1931 Model A Ford Defines Traditional Hot Rods Randy Brenneis knows hot rods. What makes me so sure? Randy grew up in Anaheim, CA during hot rodding’s glory days of the 1950’s and 60’s. At age 14 he was pit crewing for a friend’s dad at Santa Ana Raceway, the world’s first commercial drag strip, at a time when flags not staging lights sent racers thundering down the quarter mile. How many of us can say that? And although he's seen many period trends come and go, his true passion has always remained right where it started – traditional hot rods. With several hot rod builds under his belt and years of experience, Randy isn’t one to shy away from a build or challenge, but at this point in his life he prefers the time spent in his cars more than the time spent under them. So in 2006, when he decided to add another to his list, he wanted something he could make his own that wouldn't require a full blown resurrection. A quick search turned up a complete 1931 five window coupe in Thousand Oaks, CA that...

1930 Ford Model A HotRod SoCal - Long revered as the mecca for hot rods and custom cars, and for good reason... Builders from LA and the San Fernando Valley launched what is now known as traditional style builds and continue to set the standard.  But, just a few hours north up the 5, San Jose's Jeff Cimoli and the Rompacoglioni C.C. are turning out traditional customs and hot rods rivaling anything cruising the PCH. Originally a self-proclaimed Cadillac guy and with a well recognized and respected '60 Caddy to back up this claim, a visit to the Cow Palace in San Francisco back in 2007 would steer him away from his first love. On display was a traditional styled ’30 Ford Coupe by Nor Cal builder Scotty Chops. Jeff immediately knew what he'd build next.  Fortunately, Jeff soon heard about a barn fresh coupe in the near-by farm town on Morgan Hill. The rumor turned out to be true and Jeff soon scored a ’30 five window Ford body and frame to kick off the project. His time building Cadillacs earned him a good local rep and several contacts in the area. In no time, the coupe found its...

Bonneville Salt Flats Streamliner Special thaks to Spectre Performance for extended 2011 Bonneville Speed Week coverage If you're following the racing from Bonneville Speed Week, you probably saw the "Maro Special" featured as one of the Baddest Race Cars of Bonneville. Owner Bobby Moore made the baddest list twice when details of his World's Fastest Corvette hit the web. So if you need details about this nitro- burning all-wheel drive streamliner, be my guest and hit the links above. This story's about the quest for 400 mph. Bobby's quick to point out the many people who helped and continue to help make the Maro Special, a concept started back in 1999, a reality. One key to running 400 is safety and the Bonneville Salt Flats master of Safety is Lee Kennedy. Lee's listed as the "Car Technical Co-chair" on the SCTA website, but for this race car he's been the mile by mile co-pilot of reaching 400 safely. For previous salt attacks including Speed Week, running fast wasn't possible. As Bobby said, "Before getting up in the morning, I'd have to start thinking about turning left." In other words,...

1940s Chevy Coupe - West Coast Style Deep in the Heart of Texas Richard Donham, better known to his friends and around the traditional customs scene as “Burl” is a true to heart Californian that somehow was misplaced into the hot and humid metropolis of Houston, Texas. His roots and style are deeply seeded in skating and surfing; evident by the number of boards that line his garage and patio. A long-time member and treasurer of the Los Cochinos Car Club of Houston, TX he’s happy to extend some Texas hospitality in the form of some fresh gulf shrimp chased with an ice-cold Tecate with a lime and salted rim; something yours truly is on the hook for on the next visit to Houston. Always up for a cruise night or cruise by the boardwalk and beach in Kemah, a suburb of Houston, we hopped in this pristine custom with Burl and headed straight towards the beach. With Houston’s long history in the oil and gas industry, there's no shortage of high-end euros, Maserati’s, Porsches, etc. lining the streets. But take one Gambino Kustoms built, traditionally styled 1940 Chevy...

Bonneville Salt Flats -Breaking Records 2011 Bonneville Speed Week sponsored by Spectre Performance Any time a land speed racer says what they're "planning" to do, they better be smiling! As a warm up for the record breaking session this year at Bonneville, I stole 15 minutes with Amir Rosenbaum, the founder of Spectre Performance and driver of the "SpeedLiner" race car shown above. He was smiling... The plan is to break five records! Record #1 - B/BGS: When the SpeedLiner hits the starting line of the long course on Saturday, stuffed inside the long lean frame rails will be a 434 cubic inch Cadillac motor. For those of you keeping score at home, that's a B-class motor  at 373-439 cubic inches. They're gunning for the B/BGS record of 337.197 mphcurrently held by Vesco Racing's D. Spangler. Record #2 - A/BGS: If things go well, (isn't the "if" redundant!!) the B-class record's in reach because SpeedLiner already holds the A/BGS record at 356.645 mph. A-class allows 440-500 cubic inches, so they're working a plan they already know fairly well. (there's that word plan again!) Record #3 - AA/BGS: One word:...

1939 Ford Coupe - Nostalgia Minded Business Coupe “High School Hot Rods” have been staples of the car scene since their popularity first took off in the 1950's. Innovative and determined teenagers across the country turned out these cars in their local high school shop class with a single goal in mind – beat anything the rich kids from the other side of the tracks could buy from the local Big 3 dealerships. Ray Southard’s 1939 Ford Business Coupe Deluxe exemplifies traditional high school hot rod styling and how you never forget your first; hot rod that is... Ray spent his teenage years growing up in Reno, NV. At the age of 14, Ray bought a 39’ Ford Coupe shell from a friend’s dad that had been basking in the Nevada sun for several years. The shell only set the young teen back $15, but a long list of parts and time lay ahead. Ray took a job doing parts inventory at a local salvage yard. As any part he could use came through, Ray set'm aside into his own personal parts bin or quickly installed them on the...

