2nd Round – More Pictures from Viva 15 Car Show

Return to Viva – 2012 Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Car Show

Editor’s note: Mark’s been very kind to show his behind the lens work in this story and the last story about the great Rockabilly Weekender in Las Vegas. This time, take a listen as he give his impressions of the rides, the show and most importantly, the people that make the show great. Please make him feel welcome!

Going back to Viva Las Vegas again this year, can’t wait to see the Grease Pit Car Club from last year. A great group of guys and gals from LA, CA that have let my wife and I hang out with them every year. As a bonus this year, sounds like we have more members from San Diego, CA that are going to join us.

Thursday afternoon I arrived and couldn’t wait to get to the car area. The Valet parking lot all ready has cars lined up waiting to get in.

Not a lot of cars in the car show area yet but that makes for better pictures. I like the contrast red and silver (on bad ass!)

Grease Pit member, Raquel is driving her 1957 Chevy truck down from LA.

I really like all the TIKI stuff , especially the pinstriping…

Is this your work? Leave a comment and let us know so we can give you credit

I think cars look better on the move don’t you?

What about this clean roadster?

Shifter or the brake?

Nice clean wagon for pikesan (I approve!)

Make sure your girl has matching shoes to go with your paint job.

It was just Thursday and now look its night time on Saturday already , that was quick.

Click for full size image… (above)

Got a few more shots before I had to leave on Sunday.

Click for full size image…

Another fun trip with the Grease Pit gang , I’ll see you all next year.

It really made my day to finally meet some of you in person.
See Ya

First Look and Still Rock’n – Viva 15

2012 Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Car Show

Before you even enter the show, customs like this greet you. Grab a beer and enjoy the first photos from the 2012 Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekender.

Found out this is Ashley Alyson Bryce aka Miss Leggy May… Find her on FB here.

If you’ve never been to the show. Stop now and catch up some with MyRideisMe.com stories and photos of Viva starting back in 2009. It’s been a fantastic run of hot rods, all kinds of custom cars and of course what most would call rat rods. But Viva’s about the people and the music as much as anything else. For example, check out the lovely lady above! Pinup? 70s go-go dancer? Why categorize? Let’s just thank my man Mark Jacobs for the cool shots!

You’ll see the personality of the show come through in the photos, of course, but you’ll also see the photographer too. I asked Mark for some of his favorites and he couldn’t stop talking about this 1957 Chevy custom. He told me… ” The headlights are stacked and the grille… and the, and the..” As the saying doesn’t quite go, spare me the words and show it brother!

(Click for full size… great shot Mark!)

Also in endless supply and revealing the culture of Viva’s car show, the pinstriping. We regularly feature pinstriping pictures and try to grab artist’s thoughts as much as possible. We can’t get enough of the thin lines… I hope to have enough shots to create a gallery just from Viva 15.

Arizona’s represented at Viva… and represented well by Al de la Torre from Scottsdale, AZ. This 1951 Chevy first scrapped the ground at the 2010 Scottsdale Goodguys show. I shot the crap out of it in perfect morning light. If you dig it, check out these pictures: 1951 Chevy Custom. If you want a large image for your desktop, shoot me an email.

Let me conclude this first set of pictures with one more… of the ladies. If sexy, tattoo’d ladies are your thing, then make sure to see Viva Las Vegas Car Show at least once in your life. These ladies wander the rows of cars striking a pose here and there. It’s definitely a wonderful part of the show’s personality too.

(Click for full size) -This lovely lady is Ashley Sparks. Great to know ya Ashley!

Look for more photos soon, hopefully by tomorrow. And while you’re here, leave a comment and tell Mark what you think or just share your personality!

2012 Ridler Winner – Family Peace 55 Thunderbird

2012 Ridler Winning 1955 Ford Thunderbird

The Results are in!

The 2012 Detroit Autorama’s highest award (and the $10k!) goes to the Peace Family for a 1955 Ford Thunderbird that bested the Great 8 at a show where there could have easily been a “Great 12 or 15″. The competition was TOUGH!

