For all those coming to Salina, KS this weekend…

So if you’ve been following along with my stuff at all lately you know that this weekend is the 2013 KKOA Leadsled Spectacular in Salina, KS. Since Salina is basically my hometown, I figured I’d give everyone a bit of a list of some notable places in town. Click on the links to go to the location on google maps, if you are viewing this on your phone you should be able to then navigate to the location. First off, registration for the show is now at the Ramada Inn on West Crawford.

Thursday

Officially the show starts on Thursday, many early comers are at the park and hanging out on Thursday before the official festivities begin. Come out and enjoy the Open House at Bright Built Hot Rods that evening.
After the Open House head back to Oakdale Park to line up to take part in the Cruise on Santa Fe Ave from 7:30p to 8:30pm. If you just want to hang out and watch the cars instead of cruising just find yourself a place along Santa Fe between Walnut St. and Ash St.

Officially that’s it for Thursday.

Friday!

Again head back to Oakdale Park for the show opening up at 9 am (officially, but many show up well before that, I usually hit the park at 8am). We hang out all day at the show until it’s time to head up to the Run What Ya Brung Drags held right next to Dean Evans Stadium on Markley Road.  At 1pm on the stage in the park is the Pinup Contest. The drags officially start at 5, but I will try to leave the park for the drags around 4pm.

The drags are a blast. Last year there were some logistical issues with the layout, I hope that the city’s committee has it figured out this time. Its about an 1/8″ mile course, with flag men (or women) on each end of the track and it’s all about fun. Yes there are some true drag cars that come out, and to be honest I don’t agree with most of them being there but that’s a different discussion for a different day. If you want to make a pass or 12 in your ride, this is your chance to do it. If you just want to watch some fun drag racing action, come out and enjoy yourself.
Friday evening at 9:30pm at the Ramada Inn is the KKOA Tonite Show where the 2 2013 KKOA Hall of Fame Inductees are announced.
Also Friday evening at Calvins Customs on Santa Fe is a party open to all KKOA participants, to get your car into the party you must have the show registration displayed in your windshield and to get into the shop where there is typically free beer (to those 21 and over) and some good eats, you need to be wearing your show wrist band.

Saturday

Back to Oakdale Park for the biggest day of the show. The car counts and the crowds will be the biggest on Saturday. For those with kids coming along don’t forget that there is a really bitchin’ water park just east of Oakdale Park, this is a big show but sometimes you need something for the kids to do outside of the show, I understand. Also for the ladies, downtown Salina has a bunch of antique and unique shopping opportunities just a couple of blocks from the park.

Again at 1pm the Pinup Contest goes down, come and cheer on your favorite lovely lady.

All day Friday-Sunday an all star crew lead by Bill Hines will be chopping a top live in the park, its something to see for sure.
There is usually another major car mod going on in the park at the same time, the last couple of years it’s been a section job, stop by both spots and watch the cars get the kustom treatment all weekend long.

Saturday night at the historic Stiefel Theatre is the “One Night With Elvis” show. You can buy concert tickets at the registration booth or the T-Shirt booth.

Sunday

Sunday is usually a fraction of the cars that were at the show on Saturday, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a day to attend. Some of the best of the best kustoms around are all in the park on Sunday of the Leadsled Spectacular. Come hang out with kustom legends, see the awards ceremony and squeeze every last minute you can out of the KKOA weekend in Salina.

Good places to eat and drink in Salina.

Salina has a bunch of great places to eat.
BBQ:
Hickory Hut, routinely voted as one of the best in town.
Hog Wild Pit BBQ, technically a chain but a small one and VERY good for chain bbq.
(20 miles away in my hometown of Gypsum) Big D’s BBQ, this is some really good BBQ in a small town atmosphere that cannot be touched in the larger city. If you don’t mind a bit of a drive they are only open from 5-9pm on Saturday
Pizza:
There are 2 local pizza places fairly near to the show that both have great pie
Scheme (they do not accept plastic, so bring cash or a checkbook) you may want to make reservations, they do get busy.
And one a little farther from the show but still good stuff. Big Cheese Pizza
Burgers:
There’s a small KS chain called Spangles that has a great 50’s pop culture atmosphere and pretty good food for a fast food joint, two of them in town. One on South 9th St. and one on West Crawford.
One of 2 Salina institutions is Bogey’s, one of my personal favorites, if you want a great shake and a burger this is the place to go.
The other Salina institution for burgers in the Cozy Inn. You’ve probably heard about them, at some point in the weekend you need to go buy a sack (6 small sliders) they are pretty darn good, even if they stink so bad 🙂
Mexican:
I have 2 recommendations here, I can’t decide which is my favorite.
Cotijas, fairly new to town, and lots of authentic and some TexMex style, delicious every time I go
Lenore’s, been in town a long time and one of my favorite places to eat in Salina.
There are all of the normal chain restruants in Salina too but come on if you wanted to eat at a chain joint  you can go to any city in the country right?
 
