Hot Rods and Kustom Cars
A few years ago I heard of a new show in the Kansas City area and I decided to head up to check it out. The Kansas City Geargrinder. It was a kool show at a great venue called Knuckleheads, which is a fantastic live music joint in KCMO.
I haven’t been back to the show since due to weather and a conflicting schedule. I hope the show comes back and is bigger and better than ever. Here’s a slideshow from that show, click on any of the photos to go to the full gallery.
See you at a show,
Travis
For the last few years I’ve been attending a great small event called the H.A.M.B.B.Q. it’s put on by a friend that happens to be on the H.A.M.B. if you don’t know what that is, go over and have a look. It’s the message board for the Jalopy Journal a site dedicated to traditional hot rods & kustoms.
This year’s event info is here.
This post is not so much to invite you, although if you are a H.A.M.B. member and in the area come on out, as it is to hopefully inspire you to get some fellow hot rod and/or kustom folks together to go on a run, actually drive your cars and end up some place kool.
Here are a couple of slide shows from the last couple of H.A.M.B.B.Q. runs!
2012
2011
Get out and do something kool with your rides and your friends and make some new friends,
See you at a show,
Travis
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Art
In this post I’m going to share some of the more artful edits from my Lonestar Roundup trip, tomorrow we’re on to a new topic. 🙂
All of these are available as prints or high resolution downloads if you click on them and then use the “buy” button.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Art
Hopefully you like them, if you do, pick up a print for yourself by clicking on any of them then using the “buy” button on that site to get prints from 4×6 on up to poster sized!
See you at a show,
Travis
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Art
I’m nearing the end of the coverage, after this or maybe the next post will just be some more artsy ones that I do.
Saturday we were treated to some good old fashioned vintage cackling. Here’s the restored Scorpian V from 1964
And an earlier version of the Scorpion
Gambino’s F You 54
Look at all those people…
I’m kinda digging that grille opening
Bleed’s ride
Love those gauges
The party at the Poodle Dog Lounge was a lot of fun.
The 635 mile drive home was long but a good day, the big block averaged 18.8 mpg and I was able to run fairly fast even with this wicked vibration. (hopefully that will be fixed before the Stray Kat 500).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Art
That’s it! Finally made it through the gallery. There are a bunch more photos on the site if you want to click any of these images and go have a look. As always if there’s one you’d like you can buy a print or high resolution digital copy. The money goes to help get me and the cameras to another show to bring you more coverage.
I hope someone out there was encouraged to go build something kool and show it off. You’ll meet a whole awesome group of people and your life will be kooler for it.
See you at a show,
Travis
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Art
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Anyone want to grab lunch while the lines are short? 
For sale
This dude was driving around all day dragging his rear bumper just begging people for attention. Sad. 
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that’s it for this super sized post
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Art
See you at show,
Travis
Part 4
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Art
Only 16 copies of the Limited Edition Poster left click the photo to the right to get yours today, hand numbered, limited edition and a killer photo to boot. Hell of a deal.
One Kustom that I will give a pass to on the no open hood thing… that intake is off the charts kool.
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Moby Dick?
I love Mike’s ride, he doesn’t think that it’s deserving of a feature shoot, what do you think?
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Art
That’s it for today, see you at a show,
Travis
Super Sized Post!!!
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Art
Skratch doing his thang.
Totally did not mean to do that.
Shooting this one soon for a possible feature
Shooting Jeff’s beautiful Plymouth as soon as I can get a trip scheduled to do it, this beauty should be in a magazine.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Art
See you at a show,
Travis
Part 2, still on Friday!
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Art
Remember click on any of these images to see them in the full gallery or to buy a print of them. You can get it for your wall starting at 4″x6″ and on up from there. Support Royboy Productions and help bring more car show coverage to the world.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Art
Remember click on any of these images to see them in the full gallery or to buy a print of them. You can get it for your wall starting at 4″x6″ and on up from there. Support Royboy Productions and help bring more car show coverage to the world.
See you at a show,
Travis
Friday morning was awesome at the show, but you could tell by 10:30 that it was going to be huge.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Art
I really dig Johnny’s Plymouth
Jerry won the Deadend Magazine pick with his truck, I’ll be shooting a feature for a magazine on it soon.
Love this 48 Merc
Arturo’s shoebox.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Art
That’s it for post 1 of the show coverage. Click any of these photos to see the entire gallery. As the week goes on I will go spend some more time editing a few of these and I’ll re-post the results. Enjoy the coverage and buy a print by clicking on any image then hit the Buy button. The Galaxie made it there and back but will need some repairs that you can help me accomplish so I can take more photos at other shows for you! If I can raise $75 in profits this week I can take the daily to the NSRA in OKC this coming weekend.
