Fine and Finished Hot Rod Roadsters Segregation Works Segregation. It's a word with a perfectly bad score for connotation. I'm hear to give it a boost and say... It works at the LA Roadster Show. Over here, a fantastic swap meet when you're looking for that obscure 50s original part for your Caddy... Over there, a car show fit for everyone. Trucks, traditional hot rods, nose up street gassers and even a laid out Econoline van. Then, there's the "real" show... Over yonder... Separated by a walk that your dog would turn down, but featuring a conditioned air main hall filled with go-fast goodies and hot rod art... and of course, the shiny, finished roadster that are, the LA Roadster Show. To get in, you need a finished, glossy painted car and no fixed windows. True roadster and no rats. Thank you, moving along... Skip all this, I just want to see more pictures: 2012 LA Roadster Show photo gallery The AZ Hot Rod Connection (Click to see full size) Making the trip out from Arizona, my home state in case you didn't know... where two fine, real deal hot...

Hot Rods and Custom Cars from Chopit Kustom (Click to see full size) More from the 2012 LA Roadster Show: As a sequel to the radical 1955 Ford turned bubbletop kustom, I want to show off the other great rides the good folks from Chopit Kustom brought. All three rides, the 32 Pickup, the 53 Chevy Coupe and the "55 Ford" you can barely see in the back were all driven in. After parking and before the crowds, I snapped off these shots. Next time I take my kids to Disneyland, I'll arrange a tour and get to know these guys at their Stanton, CA shop. They're breaking new ground as a three man shop and getting the media attention to prove it. Enjoy! Did you get your own shots of these cars? Let's see them! admin@MyRideisMe.com [nggallery...

Bubbletop Kustom Car - Radical Custom Creation! (Click to see full size) Back at the 2012 LA Roadster Show, I'm doing my best to take my favorite pictures and show them to you, just in case you're outta state, country, or worse... you were one of the vendors I talked to that never get to leave your booth! What you see here is a 1955 Ford. Yep. That's what it started as, but according to Gary "Chopit" Fioto, all that's left is the decklid and hood. Gary, and his sons Nick and Fabian of Chopit Kustom in Stanton, CA built this truly radical creation, completely out of steel In a 3 year build, Beatnik made it's debut at the 2005 Fresno Autorama. So, this car's been on the road for a long time! Gary drove the car in as well complimenting the air conditioning that keep him from suffocating underneath that huge bubbletop. Every other detail of this car's been covered. One of the best places to learn the history of the car and Chopit Kustom is by reading the RM Auction page where it sold for $396,000 back in 2006.  RM's...

Land Speed Racer-Recreation at the LA Roadster Show You'll never know what you might see! Wandering the huge-anic swap meet at the LA Roadster Show, I found this: (Click to see full size) Feast your eyes on the not-quite-finished replica of Frank Lockhart's Stutz Blackhawk Special. Handmade and very accurate from what Ned told me to the original. It'll even run a special, rare-like-you-wouldn't-believe Miller 4 cylinder engines. (that's one reason it's not done yet) Why? I don't know... cause the owner can I guess! I wanted more info, but the guys were already loading the car into the trailer (you gotta see it in the pics below) when I showed up and with the sun beating down, it was all business for them. If you know more about the car, please get in touch. [nggallery id=66] To learn more about the original car and the crash that took the life of Frank Lockhart, here's a few links. You should know, at the time, Frank was the youngest Indy 500 winner and the record holder for most laps led from the start (81 Laps). Not to mention, the guy...

Hemi Hot Rod at the LA Roadster Show (Click to see full size - it's huge! Right click to add as desktop wallpaper) Well... you get old and learn slowly. I've learned that I find and shoot so many great hot rods at car shows, like one of my favorites, the LA Roadster Show, that usually they end up wasting away on my computer - never posted. Not this time... I don't know much about this wicked 1932 Hot Rod Ford Roadster except: A tiny sticker on the dash gave away it's a Pinkee's Rod Shop creation - no doubt leading to it's "kill'm with your awesome" stance, fit and finish. See build pictures here at 1932 Ford Hot Rod Roadster at Pinkee's project page. This beast graced the swap area of the 2012 LA Roadster Show on Friday during setup (it can't go into the full-on LA Roadster show yet because it's not painted...) It runs an electronic fuel injected Hemi and monster-cool salt-flat style wheels I didn't get to hear it running... but had a sweet dream about it! The next time you see it, it'll most...

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, Street Rods and Customs Pack Pomona (click on any picture to see it full size) In all the years I've been going to the LA Roadster Show, I've always attended the SoCal Speed Shop's open house car show on the Friday night before the Roadster Show. By about 4PM on Friday, everyone's already setup their swap spaces and scoped out the early deals, so besides grabbing a bite, there's not much else to do except see some great local custom hot rods and see what Jimmy Shine and the other builders are up to at the shop. Outside the shop, the streets are lined with hot rods and customs like this 49 Buick Sedanette. Out of all the cars I saw this weekend, this Buick was one of my favorites. It was for sale too. Got an extra $45k? Much like the high style and high dollar cars found at the LA Roadster Show, SoCal brings in some of the finest hot rod examples to be found in all of California... and farther. They normally have at least one Billy Gibbons project going on, and he's, "Bad,...