Bars:
My all time favorite bar is the Paramount Bar just a block from Calvins Customs, the P has been in business since 1946 and it’s my favorite place to kick back and enjoy a drink, tell the girls that Travis sent ya and make sure you tip them well 🙂 enjoy the patio out back with the forecasted cool weather.
Another 2 blocks south is 111 Ultra Lounge, a nice little joint to enjoy some lively libations.
There’s also O’Malley’s in the Ramada Inn where a few of you are staying, decent bar, I don’t care for their food offerings but after a few you can’t tell that its not the best food ever
Out of the way a bit from where the show and hotels are is Speakeasy, nice bar with a patio and some decent food.
On the way to some of the south of town hotels is the Blind Pig, some basic bar food is available as well, and a nice patio.
I’m sure I’ve missed something. Please comment below if I have and I’ll try to find something for you. I’m damn proud at how the show has grown since coming to Salina and I hope to get more and more traditional kustom and hot rod folk to attend every year. Stop by the Royboy Productions booth and say hi, buy something if you want to, book a shoot if you can, above all safe travels and I’ll see you at the show.
Royboy

Happy Independence Day!

Happy Independence Day from Royboy Productions!

Here are some red, white and blue rides all from the Starliner show held in Wichita, KS this Sept. 6-7. As mentioned on this week’s Episode 170 of Friction In The Static Podcast.

I hope you all have a very happy and safe Independence Day.

See you at a show,
Royboy

A Look Back at 2013 So Far

Wow. July. Already?!?

January 2013

I can’t believe the year is half over already, it seems like just a few weeks ago I was picking my car up from Jeff Myers’ Premier Body & Paint in Arkansas City, KS and headed home with my new old school paint.

Of course on that very trip home the generator finally gave up the ghost. I’d been nursing it for awhile and it was just time to finally do the upgrade, read all about the nightmare that turned into here.
The first event of the year was about 2 weeks after I picked up the car from Jeff, and I was going to be showing the Galaxie for the first time at an indoor show. The legendary Starbird show in Wichita, now the Starbird-Devlin show, but still pretty damn cool for someone that has been going to that show for 30 years. The show was a lot of fun, parking my car with some of the legendary Fundamentals cars was a huge honor. See the show coverage here Part 1, Part 2, Part 3  and Part 4

The show was just too much fun.

February 2013

February is always a bit busier than January around here. Kansas City hosts the World of Wheels Autorama, Darryl Starbird does his show in Tulsa, and The Chill goes down in Park City, KS.

Going to KC always means seeing my buddies of Los Punk Rods. They are always working on something interesting. KC WOW Show Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Then it’s off to Tulsa for the Starbird show. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Then it’s time for The Chill in Park City, KS Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

 

 March 2013

March is always a bit slow in the area here. This year I went down to The Chill in Denton, TX, it was worth the trip and I plan on going again and again. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Then a couple of weeks later it was time to head back to Texas for the Goodguys Spring Lonestar Nationals Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

April 2013

The first trip of April is typically the Lonestar Roundup in Austin, TX. This was the first time the Galaxie went and it was awesome! Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6 and Art Shots

A couple of weeks later we gathered for the HAMBBQ

2013 H.A.M.B.B.Q.0004_5_6_Tonemapped Color.tif

The next day I took advantage of a chance to go hang in the pits for the #20 Matt Kenseth car for the  NASCAR Sprint Cup race.
Then it was off to Mulvane, KS to Chaotic Customs for their Open House. Chaotic has been responsible for helping me sort out some of the mechanical issues that were out of my mechanic knowledge or out of my time frame. Thanks! Part 1, Part 2
 

 May 2013

The first Friday in May is always Stray Kat 500 time in Dewey, OK. It rained, it sleeted, it may have snowed a touch but it was still perfect. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5Part 6

Then it was over to Abilene, KS for Motor Mania.

June 2013

June started off with a trip to Marysville, KS for AutoFest
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Then the Galaxie and I headed off to Springfield, MO for the Queen City Riot
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Father’s Day weekend is always the time to take Dad to the Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure’s Father’s Day Show Part 1, Part 2

Big Brothers Big Sisters held a small 100 car show at the JC Penny’s parking lot in Salina, KS

Winfield Garage Car Show was a lot of fun, hanging out with some great friends at a nice event, we need to make this a 200 car show next year! Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Thanks for going along with me for the ride so far, there’s still a ton of events left to go for this year so get yourself out to one and say hi. If you want some custom photos of your car, give me a yell using the contact link above.

See you at a show,

Royboy

Upcoming Event: Automobilia Moonlight Show

Each year I try to make this show, but last year was the first one where I was happy with my photos from it. The show attracts all manner of rides from the region and a huge amount of people. Getting there early for photos was the only way to go.

