Diecast Drags in Mesa – For the Kids

Most times it seems like nobody’d notice anyway, but I’ve been slacking on blog writing lately cause I’m working on my Diecast Drags track. I posted about it in the discussion forum. Did you see it?

The Diecast Drags, or some might say, “Hot Wheels” track is brought to you MyRideisMe.com and supporting the Progeria Research Foundation (http://www.Progeriaresearch.org)

The track is 2 continuous lanes that measure 50 feet! I roll it up when I’m done. The entire track lifted off the ground on a support platform to give a gradual decent and super high speeds! Racing will feature an electronic finish line and a “Christmas tree” start that gives an edge to the better reaction time. This promises to be more fun than Pinewood derby racing because it’s easier to get started and the fastest car might not always win!

Of course from the trial run 2/21 at the local, “Cruise in” called the “Mesa Pavilions” at Power and Hampton (Kmart parking lot) the kids could care less about the start! They just want to see who won and the small jump we had setup at the finish line!

The official race will be held on Saturday 2/28 as part of the “Home Runs, Hot Dogs and Hot Rods” car show. Lance Baker at www.Hotrodplanet.com is running that show. All the info you need to know about the show is at Hotrodplanet.com. There are no less than 4 car shows happening that weekend, but none of them have a cruise planned for after! Mesa is hosting a cruise to support local businesses (so bring and empty stomach) on the 4th Saturday of every month. The show starts at 11AM right in downtown at Center and Main streets and the cruise will start about 5PM. So even if you attend another show, make it back to Mesa for the cruise.

The racing action will be, “Free with donation” for all the racers. With each donation, you’ll get 1 Hot Wheel and as many trial runs and races as I can fit in. I’m hoping for $5/person and 100 people/racers to give $500 to the Progeria Foundation. I’d like everyone to know that 100% of the money will be donated.

For more info, I’ve already got a poster and some informational fliers about Progeria. I learned that Chip Foose’s younger sister died of Progeria before most people even knew what Progeria was. Amy Foose’s story of courage was deeply sad yet encouraging and hopeful at the same time. I was inspired to help and will make the donation on behalf of Terry Foose, Chip’s mom, at her fund raising site: First Giving for Progeria Research

Racing on 2/28 will run 12 AM-2PM for kids and at 2-4 for adults (depending on participation). Prizes will include 1 unopened case of Hot Wheels donated by www.Hotrodartbook.com and a gift card (or more!) to build your own custom ride from www.Ridemakerz.com. I’m hoping to add more prizes so more friendly car folks will race and/or donate to this super worthy cause.

Any questions or to make a donation yourself, please contact Craig Pike at pikesan@myrideisme.com or for information about the show and “Main Street” cruise that will follow, go to Hotrodplanet.com.

I hope you enjoy these few pictures, the kids sure did! If you’ll be racing, leave a comment telling me how many kids. Also, if you’d like to make a donation to Progeria but can’t make it to the show, please go to: Terry Foose’s website

Hot Rod Art Book “Scratching” to the Top

Following up on Dwayne Vance’s new book called: The Hot Rod Art book: Masters of Chicken Scratch, I caught up with Dwayne at the Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona (damn that was a good time!) The book will be officially released on February 10, 2009 and judging from the buzz at GNRS, the books already of to a great star!

There were about 100 advanced copies available at the Grand National Roadster Show, but they sold out! It’s no wonder when 8 of the 13 artists featured in the book were at the show and ready to sign their pages of your brand new book.

Several artists stopped by and checked out my book at the show including: Chip Foose, Steve Strope, Carter Hickman, Eric Black, Larry Wood, and many others to check out the book. The book’s also going to be featured in Rod and Custom magazine as well as Hemmings Auto news.

For those of you that have not yet heard of this “Hot Rod Art Book”, it is a unique book of over 100 pages of beautiful hot rod art from thirteen very talented artists including Dwayne Vance, Brian Stupski, Randy Ricklefs, John Bell, Eric Brockmeyer, Michael Miernik, Max Grundy, Jimmy Smith, James Owens, Justin Chin, Thom Taylor, Larry Wood, and Steve Stanford. Also included is a CD that contains over an hour and a half of instruction content. Please visit www.hotrodartbook.com for more details as well as more pictures or to order your copy!

You can also preview the book at MyRideisMe.com in the first story we did. Hot Rod Art Book

50th to 60th Grand National Roadster Show

Written by Len Stupski

I moved to the Bay area in 1996 and attended the 1997 & 1998 Grand National Roadster Show (GNRS). As good as they were, nothing prepared me for the 50th Anniversary show at the Cow Palace in San Francisco that next year in 1999. As I set my eyes upon the main floor my jaw dropped down to my shoulders. Just about every previous America’s Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR) winner right there in one spot. Awesome!!. Then, scattered throughout the rest of the building were more and more dynamite cars, built by guys like Bill Reasoner, Gene Winfield, Dave Crook, Marcos Garcia and many other great craftsmen. Saying hello to Big Daddy Roth was a great highlight of the event. After taking in all the colors, the chrome and history I vowed to be at the 60th show, God willing.

