Graham Smith's 1957 Chevrolet ~ Snow White

View Full Story: "Graham Smith's 1957 Chevrolet"

William "Bill" Medcalf: Born in Minneapolis, all of Bill's art education came from schools near his hometown. In 1940 and 1941, he worked in the art department of the United States Treasury's Bureau of Engraving and in 1942, he joined the Navy as a gunners mate. Bill painted more than twenty years of beautiful pinups for Brown & Bigelow from 1947 to 1967, handling all the special-project calendar commissions for their most important customers.

Born in Minneapolis, all of Bill's art education came from schools near his hometown. In 1940 and 1941, he worked in the art department of the United States Treasury's Bureau of Engraving and in 1942, he joined the Navy as a gunners mate. Bill painted more than twenty years of beautiful pinups for Brown & Bigelow from 1947 to 1967, handling all the special-project calendar commissions for their most important customers.

View Full Story: "The Pinup Art of Bill Medcalf"

Tired of traveling cross-country on boring, endless interstates? Take the next exit and get yourself onto a two-lane highway. You’ll have an unforgettable experience. A retro experience. An all-American experience.

View Full Story: "11 Essential Road Trip Routes"

The R. W. Lindholm Service Station is still open and pumping gas. This unusual Phillips 66 service station is located at the corner of MN-45 and MN-33 in Cloquet, Minnesota.

View Full Story: "Frank Lloyd Wright Service Station"

Probably not considered the most dangerous sport by today's standards, this snippet of ‘skijoring’, or Motor Skiing, was filmed in Bavaria, Germany in 1955.

View Full Story: "Dangerous Sport: Motor Skiing 1955"

Rey Payumo of Kailua, Hawaii found this 1963 Chevrolet Impala packed with junk in a garage in Hayward, California. Rey tells us "It had an previous restoration, the color used to be lowrider purple and it used to be totally lowridered out. After buying it, my lil' brother Roy and I towed it South to his Los Angeles body shop, and did all the work there. Roy surprised me with a new Oakland Raiders paint job because he knew I was a die-hard fan." After 5 years of work and 2 motors, Rey finally shipped her to the islands, where it's driven' and has become quite popular...

Auto polo was invented in the United States with rules and equipment similar to equestrian polo, and of course used automobiles instead of horses. The sport was popular at fairs, exhibitions and sports venues across the United States and several areas in Europe from 1911 until the late 1920s.

The reported "first" game of auto polo occurred in an alfalfa field in Wichita on July 20, 1912 using four cars and eight players (dubbed the "Red Devils" and the "Gray Ghosts") and was witnessed by 5,000 people. The official inventor of auto polo is purported to be Ralph "Pappy" Hankinson, a Ford automobile dealer from Topeka, Kansas who devised the sport as a publicity stunt in 1911 to sell Model T cars.

View Full Story: "Auto Polo - The Sport of the Brave"

Sean Rollins from Calgary, Alberta, Canada shared this 1956 Continental Mark II which has been in the family for about 54 years. Sean tells us that due to spending years and years languishing in a garage, he has rebuilt or refreshed every mechanical system in the car. The body and paint work is more than 40 years old. She has 66,300 original miles and has been upgraded to disc brakes and electronic ignition, but is otherwise stock.

Sean says "Hope you like her as much as I do!"

Story and Photos shared by Stefan Schultz, and he tells us: "The bus was found in Arizona and transported to Mulders Rods in Brenham, Texas six weeks ago. Since then the team at Mulder's Rods have stripped about 8 layers of yellow off of it, pulled the motor, had a 1-off tubular A-arm suspension with air ride built using 1 ton dually spindles."

Stefan also says that a Duramax or Cummins diesel powerplant will turn the American Force 22.5" wheels. Also on the list of things to do: flush mounted windows, AccuAir, limo-style interior and custom made trim and molding. Completion date is sometime in 2014. We'll keep this updated with progress...

View Full Story: "1946 Chevrolet Wayne Body Bus"

SCOTTSDALE, AZ - Love Them or Hate Them, Barrett-Jackson's Scottsdale auction takes place January 13-20, 2013 at WestWorld of Scottsdale.

