Heading to El Mirage Dry Lake for the weekend to watch the Racing

Posted on November 10, 2023 by Steve Carpenter

10 Nov

As many of you know, I have always liked anything fast but when there could be a world record at stake, then my eyes and ears are wide open, so this weekend, Jennifer and I will load up the truck and take the 2 hour jaunt up to the desert and to El Mirage Dry lake to watch the SCTA sanctioned races that’s held to close this years racing event.

This year I have way too much on to bring a Motorcycle out here but it was Jennifer’s idea to come out and camp,watch the Motorcycles and Hot Rods run as well as listen to the Coyotes howls and the stars sparkle out in the cold desert. Come on out and look us up as we always park up and camp out at Mid course.

El Mirage dry lake bed has been home to Land Speed Racing (LSR) for more than half a century. It is located just 30 miles east of a growing high desert community known as the Antelope Valley. Back when Land Speed Racing was young, a group of men that had been racing on the dry lakes for several years, decided to incorporate and create a new racing organization which would enforce safety procedures and promote the sport. Hence the birth of the Southern California Timing Association (SCTA).

All of the various club members, SCTA board members, and all other event workers volunteer their time and energy to the benefit of the sport. Our events are wonderful for families and friends to join together for fun and the excitement that always follows Land Speed Racing.There are four (4) one-day races per year, June/July/Sep/Oct and (2) two-day races in May/November. Vehicle inspections begin on the day prior to the race (Friday/Saturday) and the racing begins early Saturday/Sunday morning. The race day starts with a drivers meeting, patrol meeting, announcements, and national anthem. The duration of the race usually lasts as long as the weather and course conditions hold up. All drivers and crew members are allowed in the starting line area with a signed insurance form and wrist tag. Spectators are required to stay behind the barricades, where they will have an excellent, but safe view of the operational area.Vehicles are lined up for the starting line according to their current season points standing.

All entries must be a member of one of the clubs within the Southern California Timing Association. But – there is a “Guest” option to race on the course for “Time Only”. All drivers MUST be licensed for the speed at which they will be racing.

Overnight camping is always welcome on the lake bed with a few simple rules. No open fires, no waste dumping, and if you bring it in, you take it home. Speed and helmet regulations exist while on the lake bed and are strictly enforced. During the summer months it can get very hot, so shade is a must as well as sun screen and plenty of water. There is usually a food vendor, and the SCTA has a sales trailer for all the racing goodies. Racing on a dry lakebed can be very dirty and windy, so casual clothing is advised. All race information for the event is announced on a loud speaker and also broadcast on an FM frequency (88.7) for all spectators to hear while at the lakebed.As of 1996, the SCTA decided to return to one of the original sites which hosted many LSR race events until WWII.

Kiyo Builds a Triple Engine CB750 Machine for Speed.

Posted on May 1, 2022May 1, 2022 by Steve Carpenter

01 May

Some of you that may be old enough to remember the Legendary Builder and Racer ” Russ Collins” May well indeed remember the triple engin monster of a machine called “Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe”, This was named after the famous Rail line and Russ Debuted the bike back in 1973, when I was a mere 11 years old, little did I know I would watch this motorcycle in person and what a great feat of engineering for its time. Featuring three nitro-burning CB750 engines mounted in tandem, the AT&SF was the first motorcycle to make a seven-second quarter-mile pass (7.80 seconds at 179 mph) at Ontario Motor Speedway in 1973.

The bike not surprisingly, the AT&SF was extraordinarily difficult to ride. A horrendous crash in Akron, Ohio, in 1976 destroyed the motorcycle and left Collins in a wheelchair for months, giving him plenty of free time to contemplate its replacement. It was during this long recuperation he dreamed up “The Sorcerer,” powered by a pair of 1,000cc Honda Fours tied together and tuned to fire like a V-8 then topped with a GMC 3-71 supercharger. The NHRA Top Fuel record that Collins set on the Sorcerer in 1977—7.30 seconds at 199.55 mph—stood unchallenged for more than 11 years. Collins was more than a decade ahead of his time. But, the machine is now being completely rebuilt and the motors are almost ready once more.

49 Years after that, one of the coolest engineer/Builders has built his own Triple Engined SOHC machine and dreams of hitting the Salt for a record of his very own, Originally from the coastal city of Kumamoto on the Japanese island of Kyushu, Kiyonaga-san opened the Kiyo’s Garage workshop in Gardena, Los Angeles County, back in 2013. Back then Kiyo created a CB750 Custom Machine named “Cherry Blossom” Hand made stretched frame and a ATP Turbo with ARD Magneto. Ran really well at El Mirage dry lake.

Kiyos worked at the garage company for over a decade and was Yoshi’s top Mechanic/builder, he learned a lot from Yoshi and decided that it was time for him to get his own workshop in Gardena, so he set up shop in 2013 and has become a prolific quality Builder/Fabricator of Motorcycles. His second machine was another CB750 Based Creation called ” Gekko ” (it means “moonlight” in Japanese).

Except this time, he linked together two CB750 motors, boring them out for a total capacity of 1,620 cc.Of which he ran at El Mirage and Bonneville on SCTA events.

So to complete the trifecta of Motorcycle and of course Engines, Kiyo decided to go with a trilogy machine that evokes his Japanese heritage with Motorcycles and Manufacturers, as well as his Engineering skills and Custom creativity, thus the “Galaxy” was Born.

The idea of actually building The Galaxy started to materialize when Kiyo and his wife, Kat, visited the Haas Moto Museum in Dallas, Texas, in May, 2019. They were there to discuss the museum’s acquisition of Cherry Blossom and Gekko — but Kiyo also presented the museum’s owner, Bobby Haas, and director, Stacey Mayfield, with sketches of his three-engined concept.

All three of The Galaxy’s four-cylinder power plants are 1978 Honda CB750 units with F2 large port heads. Each motor has been bored out to 836cc, and fully rebuilt with lightened and balanced crankshafts, heavy-duty connecting rods, performance cams and oversized stainless steel valves. Extra care was taken to make sure each motor’s internals conformed to the exact same spec. Each motor is fed by four Keihin FCR 35mm carbs, with significant work to the intake manifolds to help them run optimally. All three carb sets are linked via a rod and heim joint setup to make it easier to synchronize the throttle slider. But re-jetting is still a chore, given that there are 12 carbs to fettle. The entire setup breathes out through twelve custom-made exhausts.

This behemoth is powered by three bored-out CB750 motors which essentially makes it a 12-cylinder 2,508cc glory, a mean feat that really hasnt been replicated since the days of Russ Collins in the 70’s.

So much hand crafted work you dont even see, his attention to detail is unsurpassed and I can relate to the hard work that has gone into to create such a work of art.

Just to dial all three of these in with 4 Keihin FCR 35mm carbs to each cylinder, must of been a mechanical nightmare to say the least, so Kudos to you Kiyo for patience alone.

A very skilled and self motivated man that I have huge respect for and at some point try and make the trip down to his workshop to tell Kiyo in person about the way I enjoy his builds, I have known Kiyo for many many years and have always held him in high esteem.

Well done my friend and hope to see some great times placed on the dry lake.

Saturday and busier than heck

Posted on May 23, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

Its the weekend and I am trying to get so many orders out, thanks for being cool about waiting as some things like chrome parts etc take a while as some of my own suppliers are closed still, due to the Pandemic, so I have to try and locate other companies, but thank you all for sticking with me and I am trying my hardest to get all your parts to you. So not a big blog today as I have to run to post office then make some more parts etc, just thought I would add a little video i did a while back, when I was at El Mirage Dry lakes for a TV show.

The VESCO HONDA CB750 Brat Bike

Posted on November 29, 2018January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

29 Nov

Well, many of you have followed the Blog on this machine, right now I am just enjoying the build as its running pretty darn good, so will keep it as a runaround until such time as if it either sells, or I get some time and I can strip bare and make a full custom project from this Motorcycle. But it sure was a great find, I purchased the bike though a contact and headed just a few miles down the road to the city of Orange here in Southern California to check this 1974 CB750K Honda out that had been in storage for many Many years and had not even run since the mid 1980’s.

I have purchased so many CB750’s in the past but, its always great when you have the unknown ahead of you, most of the times they are so badly damaged or neglected, that you need to take a foot pump with you and a Mallet, as the tires are usually flat and the front brake will always stick due to some corrosion inside the caliper and the Rubber mallet will release the piston so you can push the bike into your van or trailer.

