Custom Vans at 2013 SEMA Show   Vans. They're not just for living down by the river anymore. (RIP Chris Farely aka Matt Foley)   One of my EASY picks for "Favorite at SEMA" has to be this custom Ford Econoline Van. Not since Church's VanGO has a van made a statement like this. With metal flake shining in the Las Vegas sun, I had to grab some pictures and share. If metal flake's your thing, make sure to look at the other metal flake paint stories and pictures we've done including a "how-to" about spraying flake yourself.     Complimenting the cooper-gold flaked flames and stripes, the gold leaf lettering spelled "Chrome Gypsy Tattoo" a Las Vegas based tattoo and piercing shop. A perfect calling card for the shop, yea??     How do you paint metal flake on a roof with this detail? Standing on a latter for days!!?? Someone lets us know who did the paint... they deserve credit!     Custom details and more metal flake covered the interior. I heard the engine's detailed and flaked too. I'll try to grab a picture tomorrow.  ...

Unlimited Everything SEMA Show Pantera   Concept Art Provided by Problem Child Kustoms   Just your standard 1971 De Tomaso Pantera. Well, not quite. Add a combined 10 ka-jillion hours of design study, meetings to select from the many bitch'n ideas presented here, then a ridiculous amount of skill, passion and labor by the Ring Brothers to make this Pantera happen.   This is ADRNLN.   Now that the "cats out of the bag" (sorry, couldn't resist) my good buddy Brian Stupski from over at Problem Child Kustoms shared these design sketches. I guess before we get too far into those... better review what a Pantera  looks like like uncut:     Now compare that to the beast shown at SEMA Show 2013:     Fantastic execution like this doesn't happen by accident! So... light a candle, grab a beer or take 2 minutes to meditate on the best looking Pantera ever. Finished? What design cues would you choose? Scroll down these never seen before sketches that led to the final design. As you can see, Brian's got skills.   Need more info? Let us know? Brian can be reached...

Chaotic Customs SEMA Build - 1940 Ford Pickup   Pictures and words by Karma Carlson   Want to see the finished truck at SEMA 2013? 1940 Ford Hot Rod Pickup at SEMA   It all started with a hole in the hood of a 1929 Model A roadster. Mike Young brought his roadster to Chris & Karma Carlson at Chaotic Customs in Mulvane, KS, to have the hole in his hood repaired after removing a blower motor. The repair turned into a complete rebuild of the car and a friendship was formed between the Youngs and the Carlsons. After driving the roadster, Mike discovered his wife, Glenna, was not a roadster chick. Roadsters in the Kansas heat and wind were not her cup of tea. They decided to build an enclosed car so that Glenna would enjoy riding longer distances to car shows. Mike knew Chaotic Customs was the shop for the job.   Learn more about Chaotic Customs painting skills in this Metal Flake on a budget Painting How-to   Mike had his eye on 1949-1951 Chevy Fleetlines but Chris had a line on a 1940 Ford pickup....

1930 Ford Hot Rod with Traditional Style (Click to see Trent's great pictures full size)   Time – that one thing you can never truly get back and the one thing you can never seem to have enough of. There are those times though when a little patience, a bit of preparedness and a calculated bit of timing pay off dividends when a long awaited opportunity raises its head.   For Kopis Georgalos, that time came at the 2008 LA Roadster show. Despite a good rep as a fabricator and custom builder, with a mild 1951 Pontiac custom to showcase his work, Kopis long had plans in the works for a project yet to occupy a space in his garage – a traditional rod. Notice I said his garage, not so and so’s customs or such and such’s garage. Nope – this build wasn't simply just for Kopis to have the traditional rod he had always wanted, but a chance to push himself, test his skills and learn some new tricks along the way.   Kopis knew an open car, maybe a roadster would be right for him. Coupes...

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"??  ...

1937 Chevy Coupe with Hot Rod Pinup Kelly Lindahl Car Owner: Keith Goettlich - Click any picture for full size As with most car guys, automotive make and style preferences are more often than not generational; Traits passed down through generations just like hair or eye color. For Keith Goettlich, it was a passion for Buick’s, and more specifically, their legendary Torque-bomb Nailhead V-8s that Keith inherited from his father.   Keith’s father, like few others in the 60s, steered away from the more popular (and generally cheaper) Bowtie and Blue Oval route and took the path less traveled in the big displacement horsepower wars with a 1964 Buick Wildcat ragtop sporting a 425 Nailhead guzzling leaded gas through dual quads. This would spark Keith’s lifelong passion for Buicks vertical valved line of V8. Keith would build a few customs and rods throughout the years, including a 1933 Pickup that gained quite a bit of recognition along the East Coast. Each ride containing his signature trait: A Nailhead tucked in where most would expect to see a SBC. The Nailhead made Keith’s creations a bit more memorable, and before...