51 Mercury Coupe  Charlie Runnels, better known throughout the kustom scene as Mercury Charlie, has a background as unique and colorful as his world famous ’51 Mercury coupe, the elegant "Sweet Nadine". Growing up on the wrong side of the proverbial tracks in rural Oklahoma, Charlie’s early days in the car scene began with him hustling to stock pile as many tri-five Chevy parts as he could get his hands on. Before too long, drag racers, kustomizers and repair shops alike came to know Charlie on a first name basis as he always seemed to have those hard to find pieces. Fast forward several years and lifestyle changes and Charlie found himself in Austin, TX appraising properties and working side jobs in the real estate business. While appraising a foreclosed property near the University of Texas one afternoon in 1987, Charlie would meet the lady he would spend the next 25 years of his life with. As he walked the property Charlie noticed an old abandoned car out back resting below a pecan tree. Upon closer inspection, the old car turned out to be a complete ’51 Mercury....

Bonneville Salt Flats Streamliner Well it's gonna be! Right now, it's a lesson in patience. Take a look at the "Maro Special" a dedicated Bonneville Salt Flats streamliner race car if there ever was one. Like most race cars on the "Great White Dyno" aka Bonneville, this one's got a great story and Bobby Moore is the perfect gentleman to tell the story. Just like with the World's Fastest Corvette owned by Bobby, going fast takes time. Bobby Moore was 15 when he built his first car, a 1933 fenderless Plymouth five window coupe that he found in a field. He's always enjoyed the thrill of speed and the many friends made during his racing career. So naturally, in 1996, Bobby was drawn to Bonneville as driver of the Hoyle-Dickenson-Moore A/FL (A size engine'd lakester). Then later in '96 he bought the old 219mph Doc Jefferey's A/GT Corvette. The team campaigned the car in 1997 where Bobby got alot of seat time and learned many humbling lessons at Bonneville. With the hardest speed lessons learned, in '98, he joined the 200mph Club with a record of 234.162 in A/GMS...

REAL 1968 Shelby GT500KR on the track  You've probably seen a 1968 Shelby GT500KR... it's easy to watch Barrett Jackson or the RM Auctions when they're on. If  you're a Mustang fan, you may have sought them out and seen a few.  You ever seen one this nice on the track? Todd Stevens has got balls! The autocross at the Goodguys Spring Nationals is the one thing about the March show that  better than our November show. I watched for a while as random hot rods, muscle cars and G-touring cars tore up the track, but when I saw my friend Todd sitting in his Shelby, I thought... WHAT?? (Knowing the cars Todd has, I knew not to ask if it was real) Here's what happened... I didn't have the camera gear to catch a shot of Todd in action, but the picture above shows the hard earned racing scars as proof.  When the big Shelby took right hand turns, I could see the old-style and correct looking Firestone Wide O Oval tires rolling over like they were about to come off. Not sure what the problem was, maybe...

Custom Studebaker Pickup from 2011 Grand National Roadster Show I promised I had a few customized Studebakers up my sleeve that I found at the 2011 Grand National Roadster Show....so here's #2 (Check out this Studebaker Ute if ya missed #1!) Who's ever seen a Studebaker pickup like this one!? Believe it or not, this 1949 Studebaker Pickup has been in the works for about 25 years. When the current owner, John Saltsman, got the truck it had already been chopped about 6" by "Merc John." With a small block Chevy drivetrain (just like my Studebaker coupe,) John used it as his daily driver on long commutes for at least 8 years. As John drove it, his vision for what he wanted it to become grew. He had a "wild and mild" proportioned-custom in his mind. As its been completed, this Custom 1949 Studebaker Pickup has a laundry list of custom items from customizing legends! It started with the 6" chop of course. To that was added a 15 1/2 " channel. And as "one thing led to another," this pickup was transformed with: a 59 Chevy trunk lid, 55...

Custom Studebaker Ute at GNRS It isn't every day you see a custom Studebaker coupe. Really, I think what people say to themselves before changing any metal of the Studebaker coupe body is..."The coupe is a perfect car - why change it?" I certainly don't have plans of truly customizing my own '55 Studebaker. Metal flaking the roof, moon discs, and some pinstriping is as far as it'll go I think. But I do love customs - so every time I encounter a custom Studebaker coupe I get pretty excited! This year at Grand National Roadster Show I encountered not just one - but three custom Studebakers! I'll be unveiling each one (and hopefully one or two more) in the coming weeks. To start with... the Studebaker Ute, a.k.a. Kart Hauler. I first encountered this custom Studebaker Ute at the 2009 Grand National Roadster Show - and now once again at GNRS 2011. In 2009 it was in the hall of cars previously shown at GNRS, commemorating the show's 60th anniversary. This 1953 Studebaker coupe was customized in the late fifties into this wagon-style Ute for the 1959 Oakland...

Blown 41 Willys Hot Rod Marty Hacker loved to get out to the track and drag race whenever he got a chance back in the 60’s and 70’s. One thing always caught his eye, the ‘41 Willys. Rat Rodders and drag racers alike have a love for the Willys. It’s one of the most popular street rod designs and probably the most recognized and famous drag/gasser bodies of all time. The ‘41 Willys was stuck in Marty’s head and he knew some day he’d purchase one. The interesting thing was he just could not seem to find the one he was looking for. So what do you do? You find one you can purchase and get to work on it to build the look you want. Marty’s son Mike Hacker started looking for his dad’s dream. One day while scanning racingjunk.com, he located a Willys in Long Island, NY. They contacted the owner of the ‘41 Willys to let him know they were interested… but wouldn’t be able to see it until the following weekend. Wednesday, they called the owner and found out the Willys had been sold. Disappointed,...