Found out that the family’s last name was Vesco, I inquired not related to Don are you? “Yup sure am” he tells me about it and this bike is actually his lads and he ran out of time, money, patience and enthusiasm on this machine and has been sat a long while. And now it was time to make some room in the garage, so it has to go, I made an offer and after a little bit of haggling a price was agreed upon and there it was, this old snotter that had a hard life but for the last 30 odd years had sat used and abused in all sorts of places, and now it was coing home to my shop to see what I could do to at least resurrect this vintage piece of tin.

It sure was hard work loading it ion the van as everything was corroded or semi seized up, but managed to get her up and into my van and then we were on the way to its new abode- my place.

Back home in 20 minutes and took the bike out and placed on a wheel chock so I could have a look at what we got, it had good potential but many people go in head strong and then kind of lose their drive in completing their dream and I purchase many machine in this guise and much worse too.

Brakes were seized and it took sometime to be able to get the bike onto the driveway on my own, the kick stand would not function as it was too long and kept getting in the way, I knew I had my work cut out but needed to know if I could get this old girl to run, as I didn’t want to strip this right away, always best to see how the motor is first before you dive in. You can see the plug caps have electrical tape over them, a warning sign that this had issues back in the day right away.

The carburetors had seen better days, not only were the bodies of this rack of four corroded, the slides had stuck inside, so another issue to sort out, but it did have compression when I kicked it over and thats a great thing to know.

Old Mac exhaust wouldn’t of ran well as the underneath of the header was squashed flat, must of hit a speed bump years ago and no way would it run that well with a restricted collector.

I wanted to just have fun with this bike, as I said, not sure how I was going to go until I got her running, but to get to that stage there was a few things that I thought would be cool so I could at least ride it once I figured all the issues out on this honda, and as you have probably experienced, there were many issues, but, whilst I had her in my shop, i wanted to change the seat set up and make a fun Brat style machine just because, well I can.

OK, so I made a steel seat base and tried another gas tank too, as I needed to clean the inside of the other one as I always do when I get tanks that has sat for many years, I had to change out the wire harness and the handle bars and controls and glad that I did as the old ones were so badly corroded, they would of caused a fire for sure. And then with a New set of intake manifolds and rebuilt carburetors this machine w\was almost ready for a fire up.

Below is a little iphone video I did on Face book, not sure how the motor would go but I had compression and now spark, so, with gas, this should in theory fire up.

So, as you can see, I had the bike on my work table and I used an old lawn mower tank as an iv to feel the motor, I was pretty sure she would at least back fire but as I re-jetted it and cleaned bowls out, I was certain that with new coils, battery and plugs and of course New oil and filter, that this puppy would run, and was pretty stoked with the end result.

Carbs redone and all clean with new intakes and my stainless steel clamps too, fitted some spun aluminum Velocity stacks with gauze for that old style look and re-jetted once more.

To make sure all is well, I need to be physically able to take this bike for a little ride, as no idea how the clutch is, the gears etc and the general running of this bike, I fitted another headlight and then whilst I was there at my storage, I removed some Old Lester wheels I had, I had taken them off a Vintage CR750 AHRMA race bike and simply stored them, tires were a little hard but thought what the hell, lets bung them on as the wheels on this bike anyway were toast.

I also had to make some sort of tail light assembly up as riding up the road, I still want people to see that I am braking etc, so put this set up together and it works really well being LED.

As you can see, I fitted the Lester rims, 19 inch front and 18 back, I also upholstered the seat in a soft brown leather with Diamond stitching and its sure comfortable I was surprised, the gas tank needs some work but I shall address that no worries, I also cut my 4 into 1 down that I ceramic coated titanium color, as I wanted an aggressive look to it and think that this does come across quite well.

As the sun goes down I managed to fire this up and it felt good to hear the bike run and run quite strong, I fitted a 530 O-Ring red chain that I had and it looks pretty tough, as you can see, I made one of my side stands and now the bike sits up nicely, so many dont or need bits of wood under them.

I also fitted an oil pressure gauge kit to make sure that I had good pressure, and it did, it fired up to about 70 pounds, so am more than happy about that, exhaust looks really cool.

OK, now it is time to address that gas tank and it needs some love, i think I shall go all out 1970’s Candy Custom style on this one as it needs some color for sure, but I noticed it had pin holes, so- went back to the original tank that came with the bike and decided to cut off the neck and weld in a Harley Bung instead.

So, the best thing I do is use a sawzall and cut the neck as far down as I can first as this needs to be flush on the tank for the bung to weld in nice and smooth.

As you can see, it takes some time and of course, I made sure that there was no residual gases exiting from the tank, be careful and make sure you wash your tank out before emmiting any sparks near this thing. LOL

So, with the neck sanded smooth to the tank, I used a Harley gas tank bung, I sell this kit on my website, and wanted to use it for this build to be a little different as the original locks always break on the Honda and knew that this would like quite trick once finished.

This is perfect for the Honda Gas tank and there is enough room to be able to TIG weld the bung in place with no distortion to the surrounding areas of the filler neck.

Now all Tig welded and cooled down, this is ready to attach the screw in gas cap, I did this a long time ago on the Cobalt Special Honda I built, so was eager to see how this looked.

Well, that looks so much better than the stock configuration and once painted will really set off the gas tank from the others out there and a neat Custom touch to this machine.

With New rear shocks and a comfortable seat, this is taking shape as a cool little Muscle style Brat bike that will turn heads where ever it sits and the paint will make you need Sunglasses.

Here we are at El Mirage at a SCTA sanctioned meet, last races of the year – so wanted to attend and take a few photos of this Vesco Honda and I am so glad that I did.

There is still a lot more to do to this but right now it just needs to get a few miles under its belt, I always say the first 100 miles will tell you how the bike will perform, so a ways to go as I only have 14 miles on it so far but of course shall do many more on it.

Don’t want to take this apart yet anyway, i mean its fun right now, no show bike but easily could be if I took her down to the frame and started from scratch, but right now I want to have fun with it and what better place than El Mirage Dry lake.

She sits real well and is a blast to ride, she got plenty of looks as you cannot miss the paint job, no matter how fast you drive.

So I am happy with the way she is and looks to be honest and I love riding the bike around to be honest as it sits so well and not too low as many are these days.

Jennifer my Girlfriend loves it too, she has a triumph of her own and loves all Motorcycles, love seeing Girls with bikes too and we go out riding a lot together to be honest.

Final look at El Mirage before we head home, it is only 100 miles from our house so always fun to come out here and view world speed time trials record attempts

Gas Cap sets off the tank nicely and the paint job is so reminiscent of them Customs days of the 1970’s back home and around the world, I think its a nice balance in color.

Fish Gills and shadowing are becoming a lost art but this really came out well, using house Of Kolor Candy paints and Pearl bases with light flake added.

The bike sits well, I like the smaller headlight, they have L.E.D’s inside it for turn signals, so keeps everything neat and out of the way, the Lester Rims gives it that Old School period right away.

Added 2.5 inch mechanical Gauges to tidy top end out, of course my Hand Made and chromed Euro Bars really make this comfortable for your shoulders and Cole Foster grips soak up any Vibration that you may have.

I think the Man above digs it too, No thunderbolts when I stopped outside his place, Phew!

I really enjoy riding the bike around my Town, the roads are smooth and its a joy to blap about on and even though I want to do way more to it, I need to sit back and have fun riding it for a little while as it was and still is a super fun project.

Slowly clocking the miles up but amazing that this runs and hasnt since the mid 1980’s, and its a joy to jump on and take for a spin around town.

I used a Biltwell Mirror for legal reasons and it works pretty well to be honest, Id love to paint the frame later but not right now, The motor runs strong, the gear transition is really smooth.

Eventually the Motor will be painted and tricked out but as I am having so much fun on this, I will wait until later, unless someone buys it of course.

Thank you for following me and purchasing My parts for your projects, it means a lot, this is my Passion and life, so I really do appreciate all your business.

So, until next time I work on this, I will leave you with a list of things I changed, just in case you are curious as to what I did on this machine through the build up.

This was the Very First ride after it had not run since the mid 1980’s, so stoked to be able to experience great moments like this, unless you are a bike builder, you really wont understand the Euphoria that you feel when you click into first gear and ride off down the road.

Peace and Grease to you all.

