On the Racetrack at SEMA 2009!

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Today I left the hub-bub of Las Vegas and SEMA to head out to Spring Mountain Ranch racecourse. In preparation for Saturday’s Optima Invitational, myself and the others from the auto-blogging crew got a chance to get behind the wheel ourselves. Spring Mountain Ranch is almost like a country-club for speed seekers. People who are members get use of the track. In addition, they have certified race-driver training programs. While we didn’t get the whole training program in one day, we did get the opportunity to go very fast in a few different situations.

The day started out with the road course. If you’re not familiar with racing (like me) think of the video game “Grand Prix”. After a short orientation we headed out to driving machine #1: the Lotus. Although I may have been a little jittery that I would do something wrong – it was surprisingly easy! As we followed our guide, Rick, around the racetrack things got faster and faster. After the first few 1.5 mile laps I began feeling comfortable with the car and trusting of the squealing tires as I rounded a turn between 40 and 60 mph.

It wasn’t until my second time out that I encountered a little issue. As I was preparing to turn out of the main straightaway, my car did a full 180 degree spin! At first I was stunned at what was happening, then I had a slight second of fear, and then I realized everything would be fine. For the most part my Lotus stayed on the track and I just readjusted and kept on going. The spin really cemented the feeling that this race course was really just an adult go-cart track… and I say that to mean that it was really, really, really fun!

Once we had the Lotus’ parked it was on to the Radical Sportscar. These aren’t as user-friendly as the Lotus, so these we didn’t drive we just rode in. With your butt practically on the ground and no windshield, speed can really be felt in these babies. Reaching  130mph only added to the speed-bug I caught while at 2009 Bonneville Speed Week this year.

As if all this speed wasn’t enough, the group then headed to the autocross track. Autocross is the track full of cones that you navigate in a competitive time. Looking at the course I had no faith in my driving abilities. But once I sat in the seat of my supercharged Mini Cooper I felt ready to tackle the road ahead. I felt that this course was like practice to be a really slick, kick-ass driver on the everyday road – and I loved that it was timed, bringing out that competitive edge in all of us. Running the track twice, I improved upon my time by over 2 seconds on the second run – leaving my time just above 50 seconds.

(You can also watch the instructor doing a lap along with some directional commentary here)

Getting a chance to drive the course today makes me all the more excited about tomorrow…theOptima Ultimate Street Car Invitational. Cars from the SEMA show will get to prove their stuff out on the track at Spring Mountain Ranch… the same tracks I was on today. Part of me is a little curious how my own 1955 Studebaker would handle on that autocross track. With a little more work it could be a fun and interesting experiment. Who knows, with all the info I’ve learned at SEMA maybe Stude’s ready to raise to a higher level of driving. Only time will tell.

Don’t miss our coverage of the Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitation Race! What car would you love to take out on the autocross???

Please leave your comments below.

What you’ve been missing at SEMA 2009…

As promised, we want to keep you guys in the loop of what we’re seeing at SEMA. Scroll down for a view of the SEMA 2009 convention experience as well as a few videos I was able to shoot! This post will be brief, expect much more content and explanation to come later!!

Check out the engine compartment of this Factory 5 + Amp=D 1933 Roadster…!?!

I think maybe this car goes fast, what do you think?

Me learning all about the unique design of Optima Batteries.

After 5+ years stretching out the life of my old converse, I knew I finally needed to break down for a new pair. How weird it is putting on brite whites!

The “most expensive rims in the world” That’s right, for just $2 million dollars you can be rolling on these ruby encrusted beauties. And for more bling action, minus the gigantic cost, check out the next video…

One advantage of being one of the only “girls” around…for once in my life the men’s toilet had a line and the women’s did NOT!

Cool product…this company runs a line of metal-flake like powder coating! Not only could my engine block be pink, it could also be glittery! Sweet!

The coolest booth gimmick ever… House of Kolor custom-painted foot massagers. After walking miles of convention space, Becky Sue and I didn’t want to leave these chairs!