Hot Rod Roadsters - Only the Pretty Ones at 2011 LA Roadster Show (click on any picture to see it full size) I mentioned in the 2011 LA Roadster Show kick-off story there's three parts of the show: the "Proper" roadster show, the "other" cars (also the part I like best!) and the swap meet. I'd say there's four parts if you include the Pomona SoCal Speed Shop open house. We'll cover all of those for you at MyRideisMe.com! Stay tuned and check back often! As you can see, there was no shortage of custom hot rods at the show. The key difference for the LA Roadster Show is of course, they all must be roadsters. The strict definition is "no roll up windows" but who cares! If the top comes off, it's a roadster to me. By the afternoon, the sky had finally cleared from its dreary (and miserable to photograph!) gray color and was showing a beautiful blue sky. Isn't this what we always think of for California? The few Model T's and late 30's and 40's roadsters were easy to spot and served to break up...

Custom Hot Rods Rock the LA Roadsters Back again! For the 5th year, this is one of the best hot rod and custom car shows you'll see, in California, or maybe anywhere. It's easy to see why this show's a success: The Roadster Show "proper" - finished, shiny painted no-roof cars only The "Other" cars... every other custom car in So-cal, pre '75, want'n a primo parking spot A freakin HUGE swap meet!! (if this doesn't get yer motor turn'n... move on now) Make your way to Pomona, make sure to Learn the NEW LA Roadster Show layout and enjoy what we found... 2011 LA Roadsters Show Here's how the day starts for most people attending the LA Roadster Show. It's a massive line. We arrived at about 3:30AM on Friday morning (no we're not psycho, that's just when we arrived from AZ!) and were in the 5th line. Each line was about 1/2 mile long with trucks, trailers and RV's filled with swap'n goodies. It's not long before you realize... you might see just about anything... Look closely, that's a right hand driver Chevy Ute. When's the last...

What is a Highboy Hot Rod or Highboy Roadster? As I journey along in the car world, little by little I'm learning. From mechanical issues to car culture history to just plain cars. Recently, while at the LA Roadster Show, I was able to learn a little about all three! It all started with the question "What makes a roadster a roadster?" To help me answer that question I enrolled Lynn Houchin, longtime LA Roadster Club Member, to be my guide. He answered all of my questions (and was able to point out examples!) about important distinctions surrounding roadsters including the big questions: What is a Model A? What is a Model T? What is a Highboy? What is a coupe, phaeton, tudor, and more! Read on to get schooled! First things first – What defines a roadster? Sure, I know its got something to do with having a removable top... but that same definition would also define a convertible so there must be more to it than that. So here it is, two simple things. A roadster must have removable windshield posts, one that is not one with...

Today marked the start of the 46th Annual LA Roadster Show held at the fairgrounds in Pomona, California. As the name implies, this is a show focused on roadsters. Roadsters aren’t the only thing to see though. In fact last year, I was so busy checking out the informal car show that happens in the “preferred parking” area that I didn’t even make it over to look at any roadsters! This year I decided to remedy that and take a good look at all those purdy roadsters. As I walked through row after row of pristine roadster my head started to spin! Rather than continuing on with glazed-over eyes I decided to try and learn a little, recognize roadster differences, and figure out which I like the best. What’s there to learn about a roadster? Tons! First, how about a definition of what makes a roadster a roadster? Most know one when they see one, but could they define it? Then you’ve got Highboys, Model A’s, T-Buckets… what are the differences? I know I’m not the only one who’s unsure about these distinctions. I learned a ton today (thanks...

For 46 years now, the LA Roadster Show brings the best topless hot rods to the Pomona Fairplex on Father’s Day weekend. 2010 LA Roadsters Show Southern California, no doubt the Father and birthplace of hot rodding, knows how to pack in roadsters for a show. As I’ve mentioned before, this show also packs in every other kind of vintage ride cruising LA’s overcrowded and bumpy highways . Walking what I’ve call the “proper” LA Roadster Show grounds, I shot these pictures. More shots of what’s outside the show are coming. Utilizing the golden morning sun that finally peaked out of the morning haze, I shot this roadster. Maybe it was parked in the swap area, but it woulda easily fit inside. While not offering a lot of shade, these palms offer a sweet California backdrop for this dark blue deuce roadster. I’m shooting what I think are the best detailed engines at the show. That’s why I noticed this black roadster with traditional style flames and wires. From there, I started thinking of my kids and how I’d haul them around in these roadsters… hey, it’s almost Father’s...