Fast forward ten years and I’m living in Gilbert, AZ, and the show is being held much closer now in Pomona, CA. Pure chance? I don’t think so…. perhaps God shares my love of cars.

Early Saturday morning I pile into Pikesan’s car with my son Brian and new friend Paul “Swanee” and head west on I-10. Along the way we catch up to Jimmy Smith and Boston Mike and caravan into Pomona. We stopped for some much needed coffee, oversized breakfast and a quick lesson in water glass safety. (a story for another time, perhaps) All finished we head to the main gate and wait anxiously in line.

As I pass through the turnstile it’s like “Wow…” I’m the farm kid on his first visit to the big city. The show encompasses eight buildings full of cars and has even more cars parked outside in between all the buildings. We head for building 5, and the first car we stop to look at is the ’52 Buick, “Resilience” designed by my son Brian and built by Tim Strange & the crew from Strange Motion. So, when I finally stopped drooling over this Motorama-styled beauty and shoved my eyes back into their sockets I took off to see the rest of the cars.

So many cars and so little time. Did I mention I was there for two days? This had to be the finest collection of automotive art I have ever witnessed. Masterpieces by Foose, Cotati Speed Shop (talk about fit & finish), D’Agostino et al. blew me away. There was a dynamite ’61 Impala from Stockholm, Sweden, the recovered Orbitron of Roth lore and the fantastic tributes to the late Boyd Coddington, Dick Dean and ‘Lil John Buttera. Then a trip to the “Twice in a Lifetime” display which featured winners from the ’50′s thru the ’00s. It was great to see the late Ermie Immeroso’s multi AMBR winner which I first saw in Buffalo, NY in 1989, the Hansen’s 2005 winner “Seduced” and so many many beautiful cars. I could go on forever.

Sadly it was time to hit the road. During the drive back to Gilbert I took some time to reflect and compare the 50th to the 60th show. And when I really look back and think about how well done the cars shown in 1999 were, the new paint concepts introduced, the styling by the trendsetters of that era, I realized how they had raised the bar of excellence. Then when I look at the things being done today with the tremendous advances in technology, paint, computer driven machinery to make “one off” parts I can say that a new and higher bar has been set. The 60th Anniversary GNRS has surpassed any level previously known to man and automobile. I can’t wait to see what happens at number 70.

Len Stupski

Barrett Jackson Auction’s Salute to Boyd Coddington?

I expect a hot rod driver or builder to know who Boyd Coddington was. Like him or not, there’s no denying his influence on style and the budget of custom cars, especially the one-off rides built for his TV show, “American Hot Rod”. His death almost 1 year ago shocked the custom car world.

It looked like there were alot more hot rods and cars that I’ll call “regular” at the 2009 Barrett Jackson Auction in Scottsdale, Arizona this year. What the heck is regular? Well, I just mean they’re somewhat obtainable by more then just wealthy collectors out there. I guy with a dream who’s been saving for a while might have a shot. With the “dreamers” and the collectors all gathered at Barrett Jackson, how many knew who Boyd Coddington? Quite a few!

Case in point are 2 hot rods sold on Saturday at Barret Jackson. The first is this neo-classic styled: chopped, red and flamed but with billet (of course Boyd’s) wheels, 1932 Ford 3 window coupe. A great looking, no-expense-spared car, no doubt, but was it worth the $200k it sold for? (without commissions) Who knows the actual build cost, but that could be said for many cars on the block. From what I heard the auctioneers saying, many cars were being sold for the cost of the “frame off rotisserie” restoration. Not this car, I think it sold for a premium because it was a Boyd car. It’s tough to hear in the video below, but the cheers from the crowd as the price kept rising support that theory. What do you think? (after a short word from their sponsor…)

Also supporting my Boyd buy theory is this Chip and Sam Foose built 29 Ford Sedan. This steel car will be the topic of another blog. I got a chance to chat with the new owner and he was tickled to have such at great car for $50k (without commissions) With 15″ Boyd wheels, this low slung sedan is in fantastic condition and anything with Chip Foose’s name on it, I think, also should fetch a premium. Did it? I think in a few years, it’ll take alot more money to own a car built by Foose. More on this cool 80′s time machine in a future blog.

Finally, I’ll throw out another 32 Ford 3 Window coupe for you to ponder. This is a different, much more nostalgic looking 32, but for years, any steel 32 was fetching big, BIG dollars, weren’t they? This car sold for $58k. Is that right? This car was CHERRY! I checked, it’s a steel car and features a somewhat ordinary 350/350 combo, but with the simple but stylish interior, artillery steelies and whitewalls, this is my style.

So did the Boyd name bump up the price at auction or was it a simple case of 2 guys really wanting the same car?