And like I said, this is just a tiny little glimpse into what Craig and I have been up to here at SEMA the past few days. We’re excited to bring you more details about what we’ve seen and learned! And for me… the show goes on. Friday I’ll be out at Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch for some hands-on racing activities followed by the Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational race on Saturday.

Keep em rollin’ my friends!
Happy Trails

SEMA for Beginners

Most everyone in the auto world has heard of SEMA. For those who don’t know, SEMA is a yearly convention for the auto industry…and its massive, completely filling up the Las Vegas Convention Center. Basically everything you can imagine having to do with a car is here – from new concept cars on down to aftermarket parts of every sort imaginable. 

As many car lovers never get to make it to SEMA, Craig and I are on the scene to bring you all the most interesting car stuff and stories! Thanks to Optima Batteries, we’ll be spending the rest of the week here at the show as well as attending the Optima Invitational race out in Pahrump, NV on Saturday. (And as I hear it, I may even be able to learn a little race-car driving on Friday!) It’s my first time here, and although I’m a little overwhelmed I’m beyond excited to learn a ton! Right now I’m headed down to the main floor to hit up some car specialists and have them download on me some of their vast knowledge.

To start off, here’s a few pictures to give ya an idea of what we’re dealing with here…pretty cool stuff! Check back often for our updates (we’ll also be making some videos!) and if any of you MyRideisMe.com members are here at SEMA 2009 leave a comment so we can meet-up! 

K&N race car…this baby will be on the track at the Optima Invitational on Saturday!

…another cool car at a booth! This one sponsered by DC Sports.

Ford has a huge display here. This pretty little flathead needed to be photographed…

Not only a nice looking rod, it also proves not everything here is shiny!

Gettin’ Girlie at Viva Las Vegas

So I know ya’ll are dyin’ to hear what the ladies were up to during Viva Las Vegas 12. If you had the privilege of being present, you already know that Viva Las Vegas was swarming with some of the purdiest ladies you ever did see. While you fellas might’ve been out merely lookin’ for ladies – I was lookin’ for fellow Grease Girls.

Being that the car show at VLV draws one of the biggest grouping of home-built cool traditionals, customs, and rat-rods – I was hoping I’d find a few of those “builders” who also happened to be ladies. As Stude (my own 1955 Studebaker Champion) and I arrived on the lot Thursday evening, many other cars had already arrived, but we were the only girl-owned car so far.
By the time Saturday rolled around the entire lot reserved for the VLV 12 Shifters Car Show was full, with ample stragglers in The Orleans parking lot.

As soon as I showed up on the scene Saturday morning, I wholeheartedly began my search for fellow car ladies. You’d think finding other lady car owners wouldn’t be too much work – but with so many people, things to do, and pin-up models mulling around – finding anybody is a challenge! The first couple of ladies I encountered were local Las Vegans. One had a Metropolitan Nash – who even though she’d owned it for 17 years had never needed to do any work on it – she did tell me she’d managed to stuff all of her young grandchildren (11 I think) in there at once! Another was a 61 Mercury Meteor Mama, while she was a pro at pin-up girl hair as she coiffed her daughters goldy-locks, it sounded like she hadn’t gotten too greasy under the hood of her ride.

The day was beginning to pass by and I still hadn’t found another woman who did any work on her car. I did hear elusive rumors of the presence of a couple girls car clubs – The Vixens and The Fender Skirts – but never managed to nail down any of them OR whether they had cars present!

Just when I was losing all hope, I ran into not just another lady – but another Studebaker owner! Pinkie drives a 1958 “Pink” Studebaker Wagon. She spent 2 years restoring this baby which rolls with the original Studebaker V-8 engine. Just like me, she didn’t know much about cars when she got into this and has kind of learned along the way. But she learned enough to do the needed body and engine work – with some help from friends. She’s had the Stude for 12 years now and enjoys going to various car shows, sometimes with her fellow members of the Sequoia Chapter of the Studebaker Drivers Club, where she loves to see people’s reactions and delight in response to her bright pink baby!

