while i liked this hot rod for it's plain hot rodness, it was the hood ornament that actually interested me at the time. i don't think she's the original ornament, or even from this model / make of car, but you can never tell what you'll find on these conglomerates of old cars.
something like this is pretty much what pops into my head when someone says they drive a hot rod: old radiator, exposed engine, flames on black paint...only diff here is that it has a mini truck bed in the caboose.
well, here's one-third of the weekend's signal hill show. clean? check. shiny? check. engine showing? check. at least there wasn't a hood to get in the way. such a rich purple, i can image willie would be right at home driving it around the factory.
it soon became one-half of the show, as a sweet 55 chevy wagon (i'll put it up soon) left just after i did – his chances of winning the raffle just went up.
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?
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...
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...
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.
i see this car at a few shows almost every week. finally got a shot that i like. would have been better if the hoods were down on the other cars, but oh well. not gonna ask them to close them because they're ruining the picture of this other car, especially since i didn't take pictures of those two. hoods up, cameras down.
guessing by the radiator that it's a 1929 ford model a roadster. i like the reflection in the window. just now noticed it while writing this post. yes, there were hooters girls milling about, serving drinks and food to the participants, and posing for pictures.
check out my husband's version from the broiler in downey here.
this 1957 ford thunderbird was spectacular. spotless. wow. this was on an overcast mother's day in trabuco canyon at the classic chrome car show at friends bar & grill.
i heard the owner telling a small crowd of admirers that he'd won seven best-of-shows and that he doesn't bother to enter anymore. well good for him. doesn't need the ego strokes any more...he knows it's da bomb already. lol.
anyway, he's got my card, so maybe he'll see it here for one more hurrah.
this was a sweet 1964 ford galaxie 500 at flabob airport's fly and drive show way out in riverside last saturday. owner was very proud of his baby, kept polishing it and brushing the dust off. it was kind of a windy day, but the light was just perfect for pictures.
he explained about the manufacturer's plate on the front...says they're hard to come by with numbers that low. had found it at a swap meet or somewhere, and that he just puts it on for the show. you gotta do what you gotta do—first i've heard of that. guess it adds to the authenticity or old-timey feel? maybe adds to the overall collectability of an old car.
i remember i asked him if he thought he'd win anything, as they were announcing last calls for votes. he didn't think so. maybe he figured there were other, better, more popular cars. as i mentioned before, i hung around for the awards, and doggone, if he didn't win a trophy after all. good on ya.
i had to go to riverside today. as long as i'm out there, i might as well hit up a car show, right? only one i could fit into my schedule was a small one, the fly and drive car show, held once a month at flabob airport. tiny little airport = tiny little show? there were maybe 30 cars there, half muscle cars, half older cars. good enough for me. had maybe 10 to 15 trophies to hand out too, as well as raffle prizes.
i don't think they get too many photographers with tripods, but at least they didn't ask if i worked for a magazine. seemed like an older crowd, just more curious about me. those that did talk to me were very nice.
most of them had their hoods open, and if you've been reading my blog for long, you know how i feel about that. if the owner was there, they mostly jumped right up and offered to close it for me. thanks so much!
anyway, enough blathering. this was a gorgeous ’62 thunderbird. i believe this was the second time they had attended the show. lovely paint job. had a thunderbird ghosted on the hood, though i didn't quite pick it up in this shot. might as well have painted a target on it, as it seems the birds kept aiming at it and the owner had to wipe it off several times, which he joked about quite a bit.
anyway, i hung out for about an hour or so. long enough to see who got the trophies, and this was one of them.