Drag Racing Art by Liz Northrup Liz Northrup is an artist and true hot rod and drag racing enthusiast. This article is written by her and features her newest hot rod art piece, the legendary "Motown Missile". -pikesan In the midst of looking for ideas on a project, I was referred to seek help from a fellow artist named Bill Stinson. Interestingly, I’ve learned that Bill has a unique past as a writer and cartoon artist for various hot rod magazines such as, ISCA's ‘Show Stopper’, ‘CARtoons’, and the original ‘Hot Rod DeLuxe’. Bill currently writes for ‘Cruis’news magazine’. Bill was kind enough to send me a few pictures of some of the most legendary drag cars in history. Out of that collection, one car in particular caught my interest: the Motown Missile, a ‘70 Dodge Challenger. Being a Mopar fan, I was intrigued to learn more of it’s story. Bill is friends with Ted Spehar, who owned and built the Motown Missile. Teddy (as Bill likes to call him) is a master in building high performance engines and had extraordinary success with the Chrysler Hemi’s. Teddy was commissioned...
Not Your Ordinary Gardening Truck – KA24DE 1969 Datsun 521 Truck
posted by Enomoto-san
Datsun 521 Japanese Classic Truck Red. The iconic color of the Ferrari supercars. Next to yellow, it stands out as one of the most targeted vehicle colors by the police, perhaps because the notoriety of the Ferrari's? But wait, what if the red was on a car that wasn't really a car, but on an old small displacement truck? It takes a special breed of an auto enthusiast to maintain a pre-70s automobile in tip-top running condition. Luckily enough here in California where the air is dry and the skies are sunny 355 days out of a year, rust isn't really a problem. Miko (pronounced Mee-koh) can only be described as a rockstar of the Little Saigon Community, and a stranger to no one in the area. He knows the best places to eat, to party, to drink, or just relax and have a cup of Cafe Su Da. Miko works hard but plays harder and as an entrepreneur, his prime responsibilities include owning and managing his own hair studio. His 1969 Datsun 521 1300 truck is the purest example of his lively and positive personality. There's nothing standing...
Ford Falcon Gasser – Nailed by Chuckles Garage
posted by Hechtspeed
Straight Axle Ford Falcon Gasser Meet the Chuckles Garage "Strange Bird" 1962 Ford Falcon Futura A/GS drag car. This car started out as a $200 Craigslist beater and through some odd chain of events, became the "Strange Bird". MyRideisMe.com stumbled on Scotty Birdsall, owner and chief ornithologist at Chuckles Garage, a full service fab shop in Santa Rosa, CA. In Scotty's words, here's more info on this wicked Ford Falcon and what hits you first, the blown 401 Buick Nailhead: "The 'bird's powered by a Littlefield supercharged Buick 401 Nailhead originally in a 1960's drag boat. The Nailhead sports a shop-fabbed blower manifold, custom pistons & rods, a wild Comp Cams bumpstick and lifters, custom valve springs and hi-flow valves, mild port work, custom pushrods, custom headers made in-house, vintage Weiand valve covers, dual Buick Wildcat Rochester 4 Jets that were modified for use with the blower with custom linkage, Nicson front cover/engine mount, custom motor plate, custom oil pan, and is backed by a built Buick ST400 transmission from a 1965 Riviera." Can you say CUSTOM FALCON!!!??? Can't wait to hear what a blown Buick 401 Nailhead...
Fight Recap: More 2010 NorCal Knockout
posted by Nick K
Hot Rods and Custom Car Show Pictures Story Contributed by MyRideisMe.com member: Nick Koljian "Hellcity316" More pictures from the NorCal Knockout Car Show I can't let my friend Nick K have all the fun taking pictures and enjoying the 2010 NorCal Knockout. We finally got to meet and I snapped a few pictures myself. I'm aspiring to take pictures as well as Nick and Swanee, so I keep practicing. Sometimes the light and shadows (and stars) align to get something decent. If I grabbed a pic of your car, please let me know, I'll email it to you. Some folks made it easy with show cards. One of those is this 1963 Galaxie race car called the "Moonshine Hauler". Currently owned by Mark Brothers out of Saratoga Springs, UT, the 1964 NHRA record holder now sports a "worked" center oiler 427 with twin 700 Holly carbs, a T-10 4 speed and a 4.11 locker. What else would it have?! The lettering on this car screamed 60's racer. There's another picture in the gallery below. Thanks to another show card from owner Goran Lassell out of Sacramento, CA. From the...
