At Viva, I was stoked to see what people have been doing with their rides’ interiors—infinitely customizable, dashes and passenger compartments were probably the only thing more varied than the engine bays. A lot of folks are using everything from beer-tap handles to hand grenades for shift knobs—I guess the whole 8-ball shifter thing has gotten old now that you can buy one at Wal-Mart (not so for the ubiquitous Mexican-blanket interior, which, despite also being in stock at Wal-Mart, is apparently still a ways from being played out). Novelties abounded, including these tailpipe speaker covers, which look cool but probably wreak havoc on your acoustics. There were a few fuzzy-dice holdouts left, but a variety of zombie, tiki, and shrunken-head mirror ornaments seem to be taking their place. Themed interiors showed off some serious creativity—this Falcon seemed to be going for a country-kitchen motif, with an antique glass doorknob on the shifter and gingham-tablecloth door panels. And the Virgin Mary figurine and fake-fur dash and steering column really seemed to match the personality of this pretty, white-primered Chevy. Probably the most unexpected thing I saw inside a hot rod was a Club on a steering wheel—but I guess things have gotten like that. Speaking of theft deterrence, this mean-looking Chev had a pretty straightforward system for keeping sticky fingers out of its engine: the security’s far from unbreachable, but the message is pretty clear. See more interiors after the jump!

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

Hot rod builder and salt-flats legend Gene Winfield has another Bonneville monster up his sleeve, having just completed work on this Brookfield-bodied 1932 Ford roadster. It’s running a race-shop-fresh Ford NASCAR engine donated whole by Robert Yates Racing, and it’ll be pushing over 800 horsepower. All the welding and fabrication was done by hard-partying father-son duo Charlie Webster Sr. and Jr., and the Ford is flaunting one of Winfield’s signature fade paint jobs. Just standing in front of this NASCAR-powered deuce while it’s taching up is more than enough to make you lose a few thousand brain cells—watch the soundwaves nearly shatter my camera lens! Can’t wait to see this wicked Ford blow some doors off on the salt flats at Speed Week in August.

A lot of hardcore rodders like to drive their home-built rides nearly every day of the week, and I’ll bet that if gas prices keep doing what they’re doing, we’re going to see a lot more projects with inline sixes in ‘em. I have to admit that I’m partial to straight-six power since I run an AMC 258 in my Eagle, and I’ve been warmed up to the idea of I6 hot rods since a good friend began a swap of an identical motor into his ’46 Studebaker pickup. The thing is, a lot of these stripped-down rides are so light that six cylinders are all you really need, and with outfits like Clifford Performance (their motto: 6=8), you can get aftermarket support for these motors that’ll make them haul as well as your average small-block. Still and all, these mods can come at a price: as much as Justin, whose ’34 Chevy roaster (pictured) is running a 235 cu. in. straight six from a ’62 Nova, would love to get a 6-carb setup, it would be a major investment, which kind of defeats the purpose of the low-dollar fun that traditional rodding represents. On the other hand, standard parts for these smaller engines are often cheaper than their V8 equivalents, and with only one cylinder head to deal with, many of your expenses are automatically cut in half. All things considered, Justin admits that he’s looking for a V8 for his ride, and for now, it’s probably true that the most direct route to cheap power is still the junkyard 350. Nonetheless, I did see a handful of inline sixes at Viva, including Justin’s roadster and the Chevy-powered Fords below the jump. Still vastly outnumbered by V8′s at the show, a straight six in a stripped-down hot rod is an intriguing sight—different, and sorta cool.

Late yesterday I caught up with Yancey, owner of the ’52 Studebaker gasser that traveled to Viva from Indianapolis, IN. He says he’s going to make a transcontinental trip of it, continuing on to the California coast and then heading back East until he hits the Atlantic. He’s made it this far, why not? There’s nothing like driving all the way across the country in your favorite ride, and from the sounds of it, the hopped-up 350 he’s running should be up to the task. Have a listen for yourself!

