Year: 2016

Each year the Hot Rod Garage Open House starts filling up early. There’s no car show but it’s suggested that people bring their cool cars and the street in front of the shop fills up quickly. By 8am there were more cars than there normally were by 10 am so I knew two things, they were going to run out of room and next year I’ll have to show up earlier. More to come tomorrow.

2017 Royboy Calendars are on sale now!

Continue reading “2016 Hot Rod Garage Open House Coverage Pt 3”

Over the years of attending the Hot Rod Garage Open House and stopping by the shop when I was in the area I’ve seen a bunch of different styles of builds. A mid 70’s Lamborghini, vintage Packards, modern Jeeps, mid 50’s Chevys, period perfect hot rods, they keep me guessing every time I walk through the doors. More to come tomorrow.

 

Continue reading “2016 Hot Rod Garage Open House Coverage Pt 2”

For a few years now I’ve been heading down to Sand Springs, OK to Hot Rod Garage, Inc’s annual open house and drag racer reunion. HRG has been building amazing cars for a long time and they work hard to bring a bunch of great front end dragsters to the open house to do a cackle fest. Over the years at this event they’ve also had recent a Ridler winning car and this year Goodguys Hot Rod Of The Year was there. It’s a great crowd of cars. More to come tomorrow.

Continue reading “2016 Hot Rod Garage Open House Coverage Pt 1”

While I was busy working the 2016 BluesMasters At The Crossroads in Salina, KS this weekend, John Wells of Retro Rewind Dubuque, Vintage Torque Fest and Iron Invasion was out in California at the California Hot Rod Reunion. He was kind enough to share these photos so that you all could check out the event. Enjoy.

Continue reading “2016 California Hot Rod Reunion by John Wells”

Text and photos by Nick Hoesing

During the past couple of years, here in Omaha, we’ve gathered a group of cars that we call “Hot Rods of Omaha”. It is really just a group of like-minded friends with traditionally styled hot rods. Quite often we get asked if it’s a car club and the answer will always be ‘no’. We all enjoy the ease and informality of the group.

We also enjoy getting the cars out and driving them quite often. With that in mind, I set up the first annual Hot Rods of Omaha Reliability Run. We only had a couple weeks to get the word out and it was open to all pre-’72 vehicles. With the help of social media and word of mouth, we had approximately 80 cars, pickups, and motorcycles on the run. The overcast weather cleared up and we ended up with a great day for a cruise. We met in northeast Omaha and the route took us through the Loess Hills of Iowa, back into Nebraska, a stop on an original brick portion of the Lincoln Highway in west Omaha, and ended in the Benson area of town. Much of the route was actually old Lincoln Highway and added up to 85 miles.

Big thanks to all that joined us. I hope you enjoyed the day as much as I did! We will definitely do it again next year.

 

Continue reading “2016 Hot Rods Of Omaha Reliability Run”

Finally around 9am I got back in line to get into the show. The line was long and I was stoked for a great day at the Bayou Round Up. So many great rides in the Blackham Coliseum! So many great vendors out side! Great bands on the stage! Plus a ton of awesome rides out side. Throw in a taco truck in an Airstream trailer with AMAZING brisket burritos, what’s not to like?

Around 2:30 I finally realized that I needed to hit the road if I was going to make any good time getting home. So, since I was done shooting about 300 photos I decided to make tracks north. A couple more hours back up I-49 with all of those dang trees and then I found myself at Texarkana, heading west into Texas. Ah Texas… how I love thee. 2 lane highway with wide shoulders and 70mph speed limits. THAT is how you do it Arkansas! None of that 55mph crap on a big wide road!

600 miles later I was at my hotel in Bartlesville, OK around 11:30pm. It had been a long day and I was ready for another full night of sleep. Sunday I made my way back north, again avoiding some thunderstorms and finally was home Sunday evening after a quick run in with a police officer that did not like my speed… oops, the new rear gear makes the speedometer a bit off.

All in all it was a 72 hour trip driving 1,729 miles and I had 1 hell of a good time. Thanks for all of the birthday wishes, I do appreciate it.

 

Continue reading “2016 Bayou Round Up Coverage Pt. 5 Brought To You By Speedway Motors”

I arrived to the 2016 Bayou Round Up about two hours before the gates were advertised to be open. I was about fourth in line to get my Galaxie in to the show. Then I realized that the car was trashed on the outside still. A quick trip was made down the street in search of a car wash. The apps on my phone that I usually use to find stuff in other cities lead me either to full service car washes or finally a gas station which had an automatic system, although it was certainly out of service. Lucky for me a local was able to send me in the right direction for a place where I could wash a few layers of grime from my ride.