To catch up on photos and info from the show, check these out:

– Toughest field of custom cars I’ve seen: Rilder’s Great 8 Contenders
– Damn Great, but Not Great 8 – Detroit Autorama’s Best
– Going Down – Basement Best at 2012 Detroit Autorama

The reasons why this subtly beautiful ‘bird won the Ridler may not be apparent in pictures. Heck, I saw it myself and while “blown” away from the super-sano twin turbo hold’n engine compartment, gleaming chrome and dead nuts fit, I thought this was top three in the Ridler’s Great 8. I really didn’t know who’d win… (who ever does ‘cept the judges) So rather than guess why the Bird won, I went to the source. The Peace Family and Greening Auto Company.

Now this makes sense… and I should admit, I missed alot at the show.

I found Matt Peace through the Torq’d Design Lab Facebook page to get the inside scoop on the build. You’ll hear everyone talking about the tech details, but I had to know more… in Matt’s words.
(Click on any pic to see it full size)

Why this car? Why pick a 1955 T-bird for a build like this?
The reason we picked to street rod a 1955 Thunderbird is because it has been in the family for about 20 years.  My mom gave my dad, Dwayne Peace, the ultimatum of either selling it or restoring it.  My dad put an ad in the paper and after one week of not selling he took the ad down.  (Matt later revealed that dad Dwayne had way over-priced the car. He didn’t want to sell it… Sorry mom!)

Was the original concept for the car a “Ridler winner” or did it somehow evolve/change or get out of control!?
The car was a numbers matching Thunderbird that had an earlier restoration.  My dad told me he wanted to restore it and I told him we were building a one-off show car out of it.  I said “If you’ve seen one restored Thunderbird, you have seen them all.”  He chuckled and said “OK…” thinking in the back of his head, “Yeah right!”

Who was involved with the build, and what’d they do?
To start out, my brother, Jonathan Peace and I stripped the car down and had it dipped.  It had little to no rust in the shell.  We put the body on a frame table and from the get-go my brother and I had it in our minds that we were going to build a Ridler car. We set out on that mission from the start: October 18, 2008.  As with most projects the car evolved into something more elegant and radical than we could have ever imagined. We built an “organic flowing” frame to which a heavily modified Gale Banks Twin Turbo motor, a Bowler 4L80E transmission, and a Ford 9 inch rear end were all mated.

Jonathan and I built the custom chassis, internal (hidden) roll cage, flooring, and executed hundreds of body modifications. Subtle yet elegant was the theme behind this build. Jonathan re-built the front hood scoop to extend it and make it look natural, changed the wheel well openings, extended the wheel base, basically re-skinned most of the car, tucked the bumpers, built the headers and full exhaust system, and the full interior sheet metal panels and dash. All of the modifications were finished and buttoned up at our shop, Torq’d Design Lab in Tyler, TX.

Jonathan is a third year student at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA (Editor’s Note: Same school as Chip Foose) and he completely designed the car to make it look like a modern representation of what the Thunderbird should look like if it was built today. Johnathan even built a 1:5 scale clay model to experiment with trim and proportions.  He wanted to introduce a more European-exotic styling to the car.  Every single panel was re-sculpted and re-shaped to enhance the overall effect and enhance the looks of the Thunderbird, while still retaining the “Thunderbird look”.

From this point on we enlisted Jesse and Jeff Greening of Greening Auto Company of Nashville, TN to bodywork the smooth metal, fit and gap the panels perfectly, machine custom one-off trim and parts, paint the car, custom build the wheels and steering wheel, and do the wiring.  The interior was designed by Jonathan Peace at Torq’d Design Lab and was stitched and wrapped by Paul Atkins of Cullman, AL.  All of the chrome plating was done by Steve Tracy of Advanced Plating in Nashville, TN.

(I gotta jump in here. Who would have guess all this was either custom made -windshield frame- or re-done and re-fit for total perfection? You can’t pick that stuff up just walking by.)

What was the most challenging part of the build?
The most challenging part of the build was most likely the construction of the chassis, sheeting the underside of the car and wheel wells, and certainly the engine bay. It is also very difficult to keep the overall look of the Thunderbird with that many modifications, but we feel that it was done very well and tastefully.

What was it like weeks or days before the Autorama? Did you have anyone really step up?
As with any Ridler contender the final few months are a “complete give it your all” to make the deadline.  Everyone from every shop mentioned played a huge part in getting the car to where it needed to be to go to Detroit and compete.

