bare metal beauty

Mercury Sedan, seen at the Weil am Rhein show in 2009.

it is not what it looks like

Hand me the salt, please.

hot wheels

You might have asked yourself, what's happened to that other coupe: the three window model a coupe build. Well, here it is! Our man Raphael has finally decided on the type of wheels he's gonna use. And we all know how important this is, so this was no easy task. We think it looks awesome as it perfectly captures the european 1930s race car vibe he was after. The rear end still needs to be narrowed a little but the quick mock-up above gives a good idea of the final stance.

magical mystery coupe: update

Here are some more pics of the Koch Coupe. It's being built by Thomas Koch, swiss custom car builder, restorer and metal wizzard with the help of his equally talented brother Fabian. In case you're familiar with the aircooled Volkswagen scene, these names might sound familiar to you as you probably noticed their "Hammered" bug in the Volksworld magazine. Now the brothers are at it again! And their workmanship is stunning as usual. Check out the first steps.


They started with a decent stocker that was looking quite good, but it turned out that the lower two or three inches of the body were rusted. Not happy with the fit and quality of some repop panels they had bought, Thomas fabricated his own panels. Now they fit perfectly.


The Koch bros. started with a roof chop of 3.5 inches. Not entirely happy with the result, they cut out another half an inch.


Now it looks like it should.


The so important cuts in various finishing stages.


4 inches are missing.


All of the new sheet metal, e.g. the rear corners or the wheel wells, was made from scratch.

magical mystery coupe

Some time ago, I heard about a mysterious model a coupe build in my neighborhood. This weekend I finally managed to check it out. I took my camera, grabbed some cheap lights and snapped a few pics. The shop wasn't that big and it was hard to get a good angle but damn I can assure you, the proportions are right on and the workmanship is more than impressive. I can't wait to see the progress on this! Stay tuned for more detail pics from this swiss hot rod build.

garrison mercury for sale

Do you feel like owning a traditional and historic kustom? Well, who doesn't. But if you got the funds to fullfil your desire, here's your chance. See more pics on flickr and read more about it on Kustomrama. (BaT)

fleetline fever?

A friend of mine is selling his fleetline. It's a nice and solid stocker with some period accessories. Enjoy it as it is or take it one or another step further. A little bit of inspiration below. (pics borrowed from all over the www)

out now: fuel #06

Just came home from a dull day at work. But I quickly felt way better when I found the latest issue of FUEL Magazine waiting in my mailbox. And I was blown away when I checked it out in detail. Once more, editor and photographer Luke Ray and his contributors did an amazing job. The level of quality is mindblowing throughout the whole mag: whether it's the photography, the layout, the cars. Or the lovely lady! Order your copy here.

drive carefully

Wherever your heart will lead you these days, be sure to drive carefully. Happy weekend!

riv it up

Damn, I almost forgot how much I love these things. But thanks to having some time to kill, I did the occasional tumbling through ebaymotors and was interrupted in my meditation by a red light. The red light turned out to be this 1965 riviera. It's one of the best designed cars of all times and there's not much work to do to improve the factory looks other than lowering and maybe simplifying it a little by a decent shave. The fresh hue of red with the metalflake top doesn't hurt either.

up for grabs

Fancy driving a traditional barris-style custom? Search no longer, especially if you're in the scandinavian area. Ken Norrena from Norway is selling his beautiful 1946 Ford.

nighthawks

Fellas, here's a little gift for us traditional custom aficionados. I won't bother you with any philosophical babble as there ain't no words doing these cars justice. So, sit back and enjoy. Thank you Paul Hoffmann for the vid! Click here for some pics.

drop the vintage hammer

All these cars have got something in common. Besides of being some of my own personal favorites of the last couple of years, they were all built by Fabian Valdez' Vintage Hammer Garage. From top to bottom: the 1950 Chevy Coupe just won Best Of Show at the GNRS suede palace. The chopped 1958 truck is owned by Rene Lugo. And we all know the beautiful Studebaker-powered roadster of Tom Branch. So, if there was something like a LOWTECH "shop of the year" award, this would be one of the nominees. (pics © Rusk, Michael Harrington, Tom Davison, unknown)