This will be the largest event in the company's 42 year history. Nearly 1,400 classics, exotics, muscle cars, Hot Rods, Resto-Mods and contemporary collectibles are expected to cross the auction block, setting a new world record for the largest offering of No Reserve vehicles at one auction.

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Official Barrett-Jackson 2013 Car & Truck List

Official Barrett-Jackson 2013 Live Auction Stream

Kevin Turner and Jody Summey from Tampa, Florida shared their 1960 Plymouth Fury Suburban Custom. Kevin tells us that the Plymouth was found covered up in a barn in Lakeland, Florida long after the original owner parked her in 1968 after being confined to a wheelchair.

The original ownwe died in 1995 and Kevin and Jody purchased her from the owner's brother. The Fury only had 23,254 miles on her and had only developed some surface rust. She has a 318 with a 3 speed standard transmission. Kevin says "we love driving her to the beach and to the drive-in theater to enjoy a movie on the tailgate."

View Full Story: "1960 Plymouth Fury Suburban Custom"

Erin Francis from Langley, British Columbia, Canada shared this 1956 Ford F-100 truck with us. Erin found the truck in Portland Oregon in near stock condition. In five very busy months, a frame-off restoration was performed as well as a few modifications including independent front suspension, four-link rear suspension with coil overs on all corners, power steering & brakes, plus a few other custom touches.

View Full Story: "Erin Francis' 1956 Ford F-100"

Danny Love shared this story and photos with us ~ This pristine 1947 Ford Pickup belonged to his Dad (aka Jiggs) Danny tells us that he remembers standing up as a young boy in the front seat just to be see out of the windshield. Danny is 54 years old now and says that he "can't hardly get in the cab now." He had the truck restored by Red River City Rods and Customs.

View Full Story: "Jiggs's 1947 Ford Pickup"

In 1954 Edsel Ford handed control of Ford Motors to his son Henry Ford II. Anxious to bring Ford back into the modern era, Henry the Second hired Italian Gian Paolo Boano to construct a one-off show car on a new Lincoln chassis and this was the result – the stunning 1955 Lincoln Indianapolis.

View Full Story: "1955 Lincoln Indianapolis Concept Car"

Darrik Hooper of from Carthage, Texas started his project with only the cab that he bought at Pate Swap Meet in Fort Worth. He was told it was a 1940's model when he bought it, but once he got it home, he took the time to look it over really well. He noticed all the nomenclature plates across the dash - the main plate showed the make and model: Ford G8T - 1 1/2 ton including the serial number and date of delivery: 7-7-43. "1943?" he said to himself... "This is military!" He started looking hard at the cab and could see the original olive drab paint in places. He knew right then that he had a theme and direction. These war trucks were part of the Lend-Lease Act of 1941 and served on the western front.

View Full Story: "Darrik Hooper's 1943 Ford G8T Military Truck"

Barry Weiss is an eccentric personality with attire and transportation to match.

Barry made his fortune selling wholesale produce (really) and has used those resources to feed his collecting obsessions including his love of rare and unique automobiles, trucks and motorcycles. Barry has been a collector for most of his life, so he knows when he comes across something that's the cream of the crop, and his car collection truly reflects that.

View Full Story: "Barry Weiss' Cowboy Cadillac"

The Specialty Equipment Market Association, more commonly known to automotive enthusiasts as SEMA, is an organization that brings the manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers of the performance aftermarket community together. Their annual trade-only convention is held annually at the Las Vegas Convention Center in early November, and member manufacturers show their newest and greatest parts to the eager members of the media, as well as potential buyers.

The annual SEMA Trade Show has certainly been a major factor in the Specialty Equipment Market Association's vitality and growth, although it was an idea that took a few years to catch on.

View Full Story: "First Annual SEMA Show - 1967 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles"

The Dreise Steampunk Rat Rod ~ Recently finished after a year long build, this is a 1935 Chevy modified to fit onto a custom built frame with hand built sheet metal and parts, all raw then cleared to seal the finish. The truck is powered by a Chevy 350 and is a daily driver. Photography by PussyKat Pin-Ups...