 

Continue reading “2016 Bayou Round Up Coverage Pt. 4 Brought To You By Speedway Motors”

Continuing the 2016 Bayou Round Up from yesterday, I was finally on the south side of Shreveport, I’m within a couple of hours of Lafayette. By this point I’m feeling awful, I’m still not sure what caused it. Headache, a bit light headed, maybe a little nausea, oh what fun I was having! But I was more than 7 hours into what was supposed to be a 9+ hour drive and I was not going to stop. Did I mention the trees? Holy crap, I get it, you like trees. 3 hours of just trees had me feeling almost claustrophobic! I won’t complain about western KS ever again, you may not be able to see much, but you can see the horizon!

I finally reached my hotel around 7:30pm, and instead of going and hanging out with folks in the square and listening to music, seeing cars and people I went to bed. At 7:30. I know how to party! 11 hours later I woke up feeling like a million bucks. That was worth it!

 

Continue reading “2016 Bayou Round Up Coverage Pt. 3 Brought To You By Speedway Motors”

Continuing the 2016 Bayou Round Up from yesterday, I saw no alligators this trip. As I headed south from Joplin on Friday morning the scenery was great. I’d never been to Arkansas before (to my knowledge), and I was enjoying the drive for awhile. Interstate driving is never my favorite except for when I need to make time. I was making time right up until the I-49 ended. Then I was frustrated by a 55mph speed limit on a road that anywhere else would be a 65mph and people in front of me intent on keeping the speed limit. Again, some scenery, some fun driving… well for 55mph. It was painstakingly slow.

After a few years of driving that road I finally got to the next section, an interstate. Fine, whatever… just let me roll! Before long I was cruising into northwestern Louisiana along I-49 again it doesn’t exist in the interim stretch from Fort Smith to Texarkana, but again I was at speed, even if it was on an interstate. The odd thing was that from Texarkana down to Shreveport it was almost deserted. It ends abruptly a few miles from joining the interstates that loop around Shrevesport, sending you down Highway 71, then through some horribly rough under construction roads.

More of the story tomorrow…

Continue reading “2016 Bayou Round Up Coverage Pt. 2 Brought To You By Speedway Motors”

Oct. 8th, 2016

Lafayette, LA

The 2016 Bayou Roundup was my first trip to Louisiana since I was a small child and rode with my grandparents on a trip to deliver a giant tire to a farm. The tire was one like a monster truck uses, we delivered it to some farm land that was made from a drained swamp. All I really remembered about Louisiana from that trip was driving on an interstate and looking out into the swamps below, knowing that they had alligators in them. I’m not sure if I was excited or terrified back then but that’s what I had in my mind when I decided to return to Louisiana for the 2nd Annual Bayou Round Up. I didn’t see any real swamps or alligators this trip. Booooooo.

The story for this trip starts on Thursday afternoon, I planned on leaving right after work so I drove the Galaxie to the office. It turned into an exciting afternoon, read the captions below to get more of the details.

More of the story tomorrow.

Continue reading “2016 Bayou Round Up Coverage Pt. 1 Brought To You By Speedway Motors”

It’s that time of year again! Time to decide what goes in next year’s calendars. As last year I’m going to let all of you help decide. There are over 70 photos to choose from in the Truck edition. I weeded out a few thousand to get down to that. So here’s how it will work, the calendars will be available for pre-order in a week or so but before that we have to get down to 26 photos to use in the calendar.

So I need you to comment at the bottom of this blog post and tell me the number that is BELOW your favorite images, one image per person. Yes you must be logged in to Facebook to comment, sorry, but them’s the rules. I will pick one comment to win a free copy of the Royboy 2017 Truck Calendar!

Click here to order one of the new Todd Jones Designed Chevy Kustom shirts!

Continue reading “Vote For the 2017 Trucks Calendar Photos”

It’s that time of year again! Time to decide what goes in next year’s calendars. As last year I’m going to let all of you help decide. There are 88 photos to choose from in the Drag edition. I weeded out a few thousand to get down to that. So here’s how it will work, the calendars will be available for pre-order in a week or so but before that we have to get down to 26 photos to use in the calendar.

So I need you to comment at the bottom of this blog post and tell me the number that is BELOW your favorite images, one image per person. Yes you must be logged in to Facebook to comment, sorry, but them’s the rules. I will pick one comment to win a free copy of the Royboy 2017 Drag Calendar!

Click here to order one of the new Todd Jones Designed Chevy Kustom shirts!

Continue reading “Vote For The 2017 Drag Calendar Photos”

It’s that time of year again! Time to decide what goes in next year’s calendars. As last year I’m going to let all of you help decide. There are 109 photos to choose from in the Kustom edition. I weeded out a few thousand to get down to that. So here’s how it will work, the calendars will be available for pre-order in a week or so but before that we have to get down to 26 photos to use in the calendar.

So I need you to comment at the bottom of this blog post and tell me the number that is BELOW your favorite images, one image per person. Yes you must be logged in to Facebook to comment, sorry, but them’s the rules. I will pick one comment to win a free copy of the Royboy 2017 Kustoms Calendar!

Click here to order one of the new Todd Jones Designed Chevy Kustom shirts!