Love this photo! – Thanks to the Peace Family and Greening Auto Company for the detail pictures.

Like I said, I get it now. The car’s a work of art and no doubt deserving of the Ridler Award. Not to take anything away from the other cars, but in learning more about this one, it truly exemplifies the, “Creativity, Engineering and Workmanship” of a Ridler car.

Matt told me…  “Now, my mom is very excited about the fact that the car won and she actually wants my dad to take her out on a date night in it! haha Jonathan and I quickly replied “NO!!”  My dad’s whole intention, unbenounced to my mom, was to not sell the car.” Smarts and talent run deep in the Peace family!

Let’m know you like the car in a comment below.

Going Down – Basement Best at 2012 Detroit Autorama

2012 Detroit Autorama – Basement’s Best Hot Rods

Bottom floor, everyone out!

In the far corners of the grand Cobo Center convention hall, escalators carried you down… Down to an area where mortgage size dollars were spent on… mortgages! It’s a place where hot rodders and their buddy who could weld hooked up with a dude from work who knew a painter then banded together to make a custom car they could all be proud of. Then Friday night, or Tuesday or whenever they’d terrorize the streets and strips. They’re loud, rough and built with the true spirit of, “My Ride is Me”.

Down the escalator, a birdseye view of the basement turned into a closeup of the “Voodoo Hellion” and the Voodoo Kings car club. In the trophy area, I saw a, “Best Car Club” trophy, so the area clubs bring out their best and put in the extra effort on the setup too… I got tired of seeing thin white rope-like barriers. Dig the custom machined pieces here.

Next door was the Brothers Custom display. Why this nasty black coupe (shiny paint and all) with a supremely detailed flathead wasn’t upstairs, I have no idea. I think the “Brothers” fit in downstairs and they could show their un-painted 49 Ford shoebox. (Click to see any picture full size)

Look closely at 49, you’ll see a display of models painted with Sherwin-Williams Planet Colors. The Brother Custom Facebook page has a way for you to vote for your favorite color for the low slung custom.

Another bunch of my favorites belonged to hot rod artists hanging out or selling some of their work. You couldn’t get past this slick, flat gold Rivi owned by Aaron Kirby.

Next to the Rivi was NotStock Photography’s custom Chevy van. Stunned by how cool and creative the van, and the photos John had for sale were, I didn’t manage to get a shot of the whole van… but you can see the roof and the interior. What better way to showcase your work? And… the van has been to all but a few states. Look for feature stories on Aaron and John’s art soon.

The next group of faves is always tops on my list… the race cars and gassers:

The blown altered was in a perfect place for photos and had a sinister looking model A next to it. What would a cacklefest sound like in a cement floored basement? Then the mighty Econoline pickup, the “Ford Freeway Flyer” and the warn and raced-altered wheelbase 1964 Comet gasser called “Armageddon” give you some idea of the cool race gear downstairs.

Finally, here’s the revised Model A hot rod of Voodoo Larry:

I shot up the six-pack of carbs, louvered deck and 1939 Dodge high clearance wheels for a feature story. That’s coming soon too. (I plan on not sleeping to get all this done)

The rest? Enjoy here in this gallery. If I shot your hot rod or custom, please give me a shout in a comment below.

Damn Great, but Not Great 8 – Detroit Autorama’s Best

2012 Detroit Autorama Not Ridler Contenders?

I took alota pictures at the Detroit Autorama. I had too…  at first, as I mentioned in the Great 8 Ridler Contender story, I didn’t know which of the MANY fine rides at the show were actually in the running for the big award, the Ridler. So… I snapped away. No harm done cause that gives me a great reason to highlight the Autorama’s “Not Great 8″ hot rods and customs and let you decide if they shoulda been included. That’d mean one of the chosen Great 8 cars would have to go, so you decide… Did the judges pick the right cars? Leave a comment if you have an opinion.

Keep in mind, if any of these cars have been shown before, they’re automatically out of the Ridler competition. If anyone knows specifically why one of the following weren’t included, please let me know. (I’ll speculate too)

As always, click to see the full-size photo.

