My shoes might still be drying out from the rainstorm over the weekend, but the weather in SoCal at the moment is incredible. You know, one of those picture perfect days where the snow-capped San Gabriel mountains can be seen from all over the LA basin. If only it had been this nice at Irwindale Speedway on Saturday. Oh well, even with the rain, we still have plenty left to show you guys from the 2009 Mooneyes X-Mas Party.

The aptly-named "Flying Coffin" has been chopped so aggressively that it's now a full-fledged roadster. It is lacking one thing though - a roof of any sort. Nothing a well-placed umbrella can't take care of, right? Rod is planning a Car Spotlight on this wild machine, so keep an eye out for it.

Like the Flying Coffin, the "Border Patrol" Roadster is representing the Cavaliers Car Club out of Long Beach.

You have to love the WW2 nose art-inspired graphics and names on some these cars.

This lake-piped Riviera is another one of those cars that blurs the lines between lowrider and custom.

As mentioned earlier, there were an incredible amount of '49-'54 Chevys out at the show - and this car was one of the coolest.

This big-finned Caddy had an absolutely sinister look as it rolled slowly through the parking lot. What a car.

With all the crazy rods and customs kicking about, I still liked seeing the original, unrestored cars like this Studebaker Lark. Why bother trying to make your late model car look ratty when you can just pick up a genuine artifact like this?

This laid out Caddy hearse got plenty of looks as it cruised around. There were a couple times when my dad tried to buy an old hearse like this, but for some reason my mom never gave him the OK on that one...

More blurring between the lowrider and the custom.

This Chevy is likely one of those cars that looks just as tough as its owner does...

Here's a pickup sporting a period correct custom look. Note the more conservative stance.

And another pickup, this one quite literally sitting on the ground.

You could dedicate a whole post just to the kinds of paint (or lack thereof) seen on cars at the X-Mas Party. This Pontiac was sporting a trippy looking pattern of bare metal spots.

One of my favorite parts about the traditional custom scene is the love given to cars like Buicks, Oldsmobiles, and Pontiacs. In the mainstream classic car scene, these brands have always taken a backseat to cars like the the tri-five Chevys.

Not that I have anything at all against the tri-fives. This '55 was obviously here for some action on the strip, but the weather was not cooperative.

A pair of open top rods heading out to navigate the chaotic SoCal freeways in the rain. This is the life.

The brilliant orange paint on this F100 made for an incredible contrast against the dark skies. Throw in the reflections on the ground, and you almost have one of those Linhbergh moments...

Here's a rare one, a custom Ford Ranchero outfitted an Edsel front end. Seeing as the infamous Edsel shared many parts with Fords of the day, the conversion looks quite factory.

OK, time to dig up some more photos of the year. Much more on the way from the Mooneyes X-Mas Party so stay tuned.

-Mike Garrett