We're all gearheads right?  If we weren't gearheads in one form or another, we wouldn't be here, and you wouldn't be reading this.  If your not reading this, I had no point writing it.

But I digress...  Ever since I can remember, I have loved cars, trucks, and bikes.  I love the smell.  I love the look.  I love the paints, the stance, the sounds.  I guess I just love the fact that somebody took the time to customize one. 

It really doesn't matter what the style is; Hot Rod, Street Rod, Custom, Lowrider, Off-Road, Pro-Street, Rat-Rod, or DONK - yeah I said it! Street bike, custom chopper, dirt bike...

Slammed, raised, painted, unpainted - finished, unfinished - Doesn't matter.  Somebody out there has a car or bike that they are trying to personalize and make their own.  Commend them for that. 

Would you drive it?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  Doesn't matter - It ain't yours!  It belongs to the individual.  ...hear that? The IN-DI-VID-U-AL.  So the individual makes it theirs and theirs alone.  That's what makes this hobby great.  Individuals.  Each and every one of us have their own taste, and budget for that matter.  I think I love seeing someone who basically has no money "fix up" a ride on a strict budget - just to see if they can do it right.. I mean do it their way(cough). 

I have my own style.  Clean, low, raked and subtle - Very hard to pull off.  I also appreciate others' style - gaudy as some may be.  A custom is a custom, and it's called custom for a reason.  Because it is the vision of the owner, and it damn sure ain't from the factory!  But, I am sure I'm not the only one commenting on rides that ain't mine...  I'm not, am I?

Regardless, we are all in this together.  Big, small, high, low, pricey, ratty, fast, slow, whatever.  It's our hobby, it's what we love, and it's what brings us together on sites like this, and car shows around the world~

PBT

Here is a paint job I designed for South Georgia Customs owner Alan Simmons.  This is one of many projects he has entrusted me with.  This was just after paint - the windows are still out!  The rims and suspension are coming!

Word!

Ok, here's the deal.  I am a VW guy.  Not by choice, ...not that it's a bad thing, but ...  Let me start from the beginning~

Back in the day (something old people say), I used to feverishly churn through the pages of Hot Rod, Car Craft, Truckin' and Mini Truckin'.  I think that was almost all of the automotive magazines available (Except CARtoon's - sniff)...  Anyway, Boyd Coddington (RIP), Thom Taylor (hall-e-lu-jah), and Steve Stanford (!) was all I looked for.  Hot Rod, Street rods, Street Machines (yes, there's a difference), Pro-Street, ugh!  It was all there, with my drool plunging down on each and every page.

I wanted a muscle car or street rod like nobodies business.  Let's see though...  No disrespect to my folks intended, but we were exactly keeping up with the Jones', and I really ain't sure if they lived in the same city - Dude, we was broke!  But wait - Dad had just bought a new car and left the old family car for my oldest sister who hadn't long started driving.  A 1971 Ford Maverick.  What?  Oh, sorry, I thought I heard laughter (cough).  Anywho, It had possibilities, lower the front, throw in a 302, paint it black with flames.. Oh man, it was gonna be so cooool!  Problem was I was broke and it had to get through my 2 older sister before it got to me.  Uh, yeah, that didn't happen~

So, now what?  Well, a cousin had a '71 Superbeetle for sale.  He was working to transform it into a Baja but had only finished the drive train...  A slightly built 1641cc w/92mm pistons, a mild cam, upgraded single barrel (it's a VW OK?!) and a few other goodies like dual port heads and a heavy duty clutch with some chrome Porsche styled wheels.  I was kinda talked into it, and ended up buying it.  I don't think there was a straight panel on that car.  Well, after about a year or so scraping and saving, I dropped it and had it painted. 

In a sense it was my first design/build as well.  I had done a ga-jillion drawings of it until I found something simple but cool.  Lots of custom bodywork in the back, removed bumpers and smoothed out this and that...  Now, I do that same service for others who want to see what kinda potential their ride has.  Putting ideas on paper until the vision is complete.

It wasn't the '32 full fendered street rod, the '55 Chevy, or the '69 Chevelle I had always wanted (and still do), but it got me going as a designer/builder, and I have had many of those alluring little German machines since.  From the 3 Superbeetles, the '69 Bug, the '73 Mexican Bug, the '72 Van (with factory air), the '68 Double Cab pick-up or even my all time favorite - the '56 ragtop in Polar silver I sold like the idiot I am...  I can't help to love them all now and long to own even more.

..yeah, OK, I still want that '32, but...  Still haven't found the Jones'~

PBT