If you haven't figured out what MyRideisMe.com is about, maybe this story will help. In speaking with Kai, also known as falconizer_62, I found out he's having a few kids from a local church's youth group help him with (you guessed it) his 62 Falcon Wagon Project. Kai's written a few blogs in his garage. Did you know you can do that? He's quite the craftsman, or maybe as you'll see, all the credit goes to the kids! I'll let Kai tell the whole story, but just so you know where his heart is, I'll give you a piece: One of my favorite things about building a car or taking on any project of that size is the community that is created around the construction of it. When you work on a project of this magnitude and with as many high school kids that have stepped foot into the garage, every step along the way and stage of the project has significant and specific memories of conversations and people. Many of you probably do not know, but I have bilateral nerve damage in my arms, and lost the use...

RIP Jae Bueno.   Visiting MyRideisMe.com you'll notice that it's pretty heavy on Hot Rods. What can I say? That's what I like most, that's what I photograph most and hot rod shows are my scene. But... MyRideisMe.com is NOT limited to any one type of car. Not at all. It's more then a URL, My Ride is Me is the theme of the site. What is it about your car that describes you? It's always something! You didn't just HAPPEN to like lifted Jeeps or 1970 Chevelles or 64 Fairlanes. There's a reason you say, "That's my ride." Case in point for this blog is Lowriders. I dig'm. Would I ever own one? Maybe not, but so what! I can still appreciate them as sweet custom cars that at times have the most intricate paint to be found on any car. Whatever your opinion is, there's no doubt that the owners of these rides love their cars and they no doubt tell you something about who's driving them.   I haven't had a chance to photograph many lowriders, so I turned to my new friend Jae for these...

Once I decided to upgrade the World Class T-5 transmission, I investigated the companies that provide the gears, and chose G-Force, which resulted in a very pleasurable experience. They were more than willing to work me on information exchange as well as ensuring that I was happy with their product (enough of the promotion). Background first. The original WC T-5 worked flawlessly behind the 289. 289 was not a torque monster, but it was a 390 HP motor. The new 383 (stroked 351W) will provide a lot more torque, and I did NOT want to disassemble this car again (for a transmission failure) simply for a shortcut in not upgrading the transmission. Therefore, I needed to either go with a new TKO, a T-56, or an upgraded T-5. Option 1: The T-56 would have added another 50 lbs to the weight of the car (which I try to avoid this kind of situation like the plague), plus the needed changes to the transmission tunnel, bellhousing, and anything else I was not seeing. The torque rating on this transmission is better than the T-5, but not as good as the...

Bodywork 101 - Straighten a Body Panel like Pro   You can’t expect to learn bodywork in 1 afternoon, no matter how good the teacher is, but one thing’s for certain: You’ll never learn unless you get in there and try it. This blog and the ones that will follow will show some basic bodywork techniques anyone can do (especially if I can do it!). Since I’m starting from nothing, I hope the pictures and videos will help you get started too.   Just starting, that’s where I am with my 1963 Falcon Wagon build. The body’s really not that bad, but after 45 years on the road, a Sherman tank needs panel work before glossy paint. As I mentioned in the "Holman & Moody Boss 429 - (you should read this)" I headed over to Squeeg’s Kustom to get started learning. I hooked up with Matt Vesay and interrupted his work on a stretched Dearborn Deuce body to get started on the upper splash apron (just above the front bumper) from a custom getting painted. The panel was fiberglass, but that didn’t really matter for what I needed...

Custom 1965 Chevy Suburban     MyRideisMe.com is happy to have 680 members now, including this bad 1965 Chevy Suburban owned by Cameron and Debbie Day from Austin, TX. This is another well done "shop truck" for their hot rod parts business House O Speed. They have created a GREAT garage already even though they just joined. Their garage is a great example of how you can show detailed pics of the interior, engine and exterior of your ride in an organized way. You don't need to insert pics in an email to show a buddy what you're up to on your ride, just send them over to your MyRideisMe.com garage and you're all set!   Cam says, this is Ratiki. It began life as an Arizona based 1965 Chevy Suburban built by my friends and I from the ground up over the span of five years. The concept was Cam's, that existed as ideas, a few magazine pics and some sketches. Cam then turned to my buddy Brian Stupski from Problem Child Kustoms to render the truck. Brian kindly referred the Day's over cause he knows I've got...