Burke Bros. Bonneville “Bucket List” Studebaker Avanti
posted by Hechtspeed
I'm going to put this out there up front... I will not be able to do this story justice. But, its such a great story and a cool car that you are going to get it and you are going to like it. Ok, I got that out, now on to the man and the machine. The man is cancer survivor and current cancer fighter Dan Sallia. The machine is the historic Burke Bros. Bonneville record holding 1962 Studebaker Avanti. I originally found Dan's story on landracing.com in a build thread he started there. That led me to his more detailed build thread on RacingStudebakers.com where I spent about 4 hours reading through the posts during 2 separate nights, checking out the pictures and soaking in one of the coolest car-guy stories I've ever heard. I knew I had to share it the MyRideisMe.com readers. Here's Dan working in the engine bay of the Stude. Now THAT is a setback motor! Dan has been racing against Cancer for about 4 years and has had 3 tumors. Recently another tumor was discovered, so Dan is working with his doctors (one doctor is actually a land...
“Hot Rod Ramblings”: The “Calera Kids” and the “Pi...
posted by Hechtspeed
It's been too long since I've posted a "Hot Rod Ramblings" feature. For this post, I'm gonna go Nostalgia Drag and Funny Cars on you guys. But, these "hot rod ramblings" come from my Uncle, "RickyRod" Hechtspeed. These are my Uncle's memories of the "Pit" from the late 60's. The "Pit" was the nickname for the first Irwindale Dragstrip. A quick background... the "Calera Kids" were my dad (Rodger "Calera Ave burnout king" and Ford/Merc' lover and his little bro, the "Chevy Puke" (as my dad would call him) and their buddies Rick Patterson, Scott Henry, John DeGraff (sporto), Lalo Gabriel, Rob Shultz, Pat Murphy and a few kids not directly in the "hood" Scott Taylor and Steve Presley were drag fans. They lived on Calera Avenue in Azusa, California, the next city over from Irwindale. Anyway, these ramblings are taken from some emails from my Uncle. They mean a lot to me, because it is a piece of the Hechtspeed history. I thought you guys would really dig 'em too, so here goes, let the Ramblings begin! "It is possible that the four kids shrouded by the supercharger are the “Calera Kids”. That was one of...
Fresno Autorama: Kathy’s Comet and Friends
posted by Hechtspeed
We featured Kathy's 1961 Comet back in March. Kathy and the Comet were invited to the 2010 Fresno Autorama. You know, the Blackie Gejeian Car Show. It's only his 51st show. Only!? The Fresno Autorama is considered to be THE finest indoor car show in the States. Kathy hooked us up with Jerry Burt and his photos on JBurtPhotos.com. First, let's see a couple pictures of Kathy and her Comet, along with Blackie Gejeian. Check out Kathy's BIG smile. Friends and hot rods makes for some Good Times! Wow, what a cool experience to have your hot rod invited to the Fresno Autorama by Blackie Gejeian. Congrats Kathy and the Full Tilt crew. That deep purple paint on the Full Tilt built Comet is a sight to see! Just gaze into the purple hue under the lights at the Fresno Autorama. Heaven! ha ha In this photo by J Burt, the tan leather custom interior is poppin' real nice. The suicide doors help bring attention to the interior too. But, its hard not to notice the low down air ride and injected powerplant. Now, on to some of my favorite...
1955 Chevy Gasser spotted at Lowes Parking Lot
posted by Hechtspeed
So, February in Utah isn't a great time to bust out the street driven Gasser, you'd think, but the owner of this '55 Gasser called "Hemi Hunter" gets a big high 5 for doing just that. Of course, it is the warmest day since November 22, it was a balmy 46. Ha ha I've got no info except for the pics I took. But its a gorgeous example of an early 60's Gasser built to run on the street. This car was immaculate! Cherry black paint, all the correct Gasser mods, like radiused rear fender, bumperless, big long tube headers, no front fender wells to block the headers and straight front axle. Those keystone mags set the car off nicely as well. Rad!!! "Hemi Hunter" is right, that's what a 502ci big block will get ya. Love the gold lettering. Period correct and Rad! Super clean, that's the word that comes to mind. I dig the scoop sittin' under the vette hood bulge. That paint is reflecting everything. Wow! Dig that vette hood bulge/scoop and big street meats in the rear! I dig the white steering wheel and white...