Carpy

Lester Rims 19″ front 18″ Rear.
Drilled Front Rotor
Euro Bars I made 7/8
Cole Foster grips
New Handlebar Controls
New Throttle Cables
New Clutch Cable
New Speedo Cable
New Tach Cable
New Wire Harness
New Coils and Caps
New Iridium Spark Plugs
New Battery
New Red 530 Chain.
New Custom Side Stand.
Custom Gas Cap Kit.
New Side Covers.
New 2.5 Mini Gauges.
New 4 into 1 exhaust Shortened and Ceramic Coated Titanium
Rear Frame Hoop
Rear LED tail Light assembly
New Finned Piggyback Shocks.
Rebuilt Carbs.
New intake Manifolds
Stainless Hose Clamps
Braided overflow pipes.
Custom 5 3/4 headlight with internal LED signals.
New Horn.
New Flat seat in Leather with Diamond Design.
New Brake and clutch levers.
New Biltwell Mirror
New Chrome Fork Ears.
New Oil Pressure Gauge kit.
Chromed Rear Stabilizer bar.
New Foot pegs and Rubber.
New Custom Weld in Gas Cap Bung and Screw in Cap.
Custom Candy Flake Paint.

The Vesco Honda at El Mirage

Posted on November 13, 2018January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

13 Nov

On Saturday, Jennifer and I went out to watch the races at El Mirage dry lake in Southern California, this place has been having speed trials since before ww2 and continues today through the SCTA. (Southern California Timing Association.) So we took the van and the Honda and drove up to the lake bed and set up our ezy up and radio etc and food for the day.

Such a fun day watching cars and motorcycles race the clock, some reaching speeds well over 250 miles an hour, its awesome to spectate as you are so close to the action.

Took some snaps of the Vesco Honda and thought that I would share them today, above you can see the Shorty Turn out that I did for this particular build, the bike is all running now and am happy at the outcome of this machine that had not run since the 1980’s.

This is not a show bike but, it could easily be, as I was thinking of running for 100 miles, then stripping the bike down to the frame and painted the chassis silver and start a cool custom project, but also this is up for sale as she is right now as I do have other builds to continue with for my Customers.

The Bike runs well now and fires right up with either a Kick start or hitting the starter, it has nice low end torque all through the range of gears and is a fun machine to ride.

Sitting Pretty on this famous Dry lake where even Don Vesco himself has raced, the Honda does look at home sat here in the So-Cal Sunshine.

My Custom, Hand made and chromed handle bars – Make this bike so comfortable to ride, no back breaking leaning over the gas tank, a sit up and cruise feel that I enjoyed.

The exhaust system of mine flows so well to help exit the gases from the engine and it has a velvet tone to it as she pulls through the curve.

Old style lights but really are modern LED, that way it looks old school but people will see you with these bright lights, plenty of travel in the suspension on the rear too.

See if you can visit the dry lakes when they have sanctioned races on, its an awesome event to go to and everyone is approachable.

These Lester rims are 19 inch front and 18 rear, I took these off a CR750 Road racer some years ago and have had them in storage for quite a few years and I am so glad that I got to use them, fitted my New side stand as original one had broken off, the bike sits well.

This is a comfortable bike to ride and has loads of potential to be a really cool Custom machine, it has some rare parts on and are only getting harder to locate these days.

It has New Handlebars, Bar Switches, Harness, Battery, Pipe, Shocks, Grips, Cables, Chain- as well as many other new parts, like totally Rebuilt Carbs and New intakes and Throttle Cables etc.

A fun weekend on the lake bed and Jennifer and I had a blast, chatting to Racers and meeting up with folk we haven’t seen in a while, the commeraderie is second to none.

Jennifer taking in some of the racing as she helps move the bike onto the Lake bed.

Time to get some miles on this puppy, but wanted to at least share some photos that I took whilst out at El Mirage, this bike will be up for sale soon, if interested call or text me on- 714-598-8392

Thanks for reading today.

Vesco Honda build so far.

Posted on November 4, 2018January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

04 Nov

Well, I was lucky enough to get a call from a film Producer, they are doing a TV Commercial this weekend and needed a couple of bikes to use, so I let them take my Sportster Cafe and this Vesco Brat, as its not finished yet but pretty much altogether now.

But wanted to share a few photos of how she is right now as its getting closer to be able to ride, that will be quite exiting as it had not run since the 1980’s, I have fired her up a few times now and happy with the idle and the oil pressure, so this week I shall be able to fire her up and take the bike for a quick run around the block and see what happens.

This gas tank needs painting and I have side covers for it now, just need painting etc, thats why you can see all the electrical and the oil tank, but once it is painted and side covers fitted, the bike will look a lot better.

What then? Well not sure, depends on how the bike runs and handles to be honest, but this coming weekend, Jennifer and I will load the bike up and go to EL MIRAGE, to watch the races, meet some friends and to ride this about a bit. Sure it will get covered in dirt and dust but, if I am to strip and rebuild this into a show bike, thats not going to matter as dirt wipes off right?

The gas tank and side covers later will be painted a Yellow color, just wanted something really different, so we shall see how that goes.

I changed the front headlight from a 7 inch to a more compact 5.75 version, and to be honest, i really like the look of this on the bike, so will be keeping that on there.

I fitted New foot pegs too, as the old ones were so bent out of shape, this will make for a fun ride, the Brat seat has soft Leather and memory foam, so another bonus there to ride on the dry lake.

I also used my Own brand of handle bars, these are the Euro-Tracker Bars I have had hand formed, then triple chromed and I do love the way they lay on the bike and give the whole machine a different look and feel for that matter.

Yes, its not a finished bike, but- you have to get a bike going to see what the issues are before pulling it all apart and throwing all your time, money and hard effort into a project.

I also pulled the old rusty rims off and had a set of Original Lester wheels that came off a CR750 Honda, the front wheel is dated 1978 and the rear is 1977, the front is a 19 inch and rear is an 18 inch set up, these are getting harder to locate these days and wanted to use them.

I did change out the swing arm as the old one had been chromed back in the day and the elements had gotten to it and it was as rusty as the Titanic’s Crapper, but I am thinking of remaking some Boxed swing arms again and will offer them on my website when available.

I had noticed that the Kick stand on the bike was an old 70’s Chopper one and it did not sit well, you had to push the side stand all the way forward for it to stay, I looked closer and noticed that some of the frame bracket has broken off many years ago and that is why the side stand would not stand upright.

My trusty Miller Mig welder helped me out and I built up a platform again and used one of my own kickstands, and now it sits right, and am happy with the look of it now.

The shocks were pretty knackered on the bike, so i chose some aftermarket SRC piggy backs, they work fine and are Liquid Nitrogen filled and sets the stance where I want it to be honest.

My 4 into 1 I had fitted great but, this time I wanted to cut the tail pipe right back and fit the baffle just before the turn out, for a more aggressive look and I really do like the look of this system and it sounds pretty tough to say the least.

Later on when I strip the bike down, I will clean up the Lester Rims and re-paint them and add some Knobby Tires, but I am in two minds whether to change the front end for a CBR or, stick with the traditional fork set up and just rebuild the fork lowers and add New Upper tubes that will be 2 inches shorter. The front brake works and thats surprising for how many years it has been sat, its functioning but will of course totally rebuild that or fit newer brakes as I am a dealer for Beringer and may fit their set up, but all depends on funds etc.

It is all to easy to let a Custom build get away with you, financially, I have created some awesome machines for customers but, if you start to add a modified engine, you will be into $5000 in a flash just in the engine itself, these bikes are fun and fast enough, you really do not need a big cam and heavy duty head studs but if you want response, just port and polish the head and go no bigger than a 3/4 street cam.

I love the stock ignition system as they are dependable, I am not a fan of electronic ignition systems and points take very little maintenance, if you keep it simple, you disperse any issues with modified stuff, most of the time its a waste of money as many that have bigger displacements have over heating issues or head gaskets blow and for what? 10 MPH? Just have fun with your bike, a good pipe and jetting is more than enough for many roads here, of course if you are on a race track, thats a different game all together , but just watch your budget on these machines, as it can easily get away from you and you then tally all your receipts up and have a small heart attack when you add it all up at the end of the build.

So for right now, I will run this old bugger around with a painted gas tank and covers but the rest as she is, as I want to put a few miles on her to see how the motor responds to daily life, then- when I am ready I shall pull back off the road and strip the bike and create a cool Brat bike thats fun to ride and easy on the eye.

Of course I offer these for sale, as thats what I am in business to do, its hard to let them go but I have a New Scrambler I use for riding about and it makes it a whole lot easier to let another creation go off into the sunset and then, the fun begins with another creation.

So, its a Sunday and I have taken a couple of photos and blogged on here today, she is looking pretty fun now and YES of course if someone wanted to Purchase this machine from me as is I would probably sell it, as I love create machines from junkers that have not run for years, but I shall still add more bits and pieces to this machine until I am ready to tear it all apart once more.

