My First Land Speed Racing Friends Get Their Record If you've never heard about the kindness of folks involved in land speed racing, at Bonneville Salt Flats or at El Mirage, let me reiterate. You're bound to meet some of the greatest people on the planet. I met "Bonnieville Bob" and his son Rocky on my first trip to Bonneville in 2009.   Bob's been racing long enough to, literally, know everyone out on the salt. Like you'd expect, Bob and Rocky introduced me to everyone and now, years later, I owe most of my friendships on the salt to these guys.   Well, after years of trying, Bob and Rocky have their 200 mph hats from El Mirage with sites locked on Bonneville in August for Speed Week.   Rocky text me the good news and sent these pictures:     Then, in Rocky's words.... We got there on Friday and went through tech without any problems. Saturday morning, my dad made a run and the car ran 220.576 mph! He didn't even know he ran that fast since he couldn't see the gauges and drove by the...

Built to be Driven one off NASCAR Inspired Torino Talladega   George Poteet's Rad Rides Built Talladega At any show there might be a ride you call out as your favorite with your buddies. Something, "not to miss!" I hear that... it's fun to pick a favorite, right? But then... every once in a while, there's a jaw dropping ride that grabs your attention and holds it for not just that afternoon, but for months. For me, with George Poteet's Rad Rides built Torino Talladega, I've been lusting over this car for almost a year.   (Click any picture to see it full size)   I saw pictures of the Talladega either online or in a magazine, but at the time, it wasn't killing me to see it. I knew Poteet's style of "ALL OUT" hot rods, and I knew with Troy Trepanier and his crew doing the work, it'd be built with beyond amazing details. Still, it wasn't until the 2012 Grand National Roadster Show debut, when I finally saw it first hand... in metal.  Should an unfinished car shouldn't be your pick for "NOT TO MISS"??  ...

2013 Detroit Autorama - Ridler Award Contenders It's Time! Detroit's here and we've got all the "Great 8" shots up and ready for you to pick a favorite. This year, they let us know a little earlier who the greats were, a rough job since I heard there were upwards of 50 cars in contention. Look for a great post coming soon of, "Shoulda-been's" or just bad-to-the-bone rides that somehow weren't selected as Ridler finalists.   Trending now: 2014 -Ridler Award "Great 8" Contenders?   No use arguing over that now, the Great 8 contenders choices have been made, so now it's time to pick a winner. This is gonna be a TOUGH one! What's your choice? Pick your favorite and let us know in a comment at the end. If you need pictures to decide, go to Taller than you! More Great 8   Devil in the Details: For each owner or builder, I asked: "What trick detail are you especially proud of that somebody might walk right by?" Hear what they said and enjoy the pictures to go with.   As usual, click on any pictures, even...

America's Most Beautiful Roadster Contenders for 2013 Vote for your favorite below... The Grand National Roadster Show is the best west coast hot rod and custom car show. Anyone want to argue that? I showed you the 7 Roadsters that could win the 2013 AMBR Award but there are 5 other roadster in the show... they're all shown here. I'm not saying these hot rod roadsters aren't all amazing, I'm only saying, they're not likely to win based on my experience and the way I understand the rules. (I don't think the owners would argue... Am I wrong?) Enjoy the pictures and for any picture, click on it to see the full-size image. America's Most Beautiful Roadster Contender #8 This is a RACE CAR! The Bonneville Salt Flats have never looked so good than when this 200+ mph beauty rockets down the road! Make no mistake, this roadster is beautiful! Built by the true craftsmen at Rad Rides by Troy, you won't find a nicer race car anywhere (OK, except maybe for Blowfish) but still, this isn't enough to win the AMBR Award. Owned by Mark and Dennis Mariani...

Bring your Money! Hot Rods & Parts for Swap at the 2012 LA Roadster Show Pinkees built 1932 Hot Rod Friday of the LA Roadster Show means swap'n. This year is no exception with cars lined up fer-days waiting to get in and grab the primo swap spots. Just so you know, the gates don't open until 5AM to park and wait for the other, main gates to open at about 10AM (sometimes sooner). Once inside, there's no telling what you might find. Here's my look around with my Pops enjoying the cooler California weather. Featured Hot Rods and Customs at MyRideisMe.com: Here are the follow-up stories from 2012 LA Roadster Show: Pinkee’s Built 1932 Ford Roadster – Riveted and Injected (shown above) Frank Lockhart’s Slick Speedster Reborn - Land Speed Racer with Style Chopit Kustom’s Beatnik Bubbletop – This was a 55 Ford turned 50s Radical Kustom More Chopit Kustom - 1953 Chevy and 1932 Ford Pickup Hot Rods and Customs The first thing you'll find at the LA Roadster Show is problably the most obvious. Like the nasty Hemi powered hot rod above with a severely cool rivet...

Hot Rod Tires How-To - Gotta Drive Fast! Simple question: What's wrong with this photo?   If you answered, A) Dude's running Centerlines on a hot rod (What a loser); Well, you'd be part right. Why would I do such a thing? Does the car look better like this:   Take your time.... YES!! Much better. The bias plys on Bonnie make the vintage look, just like bias plys do on tons of other hot rods going for a straight out of the 50s, nostalgic look. (I'll also agree the backdrop of the Bonneville Salt Falts doesn't hurt!) So why have I replaced my bias plys with radials? Simple: I want to drive... drive fast on the freeway.   I originally had a set of white wall, radial tires on my roadster. I dig the white wall look, but like I said before, I wanted my roadster to be more early 50s looking. Plus the blackwalls look more hard core hot rod to me, like my main focus is running fast, not looks.   Anyway, I had the radials on before, and when people asked, "How fast is it?"...

