Best Pictures from 2010 Goodguys Southwest Nationals My new desktop picture! As I get older, the list of reasons for getting up EARLY in the morning oddly keeps getting longer... it used to be simply fishing. Next as Pops started to take me racing, I added, "going to a drag race" and then as I got more interested in cars, I added, "going to a swap meet." Now I've added, "taking pictures with morning sunshine." See the dude laying on the ground for this shot? That's me! I see alot of people cruising car shows taking pictures... some with gear much nicer than me, and quite a few using their cell phones. What are you doing with those pics? I wanted to cover cool shows like Goodguys Scottsdale with the best pictures I could, so I started watching guys like Paul "Swanee" Swanson take pics and trying to shoot like him.  (here's a few of Swanee's 2010 Goodguys Pictures from this year) Then, I sought out some other pros and got some tips on Shooting Good Car Pictures. I'm learning! Or maybe it's just the morning sky!  Who cares!!...

Car Show Pictures: 2010 Goodguys Puyallup Northwest Nationals Our friend Jason Rushforth (Rushforth Wheels) had attended the 23rd Goodguys Northwest Nationals in Puyallup, Washington with his '64 Buick (featuring a brand-new LS2 engine swap!), and he sent along some photos that he and Adam Ramseth had taken over the weekend. As Jason tells us: In addition to getting the Rushforth Wheels company car to the show at the last second, 2500 other folks made it to the Western Washington Fairgrounds in Puyallup, Washington which is the biggest and best show in the Northwest. Weather was perfect all weekend and the big open fairgrounds were packed with all manner of hot rods up to 1972. Here's a few shots from the weekend of cars that stood out but with 2500 cars... there was certainly something for everyone! Brett Anderson scored a coveted Art Morrison Enterprises "Builder's Choice" Award with his home-built, Rushforth-designed and wheeled 72 Camaro: 2-door wagons are so cool, and this slick '57 Ford is no exception! With virtually every segment of the hobby represented, this little pickup has some serious attitude and the wide whites on wires...

Buick Skylark's LS2 Engine Swap:   Most car guys make like-minded friends, and Jason Rushforth is proud to know car guys all over the world. Take a half-dozen of his friends who live close by him in the Pacific Northwest, throw in some emotional roller coaster moments, one '64 Buick,  a high-tech engine swap and a few late nights. From there, subtract proper nourishment and numerous hours from the daily schedule, and you get the story of some of the best friends any guy could hope for... And collectively the reason his car made it to their big, local Goodguys show.   The following tale comprises all of the above, and makes for the memories we all share in late-night benchracing sessions, and throws a decidedly modern twist on the engine swap gone- bad-but-brought-back-from-peril-by-good-pals tale. It's one of those MyRideisMe-style blips in hot rod history, where the car brings the big picture together, and all seems right in your high octane world. In Jason's words:   Every car guy has a story about a late night thrash getting a car ready for a show whether it's debuting a million...

Had to share some pictures of this year's Goodguys giveaway car. I'm working on a story about last years winner. The guy was in Equador when a buddy pulled the winning key. Funniest thing is that same friend qualified to win THIS car in November at our home show in Scottsdale. So check out the "Boss Snake".  We caught a glimpse of the Snake in Scottsdale for the first annual Spring Nationals where the RPM Hot Rods guys and another magazine were shooting. We snaked (haha) the picture in that sweet AZ sunset light. My man Swanee's every bit as good as Ken's shots below. Here's some more info: Goodguys 2010 Grand Prize Giveaway BOSS SNAKE Bay Area photographer Ken Phuong (www.spotninestudio.com) stopped by the Goodguys world Headquarters last week to photograph the all mighty BOSS SNAKE 2010 Grand Prize Giveaway Car. The photos will appear in a future issue of the Goodtimes Gazette but we wanted to give our loyal web readers a sneak peak at just how awesome this car really is! Built completely in house by RPM Hot Rods (rpm-hotrods.com) and designed by Kaucher Kustoms ,...

Car shows are fun, but I think I speak for alot of car owners when I say: "Get out of the lawn chairs!" Don't get me wrong, time with friends catching up on new projects and great hot rod buys are essential to car shows, but what else is there to do? That's where Autocross comes in... At the 1st annual Goodguys Spring Nationals in Scottsdale, AZ, Goodguys added an event they call the "Street Challenge Autocross".  Goodguys does a great job of setting up a small, twisty race course that's perfect for taking cars normally at home on the the straight line quarter mile and forcing them to go left and right. Up for grabs is a set of BFG tires for winners in a few different classes including Vendor, Hot Rod and Street Rod. (Somebody help me with the classes... they're not listed on Goodguys website) So who was racing? The winner of the hot rod autocross was my friend Doug Jerger in his 1934 Ford Roadster. Doug is the owner and chief painter at Squeeg's Kustoms in Mesa, AZ. Doug's built a couple America's Most Beautiful...

Goodguys Spring Nationals, March 12-14 Street Challenge Autocross To see all the juicy event details, check below.  What we are excited about and wanted to point out to you readers is the new event they're having this year.  The "Street Challenge Autocross"!  Take your hot rod and bash some cones and yank that steering wheel around and put a hurtin' on your tires and brakes.  Check out these 2 hot rods showing you how autocross is done!   Check out this CRC Vette getting it on in the twisties.  Man that looks fun! ...or maybe Corner Carving Muscle is your thing, check out Bryan Frank's Trans-Am.  I'd love to see some lead sleds or kustoms out on the course.  Or maybe a 32 roadster!  Details of the event below: The Goodguys Spring Nationals is a new hot rod and custom car festival featuring the Southwest’s premier custom vintage automobiles! The event will feature over 2,000 1972 & earlier hot rods, customs, classics, street rods, muscle cars, & trick trucks as well as manufacturer and vendor exhibits, a swap meet and cars for sale area, special “themed” parking areas, model...

