Diesel Hot Rod MyRideisMe.com featured this bad Cummins powered hot rod before: Diesel Rat Rod: Blowin’ Smoke Photo by Swanee Now check out this crazy video of the "Welderup" turbo diesel rat rod doin' it's thing... [youtube width="575"...

Homebuilt Hot Rods Car shows, car club, breakdowns, wrench nights, possible near death experiences, getting things fixed, and as always adventuring in the hot rod world - these things and more are what've been goin' on for the past month as I've neglected my writing. The month started with a car club meeting (I haven't told ya'll too much about them yet...I'll have to remedy that soon!) The following day was Bedlam Ball Car Show in San Pedro. Me and the other Gasoline Girls had fun hanging out together and seeing our buddies the Throttle Kings along with some other cool cars down in the port town of Los Angeles. The next week included ongoing wrench nights to get Lori's truck finished, a 1948 Ford F1, as well as some work to be done to get Rosa's 1965 Ford Falcon working correctly again. In the meantime, Stude was tellin' me her front suspension was gone, really gone. After months of driving her knowing that her bushing were on their way out and then completely gone. With rain falling in LA and a nearly bald tire... I decided to park...

1961 Chrysler Hemi Nitro Dragster from the UK Story by Brian Taylor Sydney Allard’s 1961 Allard Chrysler dragster (source Crazy Horses, National Motor Museum, Beaulieu) Drag racing has come a long way since its beginnings in the USA during the late 1940's. And although it had a culture of straight-line sprinting (runs against the clock rather than a knock out competition) dating back to the early 1900's, Europe had to wait until early in 1961 before it saw its first dragster. It was born when British sports car manufacturer Sydney Allard stormed into the office, slammed a copy of a Hot Rod publication featuring Chris Karamesines’ Chizler dragster onto the table and announced, “We’re going to build one of these”. Sydney Allard, the father of British drag racing. (source Crazy Horses, Gavin Allard collection) The Allard Chrysler being built. Sydney Allard watches from the cockpit as designer David Hooper (left) checks the plans and John Hume (right) adjusts the steering. (source Crazy Horses, National Motor Museum, Beaulieu) There were no official drag racing regulations in existence in Europe at the time. Royal Automobile Club building regulations for cars used for...

Bonneville Salt Flats Race Car Say hello to the "World's Fastest Corvette" Maybe you're wondering how I make the "Baddest Race Cars" list? Could be any number of things, but a sure formula is SPEED!  Be the fastest in your class, or classes and maybe world's fastest - You're a lock! In other words, go out there and set a record.  Add to that a welcoming smile and a generously given chat with up-and-comer MyRideisMe.com and you're just starting to see why Oklahoma's Bobby Moore and his Moore Boys Corvette is certainly one of the BADDEST! (Other hot rods from Oklahoma) With a helping hand from crew member and friend Rudy Heaton Bobby's patiently waiting inside for a run. Bobby's story about how he started racing isn't that different from others stricken with salt fever! Racing started at Bonneville in 1996 with a trip to the salt as the driver of the Hoyle-Dickenson-Moore A/FL (that means, "A" class engine, running fuel, lakester style body). That's all it took... From there, Bobby bought bought the 219 mph Doc Jefferey's A/GT Corvette. The following year, the Moore Boys Team made several...

Custom Car Photography - HDR Special Ed's 1956 Buick Special shot at the Mesa Cruise - 10/24/2010 (click on shot to zoom!) What's HDR? In case you forgot, my friend Alan wrote a great story about "High Dynamic Range" or HDR. What it is, how he does it and a few resulting shots.  Alan's Car Photography HDR. Since Alan introduced me to HDR, I've always wanted to try it. I have a Nikon D90 that makes bracketing photographs easy so it was finally time to try it. How'd I do? For me, HDR either makes a WOW effect where I can't imagine seeing something so beautiful, (just so you know, I have a soft-spot for sunsets) or the photo looks too digital, faked and generally induce a three-quarter verp.  There's certain amount of funky-artsy-cool in the shot in both cases, but obviously, I'm shooting for the WOW.  Right now, I think I'm still over digitized, pretty noisy (in film it was "grainy") and showing I've never done this before.  Gonna work on it... In my defense, I used the first free HDR software set I could find. It's called...

Hot Rod Pinup Model Maybelle Lee Straight from Mizi and Co's Hot Rod Pinup Calendar, introducing Ms. Maybelle Lee shown here as Ms. November. Let's get to know her a little and see a few more shots from the calendar shoot: Who is Maybelle Lee? "She's a classy, sexy, hot rod pinup! I live off the beaten path a bit, but I like it that way. After spending so much time in the big cities modeling, attending events, and going to car shows, it is truly a breath of fresh air to come home! I'm a neat freak, but rarely on time with a great sense of humor and I LOVE to laugh at a good joke, but am SO bad at telling them! I live for getting all dolled up and stepping in front of the camera, but I also look forward to the days when I can lounge around, get dirty working on my 58 ford, play some football, go snowboarding or mess with my two American Bulldogs." Where'd you get the name Maybelle Lee? "Those who are close to me call me Lee, and I spent almost my entire...

