When Kevin Nichols sets up to build his first street car (he's been primarily a drag racer) he doesn't mess around! I ran into Kevin a few weeks ago at the 83rd Ave. show up in Peoria. This car's under construction, but there's still a ton to see. Plus, sometimes cars that aren't quite finished yet tell a better story than a finished car. The first thing that jumps out of this bad Stude is the engine. How's 510 cubic inches for ya? If it was only a blown Chevy big block, that'd be cool, but this engine's from Kevin's Super Eliminator and Advanced E.T. At NHRA events it ran 6.70's! A sub 7 second E.T. digger that's been his passion for years suddenly lost sponsorship and went down the road. The engine's electronic fuel injection will push pump gas through the 8-71 blower and it'll have power steering, and A/C! This will be a driver. Like most projects, the timeline for the Stude's slightly blown. Alright, it's been thrown out the window! 3 years into the build Kevin's proud to say he's done almost all the work himself....

A short 55 miles away from my house in Chandler, AZ, I met up with AzAmber, at the Saturday night 83rd Ave and Beardsley cruise-in. What a great show! I took off Saturday and stopped by Industrial Chassis, then hit the Safeway parking lot at about 6PM. There weren't many spots left! The show was a nice mix of cars. You had your hot rods, street machines and even a few exotics, but there were also a couple low riders mixed in with the new factory muscle. Something for everyone! I handed out every card I had that night to a warm group of people saying I'd write a blog about it, so here it is. I won't feature the cars I saw in this blog, but they're coming! (Leave a comment if you see your car!) Here's the sneak peak: That nasty looking 1954 Studebaker's running a former NHRA Top Alcohol dragster engine! Watch for a feature story on that one! The pretty Jag's for sale and will be show at the Brighton Ranch Paint and Body show coming up next weekend 5/17/08. Look at their website for...

It takes a while for a cruise in to catch on, but that doesn't mean while it's growing you won't see some super nice cars. Plus, when it's new, you won't hear the old... "Hey, I'm saving that spot..." or "This is for XYZ cars only..." Whatever. So here's a few of the cars I've spotted at the Friday night cruise-in at Arizona Ave. and Ocotillo. It gets started at about 6PM or so and runs until about 9:00. I think it's sponsored by the Checker Auto nearby, so they supply a DJ and once a month there's a bouncer for the kids. I'd have a few more pics if I could ever get there earlier! Me (aka shaky) and poor lighting don't get along well at all. What I should be sharing with all these pics is who owns the cars and where there from... or something interesting like how the car is completely homebuilt with only a screwdriver and duct tape. Too bad I can't read my able assistants hand writing is so hard to readl! I hope to see you down there. Make sure when you...

I met Keven Carter doing what I do best... surfing the web for the best Hot Rod and bike sites out there. Keven's been sharing his work at Photobucket where old ladies looking for pics of grandkid and quilting pics browse. I talked him into letting MyRideisMe.com have a few. It's a cool mix of black and whites and color shots of mostly period correct style hot rods and kustoms with a few pinups mixed in just for fun. Keven shared this brief bio... Ever since I was a young boy I wanted to grow up and own a car with fins. Since the automotive world looks to never go back down that road, I was compelled to look to the past. I have always been fascinated with old cars and vintage design elements, from packaging to advertising. I'm a graduate of The Center for Creative Studies (now College of Creative Studies, CCS) in Detroit, Michigan where I received my bachelors of fine art with a focus in Animation. My creative endeavors aren't limited to animation, but rather they span from Video installations, Sound Design, Film Production, Music, Photography,...

2010 Pin-up Girl Wall Calendars Instead of working on my projects in the garage, MyRideisMe has me spending most of my free time on the web, working, or sometimes just surfing. I caught a (insert nifty surfing metaphor here) wave when I found David Perry's website, DavidPerryStudio.com. I contact David when I saw this picture: I recognized the the lovely Heidi Van Horne and I recognized that's the cover from a book for sale in the MyRideisMe.com Amazon store. The book is: Hot Rod Pinups by, none other than, David Perry. Here's the description of that book: For as long as young men have been channeling, chopping, and hopping up rods and customs, women - whether loyal girlfriends or trouble-seeking "bad girls" - have been integral to their scene. In this unique portfolio evoking great 1950s pin-up artists like Vargas and Elvgren, talented photographer David Perry depicts models in and out of cherry-picked rods and customs wearing painstakingly chosen period dress and hairstyles. More than 100 photos present these modern-day pin-ups under three themes: Garage, Cruising, and Race. In addition, essays explore each topic and are also accompanied by...

In addition to the sleek new set of 26x10" wheels and tires from Dubs, I'll also be installing a new LT1 fuel injected crate motor to replace the pinto power! Check out these new rims! (They make spinners look like 13"Centerlines!) Gonna be ROLLIN baby!! go back Oh, and APRIL FOOLS! (did I get'cha? Please leave a comment) (MyRideisMe.com is not receiving advertising money from Dubs, I just thought this was outrageous and a good prank for April...