View Full Story: "The Dreise Steampunk Rat Rod"

The story of Aaron's Rat Rod goes like this:

In 2007 I worked at a dealership in the local town that had a 1936 Dodge dump truck sitting in a grass lot behind a building. I'd have to trim weeds around it when the dealership got slow.

I've always bought rat rod magazines and always thought about building one, but just never found a body that wasn't outrageous in price. So one day I asked the owner of the dealership if he'd ever sell that ole' dump truck out back. He said "for you, $600". I said "consider it sold" and I saved the money and I bought it.

View Full Story: "Aaron Anderson's True Home Grown Rat Rod"

Matthias Thews of Neuhof, Germany shared with us some photos taken in Crete, Greece during the summer of 2010. He discovered this early 1950s Opel Blitz in the middle of the countryside, forgotten in a field.

Matthias explains to us that during this time, Opel was one of the largest manufacturers of light trucks in Europe. "Blitz" (German for lightning) was the name given to various German light and middle-weight trucks built by Opel between 1930 and 1975. The version of the "Blitz" in these photos was introduced in 1952 and was built to carry a maximum load of 1.75 tons - fully sufficient for serving traders, builders and other commercial operations. It had a 2.5 liter gasoline engine and produced 58 horsepower.

The design of the truck very much resembled US built trucks from the 1950's. Due to the dry climate in Crete, many cars and motorcycles from the 1930s to the 1960s can still be found, although some of them in poor condition.

For photography aficionados, these photos were shot with a 1951 Rolleiflex TLR.

View Full Story: "1950's Opel Blitz Shot with a 1951 Rolleiflex TLR"

Michael Snow from Horneytown, North Carolina saw our Farmer's Chopper post and shared his Lil' Rat, an old school rat rod lawn mower with us.

He tells us that he had an old riding lawn mower sitting around in the basement he was keeping for parts, and one day he just went crazy on it. He lowered the front end and chopped the hood and grill. The wheels were painted the obligatory red and the tires painted as wide white walls.

He rusted out the hood and built a custom bed/seat for it. He said that "it looked and sounded mean, but was not very fast". So he straight axled it for positive traction and swapped some pulleys around for speed. He tells us it will do around 35 mph - if you can hold on to it.

View Full Story: "Rat Rod Lawn Mower"

Gary tells us how his ride came about:

I have always enjoyed watching the shows about fabrication - Monster Garage, Biker Build Off, American Chopper, etc. Of course knowing I could not afford to build a real Chopper, I decided to "manufacture" my own, but in a little different way. I had gotten a couple of old junk bikes (Suzuki's I believe) with no engines from a guy who hauled a lot of junk metal to the scrap yard.

Then I was at a garage sale one day and noticed this riding mower in a junk pile. I asked the guy about it and he said it wasn't any good and didn't want it. So, I offered him $20 for it and he took it. I went home and started to put the mower back together and got it running well. It had a 17.5 HP Briggs & Stratton Twin and hydrostat transmission in it.

So I got to thinking - I have always wanted a chopper, so I cut the triple-tree from the front of one of the bikes and a friend extended the forks about 6" for me. I cut off the front end of the riding mower and put the front of the bike on the front of the mower. I didn't have much spare metal around so I took an old metal bed stand and made part of the frame with it. The chrome is painted and cut out of an aluminum running board. The chrome exhaust is from an old animal guard off an old truck. The forward and reverse handle on the right side is a hydraulic jack handle.

View Full Story: "Gary Dougherty's Farmer's Chopper"

Plus Sizing your wheel and tire combination was designed to enhance vehicle performance and appearance by allowing fitment of larger diameter rims and lower profile tires. The theory is that while making these changes, you keep the overall tire diameter within 3% of the original equipment tires. This is important because larger variances can cause problems with transmission shift points which can decrease fuel mileage. It can also confuse braking system computers which can even lead to brake failure, as well as cause inaccuracies in your speedometer.

