the essence

It's that time of year again... The time to think about the things that really matter. The things that matter in life, of course, but as a carnut, I can't help thinking about the things that matter in carlife, too. Things like simplicity, purity, the essence of mechanics. There are few cars that capture this as good as a traditional fenderless 1932 ford roadster. Photo taken in early december 2009 at Custom Parts & Wear in Mellingen, Switzerland.

happy holidays

The LOWTECH staff wishes you all a merry x-mas and a happy new year. May all of your wishes come true...

winfield's sled

Just found this cool period picture on my computer... A mild chevy hardtop coupe, a beautiful custom merc and a hot rodded truck waiting alongside a country road. No idea about the whereabouts of those rides until I realized that the filename included the words winfieldmerc... Well, no more questions. And after a little research I ended up on Rik Hoving's Custom Car Photo Archive where I was confirmed that the Merc used to be one of Winfield's personal rides.

belly tank lakester

By pure coincidence, I dug up this old ebay auction from last month. It's one of the most beautiful belly tank lakesters and a great piece of history with impressive craftmanship. Fortunately, there are still lots of amazing shots from literally every angle and even a video. According to bringatrailer.com the price went up to at least $75k.

more mooneyes x-mas 2009

Don't know why I overlooked it, but here's some more excellent mooneyes x-mas show coverage by Speedhunters.com.
*Update: Tons of pics by ScooterMcRad found on the HAMB.
*Update II: Another batch of brilliant pics was published on Speedhunters.com.

hot rod henry's

++ X-mas special at Hot Rod Henry's ++ Lowering blocks $2.99, moon hub caps $11.95! Don't waste your money and time looking elsewhere – Hot Rod Henry's got it all! Authorized Fenton dealer. ++ End of Commercial Break ++

mooneyes x-mas 2009

I miss So-Cal... even if it looks like it's actually been raining at Mooneyes X-mas. But what the hell, head over to Speedhunters.com and soak up the atmosphere.

girls and cars

For decades, that's a combination known to work well. And how cool is it, if the girls are actually driving the car? Notice the old Barris building in the background of this awesome picture I found on the web. Have a nice week!

indian summer

Yesterday, Nicolas Wolleb aka Nico59 took a couple of pics of my '49 coupe. He's so talented and there are a lot of more shots on his harddrive waiting to be published.

open house & x-mas party

Some of the best cakes around, lots of nice people, great artists and a cool location? That's the annual open house & x-mas party at Custom Parts & Wear in Mellingen. See you there. By the way, the Go Getters are gonna be on stage.

dragmasters bbq

While checking out Roger Starkey's pics of the Dragmasters BBQ from a couple of years ago, I stumbled across this cool unrestored roadster. The BBQ was hosted by Dode Martin, drag race legend and co-founder of the Dragmaster company. But what also intrigued me was that maroon 1949 chevy coupe in the background...

a picture with attitude

What a cool shot. And she's got so much more attitude than many of those cloned wannabe pin-ups. Photography by Etienne Musslin.

a picture with a story

The pic above always used to be one of my favourite car culture related shots. I found it as a postcard in a gift shop I don't remember where and attached it to my refrigerator door, where it still is. My whole relation to this photograph changed in january when I visited fellow ACES member Bob Hill, son of the ACES founder Bob Hill Sr. who had started the car club in 1952. During my visit, we went to check out his garage where I spotted the very same photograph I got in my kitchen but in bigger size. I told Bob that I know that picture. But Bob told me, he knows the guys on that picture. Especially the third from the right: his dad.

bad-ass coupe

I've got a soft spot for model As on deuce rails, no matter if roadster or coupe. They look more "athletic" than a 1932, due to their slim body sitting on the heavier '32 rails while not being as austere as a regular model A. I shot this one sitting in a garage not far from my place. Killer stance, bad-ass chop, cool car.

1949 in 2009

Something for the weekend... a beautiful picture Nico alias Cyclone Photographie took of my 1949 Chevy.

dutch dynamite: '41 plymouth

Maybe you remember my post about this bare metal 1941 Plymouth Coupe. While surfing the HAMB tonight, I stumbled upon some recent update pics and while I was at it, found some photos of the build-up in Rik Hoving's Custom Car Photo Archive. Credit for the cool bare metal shot above goes to El Cheapo. The stunning metalwork on the car is being handled by the dutch Charles Poelmans.

new pics: don garlits museum

Last night, I was busy selecting and uploading lots of photos from my Florida road trip. Click here to check out some pics I took at Don Garlits museum of drag racing.

aaa rated a

While cleaning up my desktop, I stumbled across this 28/29 roadster on deuce rails. I don't remember where I found the picture, but it's gotta be one of my all-time favorite model As. Great stance, beautiful paint, cool attitude.

autoculture

To preserve and promote the machines, personalities and lifestyles of the American custom car culture. That's the mission statement of the autoculture foundation. Check out their blog, there's some cool stuff to discover. And it's a great read.

billetproof drags florida

Finally, I'm back in town, providing you with some event coverage from the recent Billetproof Drags Florida. I really enjoyed the laid-back event held at Lakeland Motorsports Park and it was nice meeting some local people like the Rumblers Orlando or some of the guys behind Billetproof. As usual, pics are here. Or try the slideshow.

powerglide mag #11

Check out the latest issue of the brilliant Powerglide magazine. It's in french only but there's some of my photography from the swiss Oldstyle Meeting in it. Proud as hell.

out of blog reply

Hey fellows, LOWTECH ain't down, I'm just enjoying some kind of delayed summer vacation in Florida. In order to keep you motivated for checking back from time to time, I post a couple of teaser pics from my visit at Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing in Ocala. Stay tuned.

billetproof drags

swiss perfection on wheels

There are shoeboxes in all sizes and shapes. But there's one car that really stands out from the crowd, just because of being so subtle and understated. It's the 1950 Ford Shoebox built by Alexandre Negaty of Al's Tikis with good taste in mind and swiss perfection in execution. Follow the build up while learning a little bit of french, or check out his own photo gallery. (Bielle Chaude)