Hot Rods and Kustom Cars
Last year the Hobo Happenings was cold, like 35 degrees and damp and windy cold. This year was damp but as the fog burned off the temps were rising up to the lower 60’s. Cars continued to roll in throughout the day up until I had to leave at 2pm.
Saturday started out a bit foggy. Actually at one point in the drive visibility was down to about an 1/8th mile. That did not stop folks from coming out to the Hobo Happening in Douglass, KS.
After the stop at Big Creek Restoration, I headed east to Russell, KS for a stop at Auto Artistry. Owner Mike Schoech was there and showed me some of the projects in the shop. This ultra rare 2 door Falcon wagon is going to become his wife’s ride with a long list of customizations to come.
The 2014 Pistons And Paint hit an official 517 cars but it sure felt like a lot more than that. The cars were packed in tight! Each trip to my home away from home (Texas) I meet more and more friends. Thanks to all of you for making it a great weekend!
The Pistons And Paint layout was a bit different this year, and they had a few more food vendors, good since in 2013 the food vendors on site ran out of food early in the afternoon. The stage was in the front of the show with some vendors next to it, others, around the corner. There was a building for indoor vendors but nobody was set up inside.
Saturday morning for Pistons And Paint we met our group in the parking lot of the grocery store that neighbors the North Texas Fairgrounds so that we could roll in together and park together. That gave us a great view of some of the kool rides rolling in to the show.
To start my Pistons and Paint trip I took Friday afternoon off and headed south, it was a fairly uneventful trip. I decided that I wanted to get there as fast as possible so I’d just stay on the boring interstate, a route that is usually about a half hour quicker. Thanks to a traffic jam in Oklahoma City, it was a wash except for my elevated road rage. 🙂
For the 2nd year in a row I headed down to Texas for Pistons And Paint and had a great time! The show had a great turnout this year with weather that was chilly and windy at first but turned into a beautiful day.
In 2012 I received a call from my friend and mentor Doug Reed asking if I’d like to be a part of a display at the 2013 Starbird-Devlin show in Wichita. He was assembling some cars to be a part of a Kustom City display showing off kustoms to the folks that attend the show. For decades Wichita had a rich heritage of kustoms and in recent years the kustoms weren’t exactly featured at the show.
The Haines’ brought their roadster to the Stray Kat Feed, as in THE Roadster of Roadster Pilot, yeah that’s Roadster Pilot #1 and it gets driven everywhere in every weather.
For 4 years now I’ve spent the first Saturday of November hanging out with my Stray Kat Kustoms Family at the Stray Kat Feed. We had folks from 5 states show up this year for some sloppy joes, hot dogs, chili and more.
It’s been awhile since I stopped by Premier Body & Paint in Arkansas City, KS so last Friday I stopped in to see what was up at the shop.
Last year I was needing something to do Thanksgiving weekend, I had heard of an indoor show in Denver and since I don’t do Black Friday shopping I headed out early for Denver. What I found was a show full of gorgeous cars! After spending a few hours shooting the event and hanging out with friends I made the 6 hour drive home. 12 hours of driving and 3 hours of shooting, it’s all in a day’s work. The show is coming up again this Thanksgiving weekend in Denver, here are some photos from the event:
After going to the Hot Rod Garage Open House and then the Shoebox Central Open House I stopped downtown in OKC to see some buddies in the Ratty Bastards club who were having a cruise in at Grandads.
After hanging out at the Hot Rod Garage Open House in the morning and about an hour and 45 minute drive I arrived at Shoebox Central for their open house. I met a few cars leaving the event but even with them, the parking lot doesn’t hold too many and it was pretty full.
For the final post of the 2014 Hot Rod Garage Open House coverage I’ll feature the final car show shots, and some shots of what was actually on display in the shop. Above is owner Jason’s road race Falcon. Plenty of great cars under construction at the Hot Rod Garage!