2010 Pin-up Girl Wall Calendars Sometimes, this is easy. I've made some great new friends thru MyRideisMe.com and one of them is Justice Howard at JusticeHoward.com. I got to chatting with her today and she let me in on a new set of pictures for her Diva Dolls Promotion. What is it about this picture that makes me want to be a pinstriper? The striper's name is Paulie. I hope he gets in touch with me so I can let everyone know how to get in touch with him. Then, the lovely model is Frenchy La Femme. She's got a Myspace page, but you have to be her friend to see the pics... sorry! The good news is, you can see them right here at MyRideisMe.com in our Pinup Gallery, or in the Hot Rod Dollsters Gallery at JusticeHowards site. There's alot more to see over there too! Enjoy the great pics! MORE of pinup model Frenchy LaFemme <-- Click here as December 2008 Pinup of the month Get the MyRideisMe.com blog delivered by email or Check out all the Pinups here MyRideisMe.com Pinups Models & Hot...

For more information on the November 8th, 2008 Memories on Main Street cruise, go to the Mainstreet Garage. While most parts of the US are still half frozen, Mesa, Arizona launches the first big cruise of the year (and first minor sunburn). Brought to us as, "POP's Memories on Main Street" by the Prostate Checkup All Sports Foundation, it was a good time had by all and we had near perfect weather for it. Cruising between Country Club and Mesa drive with parking on Main Street and in the several nearby city lots, for the $5 per car donation, I think everyone had a place. I was expecting a few more cars, but there was no lack of quality. Main street was lined with lawn chaired folks cheering for the next guy to, "light'm up!" I'm pretty sure Mesa PD did just that cause most burning rubber was followed closely by howling sirens. For the most part though, I think every had a good time enjoying their cars and making new friends. I know I did. Here are a few of the cars I especially liked. Most of the...

So I'm cruising the Grand National Roadster Show with ProblemChildKustom's Brian Stupski. He freak'n knows just about everyone, so it doesn't surprise me when he knows Dwayne. Dwayne's got a booth at the Grand-daddy show and in the main hall no less. He's selling these prints like hotcakes: (click to enlarge, it's worth it!) I'm pretty sure these are all $10 and available at Dwayne's Website: FutureElements.net Store These drawings are enough for a wicked blog, but that's not what I'm writing about. As I was thumbing through some of Dwayne's work, I see one of my favorite Hot Wheels, simply named 49 Merc. I'm impressed. We all played (or still play) with Hot Wheels, so now I've met the dude who designed one of my favorites. So I started asking a bunch of questions... 1) How did you first get involved with Hot Wheels (Mattel) That's a very interesting story. I was taking a class for 3D using Alias Autostudio while working at Troy Lee Designs and I was learning how to build things in 3D. I got to know a few guys in class and they were...

This blog, "Mayhem on Main Street" Rampage Altered Wheelbase Dart Hits the Highway was written by Steve Magnante. He took the photos too! Rather than trying to run down every driver on the information superhighway, the guys from Moparmax.com, MaxChevy.com and Dragracingonline.com pulled over to share a story with MyRideisMe.com. All three online magazines are great... That is if you like wheels up racing action! Take a look and tell'm MyRideisMe.com sent ya! Now for some altered wheelbase fun! Begin Mayhem on Main Street When is a car buildup finished? To some the answer to that question is never as continual upgrades are expected for as long as they own the car. But for me, I m the type that pretty much has a vision of what I want the car to be, how I want it to run and what I want it to look like. So when it is finished, I m the first to know. But in the case of the altered wheelbase 63 Dart I ve been chipping away at here for the last year or so, I m breaking my own rules. I've performed...

…has sadly passed on today at the age of 63.Suffice to say, he was a true giant in the industry, and the first builder to truly inspire me to throw my hat in the ring, and do what I love. His approach and design sense changed forever the direction of the modern street rod and custom car, and will be viewed forever as the benchmark of his era. Cars like CadZZilla are world-famous, and his face was easily one of the most recognizable in the industry. (CadZZilla and the Hirohata Merc at the Oakland Museum of California… sorry for cruddy pic.) (…and speaking of CadZZilla, how ’bout a cool peek at a gathering of great talent during what just may have been the birth of that car? Can you name these guys? –that is a young Larry Erickson on the right… only hint I’ll give) Thanks to a guy who, no matter how hectic his schedule, took time to spend a few moments with me at a show, and review what I was working on at the time. Sadly, as large a page in hot rodding history as he...

Ford Falcon: Sedans, Wagons, Rancheros and Convertibles: I've wanted to write a few blogs for a while. One of them is about the cool Falcons at MyRideisMe.com already. I take a personal interest since I've got one of them even though it might be for sale before too long. You know what they say about having too many projects... I know, you can never, but in this case, I might punt so I can do some work on my Rambler Wagon. So, if you're a fellow Falcon Fanatic, (Craig's about to be clever) a Bird of Prey Beholder or Carnivorous Bird Custodian, dig these rides. First is the 62 mor-dor from garvinzoom. This car is rolling proof that a 4 door can be cool and that high-def Coolosity you doesn't have to break the bank. The original 170 inline six and two speed auto ride in the factory but lowered chassis with 13" skinny whites on blacksteel rims. The body has primer with the trim holes filled, reverse lights shaved and fuel cap moved inside trunk. The interiors a self described "Crappy but clean". The next Falcon is the...