1964 Chevy C10 Dually - Dino's Dually (Click to see any picture full size -- want any of these for a desktop screensaver? leave a comment)   Dino builds bad Chevy C10 custom trucks. This one's no different as one of five C10's he owns right now. I posted one teaser image and was holding out posting the rest until the NEW version of MyRideisMe.com was out. Well here it is! And here's the rest of the pictures...   I'm hoping for the same crazed reaction to these photos as the one we saw after posting Dino's truck on Facebook.   You like? Here's what it started as! See more build pics including the custom fenders   Want to see more of this AMAZING Custom C10? I spent quite a bit of time editing the pics I took. Dino's a good friend and I knew he'd like some different looks... which one of these do you like better? In that cool evening light, I get lucky and snap some good ones here and there!   Looking under the hood, Dino keeps it pretty sanitary. The truck came with a...

Homebuilt and Driven Hard 1968 Camaro Words and Pictures by Joe Casvin (click on any picture to see it full size) Most people just use their garages to store the stuff that just kind of builds up throughout life. Treasures like newspapers from 1976, a ten-year-old brand new exercise bike, or even a dingy and probably nasty smelling old cooler. You know, shit house door of a tuna boat smell? Jeff Chipman’s garage, however, had a far better hand to be dealt. Jeff used his garage to transform a bare 1968 Camaro shell into something that is both frightening and beautiful. Not an easy feat for your average Joe in your average two-car garage, and when you compound that with the fact that this is Jeff’s first ever attempt at building a car from the ground up... Well, you end up with something that is truly special and unique. “My first rig was a 1950 Chevy pickup I got when I was 15 years old. I started doing stuff to it after I got it. I’ve been messing around with cars and bikes all my life, just customizing them...

280Z powered Falcon Ranchero Race Results   Remember this car? Just looking at it's low, built-for-racing stance, it was easily one of my favorites from Bonneville - and that's before I saw under the hood. With a Nissan 280Z inline six suppying the power, I had to ask the owner to keep me posted on his first year racing results from 2012 Bonneville Speed Week. If you need to see so more pictures, check out this 1960 Falcon Ranchero here.   Here's what Alan Morris out of Montrose, CO had to say about the first time out with his Ranchero:   "I apologize for not replying sooner. I've been busy cleaning the car, removing the engine and assessing the engine damage. Plus I needed a rest. I have thrown most of my energy at the car for about two and a half years. At 70 years old I don't seem to have that much energy anyway.   The first run (the maiden one for the car and me as well) they only want you to run to the two mile mark and pull the parachute. They don't want you to...

Photos by the great Peter Vincent Amazing Bonneville Salt Flats Streamliner Set to Run 550 mph   Five-hundred-fifty miles per hour. Yes, you read that right! This air-slippin' hot rod's set to demolish the "fastest wheel driven, piston powered" car record by 100 mph.   Here's a few details to wet the appetite: Does it look long? It should. It's 43 feet long. (13.1m) and only 3 feet high (0.91m) Frontal area is an anemic 8.61 square feet (0.8 square meters) with an included angle of 1.5 degrees Power comes from two Dodge V8 Hemi's boosted by Whipple Superchargers Fueled by alcohol, there's 2500 horsepower on tap... EACH. Power is applied by two B & J 4-speed transmissions - shifted simultaneously- by steering wheel controls   This is the Marlo Treit and Les Davenport "Target 550" streamliner. A Few of the Crew   Marlo Triet the project coordinator and from what I can see, the "ring master". On the salt at Bonneville Speed Week 2012, Marlo was tough to corner as he answered questions from curious racers, spectators and media. As I took pictures, Marlo was being filmed. From the "Crew"...

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...

Nissan Z-powered Land Speed Racing Falcon Ranchero   So I'm riding by on the XR70 bike my buddy Erock loaned to me (a sight to see with my long lanky frame) and I see this wicked looking Ford Falcon Ranchero.   Anyone following this site knows I'm partial to the round bodied Falcons... so much so I'm building a 1963 Falcon Wagon myself. It's your typical summer remake that's taken 4 years so far. Anyways, that's another story.   As I walked up on this bad little pickup, I saw only one valve cover poking up... I thought, SWEET! He's running a Ford six just like me. To my surprise, Alan Morris out of Montrose, CO chose a 1980 Nissan 280Z motor to chase the F/CFALT record of 165.224 held by the Cohn Jucewic Monza.     I was surprised because in addition to being the owner/editor/janitor of MyRideisMe.com, I'm also a test engineer for Nissan. One of my favorite Fords combined with different and unexpected powerplant that's also from the folks who pay my mortgage... win, win, WIN!   The sixer runs a healthy 14:1 compression and triple...