So I'm cruising the Grand National Roadster Show with ProblemChildKustom's Brian Stupski. He freak'n knows just about everyone, so it doesn't surprise me when he knows Dwayne. Dwayne's got a booth at the Grand-daddy show and in the main hall no less. He's selling these prints like hotcakes: (click to enlarge, it's worth it!) I'm pretty sure these are all $10 and available at Dwayne's Website: FutureElements.net Store These drawings are enough for a wicked blog, but that's not what I'm writing about. As I was thumbing through some of Dwayne's work, I see one of my favorite Hot Wheels, simply named 49 Merc. I'm impressed. We all played (or still play) with Hot Wheels, so now I've met the dude who designed one of my favorites. So I started asking a bunch of questions... 1) How did you first get involved with Hot Wheels (Mattel) That's a very interesting story. I was taking a class for 3D using Alias Autostudio while working at Troy Lee Designs and I was learning how to build things in 3D. I got to know a few guys in class and they were...

This blog, "Mayhem on Main Street" Rampage Altered Wheelbase Dart Hits the Highway was written by Steve Magnante. He took the photos too! Rather than trying to run down every driver on the information superhighway, the guys from Moparmax.com, MaxChevy.com and Dragracingonline.com pulled over to share a story with MyRideisMe.com. All three online magazines are great... That is if you like wheels up racing action! Take a look and tell'm MyRideisMe.com sent ya! Now for some altered wheelbase fun! Begin Mayhem on Main Street When is a car buildup finished? To some the answer to that question is never as continual upgrades are expected for as long as they own the car. But for me, I m the type that pretty much has a vision of what I want the car to be, how I want it to run and what I want it to look like. So when it is finished, I m the first to know. But in the case of the altered wheelbase 63 Dart I ve been chipping away at here for the last year or so, I m breaking my own rules. I've performed...

Ford Falcon: Sedans, Wagons, Rancheros and Convertibles: I've wanted to write a few blogs for a while. One of them is about the cool Falcons at MyRideisMe.com already. I take a personal interest since I've got one of them even though it might be for sale before too long. You know what they say about having too many projects... I know, you can never, but in this case, I might punt so I can do some work on my Rambler Wagon. So, if you're a fellow Falcon Fanatic, (Craig's about to be clever) a Bird of Prey Beholder or Carnivorous Bird Custodian, dig these rides. First is the 62 mor-dor from garvinzoom. This car is rolling proof that a 4 door can be cool and that high-def Coolosity you doesn't have to break the bank. The original 170 inline six and two speed auto ride in the factory but lowered chassis with 13" skinny whites on blacksteel rims. The body has primer with the trim holes filled, reverse lights shaved and fuel cap moved inside trunk. The interiors a self described "Crappy but clean". The next Falcon is the...

Just to wrap up the header I built for my car (Pikesan's garage) I thought I'd post a few pics and the video of the car running.. you can hear what it sounds like! I build the header with help from Schoenfeld Headers and my friends at Nissan with the TIG welding skills. When I finally got it assembled, the next question was what do to for a coating? I media blasted the header and it was a shining clean silver color that looked really cool but I knew it wouldn't last. So I took the advice I got from Schoenfeld and used ATF, yea, Automatic Transmission Fluid! I'd never heard of that, but they said it would turn the header a really cool BLUE color. Hmmm... Here's how everything turned out. Here's the header I had on it before... I tried to paint this one red... I didn't do a very good job and it turned black then white, quickly until it looked like this (Click on any image to see it full size): Here's the 1st video of me running the car for the first time with...

Written by MyRideisMe feature Member: Mr. Freeze Let me start off by saying that I didn’t think that Goodguys Scottsdale would be the premier show for this build or that the truck would set new standards in the hot rod world. Goodguys was only a time goal for this build. The 40 Ford Cab was purchased for some parts for another project and then it was to be discarded or sold. The more I looked at it the more I thought that it would be a neat build. A friend and I started building the 2x3 box frame Z’d 6” in the front and 14” in the rear and after only a week we got it rolling. We chose a 292 Y-block and for that eye candy factor topped it off with a 6 deuce intake. After some deliberation we decided that this ride would be much cooler with a three speed. Out back, we chose a 56 Ford 4:11 truck axle with 56 front brakes. But it was soon pushed to the side for another project. Here's where we sat so far... It sat for a while and...

Custom Van with a Blown 428 Pontiac So you’ve owned it since you were 16?Yes.And that was when?1973.So then, what’s the next obvious question…Why’d a 16 year old kid buy a van?I’m a drummer! Mark Greenwell of Phoenix, AZ drove this 1966 Chevy Van to the 2007 Scottsdale Goodguys show and immediately caught my eye.The sun setting on those retro-perfect murals blew me away.I knew right away this van had a story.Check these out: (click to enlarge) I hadn’t looked inside yet. The original murals were painted in 1978.That was right after the van was totaled in an accident coming back from Flagstaff, AZ in the snow.$550 bought the van back from the insurance agency and Mark, a mechanic by trade, went to work.His work paid off when the truck was featured in the 1982 centerfold of Truckin Magazine.Back then, it ONLY had a turbocharged 350 mounted between the seats.Then, in 1987, Mark rebuilt the truck again.This time, he went over the top.Take a look inside: You’re looking at a twin turbo 428 Pontiac with and Hillborn Fuel Injection backed by a Powerglide trans with race converter and trans...