Scott Fisk, Car artist and Car-tooner

The artists and illustrators I’ve featured on MyRideisMe.com all are super talented and I could easily recommend them. In talking and getting to know them, I’m seeing a trend in the people that make art, especially car art, their living. In talking with Scott Fisk from Studio 669 and CAR-TOONER.com, I’ve found some of the same important features I see in Brian Stupski from Problemchildkustoms.com and from Jimmy Smith from Jimmyshotroddesign.com and it’s my suggestion you look for these 2 qualities in your next artist:

A true passion for all things cars.

A unique style they’re proud to use.

I think you’ll hear these qualities loud and clear after reading my talk with Scott Fisk.

Scott gave me his regular bio for starters. Like many other car artist, he’s been drawing his whole life finding inspiration from rod magazines and one of his instructors while getting his Fine Art degree in Signage and Graphic design in Boston. Struggling through college, Scott recalls drawing for drinks on cocktails napkins. He says, “I was good for about 3 drawings, then the quality started to go down hill, but the people loved it… so hey, way cool!” What great artist doesn’t know pain like that?

From their, I ask Scott a few questions and here’s what he said.

How do you choose the cars you draw?
….sometimes I pull them right out of a magazine..seriously..yet sometimes I just want to draw a particular “specimen” so I’ll google some pics for reference and go from there, but I always put my own spin on them… Once I had an editor call me and tell me that he had 2 features in an upcoming issue: a shoebox and a willys prostreet… Would I be able to get the artwork together in time to go along with the actual pics of the cars for that issue? What kind of time do i have?” I asked. “4 days” was his response. I got 2 ref pics of each to go by, that was it, and the end result was Feb. 08 issue of Rodder’s Digest with the illustration called “Shoebox-Willy”. The editor was tickled! He never had an artist smash something out in 4 days.. no egos here, get it DONE..page time is page time.

What was your first car?
…my first car was a TRUCK and it was GORGEOUS!.. this bad boy was a 1969 Chevy C/10 p/u.. 6 foot step side… 3 “on the tree” had a bad ass 8-track deck with 1 working speaker… wool blanket for a seat cover (that was before Mexican blankets became all the rage) it’s power plant was a mighty 292… I could pop the hood, sit on the inside of the fender well and change the plugs with ease (it was always fouling them out)… could work up a mighty sweat doing a 3 point turnaround since there was no power steering..thank god the steering wheel was 18″ around.
What do I drive now?..have a small handful… my daily is a dub (I’m a dubber to the core) also have a 90 fox wagon, have had it for the past 10 years, already gave it to my son (he’s 9)..should be a killer 25 year old ride by the time he’s behind the wheel…my last is the “ruby lounge” which is a work in progress..it’s a 1964 Olds dynamic 88…330 rocket, 2 barrel carb..Mexican blanket seat covers..YA BABY!

You said drawing “car-toons” so much fun, why?
Car-toons first bit me with the magazine, but the first artist that REALLY bit me was Lance Sorchick..this kat has some killer flow..lines always dynamic always deliberate..always “zooming”..like his stuff, but won’t copy his flow, dig?…I have done piles of “formal” renderings like the kind you find with Chip Foose..but it ain’t often that your average guy off the street can afford a 1500 plus rendering. So I do this dress down “fun” style where real people can afford ORIGINAL art..not a poster, not a likeness..but the REAL DEAL. This “car-toon” style allows me to do just that..I want to be the guy that draws for real people..there are no egos here, egos get left at the door in “my house”..if you have an ego that needs feeding?, I may not be the artist you’re looking for, but not just “car-toons” flow out of my studio. I also have my fingers inside of 5 different kulture clothing lines, my own 669 line of shirts as well as piles of tattoo flash..ya, you heard right…tattoo flash..ever want a 1-off tattoo just for you?..hit me up or even find my compilations @ kingpin tattoo. 3 artist flash books out as well through kingpin and poster bomb. I have also had the pleasure of working with Hasbro toys, Gennie shifter/Streamline Hot Rods and the U. S. gov’t (which is all classified, sorry) doing conceptual artwork for their applications. so nope, not just “car-toons”…

If you weren’t an artist what would you be?
Don’t even ask that question… I was put on this planet to be just this..an artist..was never about the money, that doesn’t drive me in the least..just need what I need to live.. and have fun along the way. take away my pencils, you may as well stick me in the looney bin. most important, it flows from my finger tips..”ol’ skool”..as time goes on there will be 5 gazillion graphic artists and a small handful of “ol’ skoolers”..that’s where I want to be, in the small handful. People search me out for my left handed finger tips, not the adobe generated prints. it’s kept me in pretty good demand for the past 3 years..let’s shoot for another 30, shall we?

With that, I’ll leave you a few select drawings from Car-tooner.com and Scott Fisk. If you ever see him at a show, say hi, you’ll be glad you did. And when you see first hand his passion for cars, maybe he’ll end up sketching for you too.

(all pictures with permission from Scott Fisk)

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