Glad to have found at least one fellow Grease Girl, I headed over to catch up with the Pin-Up Angels (article’s on the way!) when I ran into Becky Sue and her not just one car, but two! The first car, a 1952 Packard, was her VLV 11 project. Her first classic, she got it just a month before the show last year. Within that time, she and boyfriend Matt of Department of Customz(matt@docustomz.com), completely restored the Packard to a nice and clean (with some fun details) classic. The only thing they didn’t get to within that tight time-frame was the headliner. In it’s place they painted the interior roof white and leave it open for new friends to leave their mark with Sharpies (myself included!)

As if the Packard wasn’t enough, Becky Sue’s car for this year is a 1963 Comet. This one didn’t require too much work from them – as it’s in super-terrific original condition as-is. What I love about Becky Sue and her car’s is that they’re fun, driven often, done with style, originality, and her own hard-earned sweat.

I was glad to meet the ladies I did – and hope that next year more will come out of the woodwork – I mean, er, engine grease. Who knows…since Becky Sue and I are both in So Cal there’s already been mention of a car club forming. Whose name is exactly what I pondered as I made the drive back across the desert to home sweet home.

This year’s Viva stood up to it’s reputations. Cool Cars. Purdy Women. Plenty of Pabst and Lots of Music. Stude and I will be back next year – and ladies, I’m planning on there being more Grease Girls represented – so start gettin’ your hands dirty now! If I missed any fellow Grease Girls at Viva – leave me a comment and let me know about your ride. All you ladies out there who call So Cal home, drop me a line, I’d love to set up a gathering! Viva la Grease Girl!

greasegirl@myrideisme.com
Visit Grease Girl for even more!

2009 Viva Las Vegas Car Show – See for Yourself

As a Viva LasVegas car show virgin, I drove blindly into a sea of horseshit opinions about what the Rockabilly Weekender is… without first hand experience, I checked and heard varying opinions about the show, especially about what I’m most interested in, the strolling pinups… no, scratch that, the hot rods! Just like the saying goes, everyone’s got an opinion and I have to say, most of what I heard STANK! Living in Arizona, and only about 5 hours from Las Vegas, I decided to roll up and check for myself. (so here’s my opinion… keep the air-freshener handy)

First off, what had I heard about the Viva Las Vegas Car Show or “Rockabilly Weekender” as it’s called? I heard the quality of cars sucked. NOT true. I heard it wasn’t a fun crowd. Also not true. Then, even though I’m not a big rockabilly fan, I did enjoy the music… and I only got to hear what was played outside at the car show.

About the rides… The cars I found were almost all right up my alley. Nobody goes to a car show and only finds what they like, but if you’re into DRIVEN cars that are owned by guys that eat, sleep and shit cars, then you will find cars you like at Viva Las Vegas.  I guess I expected to see a bunch of the bare-bones type “rat rods”, cause that’s what I was told.

Defining rat rod at this point is downright boring, but what I mean is cars built without basic necessities like for example, a floor. Cruising with a u-joint spinning next to my hand and ass is not my idea of fun. But that’s not what I found! I found tough looking hot rods with rough edges, but done purposefully. Leaving a weld unfinished like what I found in this low-slung sedan in the picture was cool and different.

Then, in addition to the hot rods and (screw the word rat) traditional style rods, the customs on hand were great. Chopped, dropped, some painted, some not, but all with the attention to detail that is exactly what, My Ride is Me is all about. This slick 53 Chevy 210 Sedan custom shown here was DAMN rusty… but who cares! The character was unmistakable and you won’t see this thing wasting away in a garage somewhere! For me, the cars were the stars of the show and will bring me back next year, hopefully driving my falcon wagon.

Picture of all the hot rod and custom cars at the Viva Las Vegas Car show will be uploaded soon.

From here, there’s much more to say, but It’ll wait for another blog.

The Story’s DONE! Look at Ladies of Viva! Viva Las Vegas is known for the pinup and generally vintage-style girls strolling around and either digging the scene or for a smile and a “would-ya-please” they’ll stand next to your ride and strike a pose. Swanee shot a bunch of girls doing their thing and we’ll post them in the Hot Rod Pinups Gallery soon.
(Swanee! Get to work!)