View Full Story: "Plus Sizing Wheels and Tires"

Designers Paul Wilson and Chelle Swanson-Wilson are individually creative artists who have come together to do some functional, funky, beautiful art furniture and items with the goal to repurpose as many parts, pieces and supplies as possible. Together they run Repurposed Designs, a design company that uses as many green and repurposing methods as possible to create one of a kind furniture and furnishings.

View Full Story: "Vehicular Furniture"

n2a Motors is a California based custom auto manufacturer with a mission of reviving the art of American coach building.

Melding design elements from different Chevy models, the 789 shows the world that you really can't have enough of a good thing. Although the 789 looks instantly iconic, it is actually the best of three classics mounted atop a Le Mans-winning Corvette C6 chassis. Aptly named for the three years represented in the overall design, the 789 has the “hooded eyes” and chrome grille of a '57, a mid-section that's reminiscent of a '58 Impala and the "bird in flight" rear tailfins of a '59. These three vehicles are all instantly recognizable classics celebrated by people around the world.

View Full Story: "The 789 from n2a Motors"

I got into a discussion some time ago about welding a rear-end on a street vehicle – It became clear that the guy I was discussing this with did not fully understand how a differential works. The video below was made in the 1930's or so and is the best explanation I have seen to date.

The guy I was talking with was a young hot rodder and had heard that welding the rear-end really helps a ride "hook-up", but that's all he knew. No one had explained why this would be a bad idea on the street, and once he understood what purpose the differential serves, he saw the light. My guess is that he'll someday be able to share this same knowledge with a fellow young hot rodder, and also do more research on his own and teach himself something, and that I can get behind.

View Full Story: "How Differential Gears Work"

Made for hot rod fans; this vintage video explains how to prepare for and enter a car show and also serves as an ethnographic account of the "nomadic tribe of hotrodders".

In this video series Jonesy's Auto Club shows you how to create a seat pattern and sew it out of vintage leather for a 1928 Ford model A . Flat stitch and french seams are demonstrated as well as other auto upholstery techniques.

How to upholster a hot rod in leather part 1...

View Full Story: "How to Upholster a Hot Rod in Leather"

Speed Week 2012 brings this issue back to the forefront...

Registered as a National Landmark, the Bonneville Salt Flats is a national treasure which has gained international significance as an awe inspiring geologic phenomenon – a place so flat you can see the curvature of the planet. For motor sports enthusiasts world-wide, of which there are millions, it is much more. It is hallowed ground. From the first speed record attempts in 1914 and through the present day, hundreds of records have been set and broken in a variety of automotive and motorcycle classes.

View Full Story: "Bonneville Salt Flats - Save the Salt Coalition"

Jeff shows us how to install our Welder Series Universal Rear Step Notch Kit, as pictured below.

View Full Story: "How To Install a Universal Rear Step Notch Kit"

To borrow a line from the late Hunter S. Thompson, this '60s Plymouth concept car was "too weird to live, too rare to die".

Designed by Virgil Exner Sr., the 1960 Plymouth XNR concept car was built on a modified Valiant chassis as an answer to the vast popularity of Corvettes at the close of the 1950s. The car served its sole purpose in the car exhibitions of the early 1960s, showcasing the progressive design sensibilities of Plymouth automotive.

View Full Story: "Wheels of History - 1960 Plymouth XNR Concept Car"

There's a push coming out of Austin, Texas headed by Mercury Charlie and Wolf Motorsports Magazine to get Gene Winfield a show on the Discovery Channel...

An open letter from Mercury Charlie:

View Full Story: "Want to Watch a Gene Winfield Television Show?"

The following was sent to us via our Facebook page on August 7th, 2012

My Name is Steve Chopko and I live in Newark, Delaware. You guys have inspired me to hunt down an old pickup of my own that I can use to promote my business. I wanted something Rat Rod-ish just like your site shows. I own and operate The Dye Guy. For the past 25years, my wife and I restore and repair Leather, Vinyl and Plastic in Cars, Boats and Planes.

View Full Story: "Steve Chopko - An inspired fan from Facebook..."

