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 are uploaded.

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…

The scoop on the 2011 Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend Car Show

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.

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