This Vesco Brat has a really cool ride stance and I am glad I took a chance and grabbed this inline four, its a fun ride and more to come too.

Hope you enjoyed my Blog today and of course I put the build up on my face book too. steve richard carpenter or carpys cafe racers or carpys garage you can look at any of them pages too.

Thanks for reading and have fun with your project.

Hiro Koiso Knocks 259.951 at Bonneville Salt Flats

Posted on September 5, 2018January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

05 Sep

At the annual Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials AMA Land Speed Grand Championship, Hiro Koiso Racing returned to the Salt seeking more records and faster speeds.

Koiso had set the fastest open bike record on the salt at 227.236mph in 2017 at the BMST. JIMS / T-Man Performance 135 cubic inch Twin-Cam engine is coupled with C-1R ProCharger , modified 2006 Harley-Davidson FXD-I based motorcycle puts out over 400HP at rear wheel.

This year, aero dynamic aid was put into place entering the team into the partially streamlined class. A newly designed fairing was fitted and equipped to the bike. Following the shake down passes form the first day, on 8/27/2018 Koiso clocked a blistering 259.951mph on the measured mile.

This is the fastest speed recorded in history on a sit-on Harley-Davidson motorcycle. GPS recording shows in excess of over 260mph. However, during the timed mile, the front tire began to fail. Koiso was able to keep the bike upright, but extensive damages to the bike kept him from making a record return run.

“We could only make a few runs at the BMST this year. But we learned some priceless information from them. By knowing the cause of failure and what our equipment is capable of, we are going to go even faster next year.

Our next goal will be a tribute to the H-D factory Streamliner efforts from 1970, which set a record at 265.492mph. All things considered, we believe it is possible to hit the 270mph mark. We just need to work harder for it.” Koiso stated.

Despite the tire failure the team seized a 223.195mph FIM World record (pending ratification) in Category I, Group A1, Division B, Type II, Class 2500cc.Hiro Koiso Racing is powered by: JIMS, T-Man performance, ProCharger, Pine Valley, HRD Performance, Third Place, AIM Corp., WPC treatment, Fuji WPC, Frixion, MKS Engineering, Pingel Enterprise, Worldwide Bearings, Revolution Performance, Lyndall Brakes, Kraus Motor Co., Sundance Enterprises,Inc., HorsepowerInc.True-Track, Custom Cycle Engineering, Attract Customz, ATC Performance, Dynoman, Forest Wing, Kusunoki custom works, Strokers USA, SHOEI Helmets, 45 Degrees, Active, Pre-Stage Performance, Ram Pro Line, Full Gain, Red Rock Harley-Davidson, Borderless, Tuners Nation, Jaggers Construction, DJB Gas service Inc.

Below:

Hiro Koiso Racing – The Fastest Sit On Harley Davidson in History 2018 Watch from on the bike.

My 1928 FORD AV8 Roadster

Posted on July 13, 2018January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

13 Jul

Well, Hot Rods really are never finished, you just continue to wrench, change looks and idea’s etc and thats what I love about Hot Rodding, My 1928 Ford Roadster is no Show ride, it is no super high Dollar Performance machine, nor is it a trailer Queen either.

What it is, well- To me anyways, is a Nostalgic styled AV8 Hot Rod that you would of seen on the streets on Southern California back in the late 1940’s.

It is something I really have a passion for since I was a Teenager. lucky for me I had a Three Window Coupe in the UK but my Dream was a Roadster and to have one in California, so dreams do come true and wanted to share my little Model A machine with you.

This is a real Henry Ford Body and Chassis, and the stance I have as you see it here is right on the money, have a look at many Vintage pics and you may see a late 1940’s Roadster similar to mine, I wanted to keep the Side Aprons on, these are the step covers that your fenders bolt to. Below is Jack Mickleson’s Roadster in about 1942. I think it was the last dry lake run before World War 2 was underway, I believe Don Francisco owns it but have yet to see if this Roadster survived.

Back in the day, the Hot Rodders would drive to the Dry lakes such as Harpers, Muroc or the famous El Mirage and then strip the fenders and head lights off as well as the windshield and then see how fast they could run on them dried out lake beds.

This is how she is right now, still may change a few little things and then fine tune all the time, I am hoping to eventually Louvre the front hood and the rear Rumble Seat lid.

I used a Genuine 1932 Grill and Shell and fitted the Model A Hood to it with Old style belts, then used one of Limeworks Stainless Steel dropped headlight bars with stock Model A Lights.

Shorty shocks up the front soak up as much as possible, dropped I-Beam front axle sits this front end just how I want it , I then made a Spreader bar to complete the Nostalgia going.

Not as powerful as the locomotives behind me but eventually I shall build a Hopped up Flathead for this Jalopy, right now it has a 1939 24 stud mill with Edelbrock Heads.

I shall be shortening the exhaust pipes, I did have the original Bumpers on there when the exhaust set up was made, but shall cut them back and may make a Nerf Bar for the rear.

She is sat on a set of Kelsey Hayes wire Rims with Vintage style Firestone 16 inch tall tires and it is fun to drive, she tracks a little on the freeway but thats the feel I wanted.

I have a chopped Stainless Steel windshield, another common touch that was done in the day and of course sit lower now else my head would sit up too high. LOL

it is always fun to take out, this place isnt that far from me and wanted to try and take some decent pic’s, im no pro at this but I am really happy at how these came out.

She runs stock pistons but New and right now a stock cam, later I hop to build a little growler motor that has an Isky Cam, just to get me out of trouble if I need it.

Plenty of old freight train and shunting lines around where we live and whats great is to think about 70 Years ago, this was full of Dairies, fruit trees and Flathead Motors.

Sadly, more common than not, all you will see these days is Graffiti, personally not a fan of it at all, but as it was close to the color of the Roadster, I thought a photo Opportunity awaits.

One hauls freight and the other hauls Arse!!! LOL!

Sat patiently awaiting me to jump in and stamp the right pedal and head back home, so much Hot Rod History in and around where we live in La Mirada.

A great ride and more to do, I have a Columbia 2 speed rear end for it, but have to send it away to get Bullet Proofed, not cheap but that will give me a good overdrive.

Long way to go as I would like to have Oxblood Leather interior, but for now this old Naugahyde will suffice as leather is not cheap.

Hot Rods and Trains have always gone together like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, Hot Rods use to try and race the train if there was a good straight away.

VHRA Vintage Hot Rod Association of which I joined in the 90’s back in the UK, huge part of my life to be honest and going so strong there today.

I shall always keep this Roadster, I drempt about one as a kid and here I am 5400 miles away and living that dream , totally amazes me sometimes and have to pinch myself.

I have always liked vintage stuff, be it Hot Rods, Motorcycles, Juke Boxes, Chris Craft Boats, Spitfires, Hurricanes, Thunderbolts to Dakota’s, Vintage is in my blood I guess.

Hope you like my little 1928 AV8 Roadster? I really have fun with this and enjoy the experience of feeling what a traditional Hot Rod feels like to drive and work on.

Maybe some of you can relate? As I have spoken to a few people that have Motorcycles and Hot Rods, it is a fun and to me, a therapeutic Hobby.

I will still be working on this for many years but enjoying what i do, some things work and then sometimes they dont but, mechanical parts are great to work on.

I shall be selling Hot Rod parts and Apparel so will be revamping the website a little, stay tuned to the site if you want to see what I do to this Model A Roadster of mine.

Thanks for reading my Blog today, I enjoy doing it and people often email me to say that they like looking at what I am up to out here in La Mirada.

Let me know if you have a cool ride, love to see what you are creating and of course having fun in these days, I always have a smile on my face driving the Roadster, sometimes bugs too.

Have a great weekend and enjoy life to its fullest.

Pete Henderson Ford Roadster 1932 for sale at Sotheby’s

Posted on September 13, 2017January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

13 Sep

What a great piece of Hot Rodding and Drag Racing history up for grabs, sure wish I could own this Gem. I still love the timing tag. The only one I know of issued by Russetta during the war that still exists. One week after the Normandy invasion. It was done on galvanized roofing material.

Remember the Hot Rod racing the Horse back in 1944?