The first step in fixing a problem is admitting you have one. Hi, I’m Craig, I don’t know crap about bodywork. (Hi Craig). With that out of the way, I moved onto the next step. That’s seeking help. I turned to my new friends over at Squeeg’s Kustoms in Mesa, Arizona. Squeeg’s has been turning out show quality paint and bodywork since 1964 and Doug Jerger, the owner and Squeeg’s son, has kept the business rolling. One of Doug’s latest paint jobs was for his America’s Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR) contenting 32 Roadster. I was in good hands for my shotgun lesson in body work to support the 63 Falcon Wagon project. When hot rods and custom car building’s in your head nearly every waking minute, hanging out in a shop like Squeeg’s might as well be Disneyland. When I pulled up, Doug and the Jerry Courlton were standing out front marveling at the fresh custom paint on Jerry’s Corvette super gas race car body. Wow. It’s tough to put down this many colors without having that, “I’m stuck in the 80’s” look, but Doug nailed the graphics and...

Sheet Metal Fab Book Eddie Paul is one of those rare individuals who can do almost anything. In fact his motto is, “If it doesn’t work, it just isn’t finished yet”. Often characterized as a serial inventor, Eddie has many patents in various fields. Some of his clients over the years include the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, Boeing , Rockwell, Mission Research, SOCOM, and the Department of Forestry to name a few. He’s been a stuntman, actor, and stunt coordinator for many movies and TV shows. Need a shark? Eddie has built them for the Cousteaus and the Discovery Channel. Need some tools? Eddie’s shop builds many for the Eastwood Company including their English wheel and planishing hammer kit. The works most people will recognize though are all the vehicles Eddie’s shop has produced over the years for countless movies, TV shows, and commercials. A short list includes the cars from Grease, the original Dukes of Hazard stunt cars, the stunt chopped Mercs for Cobra, various cars for CHiPS, Triple X’s custom ’67 GTO, the custom Crown Victoria taxis in Taxi, all the vehicles in The Fast...

You're in trouble when you invite Brian Stupski from Problem Child Kustoms Studio to dinner. Brian's used to designing super high-end custom hot rods and concept cars for SEMA, which is all great, but when you ask him for help with your own projects, he doesn't know when to throttle back. "Brian, I don't have an extra $200k!" It's great to dream though! Look what he does when I cut him loose on something near and dear to me. The Nissan Armada. Brian also helped with a blog I wrote for Nissan. I was trying to win a trip to the Lake Tahoe, NV press event for the GTR. You might have read about it in EVERY magazine! I could have driven the GTR on a track. Too bad, my story didn't win, even with this AMAZING illustration. Here's a snippet of the Nissan Blog I wrote. I was trying to describe what I do for Nissan: It's tough to focus; I've had something on my mind since this morning. Then it hit me; I can see it now: Grocery shopping, trips to the mall, the neighbor kid’s hair...

Hot Rod Friends at their Best What do Hot Rods, cool Kustoms, the LA Roadster show and Octopus have in common? The Throttle Kings of Southern California. In 2007 when MyRideisMe.com was barely idling, I hit the LA Roadster show hard with cards and t-shirts to spread the word. That was when I first met Victor Busatamante. Victor listened about my dream of "Myspace for car guys" and offered a beer to celebrate that I was done jabbering. By that time, I had the pitch down, but even I was tired of hearing it. One beer led to another, then Victor and his buddies were making carne asada and fed me well. You don't meet guys that generous every day. I was grateful for the hospitality so I loaded up the boys with MyRideisMe.com t-shirts. Fast forward 1 year to 2008. As Saturday at the Roadster Show was winding down, I set out to find Victor and his guys again. Not so hard, just look for the guys having the most fun! A little ways out, I found them. This year was no different then last. Everyone was having a...