I'm not sure when I started working on this project, but it was at least 4 years ago. I wanted to build a trick intake setup for my Pinto Powered Roadster called Bonnie. Bonnie's always turned heads, even parked next to MUCH higher dollar rods. I have to admit that I like that. The intake design is from a tech article I read from the Inglese website. It explains why individual runner intakes and weber carbs are the hot setup. Now, with the new intake finally on, I'm gonna get more people asking, "What engine is that?" So here's where I left off... the last thing to do was weld the flange that would hold the throttle cable: My Friend Aaron welded everything up for me. It came out nice, then I took it to the sand blast cabinet. After, it looked like cast aluminum, but it weighs less than 3 lbs. These are the before and after blasting shots. Then finally, here's what it looks like all mounted up. I can't wait to spend hours trying to tune this thing! But, I'm gonna wait to fire it up...

Some how while trying to make this website and taking care of my family, I'm also working on my Pinto Powered 27 Ford Roadster, "Bonnie". I thought I'd update everyone on the progress. I'm doing this so that all of the 230 users of My Ride is Me will do the same! We're talking to our web designer about how to show EVERYONE's blogs all in one place. That way, we can all keep up with what's new. First off, here's the car... if you haven't seen it yet, I haven't done enough self promotion! (hardly possible) This is what it looked like before the 2006 Goodguy's show. That red paint you see on the header is GONE (as soon as it got hot!) and the car hasn't been that clean since! Plus, the paint (primer really) had faded here and there unevenly, so here's what I'm trying to finish before the show: 1) Custom dual Weber 44 IDF carbs. Here's a few pics: The idea here is best said by the guys at Inglese: Weber-carbureted engine to idle smoother, have a slicker "feel" to it a low speeds...

It was my pleasure to meet Kirk Wright of Scottsdale, AZ at the Scottsdale Pavilion's show. We started talking about my car, a 27 Ford Roadster and the the 2.3L Pinto motor I run. Then Kirk started telling me about some of his cars. After hearing about the Model T 'banger motors he was building, I set up a meeting at his house to see what he's up to. His card says AAA Typewriter Service on it, so I didn't know what I was getting into. I got into this: If you're into nostalgia racing or old-OLD time hot rodding, or just really into Model T's, then you just spilled your beer. You're looking at a one of kind Hemi headed model T engine. The valve cover is also a unique piece. It's a modified original Ardun valve cover. Kirk added extra room to clear the custom made aluminum roller rockers. Displacing 190 cu. in, Kirk expects this engine to put out about 320Hp. Don't believe it? Kirk's basing that number on another T engine he's built and dyno'd. That's in another T pickup that Kirk's owned since 1951...

My man Mr. Freeze out of Gilbert, AZ is a friend to MyRideisMe.com. He's just purchased this Chevy Cab over engine (COE) that's got a 455 Olds Toronado FRONT WHEEL DRIVE powertrain under it. This is going to be good! Check out Mr. Freeze's garage for a look at the work he does. He's not a full time builder but he spends alot of time out in the garage. Can't wait to see it come together!   The truck's built now... check out some pictures and a keyless ignition install here....

Plasma Cutting: Determining if it's Right for You and What to Look for in a Machine Introduction Do you need a cutting tool for occasional repair and maintenance work? Have you recently embarked on a new project that requires higher cutting volumes? Or, are you looking for a new alternative to your current mechanical saw? All of these scenarios provide great reasons to investigate plasma cutting. With the cost of machines on the decline, smaller-sized, portable machines flooding the market and technology offering increased benefits and easier usage -- it may be time to take a serious look at plasma for your cutting applications. The benefits of plasma cutting include ease of use, higher quality cuts and faster travel speeds. What is Plasma Cutting Technology? In simplest terms, plasma cutting is a process that uses a high velocity jet of ionized gas that is delivered from a constricting orifice. The high velocity ionized gas, that is, the plasma, conducts electricity from the torch of the plasma cutter to the work piece. The plasma heats the workpiece, melting the material. The high velocity stream of ionized gas mechanically blows the...

Vintage Drag Racing Back before I was born, my pops raced this car in northern California, especially Fremont Baylands Raceway and Vaca Valley. It was called, "The Happy Home Wrecker" (my parents are divorced): I have some great memories of this car because after my dad raced it, he sold it to his friend and racing partner Brad Bradly. I used to see it at Brad's shop, Bradly's Automotive in Pt. Richmond, CA. Any time he was going to move that car, we wanted to see it cause it was the loudest car we'd ever heard. Many years later, after the car had changed hands a few times, the new owner, Don Boucher, tracked down Brad in Nevada. Now that I knew who had this old friend, I contacted Don and told him who I was. Don plans to return this car to it's former drag racing glory. I will be updating this blog based on the progress Don makes. I hope to see this car running again. Don, keep us posted! To see more picture of, "The Wrecker" go to Don's Garage at MyRideisMe.com The next story isn't...