MyRideisMe.com is also starting our own Pinstriping photo gallery. Use it as a reference for your own ride or to teach yourself different styles or techniques of striping, lettering or logos and characters. I dig pinstriping and wish I could do it myself. Since that’s probably not in the cards, shooting pics of the great many examples of pinstriping at Viva Las Vegas car show was a natural!
The first set of pictures are now loaded. More coming soon! (want your work featured?) Here’s more info about the pinstiping art gallery.

Also look for great show coverage from Kristin or “Grease Girl”. She was at the show and made alot of new friends with pinups and other women enjoying the show. She’s also gonna fill us in on the drive she made in her hot rod Studebaker.

Finally, why was Viva Las Vegas a great show? It was easy for car folks to enjoy! Instead of gouging car owners, the price of the car show was included in the 4 day price of the show. That included all the bands, the burlesque shows and admission to the Tiki Pool party. Why do other shows make the cars pay extra? Great job!! The Viva crowd dominated the Orleans hotel bars and tables all having a good time. For the car show itself, it was only five-bucks to enter! The line of people stretched 200 long waiting to get in, and when they did, they still had extra cash to spend on the many quality vendors. That’s the way to do it. Cool hot rods and customs, the strolling pinups looking hot and live music with friends. What else is there? (oh, cold beer! Thanks Throttle Kings!)

So what’s your opinion? Did you enjoy yourself? Will you be there next year? Will you recommend it as a “Must Show” for next year? Let us know…

Pin Up? Mechanic? Say Hello to Grease Girl.

Many of you wrenchin’ around have been doing it since you had a baby bottle in your mouth. When you were out in the garage learning what a radiator was I was over at Miss Sally’s ballet class turning pirouettes. That’s right, I’m a girl – and not exactly your average grease monkey. I know lots of you fellas think ladies are only around to look pretty – and while I may not be too hard on the eyes – I’m not coming around just to pose on your shiny (or primered) hood. I’m here to get under it.

Sparkin’ my under-hood adventures is my 1955 Studebaker Champion. After wanting a classic car for years, I finally leaped in a couple of years ago during a move from car-less San Francisco to car-necessary Los Angeles. Now I don’t know about you, but it’s my opinion that you shouldn’t drive a classic if you don’t want to work on it. And I wanted to…the only thing standing in my way was the fact that the only thing I’d ever done to a car was change a tire (and even that somewhat unsuccessfully).

When I picked “Stude” up in Utah she had an original Studebaker V8 engine. My very first job was to put back together the Carter carburetor that had already been taken apart. After puzzling it around for awhile I ended up picking up a new Edelbrock instead. Next up was installing a new fuel pump, which seemed to go smoothly until I found out later that the gasket had gotten twisted when I put the pump in.

Now that I have ya’ll thinking I’m a complete idiot – I’ll let you in on something. Ready?! Not everyone was born working in a garage! Not everyone knows what a manifold is or even the difference between a V6 and V8! Crazy, huh!?

Regardless of my ignorance, “Stude” eventually did get on the road – although not without a little help (okay a LOT of help – that original engine had to come out and was replaced by a 383 Chevy.) In fact she was driven for the first time mere hours before taking off alone on a cross-desert trip to last years Viva Las Vegas. (Keep an eye out for us at this year’s Viva!)

I’ve come a long way from changing a tire – and am learning new things all the time. I’m making it my job to share those new things with the rest of you. Because we weren’t all born with wrenches in our hands – and heck, if I can save some of your male egos by keeping you from looking like knuckleheads well then that’s great. And if I can recruit a few other ladies to the garage you wouldn’t mind that would ya fellas?!

So now that ya’ll know me stop by my garage or blog and say “howdy” – and watch for my upcoming articles on MyRideisMe.com. You’ll be able to learn along with me and see things from my viewpoint (or just see me!) All you old pros can keep me in line and make sure I’m not doing anything stupid. All the rest of you might be able to learn a thing or two…even it if it is from a girl.