See you at a show,
Travis
I really like the turnout at the Lonestar Roundup when it comes to Kustoms & hot rods.
Here’s Alex Gambino’s 54 Chevrolet
My 63 Galaxie 500
Friday evening I headed over to Austin Speed Shop
Jesse James’ hot rod.
Then it was of to Giddy-Ups to catch Pushrod.
Saturday at the show my friend and caravan companion Jerry got the Deadend Magazine award
Later in the evening it was off to the Poodle Dog Lounge for the Strugglers CC. party. My boys Pushrod took the stage at midnight but before that we hung out in the parking lot checking out all of the rides. Big Ken’s truck looks good in any light.
Sunday morning it was time to head home.
I was passed by a few kool rides as I had to stay pretty low on the speedo due to a vibration in the Galaxie’s drivetrain. 
Even with an ailing ride, I enjoyed the 635 mile drive.
Thanks for going along for the ride with me, the coverage starts tomorrow morning!
See you at a show,
Travis
Part 2 of the trip was with a small group and we went from Denison TX to Austin TX. not a lot of photos from the day, but some fun ones.
Texas shaped waffle maker.
We met up at Atlas Speed & Custom
Then we were off!
One of the cars in our group was Arturo in his shoebox 
We stopped at the Meatheads BBQ on the way
That’s basically it, I have more photos but they are not uploading for some reason.
See you at a show!
Travis
The trip started off a bit weird. My Galaxie was at Chaotic Customs to get some TLC, so yesterday I needed a ride from home almost 2 hours south to my buddy Jack’s house where I was crashing for the night. Once we arrived and unloaded all of my boxes of shirts, hats, posters, video camera, clothes…where’s my camera bag? It’s still on the couch at home. Damn.
I laughingly explained to Jack that I would get the car and drive home, get my camera & then begin my trip again, fully prepped. Jack told me “phooey!” (not an exact quote) “Take my truck and go get your bag.” As he handed me the keys, I headed out the door, filled his truck up with gas and headed back north. 2:30am I was back at Jack’s and heading to bed.
The next morning we went over to Chaotic and picked up my car. 
After some hanging out it was time to head south. After leaving Mulvane I headed to Arkansas City, KS to see Jeff Myers and see a new project in his shop. Then it was off to Oklahoma! The day was a bit long due to snow, sleet and rain all through Oklahoma. Add to that a malfunctioning cell phone and I had a few moments of less than happy thoughts.
After a rainy drive I finally got to Atlas Speed & Custom in Denison, TX. After hanging out a bit it was off to the hotel. More on the trip tomorrow!
See you at a show,
Travis
In The Domino Effect Pt. 1 I explained the basic principle, what started as a simple upgrade with parts I’d already purchased became a much bigger project. It’s gotten worse… and finally it’s gotten better.
The brackets that I ordered up all came from CVF Racing. I did not get them as a kit, but individually.
Here’s the alternator bracket. And the sanderson AC Compressor bracket. And the saginaw power steering pump bracket. I also ordered the pulley for the saginaw pump.
For a few days I poured over the internet, the car was not at my house so instead of going out and looking at the pieces in the car I went online. An online parts store listed the factory Galaxie power steering pressure hose as a 3/8″ inverted flare fitting, another listed the saginaw pump as a 5/8″ inverted flare fitting. Where was I going to find an adapter??? Turns out you don’t need one. The 3/8″ and 5/8″ referred to the wrench size, they threaded right together with no problems. (I should have known that or I should have at least tried to fit them together about a week before I did)
So after fighting through a few fitment issues we created some shims, we shave down some spacers that we made all the brackets go together and mount it only took 10 or 15 times of taking everything off of putting it back on to make it work.
Then I took the car down to my friends at Chaotic Customs who finished up a list of items that were over my head or out o my time budget to fix. I picked the car up and drove it home the weekend before LSRU.
A vibration that I had been feeling in the car above 60 mph was the next problem. After a couple hours of looking and driving I couldn’t find the issue. So on Easter Sunday Chris at Chaotic said to bring the car back down and let them take a look.
The crew busted their butts and went way beyond good service to get the car road worthy for the LSRU. A new crossmember was built for the trans since the one fabbed & put in by my old mechanic was not up to the task.
Chaotic Customs made this Lonestar Roundup Trip possible. From the bottom of my heart thank you guys for caring enough to do what it took to get the car on the road!
See you at a show,
Travis
I just got the new Mad Fabricators Vol. 7 in the mail over the weekend and sat down to watch it last night. Another great job by Piero! You can go here for the order link.