Not Great 8 – 2012 Detroit Autorama’s Best

This 1933 Ford coupe owned by Gregg and Jodi Blackford was built, coincidentally, by Hot Rods by Greg (one g). I’m pretty sure this car was intended to be a Ridler contender from Greg’s website that says, “Caliber” is “Going for the Ridler Award in 2012.” No idea why it wasn’t a finalist, really… the only thing I could say is that the engine compartment wasn’t as mind-blowing as other contenders and maybe the judges were tired of this display. You’ll see it in three other cars featured in this story.

Dave Leisinger’s 1971 Chevy Camaro may be my favorite of the show. That’s strange for me cause I’m not a huge 2nd gen Camaro fan… But this pro-touring style, massive tire tucking bad-ass is too cool! Why didn’t it get picked? In another wave of total speculation, check out the engine compartment. I’m wondering if the judges take points/look down on a massive engine cover? I’m also submitting this tire/wheel combo to my “Top Wheels and Tires” story coming soon.

This trick 1962 Chevy Impala is called, “Last Date”. No idea why… where do the car’s names come from? Dig all the custom billet parts on this. I can hear the billet-haters now, but folks… no matter what’s your first love, don’tcha have to at least tip the cap to craftsmanship and innovation? Check out the interior and grille area parts. They’re all custom! Add to that a blown 502 with a push button 400 trans riding on air and what looks like one-off 17′s. Ridler?

Check out hot rod and custom car rockstar, George Poteet’s 1956 Chevy. I just featured his 57 Chevy from GNRS, then he rolls out this? Design, fabrication and paint was handled by Kemp’s Rod & Restoration and the fine interior comes from my buddies at Rad Rides by Troy. The only reason this car wasn’t a Ridler contender is George didn’t want it. He’s already won the Ridler in 1996 with his 1937 Roadster, so this car was on display in Pomona at the 2012 Grand National Roadster Show.

When’s the last time you saw a customized 1934 Hupmobile Cabriolet? According to the show card, “As of 2007, this is the only remaining Model K421. There were 1,066 of this model manufactured at the original price of $995. Far from it’s origins now, owner/builders Butch and Donna Downs of Colona, IL stuffed a 5.7L Hemi hooked to a 5-speed automatic to motivate the old Hup-ster. Congrats on taking an ultra rare car and turning it into a hot rod! Why no Ridler? Maybe a lack of trick display? Got me…

Ron Hall’s Z “O” 55 sat proudly in the front row of the Detroit Autorama. The trick dash and custom grille treatment were outstanding and the colors worked perfectly together. You barely notice the shaved handles and extended fender flange trying to take the whole car in. Why no Ridler? The engine’s covered on this one, and it’s a fairly common LS-1. Compare that to the ZL-1 big block riding in the 55 Chevy the judges did select for the Ridler. Points from me though for hammering gears through a 6-speed Tremec. Hot Rods gotta row gears!

I don’t know much about Gary Zaborowski’s 1932 Ford Coupe. Score points for insane paint and color. I also thumbs up for the name: “Boogie Man’s Candy Coupe”. Why no Ridler nod?

By now, I’m jamming my own, hot rod focused, opinion into the cars I’m showing here. It was a toss up between a 1932 Ford Phaeton and this, somewhat simple looking, 1934 Ford Coupe with a little old 1942 Flathead V8. I’m also saving this engine for my “Best Engine” story cause if I hadn’t read the show card, I wouldn’t have known this is a twin turbo flathead making 300+ horsepower while looking only slightly warmed-over. The turbos are completely outa-sight, but push air into the bottom air cleaner just as tidy as could be.  Jack Stirnemann calls this three window black-beauty “Flat Earth”. Even without the crazy detail of the Ridler cars, this coupe does have a super unique engine setup and makes my list… where as the phaeton had a SBC or maybe an Olds motor…

For those of you scoring at home, this is #9. Since it’s 2AM and I’m running this site, I say show Gary and Flo Garman’s 1955 Chevy pickup. The pale green paint coupled with the bright red interior does kinda bring a watermelon flavor to the palette, but under the hood is where the true treat is…

Now you know why Flo’s smiling in the shot above and why every other man, woman and child did the same as they caught a glimpse of the sweetened small block. Except for not being seedless, this shoulda been a Ridler contender!

Agree, disagree… your opinion counts! You don’t have to be a member to comment, so let me hear it! Downstairs is next… Best of 2012 Detroit Autorama Basement

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