spring has sprung

Took the 49 out for a little test drive. With new tires, plugs, and fresh oil. And it seemed like it all worked together just fine.

an afternoon at the tattoo convention

I like old cars. And I like friendly people. Even more so, I like the places where these two things congregate. The Tattoo Convention during the Trashtown Festival in Baden, Switzerland was one of those places. And while I'm not necessarily into the whole rockabilly-kustom-lifestyle-inkniron-kulture-thing I appreciate having a good time. Here are some shots from this past Saturday.

Some fellas and some Fords.

An old Indian.

Mr. Schuppli's AV8 roadster.

Getting tattooed and getting weird looks.

This super rare Mercury Commuter wagon sounded sweet, too.

Clean 54 Bel Air.

Girls tattoing girls. Somehow this sounds like a name for a new hipster band.

Mario's badass 41 Ford.

Remo's Shoebox also known as the Le Corbusier chop.

Marcel did a good job on adjusting the stance of his beautiful 61 wagon.

Switzerland's premier store for your kustom needs.

flashback: the casny shoebox

Much has been said and written about Chris Casny's chopped 1950 Shoebox Ford. It was featured in magazines and there's an extensive build thread on the HAMB. So, you may ask why the hell am I posting these old news? Chris doesn't even own the car anymore! Well, a couple of days ago I unearthed this bunch of photos I had taken in 2011. And since most of them never got published before, I thought they might be worth a look. At least I can't stop staring at the perfect chop and the sinister attitude of this ol' black Ford.

Have you ever seen a 1950 Ford with better flowing lines? I don't think so, Tim.

The third headlight adds some spice to the beautiful factory front design.

Chris didn't just chop and paint the car. He even did the whole interior by himself.

The photos were taken in a quiet back alley close to Sunset Blvd, Hollywood.

Chris cruisin'...

...Sunset Boulevard.

There's nothing like a chopped black leadsled rolling down the Boulevard.

The car now resides in Denmark, Europe so I hope to see it over here this summer. Thanks for watching!

cars, cakes and coffee

Easter holiday usually means having to hang out with family members you haven't seen in a long time (which actually never bothered you). And for eating too much of not very healthy stuff. Luckily we can always rely on Stoeffel from Custom Parts & Wear who set up an impromptu Easter Coffee & Cake gathering and thus created the perfect reason to escape from all the festivities and drive our cars.

new mag on the block

I'm a magazine guy. There's nothing like the look and feel and smell of printed paper. So, the news that there's gonna be a fresh Kustom Car Magazine from Germany got me all excited. And when the editor Michael Schmidbauer asked me if I would like to contribute some custom car stories and photography, I didn't hesitate for a second. And now the really good news: Issue 1 just got published. You can find it at many larger newsstands in Germany. Or you can subscribe/order it by e-mail. The above picture is an outtake from my photoshoot with Dylan Odbert's 1964 Impala. You can check it out in detail in issue 1/2014 of Kustom Car Magazine.

hot rod heaven for a fistful of dollars

This, gentlemen, is a personal recommendation. Because if you're here on this blog, you clearly dig traditional hot rods and kustoms. Chances are also that you're interested in seeing fresh stuff in a visually intriguing way. And while you're hanging out here anyway you might as well check out this brilliant movie Cal Thorley and his pals made down in New Zealand. Just start by watching the trailer above and if this isn't enough to make you spend ridiculous twelve bucks on this, take my word. It's more than worth it. Or maybe you'll believe me when I say: Watching this movie made me wanna move to New Zealand. Seriously. So, what are you waiting for?

monday movie: ian loska's coffee truck

Some of you may remember this radical 1934 Ford pick-up truck from the Suede Palace at this year's GNRS. I for myself remember running into its owner and builder Ian Loska at my buddy Eric's shop as well as at the local auto parts store in San Clemente. And since I had been following the build for quite a while I was happy to hear that Ian had it finished and he was willing to let me shoot it. The photos I took turned out nice enough to do the car justice and to get it on the cover of the Swedish GASOLINE Magazine.

The article came out great and I'm stoked about that but here's something that can't be shown on printed paper: the hot rod in action. Turn up the volume and enjoy!