1320Designs – Hot Rod Concept Drawings

Posted by Hechtspeed on Mar 22, 2010 in Art & Photography, Vintage Rides | 8 comments

Drawing Cars with My Buddy Joel

This blog post is a long time coming.  We at MyRideisMe have shown off a number of talented hot rod artists.  Joel Nelson of 1320 Designs is most definitely on that list.  I mean, just dig these drawings below.   Asking Joel how he got into drawing cars, he said:

I got into drawing cars from watching The Dukes of Hazzard on prime time and Smokey and the Bandit. Thankfully CarTOONS was in full circulation too and that really put me over the edge! Then during the late 80’s and early 90’s, I really got into drawing Pro Street cars. Nothing was safe from becoming “pro street-ed”. You could make anything look nasty by dropping it and adding a set of big ‘n’ littles!  I like to work with markers and pastels mostly but have been known to do hand painted work in Photoshop too. Nothing beats pencil and paper though!

This first one is Joel’s latest and is our own Pikesan’s 1961 AMC Rambler Wagon gasser concept drawing.  You’ll be seeing more of this concept from Joel in the future as he fine tunes Pikesan’s ideas onto paper for his project Rambler.  Like a budget Chip Foose if you will, drawing Pikesan’s project car ideas, allowing him to visualize and try out different mods, looks, paint jobs, wheels, etc. I’m amazed at the skill involved to do drawings like this.

Why “Ameripan”?  Well, Rambler American Wagon + Japan sourced engine (aka Nissan Titan truck 5.6L V8).  “Ameri – pan”.

The ’61 Rambler wagon looks so right as a gasser, don’t you think?

On to some of Joel’s fine hot rod art…these were his favorites.

Joel says if he didn’t have his other projects and had a little more time/space, this is what he’d build.  I can see why!  Very cool and clean rod.  I dig the brown color with the white walls and bumperless frontend.

Joel drew this ’66 ‘Burban for friend and fellow MyRideisMe.com member, Mr. Freeze.  He says these are 20″ Boss 338 wheels.  Shows great detail on the wheels with the chrome lip and gray centers.  The orange and white creamsicle 2-tone paint scheme flows nicely with this body style.

I personally love these 60’s GM short bed hot rod trucks.  This “Chebbie” is drawn more as a Custom with the black scallops, mini white walls on chrome Astro Supreme wheels.  Notice the ride height of all these rides.  Just hugging the ground. That’s the way Erock, another MyRideisMe.com member likes it!

Dig this funky Ford Econoline pickup. It was no small task to bag the stock suspension.  The rear meats almost look pro-street.  I love the detail in the pug-nose grille and headlights.  Stance and wheels can make anything look rad.  Even check out the decal in the rear glass.  You gotta stare at these renderings by Joel, there’s all kinds of details. This one’s also buddy Erock’s ride.

I love these old fenderless hot rods.  This is a 1936 International Harvester, an old friend of Joel’s built this.  Thanks to Facebook, they are back in touch after 20 years.  Check those Rallye wheels.  Check the weather and rusted paint details and aluminum fuel tank in the bed.

Now, I think I personally prefer the hand sketched/drawn hot rods with pencils, markers and pastels, but I have A LOT of respect for the skill to do digital renderings.  Joel says on his website that a buddy used to own a ’78 Ranchero.  If Joel got a hold of one, this is how he’d do it up.  Cool retro paint scheme and big Keystone mags.  Digital allows you to do beyond real reflections and shine.  Boom!  That’s wild!

Well, this was just a taste of Joel Nelson’s skills.  Hit him up with your project ideas or just go check out his other work on his website which also includes pinstriping.  Ya, he has some radical pinstriping skills too!  Lucky!!!

1320 Designs Blog

Thanks Joel for sharing your art with us.  Can’t wait to see the progress of Craig’s Rambler Gasser in the future.