” First one to the finish line wins. Just before the U.S. entered World War II, Pete Henderson competed against a race horse in Pasadena, California for a $300 purse in the first documented example of drag racing (technically a street race) that I know of. Henderson’s ’32 Ford V-8 roadster took a wicked hole shot from the horse, but caught it (just barely) at the finish, “two telephone poles” away, according to hot rod pioneer Ak Miller. From this car versus horse pairing, drag racing evolved in two parallel lanes…”

Well now this Roadster of Pete Henderson is now up for Auction at Sotheby’s, sure hope a Hot Rodder buys this.

To be OFFERED AT AUCTION at RM Sotheby’s Hershey event, October 5-6, 2017.

Offered from the estate of Ralph Whitworth
The famous ’32 Ford roadster that beat a quarter horse in 1944
Russetta Timing Association: 120.9 mph at Harper Dry Lake, 1944
Star of several hot rod movies in the 1950s
Named as one of the most significant 1932 Fords of all time
Featured on the cover of Rodder’s Journal

Presented here is a 1932 Ford highboy roadster with remarkable history. Restored as it looked in the early ’40s, it will always be known as “the hot rod that beat the racehorse

As the story goes, back in 1944, a guy with a quick quarter horse won countless bets challenging hot cars to a race. This roadster, however, had a reputation as the quickest car in the San Fernando Valley. With Pete Henderson behind the wheel, in a specially staged race held in La Habra, and witnessed by a large crowd, including speed equipment gurus Vic Edelbrock Sr., Ed Winfield, and Phil Weiand, this deuce was the only car that ever won. Ernie McAfee took a famous grainy photo showing the roadster edging out the horse. Noted hot rod racer Ak Miller and writer Gray Baskerville always said they could trace the origins of ¼-mile drag racing to that famous contest.

A few months earlier, 18-year-old Pete Henderson had purchased the speedy ’32 from Don Casselman. It was equipped with a Don Blair-built, bored, and stroked 296-cu. in. Mercury flathead, running a hot cam from the legendary Pierre “Pete” Bertrand. Milled aluminum “Denver” heads, a Weiand high-rise dual intake manifold with twin Stromberg 97s, and a Spaulding dual-point, dual coil ignition rounded out the engine modifications. Typical of street roadsters in that era, it had a neatly chopped top, but it retained the original Ford ‘push and pray’ mechanical brakes and wire wheels. On the dash, a Russetta Timing Association timing tag attests to a 120.9-mph run at Harper Dry Lake in 1944. Pete Henderson sold the car in 1946 to L. K. Chappelow of Monrovia, California, who owned it for a year before selling it to Manny Ayulo. Surviving photos show the ex-Henderson roadster competing at many L.A.-area circle tracks, driven by the soon-to-be Indy 500 star Ayulo, and later by racing stalwart Jack McGrath.

Miraculously, this roadster survived all that rough-and-tumble bullring competition and became a noted street ’32 highboy, owned by George Rowland, who added bobbed rear fenders by Art Chrisman, baby moon caps, and wide whites. Ralph “Digger” Guldahl Jr. acquired it in 1955, installed a new 265 Chevy V-8 to replace the now-tired flathead, and the roadster appeared in a host of “B” movies, including Hot Rod Gang and The Spider. Steve Lydecker bought the much-traveled deuce in 1957 when Guldahl was drafted. In ensuing years, it was owned by Art Vitteraly, then channeled, powered by a Buick V-8, and it is not known what else transpired before Robert Takahashi bought the car, after which it was purchased by Chuck Longley in June 1977.

Longley ran a few advertisements hoping to learn more information on the roadster. His query about its identity was answered by none other than Pete Henderson, the former Pasadena ‘kid’ who first made this ’32 Ford famous. As they talked, when Chuck mentioned the car’s Auburn dash panel and several distinct filled holes, Pete said “ . . . it kinda sounded like my car.” Chuck asked if Pete still had the roadster’s serial number. He did. And it was the same car!

The historic deuce still retained its original body, frame, and chopped windshield when Chuck and his son Mike began the restoration in 1995. After perusing old photos of the car, they located a proper flathead V-8, a ’34 Auburn dash panel, that rare accessory rimless steering wheel, an early Cadillac fuel pressure pump, a pair of ’39 Ford teardrop taillights, and a host of other period parts. After its restoration, the Longleys brought the car to the L.A. Roadsters Father’s Day meet where it was a big hit, and then took it to the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, where it was awarded best historic hot rod.

Featured in Rodder’s Journal, issue number 32, as well as on the cover of issue number 47, it was also named as one of the top 75 ’32 Fords of all time, and honored at the Grand National Roadster show in 2007. Soon afterward it was sold to Ralph Whitworth, who planned to display it in his museum-to-be in Winnemucca, Nevada. Invited to Pebble Beach that year, the car suffered some damage while it was being transported, and was therefore not judged. Subsequently, the roadster underwent an extensive re-restoration by National Rod & Custom Hall of Fame honoree Tim Strange, owner of Strange Engineering in Lewisburg, Tennessee. “We stripped the car to bare metal, talked to Pete quite a bit, and did a full frame-off restoration. Jamie Rice did the upholstery. Using those conversations with Pete, and studying old photographs,” Strange says, “we restored the car as close to the way Pete had built it as we could.”

With a panoply of famous owners, Top 75 ’32 Ford honors, a sparkling and accurate restoration, and the understated good looks of a classic deuce highboy, the “Pete Henderson” roadster is ready for an appreciative new owner . . . and its next quarter-mile challenger!

To view this car and others currently consigned to this auction, please visit the RM website at rmsothebys.com/.

You can also Purchase it and Donate it to me, I will always cherish it.

Thanks for looking.

15th Ventura Nationals 2017

Posted on September 4, 2017January 30, 2020 by Steve Carpenter

04 Sep

Well, here we are once again, where did the year go? So this morning, Jennifer and I jumped in the car and we headed out to this great event that I have been attending for so many years now.

I took a ton of photos whilst i was at this show, people ask me about the shows I attend and what is featured there, so, here is a Looooong blog but wanted to show you all the great stuff that was at this years 2017 Ventura Nationals show and Boy was it a great one.

Jennifer got us there pretty quick and thats good as it will be about 105 here in La Mirada so as Ventura is right on the water it should be in the high 80’s and a refreshing change for the heatwave we have right now back home.

So, we pull into the parking lot and walk into the show, always a good mixture of Kustom, Hot Rod and low rider material to drool over and we were not disappointed at all really is a great show.

There are always New rides to check out and as this is on a big area, you can still get to take a photo of them with loads of people around, it was Hot Here but not like back home and enjoyed the whole time there as you could see the cars, hear the bands and look at what the vendors were offering.

Above, just look at that Caddy, that thing has been slammed harder than a weak opponent on the WWE Cage fight, loved it and a cool color that I usually see on Jeeps, worked so well, loved all the over riders as teeth in the grill sections, shaved door handles, Skirted and in the weeds, this was a righteous machine.

OMG, just check out this 5 window from Henry F- I mean thats the F word right there, Cleaner than Mr Sheen’s bathroom and just pure class this Hot Rod almost took my breath away as it is so bang on, wickedly cool, just take a look at the body, straighter than a Roman Road.

Above, this Flathead is such a work of art, I have a Flatty but not to this standard, if I had a hat on mate, I would take it off to you and bow very humbly. Barney Navarro heads and a Thickston high Rode with Two 97’s perched on top and the longest velocity Stacks I have ever clapped my eyes upon.

I really loved the Color of this GMC Stepside, complete with vintage Beach cruiser in the back , this truck was well put together loved the paint color too, a hard one to pull off at times.

Like I said, this is a great event and something for everybody in the Kustom and Hot Rod fraternity, it was a really nice day, Hot yes but it always is this time of year and having a couple of indoor buildings was good too so you could cool off and still check out cars and vendors etc.

Blown away with this, Westergard would be proud of this Custom Coupe, More work than you would even apprehend and it sure was a head turner, Brilliant job mate, well done.

Ford and Chevy hanging out under the Sun, there is so much to see here and if you have never been before, its worth the drive up along the 101 by the Surf to get to this venue by the Sea.

1958 Ranchero was sitting nice and low, dont see too many of these around any more and was stoked to happen upon this as we walked around at the show grounds.

Then a few feet over from that 58 is this awesome 1957 Ranchero, jeez it was nice pure Kustom with Tube Grille, Tuck n Roll inner fenders, Lakes Pipes, Fender skirts and Appletons, very cool indeed.

This 1954 Ford Lincoln 2 door Coupe has all the Markings of a great Kustom, look at that front Bumper set up, Sombrero’s and fender skirts and shaved handles is just a nice clean style, cant wait to see what color scheme he goes for next time I see it at a show.