This is NOT a George Barris build. This is NOT an Ed "Big Daddy" Roth car. This is an inspired custom one-off build by Eric Goodrich from Illinois, albeit still a work in progress.

When we initially posted a photo of this on our Facebook page, a number of "car guys" guessed that this project was just a cut-up Corvette (trust us when we tell you that Eric knows just how *rare* steel Corvettes are). There is no fiberglass in the body of this car - it's all good old fashioned Detroit steel - the project actually started out as a perfectly cherry 1965 Ford Thunderbird from Texas.

View Full Story: "Custom Bubbletop Build by Eric Goodrich"

Doodlebug is the colloquial name for a home-made tractor made in the United States during World War II when production tractors were in short supply. The Doodlebug of the 1940s was usually based on a 1920s or 1930s era Ford automobile which was then modified either by the complete removal or alteration of some of the vehicle body.

These contraptions went by many names: Friday Tractors, Scrambolas, Jitterbugs, Field Crawlers, and many others as well as the most common, The DoodleBug, which was a nickname for the aftermarket tractor kit made by David Bradley "The old DB". Initially the idea of the homemade tractor came from several catalog and implement companies in the mid 1920's to the mid 1930's such as New Deal, Peru Plow Co., Thrifty Farmer, Sears, Montgomery Ward, Pull Ford, and Johnson Mfg Co.

View Full Story: "The Epitome of American Ingenuity - Doodlebugs, Scrambolas, Jitterbugs, Field Crawlers and Other Farm Rigs"

We've often heard tales about Argentina and rare Ford stuff. A few years ago, there were all kinds of rumors floating around about a warehouse that was discovered housing crates of NOS Ardun heads. Before that, it was a rumored 1,000's of replacement flathead blocks were located in a similar fashion. And then, of course, there were all of the weird foreign variations of trucks that Ford Argentina put on the market.

The 1938 Ford roadster pick up pictured in this post features a passenger car front-end (deluxe), passenger car fenders and modified running boards, and what looks to be a factory produced bed of some sort. The top appears crude, but it was actually fabricated quite keenly and features some cast parts. In fact, the more the details unfold the more they begin to tell the tale of a production line - limited or not. Dig deeper and the clues start to point to Argentina. The battery and most of the electrical components are Argentinean, it's right hand drive, and the little truck sports a number of aftermarket add-ons typical of the region. I'm sold… This car was produced by a factory in Argentina. But how? Why? When?

View Full Story: "Argentinean 1938 Ford Roadster Pick Up"

24,000 - That's how many man-hours it took to turn a 1955 Chevy Nomad into the award-winning Chevy "NewMad". Yes, you read that correctly - 24,000 hours and 1.3 million dollars.

Hot rod designer Chris Ito was commissioned by a Phoenix couple to pen the redesign. The NewMad began its life as the first generation Chevrolet Nomad, the halo model wagon derived from the Motorama Corvette of 1953-54.

View Full Story: "The NewMad - 1955 Chevrolet Nomad Custom"

Since its invention in 1953, WD-40 has been the go-to solution for many household and garage problems. Over the years, other companies have come up with their answer to WD-40's penetrating properties such as Liquid Wrench and Kano Kroil. Others have tried their own home-brewed concoctions in the never-ending battle against rusted nuts and bolts. Our favorite is a 50/50 mix of acetone and Dexron/Mercon Automatic Transmission Fluid.

Simply mix one part acetone and one part ATF in a re-fillable spray bottle and go to town. The idea is to thin the ATF with the acetone so it will penetrate and seep into and between surfaces. The acetone will evaporate, leaving the oil to do its job. Because the acetone evaporates so quickly, it's a good idea to mix this in small batches.

Skeptical? We were too. Then we did some poking around on Google and found that in the April 2007 issue of Machinist Workshop Magazine, they performed subjective independent testing of penetrating oils using a single steel bar with 1/2" x 20 nuts torqued to 50 ft/lbs and treated with a 10% salt water solution that was allowed to rust.

