chariot of fire

these flames are so hot, they're blue. and silver. and green? well, it was a quality paint job anyway. interesting color combo with the green pinstripes. really, the owner was very nice, and even closed the back window for me to take pics of the back end. maybe i'll post it another time.

i went to this show at trabuco canyon and the show at signal hill this weekend, and each had about three cars during the time i was there. waited a bit, but nothing more was showing up. the guy running the signal hill show said there were 7-8 other shows going on at the same time, so his regulars were elsewhere. says he sometimes gets more than 35 cars. we both figured it was the ink & iron show at the queen mary sucking up the people for the day. oh well. glad i hadn't driven out of my way for it.

also stopped at the show off alondra for a little bit. not as many as i've seen there usually either. doesn't really bother me – not so many people to get in the way of my shots.

i was supposed to stop by the mopar show in tustin to shoot a truck for someone, but the heat must have gotten to me earlier, and i just started to feel out of it, and missed that one, as well as my niece's bday party...bad aunt that i am...slept for a couple of hours in the afternoon...still not quite right, but my husband says that about me a lot anyway.

gettin' low gettin' low gettin' low

quick post, and i'm off to my son's baseball game near LAX.

went to the broiler the other day. actually got there early for a change. where the heck was everyone? i think i heard a lot of people were probably over at the show off alondra. oh well, took some pictures, said hello to the regulars, talked to another graphic designer who's been following my blog...actually had time to sit and wait to see if anything interesting or new drove up.

saw this old chevy fleetline not long before i called it a night. owner was nice enough to come over and chat a bit. that's him on the right showing something to the japanese tourist. told me about another show down toward san diego at chicano park - only happens once a year, so maybe next year.

oh and that tourist and his two buddies...everytime i turned around, there they were, taking pictures of the same car i was doing. got in the way a couple of times, actually. had to go find another car sometimes and come back to one i really wanted just to get them out of the frame.

in the beginning...

so, a custom hot rod has to start somewhere, somehow. we all have our ugly, awkward stages, kind of like going through puberty, and so do cars. some of them never outgrow it, but i have a feeling that given time, this one will improve with age.

not very far along in the process, though it has all the necessary parts to make it go. wondering what the owner's plans are: will they stop at the primer-look alike stage or do they envision a shiny, polished, yet flamey future for this roadster?

rat fink needed

i swear i had a toy car that looked similar to this when i was a kid. it was purple and came with a little plastic rat fink, and who usually "drove" the car in my kid play. he was the shit.

this hot rod '23 ford model t (guessing) is the shit too. check out the detail on the engine here and here. this guy either loves this car or really needs to get some. maybe that's the point?

been working too many hours, and hoping to make it to the broiler tomorrow...

obwandiyag by any other name...

here's an interesting picture to contemplate while i work on a car to post.

according to wikipedia and just about any other research material you might look at, obwandiyag was also known as pontiac, an ottawa indian chief known for a rebellion named after him. how this associated with a car company, i have no idea, but hey take the idea and run with it.

this hood ornament from a 1951 pontiac eight caught my eye, the way the sun was illuminating it. the strong, yet simple lines of the design, blend right into the hood of the car. the fissured interior of the face tells of an age gone by. i've heard these things light up at night, but have never actually seen it.

oh the car was in good shape. nothing fancy. not hopped up and spit shined. looks well used and cared for, as it should be. 

king of the world

i'm sure the owner of this 1959 dodge custom royal didn't know what to think of me. the usual suspect: "do you work for a magazine?" in his eyes, yet he didn't ask. he did run over to the car and ask if i'd noticed the seats. they just looked like seats, did not appear to have been specially reupholstered or anything. he opened the passenger side door and ta-da: the seat swivels. i guess that could come in handy. he explained that for several years it was standard on these cars. if they still made them that way, perhaps a couple of sets of sheepskin seat covers would have lasted a lot longer for my passengers.

well, thanks for pointing that tidbit out, i wouldn't have known otherwise. really.

anyway, the distinctive front end and prerequisite back fins caught my eye. really an interesting car to let your eyes wander over. maybe i'll post the back end sometime – the fins are quite different form others i've seen, and you know how i feel about the fins... :)

rolling amethyst

i finally got the front of this car.

first saw it at pal joey's show at the santa elks club in march. i shot the back end while my husband did the other side – kind of like a car sandwich. he still wasn't satisfied with his shots, so i continued on to other cars. by the time i came back around for my shot, the owner was in the car and driving away.

and that always has been the case ever since, until last weekend at original mike's. i got there early. the owner was polishing and polishing this 1940 ford coupe. he was still polishing it when i took this shot, but you can't see him from this angle. he stopped long enough to take my card that had the back end shot on it and pocket it.

anyway, its a nice, shiny car. keep polishing...

three's a crowd?

not bad. not bad at all. found these cars at fatburger's in orange yesterday. small show, i suppose because there are no raffles, trophies or other razzle dazzle. just locals enjoying each other's camaraderie and showing off their rides. at least its honest pride and ego strokes.

the owner of the '31(?) or '32 (?) ford hot rod stopped me twice, to particularly make sure that i checked out the backside—not his, the car—where i found this. the car was painted in fine glitter paint and was clean as can be. showed the guy my book and gave him my card, since he asked about my photography. so, i will assume he'll see his baby here...what do you think?

the 1941 chevrolet happened to be the same one i saw at garden grove main street show in april. the owner was sitting in the back seat of the car with the doors open. i had a small picture of the main street photo and asked if it was his car. at first he didn't think so, but i pointed out that someone must be driving around in a similar car, similar paint job, and same license plate. anyway, he said the car has been used for weddings, parties, and hollywood events. easy money, you've earned it with this baby. very nice.

never got a shot of the truck on its own, other than this bit here. thou art very plain, but i like your fuzzy dice.

older and wiser

so, yep, i've been really busy at work. hectic. i've been lucky if i can catch an hour toward the end of a car show lately. and, as its been colder, not as many cars show up anyway, so by the time i can get there, most are already gone that were there.

anyway, i made a point to get to the ruby's in whittier last friday, a bit of enderle on sunday, followed by original mike's. figured that more than a few from enderle would go over to mike's, since its not very far. and they did.

this old 1936 chevrolet sedan has seen better days. you've already seen it's hood ornament a few days ago. got a nice aged patina going, i think. the dusty windows make me imagine they drove in from an old barn or garage somewhere norman rockwellian. owner was probably in the restaurant or partaking of the beverages on the patio, so i didn't get the background on it. always welcome to comment or shoot me an email to add the story here, ya know...

crazy for his mercury

i see this guy and his car a lot. usually drives up and immediately pops the hood. well, if you look in, the engine is really clean and chromey, dual headers or whatever those things are called. even has some matching pinstripes going on, but that isn't what i want a picture of, though i did take a few.

maybe he noticed that i walk by most cars with the hoods open, or maybe someone told him (there were a couple of other guys chatting him up), but he offered to close it this time. great. he stayed in his chair, so that's him on the right. everyone say hi to him when you see him.

he did leave the hood down the rest of the time i was there. came back to his car later, while he was gone, took a few more shots, with palm trees in the background; better shot, but the sun was really heading down, and i showed up too much as a long shadow across the pavement, which kind of messed it up.