Jac Lindell’s Model A was definitely one of the more unique rides I saw today at Viva. The tube-steel radiator cage was eye-catching to say the least, and I found that the theme continued into the interior with the beautiful hand-crafted gauge cluster that had the cockpit looking like something out of a Cold War sci fi. I eventually caught up with Jac, who explained that the grillework is much more than ornamental: the bars and tubes help catch the air and slam it through the radiator, preventing it from escaping around the sides of the car. And this hot rod needs all the cooling power it can get: the powerplant is a 331 Hemi from a ’54 Imperial, bored out to 354 and massively supercharged. It makes 700 hp, runs 15 psi, and looks like a million bucks, though this 1930 Ford is almost entirely home-built, inside and out—the only things Jac has farmed out on his project are the upholstery and the machinework on the block. See all the pics after the jump!

There was nothing subtle about the many sparkle tops on display at the Shifters show, and modern paint technology was really showing off this old-school design trend to its best advantage. Some of them, like this big, bad ’58 Buick and this blue-on-blue Impala, had been sprayed just days before driving out to Vegas, and the fresh metal-flake really popped. While some kept it to a clean two-tone, others had additional design worked into the roof, adding pinstriping, patterns, or layers of color like this Country Squire Wagon. A drop-dead gorgeous ’59 El Camino ran its upper metalflake right into its pickup bed, with stunning results. This Caddy provided a fresh twist on the sparkle top, foregoing metalflake and instead machining an amazing flame pattern right into the bare metal of the roof before layering translucent candy and clearcoat over it. See them all plus a few more examples after the jump—and don’t worry, you’ll get to ogle the cars these lids belong to once all the photos are processed for the Events section!

Okay, how could anyone not love a slammed bubble-gum pink Mercury with purple ghost flames? The chain steering wheel and the tough louvered hood keep make it more badass than Barbie. Check it out!

Continue reading "Hubba Bubba!" »

Obviously, the Shifters car show at Viva Las Vegas is the kind of gig where it’s a badge of honor to drive your car in rather than trailer it. We’ve already been talkin gabout the gasser Stude that drove from Indianapolis, but in addition, there’s a lot of rides that’ve come from points West. Many of them have what you call the "natural patina," and it’s clear that the owners have fun with their rides no matter what the weather’s doing, and body deterioration is simply a part of the journey. I talked to one guy who was proud of the salt crystals from Bonneville that he was still picking out of the aluminum fins on his Buick brake drums. More on his ride later—in the meantime, click below the jump for shots of some of the rustiest rides at Viva, beginning with this unrestored ’41 Ford from Idaho, reportedly chopped and channeled by George Barris himself back in 1954! Now, after running a Studebaker motor for many years, it’s got a 300 hp 327 Chevy.

What I can tell you so far is that the gasser Stude from Indiana totally made it, as did the Giant Tiki. I saw a ’61-or’62 Caddy parked out in front of the Gold Coast, and this radical lowboy was crouched in one of the valet lanes, though no one dared to move it. The rest of the cars are all lined up for the show tomorrow, but of course they’re not letting people in yet. So why would I make you a bunch of dark, random over-the-fence parking lot pics when the cars are gonna look even more awesome in tomorrow in the sunshine? Watch for more pics and details come daylight.

I’m so stoked I can hardly stand it: as soon as I’m done this blog, I’m hopping on a plane to Vegas for the legendary Viva Las Vegas rockabilly weekend and Shifters hot rod show at the Gold Coast Hotel! It’s gonna be an epic weekend of hot rods, tattoos, boozing, and bruising. While I have driven to Vegas in my Escort, my journey this time isn’t going to be nearly as hardcore as this guy’s trek in his gasser Studebaker, which’ll be driving to Vegas all the way from Indianapolis! Follow his progress on page 2 and 3 of this thread on the H.A.M.B., and watch for my VLV pics and stories starting tomorrow in the blog. And if you’ll be attending the show yourself, post in the comments so I’ll know to look for you!