Listed are the chemicals tested and the respective required removal torque:

A view of Harley Earl's legendary 1951 LeSabre dream car at the 1953 Chicago Auto Show.

The photo is made more interesting because the car is seen in a rare pose with the convertible top in the up position. Body panels were made of magnesium, and a jet-like intake contained two headlights. Housed in the rear fenders were the tanks for the gasoline and alcohol fuel. The LeSabre name came from the Sabre jet fighters, and was used on Buick models from 1959-2005.

View Full Story: "Harley Earl's Legendary 1951 LeSabre Dream Car"

Sadly, much of our drag racing heritage is fading into the sunset of time due to the passing of legends like Dick Wells, Wally Parks, Pat Foster, and many others. The destruction of storied tracks where a lot of racing legends were born isn't helping either. Places like Lions Drag Strip, Orange County International Raceway, US 30 Dragway, and Miami-Hollywood Speedway Park Dragstrip are where history was made, legends created, and where drag racing put its stamp on American society and culture. But all hope is not lost - All across America, drag racing enthusiasts and racers are doing what they can to preserve Standard 1320 history.

View Full Story: "Hell On Wheels: 1958 Chevy Bel Air Gasser - Daddys Thing"

After his Triumph Spitfire engine crashed, this resourceful gearhead purchased a used engine from a seller on eBay Motors. Wisely, he chose to photograph the entire teardown so he had a reference to remember how everything went back together. He then realized it would be quite cool to make it an animation - from stripping its thousands of parts, cleaning them, to completely reassembling the entire engine again - and this is the result...

Robert is currently showing hot rod paintings in a group showing at Mikey Teutul's Wolf Gang Gallery - The show runs from July 14^th - August 31^st, 2012 The show is titled: A Midsummer Nights Dream - Featuring French artist Bernard Carver, Jacqueline Schwab, Nat Baines, Maureen Drury, Patti Kalosy, Amy Wiley, David O'Reilly, Nelson Pantoja, Caroline Harrow, Dexter Wetmore, Robert Hoover, Mike Teutul and Emily Adamo.

View Full Story: "The Artwork of Robert Hoover"

Open your mind and imagination...

Checkered Flag

"It was one of those days when a guy could just feel the good luck all around him from the minute he woke up from his nap. A day like that was absolutely perfect for the big race he had planned all summer. The big Dodge racer was finely tuned, the weather was clear and the race track was dry and fast. He started from the pole position and ran in first place for the better part of the race but in the twenty third lap Barney Oldfield, in the Bardol Special, passed him on the inside and took the lead. On the last lap (just before supper), in a move race fans would later call sheer brilliance, our young friend shot around Barney on the left and flew in to take the coveted checkered flag and the World Championship of Motor Racing."

View Full Story: "The Artwork of Bob Byerley "

The story goes like this:

Saturday morning Kristi and I were traveling the back country roads of Florida to visit her parents near Ocala when we happened across this row of dilapidated cars on a piece of property near Stark. Very cool 1930's and 40's Buick's, Packard's, and Studebaker's.

View Full Story: "Trespassing, Pistols and $10 Photos "

Suicide doors, arguably made best known among today's hot rodders and customizers by the Lincoln Continental four-door convertible of the 1960s, are a popular customization. Not only do they add a high level of "cool factor", they actually make entering and exiting the vehicle much easier. The occupant can enter in a natural way; walking forward towards the vehicle, and then turning as they go to sit, and exit by stepping forward out of the vehicle. It makes good sense.

Suicide doors were not uncommon on cars manufactured in the first half of the 20th century. They were especially popular in the gangster era of the 1930s because "It's a lot easier to shove somebody out with the wind holding the door open", Dave Brownell, the former editor of Hemmings Motor News stated.

Today, suicide doors can be found on a number of production vehicles, but are often referred to as "rear-hinged doors", "coach doors" (Rolls-Royce), and "freestyle doors" (Mazda). Thankfully, among car people, term "suicide doors" is alive and well.