Go check out all of the Mad Fabricator videos featured on their Youtube page.
You can even see a little glimpse of me in the background of the segment where Bob Bleed is walking around the 2011 Hot Rod Revolution with a camera talking about the cars that he digs.
Check it out, buy it, support independent hot rod and kustom filmmakers.
See you at a show,
Travis
2012 was my 2nd trip to the Lonestar Roundup. This time I figured I’d take my camera to Congress for some kool night shots. Great idea on Thursday, too many people on Friday or Saturday. Anyways here are some of my favorites from that experiment, all hand held shots, I should have taken the tripod!
It’s been awhile since I’ve released a new video. I have the footage shot for 2 more but I’m waiting to time their release with those vehicles feature articles in magazines. Until then and for the new people here are the first two.
Episode 1 is all about the car that is featured in the Limited Edition Poster #1. Episode 1:Jack Marinelli tells the story behind his historic hot rod. A 29 Model A on 32 frame with a 46 drivetrain, this hot rod was build in the mid 50’s and sits today almost exactly the way it did then. This car is no enclosed trailer princess that sits in a museum, it is driven, and driven like it’s stolen. Music by Pushrod www.pushrodengage.com This episode sponsored by www.straykatkustoms.com
Episode 2: Jeff Myers (owner of Premier Body & Paint in Arkansas City, KS) takes us for a ride in his Custom 63 Galaxie and tells the story of the car and it’s build. Music by The Rumblejetts www.rumblejetts.com
More videos on the way as the vehicles near their publication dates! Stay tuned and I’ll see you at a show!
Travis
2013 started like they all do here, with the Starbird-Devlin show in Wichita.
Then a trip to shoot a feature which allowed me to hit 2 shops while I was out. I stopped by Ryno Built and Fast A.L.’s Upholstery.
Then it was of to Kansas City for the World of Wheels.
After that was a trip to Tulsa for the Starbird Rod & Custom show.
Then it was back to the Wichita area (Park City) for The Chill
Then it was off to the Texas Thaw in Denton TX which allowed me to stop at 3 of my friends shops along the way, Chaotic Customs, Premier Body & Paint and Atlas Speed & Custom.
Then it was back to Texas for the Goodguys Spring Lone Star Nationals at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, TX.
So as far as I can recollect, that is what I’ve been up to in the last 3 months.
See you at a show,
Travis
First off, I’m not going 🙁 booooooooooo! I did attend in 2010 and overall I liked the show. For those that don’t know the show, it’s Viva Las Vegas. Held every year on Easter weekend in Vegas at the Orleans Casino. I’m guessing it’s too late for you to go but I’m sure that there will be plenty of coverage floating around by Monday, I’ll get some of my favorites and share them with you. When I went the crowd was intense both in numbers and in the literal meaning. Sooooo many people who were more into the rockabilly than the car show, but hey that’s kool as long as you respect the cars and the people who build/own them. The plan this year was for a massive caravan from Wichita to Vegas for Viva then to Austin for the Roundup and back… now it looks like I’m rolling to Texas solo where I will meet up with some friends and finish the trip to Austin.
Let’s look back at when I was at Viva, 2010.
Love it.
x2
Masterson’s Fleetline
Gambino’s FU54
There’s a whole lot more where those came from, click any of the photos to go to the full gallery!
See you at a show,
Travis
Somewhere around 2010 I decided it was time to get the AC in my 1963 Galaxie 500 charged up for the summer. $100 later it was ice cold and working like a dream, I was a happy camper. A month after that I flick the switch and wait for the refreshing cool air… it never got cool. I was not a happy camper. What could I really expect? The 1963 AC system to be still fully functional? My expectations were high apparently. The compressor was leaking out of both ends, badly. So I decided that one of these days I’d get a new compressor and the system would be good to go again.
Somewhere around that same time I noticed that on any reasonably hot day, as soon as you got under 30 mph, the temp gauge would just climb. A new bigger badder, 6 blade agressive fan and a partial should were added to the car along with a new radiator cap after the old one blew a seal. It helped, a bit, the car was still running hot in stop and go traffic and it was still slowly creeping up at low speeds. A trip to a friend’s garage revealed that the radiator was only cooling 5 degrees from inlet to outlet, it was apparently partially plugged. So last September I ordered up a Speedway Universal Ford Aluminum Radiator…. and it sat in my living room until I had time to tackle the job of replacing the old one.
But the domino that started this chain of events was neither of these. On the way home from Jeff Myers’ Premier Body & Paint in Arkansas City, KS I noticed that the generator light was on. A couple of quick checks told me the generator was not doing it’s job. Since I had plans on installing a nice sound system in the Galaxie eventually I decided to upgrade to a Tuff Stuff 1 wire alternator.