Check out this Leopard print interior on the 58 Impala, thats Old School for sure, I have always liked the 58 impala and this was no exception, even as a 4 door it was wickedly cool.

I would of loved to have driven this Pontiac Safari home, Chevy stole the rear of the rood ribbed design for their Nomad and this is a rare find these days, what a cruiser and so much room with all them bench seats it has as stock.

How can you not stop and look at a Gasser, these are so tough and a Fairlaine too, Straight axle, 10 degree rake on the motor, 5 spokes and plexi with dump tubes, Groooowlll!!!

As long and heavy as a battleship, this Caddy was slammed and not because it had 2 Vintage push bikes on the roof, such a huge car and always love seeing these Detroit Rectangles.

I have never been a fan of Studebaker Automobiles, but 1948-1955 Pick ups, Hell yes, they have a Custom look right out of the factory with their soft curves and this is a great example for a parts getter.

Hudsons never get a good wrap but I like them, a poor mans mercury they say but I would take one any day of the week, just look at that, they drive so smoothly too.

Loved this 29 on deuce rails, has all the stance right and this is a quick Mill too, I never tire of looking at Hot Rods ever!!! 16 inch steelies on Blackwalls and a deuce Grill, Killer.

This little 30 Model A was Neat, simple and I am sure they have such a Ball in this Roadster, as I know i would do too. Yeah i would change a few things like tires and stuff but each to their own and have fun my friend.

How can you not have a tri Five in here, I had one even in the UK and have always loved the Bow ties and this one os such a superb Platform for somebody to turn into what ever they wish .

How can you not show a Big Tin Lincoln anyway, I mean, these were Custom right out of the factory, one of my dream cars as a kid as they were so huge and low.

See what I mean, how cool is this? I would drive this until the Pontiac hub caps fell off, love all of its 22 feet.

Now this is one Long bed for sure, diggin the fake patina and that seemed to be a common look this year to be honest but its a good trend and a great truck, next photo is the Aluminum work.

That’s some cool work there, I think Fast Eddie from orange did this set up and it really is a nice touch with all the aircraft styled riveting. What do you lot think?

Forgive me for adding a lot of Hot Rods but I love seeing them and especially Roadsters as I have one myself and this was a clean machine and wanted to share it on this page too.

Paint work was bloody awesome, so much work with masking up etc, must of taken many hours to get all these colors and detail in and when the Sun caught it right it was quite mesmerizing.

This 51 Rag Top had so many Custom tricks, a real nice, clean and great example of American ingenuity for making something stock look so cool and stylish, I wonder what the Ford design team thought when he saw one of these when people like Hiroherta came out driving these as a daily car back then.

This 28/29 Roadster was really nicely finished, sat ontop of 1932 Rails and running Black Steelies on Firestone 16 inch Tires, this was a tight build, even has a nice Hallock/ Duvall windshield to add to the flow of this great Hot Rod, Hair pins looked pretty good in Black and SBC with tri power must of made this buzz along the freeway with ease.

I would love this Step-side as a Parts Getter too, so many cool cars either as an everyday beater or a show winning ride was featured here at Ventura and you have to try and make a show as there is not many like this with a fun atmosphere too anywhere these days, loved it all.

How about this parked right next to the other pick up, I would love either of them, cool patina and when you think back, All the farmers had these in California and all over the states, they worked them hard and so nice to still see them around especially with the quarter windows too.

Jeez, almost get a nose bleed from sitting this high, this Plymouth Savoy is a rare sight as a Full on Gasser, spindle mount Magnesium rims, straight axle and Mickey T rear tires gibes this machine a total look of 60’s Nostalgia drags.

I am certain that I saw this on the Salt flats a couple of weeks ago, now sitting proudly amongst the other rides but this was a hard core drive as i saw this all over Bonneville at Speed week and loved this roadster, not many that can be around with twin intakes in the hood like that right?

This was the ride I saw on the Lake bed in Utah as it has the 40 Ford dash, wicked machine that I will never tire of looking at and wouldnt change anything on it just enjoy the ride in a real Nostalgic machine.

Now there is a traditional Hot rod, check out the Aircraft syle shocks, the Early headlights of a Truck, Fireball caps on 16 inch steelies with tractor Firestome tires, looks like he got all the salt off it.

Now this is taking shape and great to see a slightly different twist to a Custom, Caddy thin tail lights blend in quite well, sits really well and look forward to seeing this ride completed at some point.

Gearheads Roadster Pick up was in the weeds too, dago front axle is a nice touch and Juice brakes all around. Baby Blue seems a popular color this year as well.

Way cool, low and love that Ford Burgandy Factory Paint color, Tube grill and nice roof chop with big rear fender skirts makes this Nosed and decked Kustom stand out.

Nosed, decked, shaved, frenched, lake pipes, Starburst caps, Floating grille, Foxcraft Skirts made this a head turner as well, so much detail, loved it all the way to the rear end.

It’s like Kustoms of America show, so many Nostalgic builds on show this year and really cool to see, like I said, something for everyone at Ventura show and glad we attended thats for sure.

Flatty Powered Closed Cab pick up was neat, not sure how it stayed cool with them radiator pipes but it was a neat touch none the less, section deuce grill was a nice touch as well.

A little bit of work gone on here on this 21 stud, early offenhauser, even has a Dizzy on it, complete with two 97’s and finned alloy Air filter covers.

Super neat little Modified was sat in the parking area, enjoying the Sea breeze as it wafted across from the beach a few hundred yards away. This was a nicely built rig, loved seeing it here.

How about this, the big guns were out, chopped Olds 4 door looked really tough as it sat on the concrete, whilst above a Falcon Panel sat on an early flatbed, that looked great as well.

Yup, even some love from the Low Riders were there and all as clean as their Grand ma’s Kitchen too, so many hours go into these machines and a good turn out too here at the show.

The paint on these are faultless, so many hours of color sanding and buffing alone, but so cool to see the Low Riders represented here and a few more photos coming up for you to look at.

As we wondered around the show grounds, I took photos of what I personally liked and hope that you enjoy these too as the quality was so good, its hard to show and appreciate sometimes in a photo but you can see how tidy the paint and Bright Work is on these jumping Machines.

Out side one of the Halls were these 2 Roadsters, very cool concepts and I am sure these are a real blast to drive around this weekend, its Roadster weather and by the beach, what could be better?

Just past them trees is the beach and a pleasant Breeze wafted in from time to time and a lot cooler than back here in Orange county, we found that out when we got back.

Look how clean this Rivera is, cleaner than it was from the Factory and many people enjoyed the Low riders here and I was one of them, these are all big wide machines too, love it all.

Loved this Galaxie 500, low and sleek with chrome 5 spokes and subtle scalloping, this Candy Aztec Cold paint really popped when the sun hit it, custom interior was Tuck n Roll and of course, what cruiser is not complete without a set of Bellflower tips?

Nose to tail, many different styles and Models make this show a hit for everybody, there is so much to see and there is no way you cannot enjoy yourself at this fantastic event in Ventura.

1929 Banger here very 60’s style with drilled and chromed front I Beam, reverse steelies deuce grill shell, TJ tuck N Roll and a Naugahyde white top with chrome Hairpins was sitting pretty.

Below: This little Boat tailed Modified looked fun to drive, running a 4 carbs set up, this was no slow poke thats for certain, schroder steering and Dago front end on Red steelies was way cool.

So much work went into this and I am sure nobody noticed half of the cool work and engineering that was finished to complete this Low Channeled Roadster. I really dug it and would drive that.

Reminds me of the old Mana – Free intakes of the day, frog mouth velocity stakes suck in more air than a breaching whale, Boat style windshield sets the styling of low and sleek but not meek.

Sometimes thinking out of the box pays off, this Roadster certainly did and Id would of loved to have taken this on the dry lakes to see what it would do as it screams SCTA back in the day.

Hard to imagine how many masking hours and rubbing down on this Buick Low Rider, painstakingly crafted over many a night in the garage I am sure, so many vibrant colors too.

Look how tight the Bumper is, a very straight ride with more colors than some of the Hawaiian shirts I saw people wearing this weekend.

Nostalgia all the way with this car club, and driving up or down the freeway to get to the show must of turned many a head when the public clapped eyes on these Low Riders, awesome job.

Loved this 48 Stepside Chevy Pick up, sat in the weeks, Chrome reverse steelies and big wide whites, the chrome was impeccable and would enjoy driving this truck around every day.