Many hot rod and speed shops specialize in suicide doors. For many, a professional fabricator is the way to go. The first suicide doors I ever did were on a 1971 Porsche 914 and I used hinges from a Chevy Chevette - I used the left hinges on the right and vice versa, and turned the hinges upside down. It worked pretty well. But if you are handy with a cutting wheel and welder, you can tackle the job yourself with one of the many suicide door hinge kits and bear claw latch kits available today. These kits take a lot of the guess work out of the project and lend a more profession finish in the door jambs that my first try.

There is nothing cooler than a mean looking car with frenched headlights. Frenching is the act of recessing or moulding a headlight, taillight, antenna or license plate into a car body to give a smoother look to the vehicle. The name originates from the end result looking like a French cuff of a shirt sleeve, which has a ridge at the end. This modification has been used on leadsleds and customs since the 1930s.

Frenching a headlight or taillight is done in one of two ways: either removing the bezel, mounting the light deeper in the car's head or taillight recess and using the headlight rings from another car (or an aftermarket kit) to mount it deeper into the body. It can also be done by modifying the light's mountings so that they can be removed from behind, welding the bezel to the body once the chrome plating is removed and painting it body color. This gives the effect of visually lengthening the car, as well as smoothing out the body. Many customs have lights from another car transplanted in place of the original factory items, but even these are frenched as well.

Related:
How To French Headlights from Rod and Custom Magazine

L & H Race Cars recently completed building a shining example of the caliber of hotrods the produce that are known for top performance. The shop designed, built and tested this '57 Chevrolet Bel Air. As you can see from the picturs, it is a monster machine!

The L & H Race Cars facility, located in Oxford, North Carolina, is already licensed for legal I.H.R.A. and N.H.R.A. approved chassis building. The shop is fitted with all the tools and equipment to produce anything from simple customer modifications to complete turn-key solutions. http://www.landhracecars.com

Created by Fred Bailey, this is by far the sweetest ass implement I have ever seen.  This one of a kind piece of automotive beauty is hand made in metal and sprayed in sunset orange pearl automotive paint and wrapped in black leather upholstery.

The couch measures 168 inches long by 45 inches wide. Fred is entirely responsible for this honey; artist, sculptor, mechanical draftsman, welder, fabricator and licensed automotive painter - view more of Fred's artistry at http://www.fredbailey.ca/

Self-proclaimed Lover, Fighter, Pinstriper, Shift knob painter from hell... and all around nice guy, Jason Mattox of Timebomb Kustoms reminds us of an old school pinstriper - even with just a few years in the business, Jason remains true to the old-school way of pinstriping and he has great respect for those who came before him.

At any given car show or event, you'll see this striper working his ass off pinstriping cars, trucks or customs or in a vendor booth selling his wares. Jason not only stripes at car shows, he's also popular at tattoo conventions and other events. When not pinstriping at car shows, he spends many hours perfecting his craft, and has very little time for anything else.

Jason began pinstriping in 2005 as a hobby and out of love for the art. At that time, he balanced a full-time job while pinstriping but only managed to do a few locally around southern Indiana and a few in Ohio with a handful of work and no clients. Pinstriping has now become his life and sole source of income. His shop, Timebomb Kustoms is based in New Albany, Indiana. Jason now spends a lot of time at shows in Pennsylvania, Kansas, Florida, and Texas and has a solid client roster.

Although once known locally, his name is slowly but surely moving across the country and into other countries as well. He takes orders orders from Sweden, Finland, England, and Australia and gets requests for custom panels and hand-painted shift knobs from around the world.

Blastolene (cool in and of itself) has recently finished Piss'd Off Pete. Designed by Randy Grubb, this newest Blastolene Peterbilt hot rod features 12v71 Detriot Deisel with two 671 superchargers, and, oh yah, is currently for sale. http://www.blastolene.com

Found in the northern suburbs of Illinois, Hot Rods by Greg in Lake Bluff produces some excellent one-off custom work, including this example in a pristine Chevrolet engine compartment. The shop is responsible for both the design and fabrication of this custom engine cover.