Traditional Hot Rod and Custom Car History If you've never heard of the "Hirohata Merc" it's about time you did. The car started as a low-mileage 1951 Mercury Club coupe owned by Bob Hirohata. In 1952, Bob caught a glimpse of the chop Sam Barris put on his Mercury and that's all it took for Bob to drive the Mercury to Barris Kustoms for a full custom treatment. In the end, Sam Barris, brother George Barris and Frank Sonzogni transformed the Hirohata Merc into a Kustom Legend. Read all about it at Kustomrama.com. Link to the full story: Bob Hirohata's 1951 Mercury Kustomrama is a Wikipedia dedicated to traditional hot rods and kustom cars. It is an online encyclopedia covering all aspects of our kulture. Everyone is welcome to contribute and start new and interesting topics on the Kustomrama Wikipedia. Check it...

Race Tech in a Wind Tunnel: Horsepower and Aerodynamics Story by Dave Salazar of A2 Wind Tunnel: Bonneville is the Mecca of speed and every year land speed race teams journey to the historic site to see if they can go faster than the year before. Top speed records can be so close that sometimes the difference from being a hero to being a zero can be 1 mph or less. Whether it's a production based car, roadster, lakester, streamliner, motorcycle, or some other rodders creation, there are some major obstacles to overcome in order to reach each vehicles maximum potential (SPEED!). The two major hurdles in land speed racing that I am going to discuss  are horsepower and aerodynamics. How do they relate and why something that you cannot see such as air can be your biggest competitor on the salt. Horsepower is something that any gear head can relate to and we all can't seem to ever get enough... But as we all know, it costs money for each pony, and the more you need the more it will cost because as an engine starts to reach...

Drag Racing Legends Maybe before cats and dogs started their bitter rivalry, there was Snake vs Mongoose. I'm not talking about Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, I mean two of the best known drag racers ever to lay it all on the starting line: Don Prudhomme and Tom McEwen. Back before corporate sponsorship made some racers professionals, drag racers were innovators and possibly daredevils who no doubt, did it for love and a heaping dose of quarter mile glory. Why else would Snake and Mongoose travel the country for "grudge matches" that paid not much more than gas and beer money? It wasn't until McEwen convinced Mattel (the first non-automotive drag racing sponsor) that "Wildlife Racing" and this "bitter" rivalry (actually between friends) would sell scores of Hot Wheels that drag racing became both lucrative and a common household discussion. But that's just part of the story!  Head down to the Peterson Automotive Museum for their NHRA: Sixty Years of Thunder where Don "The Snake" Prudhomme will be joined by Tom "The Mongoose" McEwen, Roland Leong (Hawaiian funny car fame), "TV" Tommy Ivo (Actor and racer of some nasty multi-engined hot rods), Carroll...

Hot Rods at Bonneville Salt Flats   Every year tons of hot rods, rat rods and some customs make the road trip of a lifetime to the Bonneville Salt Flats for Speed Week.  I spotted these hot rods cruising around the pits and thought you might like to see 'em.  I gave you all a sneak peek in the Speed Week 2010 Cruise In blog post for some of these rods.  This time we'll get down and salty with my favorite rides of Speed Week.     This is H.A.M.B.er Bass's bad Model A 5 Window Coupe that made the Hot Rod Pilgrimage from Dallas, Texas by himself.  Yes, SOLO!!!.  My jaw dropped when I saw this Coupe parked next to the tech inspection area.  All I could say was "Wow!".  I was too curious and found his thread on the HAMB HERE and read that this is bare metal.  It had already started to surface rust by the time he got home after being out on the salt and going through a humid Texas.     I really like this photo.  Gives you a detailed shot of the well executed...

Datsun 510 and Datsun 280Z Japanese Classics Graphic designer extraordinaire by trade, and a Datsun devotee by lifestyle, a guy who others refer to as, "Goki" is the epitome of a true enthusiast who appreciates the modernized ride of a nostalgic approach. Goki's Datsun 510 wagon and Nissan Fairlady 280Z haven't necessarily undergone any flawless restoration processes, nor does it run sub-10 second quarter mile times or anything crazy like that. The modifications presented upon these vehicles fit within the parameters of what is efficient in his car lifestyle, both in terms of the daily driven aspect and budget. Sure, there's small discrepancies such as rust on the undercarriage as well as loose electrical wires here and there; these qualities are not always noted as negative but instead gives unique character that solidifies the intended purpose of the vehicle. A little history lesson without being too lackluster; Datsun started as DAT Motorcar Co. in 1931 with "DAT" a simple acronym made up from the first letter of the names from the three founding fathers of the company.  However, soon after they were acquired by the Nissan Motor Co. their...

Hot Rod Pinup Erica Vaughn Straight from sunny Socal and from the lens of pinup photographer Mitzi, welcome Erica Vaughn our October Pinup of the month. Erica's revealing a little of what she likes in an interview along with her sweet smile and devilishly red hair! The classic styled 1923 T-bucket is owned by James Dean. How did you get into pinup Modeling? I was watching alot of Charlie Chaplin silent films. I am a huge fan of Charlie Chaplin! He's directed alot of amazing actresses like Lillian Gish, Clara Bow, and many more.  By watching those wonderful women I just fell in love with the 1930's and 1940s... I've looked up to many of these inspiring women throughout there career; They're very funny, energetic, and outrageously beautiful in all their pictures. After being a fan for many years I wanted to pursue pinup/retro/fetish modeling... so I did... and I LOVE IT!!! What is your favorite car show to attend and why? My favorite car show of coarse is the Viva Las Vegas Weekender! I love this car show because there are so many events happening all the time: ...