Tulsa has a ton of amazing vehicles, any given weekend you can catch a cool ride cruising somewhere in the city. It’s a treat to get to see so many together at the Hot Rod Garage Open House.
In 2013 I finally made the trip down to the Hot Rod Garage Open House in Sand Springs, OK. After hearing about this event for years it was time to make the trek. The Tulsa Timing Association Renunion is part of the same event to add some additional kool to an already awesome event. The 2014 Hot Rod Garage Open House was just as cool.
For years the last event in this region had been the Hobo Happening in Douglass, KS. I’ve been able to attend this mid November event a few times, sometimes it’s 60 degrees and sometimes it’s 35 degrees, but it’s always a bunch of great people having an even better time.
GEORGE BARRIS MEETS “THE MUNSTERS” AT THE DRAGSTRIP”
“Hi again, to everyone taking the time to visit here with my good friend Travis, and myself, on this awesome Website !
Halloween is almost here and I wanted to share this short, sweet, fun Interview with “The King of the Kustomizer’s” GEORGE BARRIS…when he met “The Munster’s” !!!
FROM1964-1966 one of the hottest shows on TV was THE MUNSTERS ! But did you ever see the “HOT ROD HERMAN”…at the Dragstrip Episode ? Well, I accidentally happened on to it the day I was set to Interview GEORGE BARRIS ! George and his Crew built the special cars for that show…and I wanted to know how it came together for this Episode.
GEORGE GIVES THE REAL STORY on The Munster Koach and The Drag-U-La Car…which he actually drove at the Dragstrip in this Classic Episode ! (PS: Grandpa Munster makes a cameo appearance especially for our listeners; and, listen for George doing a “wheelie” !!)
All the fun & action starts when you simply Click-On-This-Link:
http://www.legends.thewwbc.net/gpage.html
Thanks to all, and, HAPPY HALLOWEEN ! ”
![MunstersCars[1][1]](https://i0.wp.com/royboyproductions.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/MunstersCars11.jpg)
2014 Day of the Drags
by Heath Icenhower – Wide Whites Photography – On Instagram at @widewhites
It’s a universal fact that we can’t make every event, every year. So we must pick and choose. After seeing photos and hearing stories of last year’s Day of the Drags hosted by the Kontinentals, I decided that DOTD would be added to the list for 2014. Plans were made and cars/trucks were tuned up for the 333 miles drive to Little River Dragway, Holland, Texas on October 11th. However, good old Mother Nature had a different plan. Forecasts of 100% chance and significant rain resulted in a one week postponed Day of the Drags 2014. So, back to the day job for five more days.
2014 Bluesmasters coverage, this is my one non-car thing I do each year and the reason there is no major car coverage this week on the site. For 17 years the Blues Masters At The Crossroads has been held mid October in Salina, KS at the historic Blue Heaven Studios. In 1999 I attended for the first time as a spectator, bummed that I had missed the 1998 inaugural event. I had spent most of the week in Phoenix looking at apartments for my upcoming stint at the Conservatory Of Recording Arts & Sciences. We hammered the throttle down to get home in time for me to attend that 1999 event. Fast forward to August of 2000 and I’m returning to Salina from Phoenix to complete an internship at Blue Heaven Studios to complete my schooling. More after the break…
Most of my 40 years have been spent in or around Gypsum, KS. Most of the Octobers that I’ve been here I’ve gone down to the Fall Festival held on and around our main drag, Maple Street. The “downtown” area is all on this 1 paved street (except for about a half block off of Maple in each way). There’s a parade, kids games, and in recent years a car show organized by my uncle Paul, known online by many as Poverty Flats.
After completing this year’s Drag Week 3rd in class, Mike decided to put some 4.11 gears in the Henry J. The extra torque to the ground put the nose up in the air, that’s power. You HAVE to see the pics of Monkey flag starting the drags later in this post!
In 2013 I finally made the trek down to Denton, TX for the Pistons & Paint show. It’s just about time for that show again. Yeah this is a 1 month warning but you have less time than that!