This impala was another fine example of hard work and pleasure, the lines are so sleek and the paint was as smooth as butter milk, such a clean 2 door that needed more recognition to be honest. All the trim was clean and straight, I didn’t see any blemishes at all, well done mate.

I will never ever tire of Caddys, I mean they are the quintessential American Automobile and this 58 2 door D Cup special was a machine I always wanted to have and drive, Darn straight too.

I really do love Kustom built rides, as every creation is unique, never do you see exactly the same ride and the body mods are off the hook, love the gradient roof chop, the rear arches really flow as does the fender skirt and them Cadillac Bumpers really look tight, love to see the Custom grill when its done, Sombreros too, just a wicked ride that looks so right.

Always something different to look at every show and this was, Candy plum and right in the weeds too, this mercury is probably the only one like this and deserves recognition of all that work.

Check this Bow Tie pick up out, the Aztec Candy Gold really pops in the California Sun, just very cool and many people loved this truck and you can see why, everything was so nice on it.

Brit mates Bev and Jay dean from Nostalgia ranch were representing in the building with 3 very cool rides, in the back ground a fully fendered Model A with a 4 banger, sat so right.

Then this awesome AV8 that was built back in the day and in a few B movies too was locally found and now sits proudly on the Nostalgia Ranch’s display area, I loved this Roadster.

Jay dean built this for a customer and it is a flawless machine, the paint was flawless and Camel Hump finned covers dress out the Gold Motor well, stunning job Jay. Really well built.

Hubba Hubba, loved this Teal 3 window, the whole color scheme just worked so right, sat well and with that Hemi I am sure it wouldn’t hang about on the freeway.

Stock A Bone sitting in somewhat cooler climate inside the show building but it was pretty humid in there, soon forgot about it when you see all the Hot Rods parked up on display though.

So nice, So Nostalgic, So Cool, I would love this, its one of those period perfect machines that you simply just keep looking and looking at, loved everything about this Roadster.

Looks great from any angle, the chopped and raked windshield gives it that late 1940’s look and Black on black makes this so stealthy steelies and dropped headlight bar really does set the scene. Looks like it stepped right out of HOP UP magazine.

What a treat for me to see such period style Hot Rods, I have loved these as a teenager in England and I loved the style, color, and the stance of this Roadster really nice job, well done indeed.

How can you not stop and look at this 53? I mean look how it sits, the chop? the Bumper? the paint, the rear end and Deep dish Sombrero’s, loved it all and so much work put into this ride.

Quality work here on this 5 window Model A, very clean and 50’s styling hits the target by a bulls-eye, great look and color too. A lot of detail in this Coupe.

How much fun would you have in this Flathead powered 1929 Roadster? I know I would, a great shop truck for sure, some awesome machines on display and so glad that we made the trip.

I saw no information on this car but looks like a concept or Custom design from back in the day when features in HONK, Hop Up, Hot Rod and Rod & restyling were the dominant magazines.

A lot of work, I think it may of been a 40 Convertable and then they went from there, so much work, would of liked some information on this build, if I find out I shall let everyone know on here.

Another traditional Coupe, Unfendered and unchopped with Original Cal plates too, flatty powered with dual 97’s is a bit of California History for sure, wonder where this has been over the years?

This looked to be a cut down coupe but sure had great lines to it and looks like the 24 stud Mill is dialed in, love to know a bit more about this ride too if any body knows, drop me a line.

Who wouldn’t drive this Roadster around? My god it was so clean, fresh and just proportioned so well, fantastic creation that shows passion and creativity to its fullest Nice build you lot.

Sorry for the blurry shot, too excited im afraid, but you would under stand if you came out to Ventura for this show as there is so much cool stuff to clap your eyes on here, Roll on 2018.

The Color scheme worked out well on this, sits well and has a great rake to it, digging the lake style pipes and the long Stainless spear gives the body a really long flow, skirts were awesome.

Yeah I have seen many Yellow coupes in the past but this really sat well on 16 inch Blackwalls and the Black 32 Grill set up was a great choice, Id love it and am sure you would too?

So many great rides here, I would love to take ANY one of these back home to my place, I really did like the proportions of this 5 window and the Motor detailing really dig set this off from many.

Right here, this was the Killer machine for me, look how sweet this Roadster is, I have always liked Blue, I built a flat Blue 29 roadster about 12 years ago, but this is right all over the place.

Look at that, lovely eh? Belond headers, Canadian heads, Thickston high rise intake Manifold, Dual Carbs with whispering velocity stacks and check out that over flow tank too.

Such a great Hot Rod, Crestliner steering wheel, 39 box with swan neck, Early Race gauges, Deco control switch panel was just something I could not stop looking at, so much was right on the money here.

Sorry for the blurry photo, too excited I guess, what a wicked ride and would of loved to have seen this on the road as I bet it is a real fun jalopy to bimble about on the roads with.

Another quality Channeled machine, right out of Rodders journal for me, awesome job on detail and loved the louvers in the hood and that dropped headlight bar sure is wicked, brilliant. I then realized it was a buddy of mines Roadster, Tom Branch from Pasadena, love the whole family and true Hot Rodders they go the whole 9 yards.

Keith Weesner’s Roadster Many years ago, I was always amazed by this ride and loved seeing it at all the shows many years ago, it just had everything right about it and sat so well.

Then unfortuantly a buddy of his was driving this to a show when someone hit him, hard- Sending Aaron into the air breaking his ribs and other injuries, the Roadster was in bad shape and so was aaron, but, pleased to say both repaired and to see this Roadster again after all this years, was almost a tear up moment.

Well done Keith a brilliant machine and so stoked to see her back up and running again and looking a little more completed too, will always love this Hot Rod and this made my whole weekend seeing this Roadster.

A superb job putting this all straight and getting this all back together, took time, patience, hard earned money and many many hours of labor but boy did it come out stunning, just real sweet.

I looked out for Keith but he was busy running around being congratulated for sure to seeing his original Roadster now resurrected and back to be a driven Burbank Choppers Hot Rod.

So, here it is all fixed and boy does it look a million dollars, I am truly stoked for your Keith and know that you smile every time you turn that key and hear that Flathead V8 fire back into life again.

Saw this little 5 window Baking in the Sun in its Flat Black coat of paint, wasn’t until I looked at the photos I noticed it had a Cam shaft as a spreader bar, its all in the details eh?

I didnt get as cool as a shot as I was hoping but this sure had a lot of work done and I had not seen this car before so had to take a shot, albeit it came out a little dark but nice to see.

So many cars had flaked tops this year, great to see and people really have no idea on how hard it is to sand, mask and paint roofs, but loved looking at these on a sunny day here.

From one flake ride to another that had the whole body sprayed with so much flake, I think it may of even reflected to the Sun and blinded it, this must of taken month to paint to this level.

the devils in the Details and look how detailed and perfect this is, the lines across the hood to the fender line up just right, kudos to the painter and I hope a well deserved tip and crate of beer.

More Low riders but this time in one of the halls that were located inside the fair grounds, a little more cooler but hell, the humidity was off the bloody hook in there.

This Banana Painted 58 Impala was tricked out and had all the cool accessories of the day in it as well, you would not lose this in a parking lot thats for certain.

How tough was this Merc? My mate Kevan Sledge builds wicked sleds like this and it reminded of my days hanging with the Shifters, this had a great look to it and I bet it looks great going down the highway as it just sat so nice on the ground.

I have always loved Burgundy, mostly because the Fords had this color but it sure looks so fitting on this Bow tie, nice ride and has the old school accents of Appleton’s and Skirts to finish it off.

I dig this Apache, I would just drive the 5 spokes off it as it right now, and still enough room for parts to throw in the bed, big strong Chevy Pick ups look great like this and the owner nailed it.

What a colorful and cool line up of Rides here in one spot, so many great machines were parked all over the fair grounds and it was sweet to be able to get up so close and personal.

Been a while since I have been to a show , where I have falling in love with so many rides, but there were so many cool builds this year and it was a thrill to be able to walk around and check them out this weekend, I really did have a great time checking everything out at Ventura.

Blue skies, Palm trees, Great rides, cold beverages, and great music was the order of the day here and so much of it, this is no small show by any means and one of the friendliest too.

Loved the work on this Pontiac, flows so well and the subtle antenna tunnel came out so well on the hood, I was very impressed with this car and was glad I took a photo to share with you lot.

Little Flatty Powered Model T Roadster was sat here, Sun bathing in the Saturday sun, dont see too many T’s around these days and this look like a fun ride to Blap about in on weekends.

