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Posted
Feb 03 2010, 04:43 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 7 comment(s)
Diehard Speedhunters fan Rhys McGee of Sydney Australia sent us this photo of his mate's just-completed Lincoln. If the period style bodywork and paint wasn't enough, a built up 480 cubic inch big block helps get the big cruiser down the road.
It's just awesome to see a traditional style custom like this on the roads of Australia, complete with right-hand drive and all.
Thanks Rhys!
-Mike Garrett...
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Posted
Jan 27 2010, 05:14 PM
by
Rod Chong
with 29 comment(s)
On Saturday, December 12th 2009, Linhbergh and I arrived at a rather soggy Irwindale Speedway on a real mission. Among the rows of customs and hot rods attending the Mooneyes Xmas Party event, we needed to find a feature-ready custom to shoot for Speedhunters I had arranged for two pin-up models to attend the Xmas Party event, so we had no option but to find a machine for them to pose with. The weather was pretty horrible that weekend, so we thought a nice big interior would be a great way to shoot...
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Posted
Jan 27 2010, 02:17 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 6 comment(s)
If you hear the name "Barris" , you'll likely picture the wild Hollywood customs built by George Barris - cars like the original Batmobile, and Drag-u-la from the Munsters TV show. Although not as well known as his younger brother, Sam Barris made perhaps an even bigger contribution to the history of custom car building, pioneering the art of the chop top, among other things....
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Posted
Jan 20 2010, 11:08 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 7 comment(s)
As I sit here listening to the rain outside turning the LA basin into a disaster area, it's time to continue with my visit to Starlite Rod & Kustom right here in lovely Torrance, California.
I've had the chance to visit a lot of fantastic car shops, but as you can see there's something very special about Starlite. In fact, I can't help but feeling proud that such a cool shop is located right in my neighborhood.
Anyways, on with the tour....
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Posted
Jan 19 2010, 12:58 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 13 comment(s)
Last month during our coverage of the Mooneyes X-Mas Party, I did a spotlight on a radical chopped and slammed Chevy pickup convertible. After seeing a sticker on the truck for a shop called Starlite Rod & Kustom, I got in contact to arrange a visit.
As It turns out, Starlite is located right just a few minutes away from me, right here in Torrance, CA. Last Friday morning I headed over to the shop to have a look at the facility and some of their project cars....
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Posted
Dec 30 2009, 04:10 PM
by
Linhbergh Nguyen
with 19 comment(s)
I have to admit. I am a complete newbie when it comes to most things Hot Rod, custom, low rider, or anything that relates to the overall umbrella of American automotive culture. When I arrived at the Mooneyes X-Mas show at the beginning of the month, I had no idea what I was in for. I arrived expecting to see plethora of grey haired, mustached men walking about and talking about about the by-gone days of proper Hot Rodding. What I was actually introduced so was as scene that has been revived, in...
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Posted
Dec 23 2009, 08:45 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 14 comment(s)
For my final Car Spotlight from the Mooneyes X-Mas Party, we'll be looking at a very unique custom. While hot rods might lend themselves well to over the top mechanical expression - the "led sleds" are typically a bit more traditional. A chop, lowering, and some body work yes, but overall they keep a smooth, somewhat restrained look.
That's not the case with this car. ...
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Posted
Dec 21 2009, 01:22 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 5 comment(s)
If you've been reading any of the custom car and hot rod show coverage we've posted this year, then you know just how big pickup trucks have become in this scene. Typically pickups can be bought for cheaper than a similar year car, and when done right they can be just as impressive as any traditional coupe or sedan. Case in point - this wild Chevy truck built by Starlite Garage right here in Torrance, California.
When we spotted this truck at the Mooneyes X-Mas Party, we made a point to grab some extra shots for a spotlight....
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Posted
Dec 18 2009, 03:39 PM
by
Rod Chong
with 33 comment(s)
Let's continue to look at the Speedhunters coverage from the Mooneyes Xmas Party 2009. I'll start things off with a few shots of Tania Simon, who accompanied us as a pinup model for the day. Linhbergh was planning to do a big shoot with her and Courtney Day at the show but unfortunately the weather hampered our plans. I ended up having to quickly photograph Tania inside this 1960 Oldsmobile. We didn't have much time to get into a groove, but still ended up with some sexy looking photos...
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Posted
Dec 16 2009, 11:45 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 22 comment(s)
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....
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Posted
Dec 14 2009, 07:13 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 15 comment(s)
I just got home a few minutes ago from a day of Speedhunting with Rod at the Walden Speed Shop in Pomona - concluding what's been an eventful a few days of California hot rod and custom culture. It all kicked off on Saturday with the Mooneyes X-Mas Party at Irwindale Speedway, and even though the rain kept some people away, there was still plenty to see in the flooded parking lots of the speedway....
