mine's bigger

there's just gotta be something about a guy with a big engine. don't think i've ever seen one so errr...tall. i can't believe he drove this to the show...how could he see where he's turning? kinda freudian. probably plays guitar too. i joke when i say that black drive belt is for the squirrel to run on, but that's the way my mind wanders, probably needs at least two of 'em. anyway, i ramble...

i had a busy weekend; one day in riverside, next day in ventura. found this 1934 ford hot rod thing at the corona elks lodge annual show (i can't recall the exact name). not overly huge, but one of the 'elks' did stop by to tell me that their first show only had about 8 cars. this one had filled their lot...about 20–30 maybe, i didn't really count. had never been there before. i'm not sure what people thought of me, no one really bothered to ask. not even the usual question: you with a magazine? that's fine, i get more pictures in a shorter time that way, and that's better on a hot day, like this one.

they had an interesting barbeque made out of or made to look like the front end of a 56/57 chevy. i didn't partake, as i'd already eaten. only stayed for about fifteen minutes, then a short stop in whittier.

and i've just realized that i've now posted over 100 cars here. yippee.

hello, mr. ranger, sir!

there is promise in this '58 edsel. if you can overlook its crusty exterior. all the necessary stuff is there, just a little more "broken in" than most of the cars at the shows.

and sitting next to a fully restored edsel, of which you only see a peek of the tail on the left, probably made it seem a little dull. actually, i didn't even bother taking a picture of the shiny one (i think i already shot it previously anyway).

the owners of the edsels were both sitting behind the cars. the ranger's young daughter was bouncing around inside the car, but from this point of view she can't be seen.

blue mambo

this shoebox was at a show at lakewood and woodruff. was a real eye catcher, and the owner knew it.

really interesting flame paint job over what seems to be brushed metal, and the pinstriping was pretty cool. check out the back here. not the best shot, but you can make out the girl, i think.

i wasn't too happy with my shots, and i haven't seen it again anywhere else. here's to hoping.

suits me to a t

always wonder what these hot rods once looked like. at what point does someone think, "i'm going to remove this, insert that, repaint it...," when they have a perfectly good car. some of these come out great in the end, some have earned the ratrod title.

this 1928 ford model t (maybe the owner is just monogramming his initial on the radiator) was pretty well done. has the required big engine thing (wall-E), and i love the added extra big fat tires on the back.

i should have done a panorama here - wish i hadn't clipped off the front of the chevy. live and learn.

falcon sans snowman

yesterday, i happened to be in anaheim on business. not far from the show at angelo's burger joint. i'd stopped there several months ago, where there happened to be only two guys standing in the lot with their cars at the time. that had been disappointing.

happily, there were definitely more cars, though i didn't stay long. i was still dressed in my work clothes, and it's difficult, but not impossible to do my ground crawl in a skirt and dress shoes. i did a few anyway; hope i didn't flash anyone.

so the owner of this falcon closed the trunk and moved his chair so i could shoot his car. thank you ever so much. then, since it was early and not too many cars had shown up, he told me about the history of his car, the model in great detail, the development from the falcon to the mustang...the guy has an encylopaedic knowledge of the old cars, makes, models, engines, bits and pieces, nuts and bolts. really amazing to listen to, and listen i did for at least ten minutes, if not longer. it was interesting, though a lot of the detail went over my head.

his baby here, he said had three previous owners, all female. last one just had too many cars, and sold this one to him, pretty much in the condition you see it. he did mention that it had been repainted with a special acrylic enamel paint that you can't get anymore, the interior had been redone, the engine had been reworked or rebuilt. that it had a super secret feature on the gear shift that most owners didn't know about, that i can't begin to tell you what it does, because i've forgotten the details already. maybe it has a steering wheel like speed racer's, with buttons that do different things...maybe it makes that cha cha cha sound effect when it jumps... i've gone off on a tangent

he said he lived the american graffiti life as a kid, and often hung out at harvey's, now known as the bob's broiler in downey.

he also carried pictures in his wallet of his friend's cars, and his other car – i know it was red, and it was worth about $60,000, but i'm having a brain fart, and can't remember what it was. i know it has wheels, and was very cherry. it's almost 11 p.m. as i type this; i've had a long week, been to two car shows this evening, and my eyes are tired, so i apologize for not remembering some of the stuff.

he mentioned another car show up the road a few miles, so i decided to drive by. turned out to be the cypress show. i drove around the perimeter, but didn't stop, as i was tired and not dressed to do a decent job on the cars that i saw. maybe another time, now that i know how to get there.

gotta get some sleep; i may have to drive out to san luis obispo tomorrow :)

got some ’splainin to do lucy

i took this picture a while back at the show in dove canyon. the lady running the show told me they named the car "lucy." i didn't ask the owner at the time why or who it was named after, and now i suppose i won't find out...apparently they've canceled all the rest of the shows for the summer, perhaps it's permanent, i don't know. too bad really. small show, nice cars, convenient location. guess they'll go on to other shows nearby. heard san clemente has started a show, and that's probably what killed this one. maybe i'll check it out.

as i've said before, i've been sooooo busy lately. lots of work. my kid's baseball games. stayed too late at the broiler in downey tonight – up past my bedtime again. makes it more difficult to find time to work on a picture to post.

i took a lot of pictures tonight, with several requests for possibly buying prints. you'll have to be patient, they take time, and i'm probably driving up to san luis obispo this weekend for baseball games, so even less time again.

roar of thunder

the sun was fading and the neon came on by the time i decided to shoot this bird. i had seen it earlier and hoped it would stay put until just this moment. perfect parking space, wedged into the corner handicapped space, without any other cars crammed in close by.

i'd never seen this particular model, nor a bird in not quite perfect condition. owners of these seem to be pretty anal about keeping them clean and just so. why is that?

_____

on another note, i've been running into some people that have seen me shoot their cars previously and wondering how come they can't find them here. some seem to even expect free pictures, or seem shocked by what i consider a pretty fair price for a print. makes me wonder what other photographers are doing to lower people's expectations so. please see a past post on why you won't find thousands of pictures just dumped here, or even on my flickr site.

i do try to work on cars that people particularly ask about, if i think the shot was any good, but i do have a full-time job doing real work, that really has been a time suck lately...staying extra hours trying to put a dent in the work load. then also trying to shoot as many shows as i can before it gets too hot outside, i've been slightly remiss in my daily postings.

and if you really do want a print, shoot me an email, we'll make a deal of some sort. i think i'll start asking for some type of deposit before going all out on images...i've got a couple people that were totally all about it, but then flaked on me. thanks guys. btw, i don't mean you, dave. 

it's only

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.

wonka's ride

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.

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?