Nostalgia Drag Race History from 2010 GNRS
posted by pikesan
You can almost smell the tires burning cruising through the "History of the Race Car" hall at the 2010 Grand National Roadster Show. The exhibit, of course featured drag racer from the way-back-machine, especially my favorite: Nose in the air gassers! Getting up-close and personal with the "Outer Limits" Mopar, I'm reminded of a buddy who saw his first altered wheelbase A/FX'r and asked, "Who'd do that?!" That's exactly why I love them! Make noise, look near ridiculous and have more fun than anyone! I want one, and some day I'll get it. I might have to build my 61 Rambler American wagon as a gasser. Low-buck, fast and loud = funner-mostess. Continuing my stroll, I found the, "Fastest un-blown Ford V-8 powered dragster running in National Nostalgia Drag Racing." ...and it's driven by a woman named Kathy Lloyd out of Castro Valley, CA. According to their show card, the car was built in 1969, then restored in '85, then back-halfed in 1996, no doubt to return to racing. Safety rules have changed, juuuuussst a little since 1969. Running on a cocktail of 85% Nitro and 15% methanol, this...
Pinstriping Animal Style with the One Arm Bandit
posted by pikesan
I met pinstriper and all around cool cat Charlie Decker online, probably at Myspace, before I met him in person at the Grand National Roadster Show. I hit him up for some samples of his pinstriping and a quick bio so you'd know his style a little more. For you west-side cruisers, you better make an appointment! Charlie lives in Connecticut, so if you see him, grab him and his striping kit to lay down some crazy flowing lines. I've included some of my favorite pinstriping from the, "One Arm Bandit" as he's known. These animal creations and artistic forms he's blended with sweeping stripes blow me away. I'm not sure I could draw that in a hundred tries and he throws it down freehand in paint right from his mind to the brush. I don't know if we'll see this kind of work on hot rods, but if that's what you want... Here's more about Charlie: I started striping about 14 years ago around the age of 16. I was influenced by the 50's style hot rod era and the traditionally styled hot rods I first pinstriped after...
Changing a Tire 101
posted by GreaseGirl
Once I'd decided to start gettin’ my hands greasy – the first thing I went for was the tire. It couldn’t be too hard to take a tire on and off, right? Right! Changing a tire is as easy as 1-2-3! 1. Gather all your tools and jack your car up. Most modern cars come with a spare tire, a lug wrench, and a jack of some sort. Look in all of the nooks in your trunk – they’ll probably be there. My Studebaker certainly didn’t come with these, but I’ve got them back there now (along with a pair of jumper cables!) A note about jacks. A jack is a metal contraption that when worked correctly lifts part of your car off the ground. There are a number of varieties of jacks and they all work slightly differently. Most cars are equipped with small scissor jacks. I carry a small floor jack with me in my Stude though. You need to find out what sort of jack you’ve got and read the instructions on how its safely operated. Do this now…don’t wait for an emergency! Before operating the...
Pullin Lines #1: New Pinstriping Picture Gallery
posted by pikesan
You can't shake a stick at a hot rod or custom car show or here in the custom garages at MyRideisMe.com without seeing some pinstriping. We added a "Hot Rods and Pinups" gallery cause everyone likes the sexy vintage styled girls... The same kind of thinking made me add a Pinstriping Gallery. It's just a good fit. The gallery is LOADED with pictures. Well, not really, there's only the pictures from the Viva Las Vegas car show, put there's alot from that show. VLV's the kind of show where I'd say 80-90% of the cars have custom pinstripes. Here's just a few of the pictures in the gallery:[gallery = 27] To make the pinstriping gallery happen, we'll be shooting detailed photos of pinstripes at the shows and races we cover in the Event gallery and more importantly featuring pinstripe artist that are making their living pulling lines all over the country. Look for a story on Von Hot Rod and also my buddy Charlie the "One Arm Bandit". Charlie's also got a great community similar to us at Hot Rod Revival. Check it out! With the pinstripes on hoods,...