Built by Leif Tufvesson in honor of Volvo’s 80th birthday, the Jacob is a retro-penned hotrod inspired by the first series-produced Volvo car, the ÖV4 (the Swedish abbreviation for Open Car, 4 cylinders) that gained the nickname “Jacob”. The hand-built aluminium body hotrod is based on a carbon fiber chassis and it’s equipped with Volvo’s Flexifuel, five-cylinder turbocharged engine that generates 265 Hp.

The entire build is typical of Leif Tufvesson's style. Lean. Aesthetically elegant. Stylishly minimalist. Largely because most of the components have been hidden away inside the body. For instance the springs and dampers, the electrical components and exhaust system. The result is that the body and axles look like they are floating in the air. Design Brilliance.

Desert Racing is a big-dollar sport, and the no-expense spared trucks are assembled with some of the most impressive fabrication you’re ever likely to see. They need to withstand the extreme levels of punishment associated with driving in some of the worlds harshest terrain. If you’re not into off-road racing, I’m sure you’ll at least be captivated by the builds that go along with it. Desert Racer Fabrication Build

Michael Ulman’s materials come from junk yards, dumpsters and trash heaps. Remnants of the industrial age. Objects often thought of as mundane, repurposed and reincarnated as motorcycles, race cars and speed boats. Take some time and study this guy’s work. It is very inspiring. http://michaelulman.com

In another example of vintage tools used creatively in hot rodding, this rear end is exquisite in balance and makes me wish I had a matched set of old wrenches laying around - I only seem to find them in ones.

As a racer myself and longtime NASCAR fan, I can appreciate that it's long been said that one of the things you never wanted to see in your rearview mirror was the black number 3. I would have to add this to the list: a hood and bumper mounted arsenal that appears able to handle parade-laners with ease. While this of course is a fabrication, it certainly adds an ominous feel to this flat black beauty.

I have always been a fan of creative exhaust - but generally I looked for the creativity under the car. This example, however, really grabbed my attention - I have given thought to running exhaust through the tailgate or rear quarter panel, but not the running board. Food for thought for future projects...

While there are literally hundreds of examples of crafty builders using vintage tools in their hot rod projects, I particularly liked this one. The straight pipes and curved wrench make for an excellent header support, and add character and conversation to the car.

This beautifully done flamed fan shroud was seen at the NSRA Street Rod Nationals in Louisville, KY. The shroud is done in high gauge steel and I assume plasma cut, then rolled to fit. And fit it does. The fabricator did a stellar job fitting the shroud to the grill and blind mounted it quite nicely.

This piece of work came right out our own shop, Roadkill Rod & Custom. This is our shop truck, a 1949 Studebaker 2R5 Pick-Up.

I love the look of the Ford and Chevy firewalls when filled, nice and clean. This truck has the ugliest firewall around. As a matter of fact, because of this, I almost passed on the truck. Studebaker thought this was a feature because you had easy access to all in the dash, gauges and the like.

View Full Story: "Studebaker Firewall From Spare Tailgate"

The Beatersville Car Show in Louisville, KY dished up alot of creative work, and this tail light was one of my favorite examples. While the concept is pretty simple, it is a creative way to mount the lens, hide the wiring, and add some cool factor all at the same time.

My late Father use to tell me that "sometimes, less is more". And that is the case with this Chevy tailgate seen at the Beatersville Car Show in Louisville, KY. A plasma cutter and a steady hand was all that was required to dress this tailgate to the owners liking.

Gas Money -- I love this. Found at the Dillehay Street Hullabaloo, this International not only uses a comical bottle opener on the tailgate, but repurposes a change slot to support the driving habits of the owner. With gas prices where they are, I have to wonder if the opener is provided solely as a service to passers-by and is banking on good-will, or if this enterprising chap keeps a stocked cooler close and pimps the value-added service of the opener. No tin cans or pull-tabs for this guy.

This tribute to the late Indian Larry was seen at the Dillehay Street Hullabaloo and grabbed my attention right away as a long time Indian Larry admirer. I particularly liked the placement of the filler. The fabricator nicely used the convex shape of this corner of the cab to place the filler and achieved a very smooth fit.