If you can't wait until summer time Goodguys Gazette, scratch that now-time itch and check out MyRideisMe.com's pictures from the 2009 Goodguys Southwest Nationals! Did we shoot your car? Have you've ever worked at something and thought you were making progress improving your skill, then found out you were still way behind? That's happening to me with my photography. I didn't shoot alot of pictures at Goodguys, but I shot a few and thought a couple of them were pretty good! But then, just after I sent the, "Hey Swanee, you gonna load your shots?" email, I noticed he'd already loaded them in the events picture gallery. You're good people Swanee! 'Cept for the fact that your images kill mine, that is... You can tell by the logo, that slammed Caddy riding on twenty-plus wires photo above is from our Alaska-raised Director of Photography. Shown here is one of my best shots. This is the 1957 Chevy Custom that won the Goodguy/Grundy Kustom of the Year. Sunset in Arizona is frequently a, "Damn it's good to be alive" event and this Saturday evening in Scottsdale made for some great...

As always, MyRideisMe.com is on the lookout for pinstriping at races or car shows so you can see what's out there and decide what to do on your own ride.  Here's a few from the Goodguys Southwest Nationals in Scottsdale, AZ. All Photos by my man and Director of Photography at MyRideisMe.com, Swanee... To see all of Swanee's pinstriping pictures from Goodguys, please go to the Pinstriping Picture Gallery This Arizona Pinstriper Joel from 1320designs.com doing his thing on MyRideisMe.com member Mr. Freeze's slammed Suburban he recently picked up. Joel's rates are very reasonable for striping and he's also an up-and-coming designer as well. Make sure to check out his website and let him know MyRideisMe.com sent you! What do you think? If this is YOUR pinstriping work (or your car!), please let us know and we'll say so next to the picture. Leave your comments below and don't forget to see all the pinstriping pics in the: Pinstriping Picture...

Cruising any car show with buddies, there's always one car that even weeks later, you're still talking about it: "Remember that one car?" and you all do. That happened cruising the Scottsdale Goodguys show in November and I never forgot, even though Otis Schmidt, the owner of this bad hot rod may have thought I did! Otis, a hot rod, custom car and racing fan since he started building model cars at 12 years old, is now living in Moore, Oklahoma. He bought his 1929 Ford Sedan from Mark Riojas of Bridge Creek, Oklahoma after finding it parked right next to him at an NSRA show in Oklahoma City. Otis immediately dug the car cause it reminded him of a similar-styled 1934 Ford Sedan he'd recently, and regrettably sold . Between missing his 34 and the gold teaser parked right next to him, Otis contacted Mark soon after the show and a deal was struck on the phone. The first thing you notice about Otis's 1929 Sedan, called the "Corrugated Flyer"  is the wild gold/copper color. The color's officially Gold Acrylic enamel. From there, throw in some flattener and mix in...

The Goodguys Southwest Nationals rolls into Scottsdale, AZ only once a year and with it comes a mad thrash to get your car ready and some great chances to roll your car out (even a roadster since it was in the 80's that week!) have some fun and meet some other rodders in the area. Doug Jerger the owner of Squeeg's Kustoms in Mesa, Arizona landed the lunch stop for the Goodguys Show. Doug was kind enough to let me take up some space at his shop and hand out some of the posters we made. The open house came at a perfect time as Squeeg's was debuting 3 trick hot rods. Doug's shop can build and paint anything you want and do it to near perfection. The 34 Ford Roadster shown above was one of the cars. Everything on this car screams professional builder and the style and execution let you know this car had a solid plan right from the start. The other 2 hot rods finshed were a 32 Ford Roadster and a 40 Ford coupe. I'm not showing the 40 Ford right now because we're...

Ron Ginn from Albuquerque, New Mexico ain't playin' when it comes to building ridiculous horsepower Model T's. I asked Ron, "Why two blowers?" and he kindly expanded on the theorem: "Injection is nice... but blown once is twice as nice!" I take that to mean, why the hell not? Like so many folks at the 2008 Goodguys Southwest Nationals in Scottsdale, AZ, you're gawking at 572 cubic inches of Chevy power in this highly detailed Model T. I won't call it a "Ford" because from looking at Ron's garage here at MyRideisMe.com, I think Ron's more of a Chevy guy. Twin Blown Stepping back, the ride Ron calls, "Nas T Too" was a 4 year build with everything but the paint and interior done by Ron in his home shop. That includes milling or turning several custom pieces on the car. Ron said that "dipping" into the hot rod fund to buy a mill and lathe was essential. He made alot of chips (scrap!) before he made any parts, but you might have guessed that there aren't many off-the-shelf pieces available for twin blown big blocks! Looking closely, there...

The first of many, MANY photos from the 2008 Goodguys Southwest Nationals held in Scottsdale, Arizona just went up. (You can find all the events we've shot here: Hot Rod and Custom car Pictures) ...it's just like being there, but without all of that pesky good weather, fine folks and healthy walking around stuff. Come to think of it, all of that sounds pretty good, huh? That's the whole point of MyRideIsMe.com: Interacting with other members, making new friends, and just enjoying cars! If you missed this one, we invite you to check out our shots, as well as our member's photos, too... and if you snapped some that we missed, feel free to join in and post them as well! Have some thoughts or a story from the weekend that you'd like to share? Send it our way, and we'll make you famous!" This blog will be updated as I load new pictures, so check back here over the next couple of weeks. Updated: 11/19/2008 11/23/2008 Goodguys Rod and Custom shows have a mix of cars. While I was there, I thought there were mostly hot rods, but...