So about a month before my planned trip to the Lonestar Roundup I took the car out to my Dad’s heated garage for what we both envisioned as a weekend long job. You know what happened next. The Domino Effect took hold. While test fitting the radiator, we figured out that this universal radiator was nice, but it just didn’t fit. The bottom connection on the radiator was exactly where the power steering pump pulley was wanting to be. Sure it could be cut and rewelded and such but there just isn’t time for someone like me to learn how to TIG weld. A friend or two offered to help but they live an hour trip away and there just hasn’t been time to get it done. Add to that a new Champion Radiator is fairly inexpensive and a direct replacement to the original and it was time to order a new one.
Okay, so I’ll set this radiator aside for a future project and get a Champion direct drop in radiator, no problem this is going to go fine. It was just about the time we said that when Dad noticed the shaft of the power steering pump looked a bit odd. It was shiny right in front of the front bearing. He grabbed the pulley and gave it a little push, it wobbled…badly.
The power steering pump which was 3 or so years old was shot. After some online research I see a lot of people complaining that even after a rebuild this style of pump could fail fairly quickly. Many suggested upgrading to the venerable Saginaw pump… yup a GM part on my Ford, heresy. The alternator is also a GM 1 wire! Right about here the domino effect starts picking up steam.
The saginaw pump won’t work with the factory power steering pump bracket. The alternator requires new brackets as well. These brackets are built for a 65 or newer water pump… I have a 63. Okay so while I’m at it, a new high flow water pump will be ordered too. If I’m going to do this, it’s going to be done right and once. A little digging on the website of the company that builds the brackets shows that they also sell one for a sanderson style AC compressor for the Ford FE. Well since I’m doing it, I’m gonna do the damn thing all the way, ordered that bracket too and a new Sanderson AC compressor after a conference with a mechanic friend that assured me that it would work with the rest of my system.
So all of the parts were ordered, all the brackets were ordered, it was sit and wait for the Santa in the brown truck to bring all the goodies to my door. Everything showed up and it was time to head back to the garage to start putting this thing back together.
Next up comes the fun part!
That’s it for the lead up, tomorrow the tale of how it all went together.
See you at a show,
Travis
The 3rd annual Salina Tech Vehicle Extravaganza is going down in Salina, KS on April 6, 2013 at the Salina Tech Campus (click here for a map). Registration info and more on their Facebook page.
Now to be honest, I can’t make it as I’ll be in Austin for the Lonestar Roundup, but if you can get to Salina you should be there! I’ve been able to attend twice in 2010 and 2012, check the slideshows below to see some of the show through my eyes.
If you can make it, go! Enjoy the show, take some photos to share with folks that couldn’t and if you have a good time make sure people know you did, that’s how we grow these shows, that’s how we grow this hobby/lifestyle.
See you at a show,
Travis
Part 6! Final post!
See the other posts here:
Short one this time but lots of great rides still.
Starting off with a couple of Vettes
This one is just for Dad
This one would look so much better all shut up
This one too but I understand they were showing off a lot of really custom work that.
Mmmmm I want!
Love the small scallops
I’m in love.
A couple of the trucks from Hale’s Speed Shop
That’s it!
See you at a show,
Travis
This car was for sale, and for a reasonable price. Click the photo to go to the full gallery where you should also find the list of details on the car if you are interested.
Bare bones. nothing extra added… at all.. I mean…damn boys!
The Whale!
Great color
Nice Fleetside
Too bad about the hood being open
spoke too soon
Great T from Tulsa
Boyd built
That’s it for Part 5, the final part 6 tomorrow.
See you at a show,
Travis
Event Coverage: 2013 Goodguys Spring Lonestar Nationals Part 3
Jeff’s Galaxie
This one had my dad drooling
Rivi’s are too kool, I need one of these too.
It would look so much better with the hood shut
Again…shut the hood and trunk!
Stance.
I really want to add a Thunderbird (Bullet years) to my collection
Love this shoebox with the Olds grill, it’s for sale. My birthday is coming… just sayin…
Got Milk?
That’s it for part 3, as always, click any photo to see the entire gallery, as not all of the photos are in these posts!
See you at a show,
Travis
Event Coverage: 2013 Goodguys Spring Lone Star Nationals Part 2
I’m kinda getting to where I dig these body style trucks more and more.
This gives you some idea of the crowd alllllll day long. It was difficult to take photos because of the crowd, but that’s a good thing. A big crowd means more people that might be inspired to go home and build something of their own.
That’s it for part 2, See you at a show,
Travis
