custom parts & wear: x-mas-party

When it comes to hot rod and kustom stuff in Switzerland, Stöffel and Manu's shop Custom Parts & Wear is where it's at. Every year before christmas, they hold an open house party with some of the finest cakes around, cool cars and bands playing in the evening. Go to my flickr photo album to check out some more pics of this very nice event. Thank you all, merry x-mas and a happy new year!

drive it like you stole it

Real rods are driven! This might be the reason why this guy likes to keep it real and drives the shit out of his '39 Ford Coupe. Well whatever, it just looks like he's having a hell of a lot of fun. These great shots were taken in September 2007 by Roland Schenker during the Oldstyle Weekend Switzerland. Check out some more pics of this cool event.

fords with attitude

On the last day of my infamous scandinavia trip, I visited a one day vintage car event in Malmö. Most of the cars were VWs or other euro classics, but there was also this wild flamed ford panel truck. It was great to watch (and hear) it driving to the site and I absolutely loved its rough attitude and the flamejob. And what about that '36 5w coupe? Doesn't it just beg for a serious lowering, a set of fenderskirts and maybe a chopped top? Or to stay on the mild side: How about some period speed equipment and removing unnecessary stuff like the hubcaps and bumpers for that hopped up stocker look?

close to perfection

In an earlier post, I already wrote down some thoughts about building the perfect deuce. It ain't easy to describe how to get there or how exactly the car has to look like. But sometimes pics say a 1000 words. In my eyes, this black roadster is damn close to perfection. It's currently up for sale by Atomic Hot Rods. I just hope Santa reads this...

mooneyes x-mas party 2007

It's that time of year again: rain, snow, darkness. At least over here in good ol' Europe. But let's have a look at the other side of the pond. Let's just take a flight to the west and we're gonna touch down under the californian december sun. Need a soundtrack for this? Just listen to Social Distortion's Highway 101: "we're gonna leave this world behind, we’re Southern California bound..." Need more pics? Go to Wackydave's SoCal Car Culture.

model a roadster

My scandinavia trip turns out to be an endless source for old car related stuff... Well that was one of the reasons why we did that. Save the best for last, and here it is: a model A roadster on deuce rails. The project started with the bodyshell of a 1950s built hot rod that the current owner bought at Pomona several years ago (frame and engine were long gone, unfortunately). The '32 frame was found somewhere in scandinavia. Once finished, this is going to be one period perfect roadster.

open days and x-mas party

Be there or be square!

now and then

Some things need no further explanation. Maybe I could tell you that this car was built by a very talented guy from Norway in his garage. And maybe I could tell you that it took him a little more than one year to build it. But let the pictures speak for themselves. Found on the HAMB, as usual. IMHO, on of the most beautiful '36 ford kustoms of all times.

the return of hot rod deluxe

If HOT ROD is the magazine where it all began, then Hot Rod Deluxe is the mag where it all began for me. Back in 2000, I stumbled across the second (and last) edition of Hot Rod Deluxe at a small local newsstand. When I saw the cover, I hardly couldn't believe it. And when I flipped through the pages, I thought that this is too good to be true. Of course I bought it immediately and soon I realized that there's a whole new (or let's say old?) world beyond billet wheels and dakota digital dashboards.



Now it's back and the first issue just hit the american newsstands. Here you can find out more about HRD. And if you want to read some feedback on the first issue, there's a thread on the HAMB about it. As usual, it will take some time until it's gonna be available around here.

kustomrama: wikipedia for rods & kustoms

There's an interesting new website online: Kustomrama is the wikipedia for the traditionally minded hot rodder and kustom addict. Actually, Kustomrama ain't that new as it used to be a traditional rod & kustom oriented online magazine and marketplace. But the concept is new: As the term wikipedia indicates, the website is based on user generated content. So, feel free to contribute with your own stories and pictures! Don't wait to check it out as there's some great stuff online already.

as seen on autoscout24

Found this ad today on autoscout24. A nice surprise finding a well-known rod among all of those usual classic cars. What surprises me even more is how fast this car changes hand again. I knew since some weeks that this car resides in Switzerland, after it was sold just a few months ago on eBay Germany. Maybe the current owner gave up after driving it for the first time to the mfk (tüv, mot or whatever you call it in your country)? Anyway, I hope to see it on swiss roads again.

traditional hot rods vs. cal look vw

To most people, the 1932 Ford Roadster is the quintessential hot rod. As I am both into cal look VWs and traditional rods and kustoms as well, I often observe similarities between those two "worlds". I think that a traditional Cal Look bug has several aspects in common with a '32 Ford. For example, when it comes to building one of them in traditional style, you really have to find your own path between tradition and your own ideas and personal taste. There are many attempts (some successful, many not) to build that perfect car. There are lots of cal look bugs that really capture "the look". May it be the combination of stance, details, selection of parts and performance or whatever. Same for the '32 Deuce. Lots of them were built during the last six or seven decades. And it keeps getting harder to build a car that really stands out from the crowd (or from the cars already built) but still captures the traditional spirit. This is why I like those cars so much, both of them. You have to get deeply involved, learn from the past, use your own imagination and you'll build something unique that respects the tradition. It's all about attention to details and a constant strive for perfection. Well, just some thoughts on a snowy friday. :-)

surfinchrome: 1929 ford model a build-up

There's a new rod in town. Basel resident Deniz just acquired this cool 1929 Ford model A roadster project and promised to document the build-up on his new blog surfinchrome. The car was imported from the states and was built on a pair of '32 frame rails. Brakes are finned Buick drums on Lincoln backing plates, the rear end is going to be a Ford 9". Good luck and happy building!

crazy cruisers' winter sale

Do you need a serious christmas present or do you just want to cruise in style next summer? The Crazy Cruisers are selling some of their rides. Among them there are two awesome kustoms, built by Momo with swiss quality and traditional kustom ideas in mind: Silvie's 1951 Chevy Fleetline and his own bagged '65 Impala Coupe are currently up for sale.

'55 chevy gasser

Here are some more pics from my recent trip to Scandinavia. Besides visiting old junkyards and driving thousands of kilometres, we spend one weekend at Gardermoen raceway, Oslo's local drag strip. One of my favourite cars was this 1955 chevy two door post gasser. According to its current owner, it was built during the sixties in California and left untouched until today. Apart from the radials... imho a set of period bias plys would really make this car. Cool anyway.

cruising culture reloaded

Ever since I can remember, there's a lack of cruising culture in Switzerland. I don't know why, but maybe it's a result of the general point of view that any drive in a car has to start at A and end at B. Most of the swiss people don't see any sense in driving from A to A. And even enjoying it doing so. Anyway, some friends and I decided to do something about this and did some serious downtown cruising in the city of Basel.

photoshop kustom: '40 ford coupe

Some may say I got too much time on my hands, but once I got started on modifying the stock 1940 Ford Coupe as presented by the HAMB art challenge I just couldn't stop. My version of the vintage '40 Ford is a Westergard inspired car with many of the traditional kustom touches. So, it's lowered, chopped, nosed, decked, shaved. And after that it was driven to the salt flats of Bonneville.