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Posted
Dec 14 2009, 12:52 AM
by
Rod Chong
with 29 comment(s)
"Everything you know about motorsport is wrong"... this is a thought that kept flashing through my head the first time I saw drifting at Irwindale Speedway. It was a wet and cold evening in December 2006 and I was witnessing full blown D1GP drifting for the first time. This was an experience which was to change the course of my life in many respects as it was the first time I came in touch with the relatively new motorsport and it challenged everything I held to be dear and true about car...
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Posted
Dec 10 2009, 06:45 PM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 29 comment(s)
Time now for a final stroll through the Mooneyes Hot Rod and Custom show that was held this past week-end in Yokohama. Many of you wanted to see more pictures of the left hand drive S30 above, so you'll be pleased to know I will dedicate a Car Spotlight post to it as it was just too perfect. Hot Rod and Customs are all about the details and even for someone like me that finds this whole scene very new, there is just so much to appreciate down to the smallest detail. Plus this has to be the only...
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Posted
Dec 07 2009, 11:00 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 24 comment(s)
After seeing Nissan race cars blast around Fuji Speedway at the Nismo Festival it's time to return back at the halls of the Yokohama Pacifico for some more hot rod and sexy muscle cars. When I grabbed this shot of this 1968 Charger I knew I would have to use it as an opening image to one of my posts from this show! This ride was just outrageous starting from that propped-up rear-end stance to those massive 29"x15.5 Hoosier Pro Street tires. On the other side of the spectrum this roof-chopped...
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Posted
Dec 05 2009, 07:45 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 36 comment(s)
It's official. I am becoming a big fan of the custom & hot-rod scene. I just spent the whole day walking the halls of the Yokohama Pacifico exhibition center during the set up day of the 2009 Mooneyes Hot Rod Custom Show. Unfortunately due to a scheduling conflict I will not be able to attend the actual show tomorrow, as in about 5 hours I will be getting up and heading to Fuji Speedway to cover this year's Nismo Festival. But with such a great selection of cars on show there was no way...
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Posted
Nov 23 2009, 09:00 AM
by
Rod Chong
with 21 comment(s)
I know that some of you are not quite with us this month and for this we apologize. It's just that we just love to dive deep into different aspects of car culture as it's through doing this that we always learn something new about cars and the people that make them. Case-in-point with this story: I vaguely remember reading somewhere there was a Corvette custom which featured the first ever hydraulics suspension system and wanted to investigate further. So last night I started to research...
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Posted
Nov 19 2009, 03:01 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 26 comment(s)
Back in September when I was at Billetproof 2009 in Antioch CA, I kept my eyes open for interesting low cars to spotlight this month. I found all manner of slammed customs and rods, but none were as crazy as the '59 Rolls Royce pictured above. Seeing the world's most prestigious luxury car and scraping the ground is one of those things that just grabs you, and I knew I had to include this sled in our monthly features....
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Posted
Nov 10 2009, 06:58 AM
by
Rod Chong
with 19 comment(s)
Man I'm tired... I just feel asleep while sitting here working on these photographs. It appears I'm still recovering from a wild week in Las Vegas last week. Oh well... best to crack on and get this story written up before I fall asleep again! It was a pleasant surprise to see Pagani brought over one of the Zonda R chassis from Italy. This was probably one of the most striking cars at SEMA and was the centerpiece of the Pirelli booth. The Zonda was set up right beside the Falken booth where...
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Posted
Aug 20 2009, 05:02 PM
by
Rod Chong
with 13 comment(s)
Speedhunters as a website has been designed for people like myself who have exceptionally short attention spans... I get bored very easily and constantly need to switch up what I'm focused on in order to feel excited and inspired... So I just can't look at Japanese cars and drift photos all the time. It just becomes too repetitive for my cross firing brain and I lose interest.... so for those of you who are with me on this, let's look in real detail at the main meat of the car culture...
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Posted
Jun 24 2009, 01:20 PM
by
Rod Chong
with 10 comment(s)
Does the name Andy Sapp ring a bell to you? People in the US drift scene will know him for his Atlanta based BMW drift car.... but automotive fans about the world should also note that Andy has recently put together quite a slick looking automotive web project called Motor Mavens . Have a look.... congrats to Andy and his team for the successful launch of the new site! Antonio Alvendia has now joined the Motor Mavens team and has recently posted a story about the SO-CAL Speed Shop's recent Fathers...
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