arizona as a permanently disabled war veteran. Jared had a 68 Camaro he had left behind and a dream of restoring it even though his condition made it hard to get much work done. to keep things moving, he enlisted the help of John Bauler. John's company, Hugger Connection, specializes in first generation Camaro restoration, so he was in good hands. It didn't take long for John to realize that the Camaro was a BIG project. In learning about the car, John learned about a brave young man he affectionately calls, "The Kid" who had been wounded serving his country. Not long after, John told the First Generation...