aaa rated a

Some cars are like great songs. It's love at first sight – or listen – and even after months or years, they haven't lost a bit of their magic. The Casny Coupe is such a car. It's traditional, it's timeless, it's perfect: the stance, a great drivetrain, lots of details, a bitchin' interior, the right color and everything beautifully executed. No wonder it's getting the media attention it deserves as it's currently gracing the pages of the latest Rod & Custom Magazine.

killer stance

I wouldn't claim the stance of this 1952 Chevy coupe to be "traditional". But who cares, when it's as cool looking as this. It's being built by a guy from France who did one hell of job on the suspension. Check it out on the french hamb, the Bielle Chaude forum. Nevermind the french language, the pictures speak for themselves.

what it's all about

I actually wanted to post this video since quite some time. Now that I stumbled upon it again, I remembered how cool it was as it really captures what it's all about. I mean, car shows are great and everything, but what's really thrilling about them is getting there. There's just nothing like getting up early, meeting up with your pals, hitting the road together and driving into sunrise – or into rain. Great music btw.

nostalgia sucks?

You don't believe life was actually better in the old days? Check out this thread on the HAMB. It might change yer mind.

icons

What a start into the new week. Blasting down Pacific Coast Highway in a Riviera coupe... It doesn't get much better than this, does it? Oh well, maybe I should get back to work. (photo © Los Boulevardos)

it's in the details

It's the details that separate the outstanding cars from the cool cars. Yeah right, but my guess is that Mr. Schaub is just afraid of starting to build his coupe's roof so he prefers fiddling around with those gewgaws... Seriously, this hot rod is gonna be a piece of art. For example, just check out the trunk lid handle you see above, made from a chunk of aluminium. Or click here for more greatness.


Same for the scratch built brass filler cap


The handmade copper gas tank got a couple of fuel lines


He modified a 1939 Ford dashboard to fit the model A interior


This is the way it's gonna look like.

greenspan's show

The last original clothing store from South Gate L.A. put on a great show. Check out the fantastic photos by Jae Bueno or have a look at the coverage over there at the De Palma blog. Or maybe you are one of the folks who prefer moving images?

spring is back

Finally! Temperature is climbing and the snow is starting to disappear. So there's nothing like a ride in an AV8 roadster under the sun after a long cold winter. Fellow ACES member Beat wouldn't disagree, I guess.

hollywood hot rods

They do a lot of great stuff. And I had a great time checking out their current projects during my shop tour one year ago.

phillips kustoms

There are few cars in such a desperate need for a haircut like a stock 1940 Merc Coupe. Just have a look at the "before" shot at the bottom of this post, if you don't know what I mean. The improvement is none less than dramatic, as this great example shows. It was tastefully chopped by Kyle Phillips of La Mesa, the guy who built the 1949 Chevy coupe you see on top of this blog.

kustom ideas: dual headlights

When dual headlights became part of the regular car design, custom builders quickly adopted this styling element. On most of the cars, they made for a dramatic change of appearance. Whether it was for good or worse... you gotta decide for yourself. Just take a look at the custom dual headlight feature run by Motor Life magazine in their April 1958 issue. While there are some ideas that proved successful over the years, others obviously did not so much.


Maybe not the best example to start with.


Gotta love this detail shot of Barris' Kopper Kart.


Quite a radical change to this '56 Chevy front.


One of the more popular custom touches.


'54 Ford truck.


Not the most elegant solution.


These might be the headlights of the famous Rod & Custom Dream Truck.

riv it up!

I love those 63-65 Rivieras. They're genuine factory customs and don't need much more than a lowering job, some good looking wheels and a nifty paintjob. Here are two previously unreleased shots I took of a beautiful Riviera one year ago at the GNRS.

hot wheels

They say that wheels make or break a car. Seen last summer at the Hot Rod & Art Show in Weil am Rhein, Germany.