Ten Hot Rod Roadsters at Grand National Roadster Show 2012 It's time for you to decide... Vote for your favorite below. The Grand National Roadster Show is the best west coast hot rod and custom car show. Anyone want to argue that? Did you come here looking for the winning roadster? Winner! 2012 America's Most Beautiful Roadster - click here Start with 10 of the finest roadsters competing for the America's Most Beautiful Roadster award, then get surrounded by every other kind of hot rod, street rod and custom... But there's more! Lowriders, some sports cars and motorcycles join the show, too. With two cars competing for this year's AMBR from Texas and one down from Idaho and another from Oklahoma, it's safe to say the SoCal and western build crews are bringin out the big guns for a shot at hot rod's biggest trophy. It's gonna be a tough call on which roadster wins... what do you think? Cast your vote, but don't worry, there's never any politics with this award... Enjoy the pictures and for any picture, click on it to see the full-size image. America's Most...

Hot Rods and Custom Cars at 2012 GNRS in Pomona, CA If you're looking for the "America's Most Beautiful Roadster" Pictures Click here. Just in case you can't make it to the Grand National Roadster Show this weekend, MyRideisMe.com is bringing the show to you! Of course, if you're anywhere near Pomona, California we'd suggest you make it out in person. GNRS is running from January 27th-29th at the Pomona Fairplex. Besides showcasing a dozen of the highest-quality show roadsters you've ever seen, competing for the AMBR Award, Grand National's also has many other exhibit halls with some of the best looking customs, classics, lowriders, and more! To start things off, is James Hetfield's 1937 Lincoln Zephyr. If this auburn beauty looks familiar, its because it's the cover feature of the fresh-off-the-press Rod & Custom. With more custom features than we can name, it's conception was at the Grand National Roadster Show - so it's only fitting that it be on display here for you to drool all over. It didn't take us long to get to one of our favorite halls, the Suede Palace where this golden El...

Hot Rod & Custom Car Photography Jeff Norwell's perfect hot rod pickup at the Moody Mile in Syracuse Whether your building your first hot rod or a website about hot rods, it's best to have a little help. The most generous people you meet help when really, there's nothing in it for them. They're just, "Like that".  That's the case for this featured photographer, Chuck Vranas. I met Chuck at the Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona, CA. He was floating around shooting here and there, but didn't look overly busy and rushed (like me), so I asked who he shoots for. At the time, he was shooting for Source Interlink powerhouse Street Rodder Magazine.  Chuck shoots and writes feature car and tech stories for Street Rodder quite a bit, especially lately. Check out the newest issues and you'll see stories Chuck did. It's almost like seeing someone you know on TV! (but totally different) Chuck is the real deal when it comes to hot rods too. Doesn't it kinda show when a photographer really likes what he's shooting? Ansel Adams can shoot some landscapes like nobody's business, but...

New Stromberg 97 Carb That's Old Too When you're building a 276 inch flathead to power a 32 Ford XF roadster for the Bonneville Salt Flats... and you're from the Rolling Bones Hot Rod Shop whose specialty is combining the old with new and making it all look period perfect, what else would you run but Stromberg carbs? Making the new look somewhat older just got alot easier with Stromberg's new "Barn Find" 97 Carb. It's a completely new Stromberg 97 with all the updates and design fixes of their signature Stromberg 97, but some aging tricks like a little media blasting and some old fashioned neglect (they leave the cast iron base out in the rain for a spell before painting it) result in a "no two alike" patina that fits great and looks perfect on your hot rod's flathead. The "new" Barn Find Stromberg 97 is on the left with an original Stromberg 81 on the right. Need more patina? Just handle it some more. With the media blasted finish, a little finger oils and a well placed grease smudge and you're there! So head on over...

Hot Rods and Cool Classics at 2011 VLV Car Show Who knew Viva Las Vegas began as a music festival? Heck...we're only interested in the cars! What I love about rockabilly car shows - is you get a little bit of everything. VLV14 in 2011 is no exception. From barely running to nearly show quality and everything in between... it'll be at Viva! This slammed three-window was a-glow in glitter. Heavy green metal flake covering nearly everything...  what wasn't covered in green flake was covered in silver flake. So mean... but so cute! This larger sedan looks clean laying on the pavement! From sunrise to sundown, the VLV car show at The Orleans was hoppin'! This chopped Ford Pickup had just the right style. Great tire choice. A clean chop job. And time-worn Ford Blue was a terrific color choice! My car club, the Gasoline Girls, were there for our 1st time as a club too! Lori's 1948 Ford F1 "Bondorella" got tons of attention! Onlookers went crazy for Bondorella's bare metal with hidden ice-pearl flake cleared over it. (See more Gasoline Girl's Adventures!) This five-window coupe got it...

Sata Spray Guns -Best Product Display at SEMA 2010 How funny is that dude in the reflection?! At some point walking SEMA, just before your legs give out and you hear a very nearby bar calling your name, there's always one more thing to draw you back in.  Often that's a booth babe or some amazing custom car, but sometimes it's something so creative you owe that vendor a much closer look! Check this short video from SATA Paint Guns display at SEMA 2010: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoI7pAFw-Ro[/youtube] See what's happening there?  The SATA guys put together a fantastic display that included this table of SATA auto guns all following people as they walked by.  A  discretely mounted camera nearby made it all happen... that and some pretty trick controls! How cool is that?! I think most people, like me, didn't even know they were being followed, but once they saw it agreed. Very cool! Couple the freaky paint guns with the tried and true hot rods and customs in your booth and you see why SATA had one of the best at SEMA 2010.  The Chip Foose influenced 2010 Camaro SS you might recognize, but have you seen...