Dont see too many wagons either, loved the pun on the Mothers name too. Probably the last time I clap my eyes on one of these as you really don’t seem them about on the roads any more.

At least some of you lot found some shade to relax and kick back, we saw quite a few friends and was a great meeting place to just catch up on times gone by.

So many great Pick Ups this year too, I loved this stepside with the little Monkey bike in the back, perfect set up for going to swap meets, this sat so well and was pretty darn straight too.

Chevys and Palm tree’s, yup, we sure are in California and not a cloud in the sky, with a nice breeze from the Sea, made this show a big hit yet again, so many great Machines made the trip.

There was also a few Barber shops on hand to give you a trim or a shave, and this 58 F150 looked really good sat in front of its Polished Airstream trailer that is turned into a Barber shop.

There was plenty of customers and this was not the only barber shop here, such a fun place and a good Vibe by all, this made for a Brilliant event and hope you lot may make it next year?

Check out this Little Bambi trailer, all decked out, get your hair cut or buy your Pomade, it was all good and friendly atmosphere, loved it all as I used to restore travel trailers in 2000.

This one was another full on barber shop and business was good, I wish I had thought of this years ago when I restored these but great to see this being popular and thumbs up to everyone.

That is one Happy Customer there sending love to me for taking the shot, These Airstreams are becoming quite popular and I hope to get one for the roadster one of these days.

Support your barbers, its a great trade to have and what better way to get your Noggin freshened up than in one of these shiny time capsules, your head or beard will love you for it.

Yep, this is the Ventura Nationals alright, cool Customs in California Sunshine by the beach.

Wow, I took more photos than I thought, I have to stop for a while and rest my poor fingers from all this typing, but hope you have enjoyed at least some of the snaps I managed to take for you.

Mind Blown, what a sweet ride, on the floor and is as smooth as a babies bum, loved the Gold Pearl and I am sure it was smooth to drive to Ventura as well, Love seeing all this in one place.

Back side shot and so impressive to see, these really are true works of art, love the way they have laid the rear windshield back like Anthony Castaneda used to build, reminded me of that great guy.

I see this truck a lot up by my warehouse in Norwalk, I think the fella is called danny and this must of been built 15-20 years ago and still going strong today, such a killer looking ride.

The amount of cool rides this year was outstanding, the body work on these rides are so smooth, just many hours of sanding, filling, painting and of course sweating, trying to get the lines to flow.

There were too many to have a favorite but I personally would of loved to have ANY one of these rides, look at this 53, I mean its so sweet, love the Stainless Trim and the tight bumper guard.

Palm trees line the road into the show and Blue skies with a slight Sea Breeze was really welcomed, so much to see and a really cool Vibe with the Music going, food Cooking and people laughing, that stood out to me, as everyone was having a great time and enjoying this passion we have with old tin.

Easy ups all over the place, people were all happy, and more than willing to chat about their ride etc, if you can get to this show out here in Ventura, you will really enjoy yourselves .

You will be surprised as to how many vehicles are at this show, it winds itself around the 2 main Halls and spreads over the entire fairgrounds in all corners too, so much stuff to check out.

The Big Guns sitting in the Grass look somewhat content to bask in the Sun, to the left was where Vendors were selling their wares and plenty to choose from and great to support them too.

We spent quite some time walking about and taking in everything, met quite a few friends that I had not seen in a long time, thats another great thing about these shows, its an awesome place to chinwag with buddies from afar and see what they have been up too etc.

Super nice Step Side that would make for one very cool Shop Truck- Parts Getter etc, I saw a lot of step sides this year, always great to see these work horses still on the tarmac.

This Thunderbird reminded me of a Gene Winfield-Larry Watson styled Kustom, these cars are so comfortable to drive and it must of been such a nice Cruise on the way to the show in this.

This was another head turner for me as so much work involved to get this ride to look as cool as it does now, I cant wait to see the Color scheme when all completed, thats a wowza!!!

So many great Colors and wheel combinations, took this photo as we walked to the back part of the show, more tarmac there and even more vehicles to have a good look at and enjoy.

Walked by Chevy Corner, Nice rides spread out all over the place and seemed like everybody was having a blast hanging out and meeting new friends in this part of the show grounds.

Also a good thing about this event is some of these vehicles are for sale, and what better way to check a ride out to purchase than here, I saw many great machines available to buy.

This was looking good and, by the color of the Dash , it could be painted a really deep Candy Purple and I am digging that,Love the tail lights, the rear trunck and Bumper set up on this.

Come in Number 9, your time is up, this 5 window sits well and dorns an early 21 stud flatty for its mill, cool 50’s style Hot Rod thats was nice to see hanging out with everyone.

Plenty of cool Fords to take a gander at as well, this hot day was getting hotter, but we nipped into the Hall to cool off and then came back out, the trick is to make sure you Hydrate here.

Here is the Raffle Car, money goes towards the Children’s Project and a very worthy cause, I wonder who won this as it was stunning to see in its deep Blue paint, sweet ride for sure.

To get this to have Suicide doors takes a lot of time and patience and this paid off big time, just look at the detail in this machine, although them Velocity stacks on that coupe is grabbing your eye too I am sure?

Look from this side and even more great Custom Body work was achieved, so many hours in this car, I just had to stop for a bit and take it all in, Machete is a great title for the car.

Take a look at this Roadster, thats sure is a sweet ride, sits well, awesome finish, show standard, but is that the owner? He is HUUGE!

if you have a Dictionary by you, look up Bitching Kustom Coupe and I bet this ride pops up, what a wicked Kustom,whats not to like about this 5 window, even the color is right on the money.

Just something about an Early Cadillac that turns my dial, the color also enhances its appeal too, how great would this be to cruise Route 66 and ride in pure style and comfort.

This warrants another look but from the Arse end, look at those lines, the long swooping rear fenders to a small shark fin, the wrap around bumpers and huge trunk lid its just perfect for me.

I love Blue Suede more than Carl Perkins and Elvis, and this owner does too, what a wicked low and sleek machine, this 2 door post looks like its a mile long, perfect roof chop too.

More Teeth than Liberace, this Bow tie was Clean as a new washing machine, Desoto grills are a hard item to locate these days, nice to see a lot of traditional styling on the rides out there.

Guys heading home and I am sure they had a really cool time at the Ventura Nationals, this is a fun place to come and visit, see if you lot can make it out here next year and say hello.

Not too many Motorcycle this year but thats probably as Born Free was only on a few weeks earlier, but, what was on show here were really cool, check out the finned gas tank.

This was the show stopper for me, what a wicked Trumpy, loved everything about this machine, reversed head is a nice touch and the dump tube exhaust is Killer.

Another great Bobber, Triumphs really do make great Custom machines and this has a ton of work too, great to see these here and they got a lot of attention parked up here.

Always dig these machines and hard to find these days, I wanted one of these as a kid but out of my price range back then and sweet to see here in Ventura with the other cool Motorcycles.

This years show was superb, Jennifer even found some very cool Tropical flower head pieces at one booth.

Check out some of the cool hand made flower accessories that this Booth makes and sells and all from California as well. I took a few snaps just to show how very detailed these accessories were and worth the money, these are not easy to make.

Below is some photos I took as this show is for everyone, so only fair that the Girls get a look at some of the stuff available at the Ventura nationals event.

See how detailed they are, very Tropical and as Jennifer is Hawaiian, this really suits her and love to see ANY Polynesian art or crafts that has that 50’s styling and this was certainly it.

The One above is the style Jennifer liked, so she bought that and I like the fact that these are hand made and really exotic, none of that cheap paper stuff from Taiwan.

So next year, bring ya Girlie out as there were all sorts of things from clothes to bags to Sun Glasses, something for everyone and I know you would all enjoy the shows Vendors here.

One of my best buddies and one of the first guys I met when I moved to these great shores in 2000, Patrick has always been cool and loves everyone, he was running the Splinter Nationals and a fun thing to get into, Love ya Pat.

Cant go without seeing this Original Roadster thats been in a few movies back in the day, so cool to see this, what a wicked find this must of been to get it as the original Hot Rod.

Would of loved to have heard this Roadster fire up, I have seen the movies and even had a few lobby cards of this Roadster back in the Uk in the early 1980’s, who’d of thought I would be seeing this in the flesh, such a bitchin machine and so glad we attended the show.

So, we left the building and headed for home, what a great Saturday we had, saw so many great cars and Motorcycles, awesome vendors and met super cool people, so until next time.

We head home on the freeway and look forward to the next show in a years time, hope that you can make it as well. Thanks for reading my Blog, hope that you enjoyed it?

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