Continue reading “Vote For The 2017 Kustom Calendar Photos”

 

It’s that time of year again! Time to decide what goes in next year’s calendars. As last year I’m going to let all of you help decide. There are about 135 photos to choose from in the Hot Rod edition. I weeded out a few thousand to get down to that. So here’s how it will work, the calendars will be available for pre-order in a week or so but before that we have to get down to 26 photos to use in the calendar.

So I need you to comment at the bottom of this blog post and tell me the number that is BELOW your favorite images, one image per person. Yes you must be logged in to Facebook to comment, sorry, but them’s the rules. I will pick one comment to win a free copy of the Royboy 2017 Hot Rod Calendar!

Click here to order one of the new Todd Jones Designed Chevy Kustom shirts!

Continue reading “Vote For The 2017 Hot Rod Calendar Photos”

Click here to order one of the new Todd Jones Designed Chevy Kustom shirts!

The show is held on the main drag of Goodland, KS, a brick street with some amazing old buildings lining the east and west sides. Show registration is in a school building right on the main drag and was set up to flow a bunch of people quickly. Some bigger shows could really take a hint from how they had the room set up.

After getting the car washed and registered it was time to grab the camera and grab these images. Being a fairly small show I knew it wouldn’t take long to cover the event so I took my time walking the street and talking with folks. Lots of great cars and people were on hand. The forecasted bad weather over Friday night might have kept some away, it was certainly ominous as I drove up the highway friday night. Still lots of great cars on the brick street though.

At the end of the day each show registrant had a wrist band for a free chicken fried chicken dinner at the Elk’s Lodge, then we gathered back on the main street for a cruise. All of the motorcycles that I had missed because I never ventured past the center of the show were all lined up heading south, the cars were lined up heading north and the two groups started cruising at the same time. It was almost like a parade with how many vehicles were on the street, some throwing out candy, one with a trailer featuring a guitar player jamming as they drove down the street, hot rods, customs, drag machines, muscle cars, trucks, etc out having a great time.

After that a band fired up in Murray’s Kustoms and we had a great time until I had to split because I found someone to help me load my 51, which now had no brakes. So the car was loaded and I was in the room a bit before I wanted to be but it was still a good day.

Continue reading “2016 Goodland Flatlander Car Show Pt. 2”

Click here to order one of the new Todd Jones Designed Chevy Kustom shirts!

My buddy Matt Murray of Murray’s Kustoms in Goodland, KS has been inviting me out to the Flatlander Fall Festival Car Show for the last couple of years. Finally with no other conflicts on my schedule I was able to make it out this year. With my Galaxie in Joplin getting some prep for the 48Cars 48 States trip I am down to 1 cool car, my 51 Ford. It wasn’t quite up to the 500 mile round trip journey so I borrowed a truck and trailer and headed out Friday evening.

Arriving after most had gone to bed I was awoken Saturday morning to texts telling me what time to be where, etc. I was already late. Matt is a member of the Lonely Knights Car Club out of Colorado Springs and a bunch of the LK folks come out to KS each year for the event. They saved a spot for me just in front of Matt’s shop so I slid in there and the day began. More tomorrow with Part 2 of the event coverage.

 

Continue reading “2016 Goodland Flatlander Car Show Pt. 1”

I honestly didn’t plan on shooting that many photos, I hope you’ve enjoyed the coverage from the 2016 Hot Rod Hill Climb! The new venue of Central City, Colorado worked out wonderfully. The only hiccup I saw was that the host hotel should have let anyone in to the Saturday night party as long as they had a pit pass wrist band on. There were a ton of people that were turned away from the party because of that. So other than that (completely out of the hands of the event organizers), the event seemed to go amazingly from my vantage point. I will be back!

Continue reading “2016 Hot Rod Hill Climb Part 8 Brought To You By Speedway Motors”

A new addition for the Hot Rod Hill Climb this year was a giant tower that was a great vantage point. Most of this post was shot from the top of the tower. Enjoy the new view! More tomorrow, one last post coming.

 

Continue reading “2016 Hot Rod Hill Climb Part 7 Brought To You By Speedway Motors”

After the National Anthem and the parade lap it was time to start the action! First car up is always the T-33 recreation that Nick’s Garage built, driven by Cal Kennedy just like he drove the original car in the 1953 Hill Climb. The smile on Cal’s face was the best of the many smiles that were seen throughout the weekend. Enjoy the start of the Hill Climb action!

Continue reading “2016 Hot Rod Hill Climb Part 6 Brought To You By Speedway Motors”

Today I show you the rest of the parade that started Saturday’s activities. The parade was used not only to show the spectators the cars in motion and out of the pits but also to give all of the drivers a real world view of the course and the return run. Being in Central City allowed the Hot Rod Hill Climb to run basically continuously all day long because of the return run. In the years at Georgetown each car could expect to make either 1 or 2 runs as the road had to be re-opened after the group went up. This year cars made up to 13 trips up the mountain.

Continue reading “2016 Hot Rod Hill Climb Part 5 Brought To You By Speedway Motors”