Articles of hot rods, customs, classics, bikes and other rides.
Such a classic. I have had the opportunity to meet Mike “Shiney†Grawunder on a couple of occasions. He is an expert metal polisher. Photos: Mitzi Valenzuela, Models: Dinah DeRosa, Rio Lund. Story: Tony Colombini His craft certainly shows through on this incredible time machine. The bike is a survivor. Mike and his buddies bought […]
A Great Car Seen at All the Shows Our buddy Tom is selling his beloved ’33 Ford Roadster. It features a Gibbon body with all original Ford fenders and sheet metal. The car is road-tested with over 10,000 miles since 2010. It was built by a high-end builder in Napa, CA and features a 350 […]
A Slice of So Cal Drag Racing History In the early 1950’s Southern California was a hub for drag racing. From San Diego to the Central Valley, the air was filled with loud headers and tire smoke. Mike Bamber was one of those young local racers who would drive from the high school parking lot to […]
The Bike Awakens from Hibernation. You learn more about a project than the tasks in front of you. The B.A.D. Bike Build project has taught us quite a bit about ourselves. Billy and I learned how easy it is to get distracted and how quickly time flies. I am sure this has happened to many […]
Don Chamber’s Custom 1955 Chevy Nomad Story/Photos: T-Bone, Model: Lindy Sue, Apparel: Vintage Suits by Mary There’s plenty to love about this car. Not only is it an iconic Nomad to start with, but purists will be spinning when you dig deep and see some of the custom touches which there are many. This story […]
One look at this bike and you can see the history that the two wheels have rolled through. This is not a rat-rod bike that someone through together in their basement. This is the real deal and one of the baddest bikes to hit Southern California. Story: Tony Colombini, Photos of Emily by Mitzi Valenzuela […]
Caveman gives us his best! Story/Photos: Blacktop Staff What a beauty. Like he said, this thing is a jewel. You may recall, when we received the BAD Bike donor the engine was at Caveman’s garage. He is a builder and engine expert for shovels, pans, etc. Caveman agreed to build up the motor to our […]
T-Bone and Billy Show the Progress Photos/Story: Blacktop Staff We recently took the project on the road to show some of the progress. You may look at it and  think that there’s not a lot there. We agree, but there has been quite a bit of work on the back end securing the parts we […]
The 1960 DiDia 150 Our friend Chuck Penhall sent in this incredible web-find: The 1960 Di Dia 150 was a luxury, custom-designed iconic, handmade car also known as the Dream Car forever associated with its second owner, singer Bobby Darin. The car was designed by Andrew Di Dia, a clothing designer, who Bobby Darin had […]
A Custom Classic Story/Photos: Blacktop Crew There is something really cool that I am learning deep in this car hobby of ours. Enthusiasts come from all walks of life and interests and at this particular time in history we gather together. You have to figure that most of us are re-living a passion from when […]
Richard Graves’ Gets to the Details on his Truck Photos: Billy, Story: T-Bone The devil in the details. We stopped by Richard’s shop to see the progress on the cab-over truck he is building. He had the cab off to fix up some minor bodywork issues after getting it sand-blasted. The undercoat was sprayed and […]
Ten Years Gone Photos/Story: T-Bone The B.A.D. Bike is a 1980 Harley-Davidson LowRider. As we begin to tear down what’s left of this highway carcass it’s easy to get lost in the stories this steel steed could tell. It appears to have quite the well worn past. Looking back at the license plate it appears […]