I’m a sucker for Caddys
All the way from WI I believe for this 60 El Camino, we crossed paths again at Iron Invasion later in the year as well.
This wasn’t the first or the last time seeing this great little hot rod pickup last year. I really dig it.
A row of alligators.
This 49 Ford Coupe was new to me.
John Sinfellow’s gasser is just too kool of a barn find.
I should have come back and shot this again in the dark.
Those are some of my favorites from the show from 2012. The 2013 show goes down in Downtown Wichita on July 13th.
See you at a show,
Travis

Coming up at this year’s KKOA Leadsled Spectacular…


Chad Kolman’s stunning 47 Buick at the 2012 Leadsled Spectacular, this ride won the coveted 777 Award last year.

Coming up at this year’s KKOA Leadsled Spectacular, the Royboy Award. Okay so the name might change, but the long and short of it is that I’m giving away an award at the KKOA this year. My idea is to find someone at the show that is younger than I am (38) and has brought a finished or under construction traditional style kustom, hot rod or gasser. No rat rods, no big billet wheels, no digital gauges. I will allow airbags, and other modern items as long as they don’t take away from the general vintage appearance.

I am working to gather up some sponsors to offer a prize pack as well as the award that my friends at the Sign House are helping me create. The goal is to give the winner a prize pack full of offers to save money in finishing their ride or building a new car. A 15% discount for any RJay’s Speed Shop built item (or 10% off items they sell but do not create) is the first prize that’s been offered up. Because you can’t have your ride looking good and yourself looking bad our friends at Devilles Barbershop in Wichita, KS have offered up a prize at well. I’m in contact with a couple of other companies to offer more discounts for paint work, body work, and hopefully a lot more.

If you have a company that would like to do a small part to help grow the industry by helping a younger car owner then send me a message to find out how to become a part of the prize pack!

See you at a show,

Travis

Guest Blog! Dan’s Hot Rod Photo goes to Detroit!

Guest Blog!
My buddy Dan Podobinski is a photographer based out of Indiana, he attends a lot of the same type of shows that I do.  Since I can’t be everywhere at once, Dan was nice enough to share some of his images from the 2013 Detroit Autorama with all of you through the blog here. Okay class now all together say “Thank You Dan!” You may have seen some of his work recently in Car Kulture Deluxe Magazine, or on the HAMB. You need to go follow his page on Facebook here and buy some prints of his great photographs! And now on with the show!
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’13 Detroit Autorama…
The Best of the Basement…

By Dan Podobinski

Detroit Autorama, the very words are enough to excite many a hot rodder, filling them with anticipation of what wondrous creations wait within the walls of Cobo Hall.  This is especially true when it comes to the Autorama Extreme, an area dedicated to traditionally styled hot rods and customs as well as the amazing art that is inspired by them.  It only seems appropriate that this part of the show is located in the lower level of Cobo Hall, away from the glitz and glamour of the indoor show circuit.  This is where the real, honest hot rods are.  Not that these cars are not nicely finished or held in high regard by their owners.  They are, but these cars are driven, often hard and without mercy.  With all of this in mind I present to you my very own “Best of the Basement” from the ’13 Detroit Autorama…

1. Larry Tucker’s 1934 Ford Pickup.  In typical Jason Graham style it is an exercise in extremes.  It’s delicate wire wheels and subtle brown paint stand in stark contrast to its 6-carbed, blown 454 Chevy.

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2. Brian Wisniewski’s 1950 Chevy coupe came from New Jersey to join the fray.  It’s fully dressed 6-cylinder , chrome reverse wheels and killer paint gave it the “look.”

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3. Gene Winfield’s old 1935 Ford shop truck, now beautifully restored and residing with Gary Hatfield in Canton, Texas is an obvious choice.

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4. Jim Richmond’s glorious tribute to the historic Pierson Bros. coupe is another obvious choice for inclusion on my list.

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5. Chad Folkema’s fantastic A coupe on ’32 rails has been a favorite of mine since I saw it in its unfinished state at the Relix Riot show a couple years back.  The flathead Lincoln V-12 and outstanding fit & finish make it a stunner.

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6. Dave Gray is the lucky owner of the newly finished “Chemical City Coupe” 1932 Ford five window.  With Buick Nailhead power and details galore, the Jokerr Fabrication built menace is pure evil on wheels.

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7. Everybody in the hobby knows the name George Poteet and his Bonneville inspired 3-window Ford is a thing of beauty…stance courtesy of the boys at the Rolling Bones shop.

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8. Jeff Watkin’s 1956 Buick Special is another looker.  The satin black is offset by the wild, 60’s style red flake with all kinds of neat tricks buried in it.

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9. Steve Gilmore’s 1963 Ford Unibody pickup is the kind of clean, simple daily driver we all dream of owning.

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10. Mark & Ryan Rogerson’s 1955 Chevy is as pure a 60’s style street bruiser as you will find.  A very stout, high winding small block backed by a Muncie 4-speed and a Pontiac rearend sporting 4:88 gears ensure that the stoplight to stoplight action will be a thrill!

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11. Kerry Sitar’s 331 Hemi powered A on ’32 rails is just mean, and that’s enough.

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12. My last pick, though not in the basement, would have fit right in.  This wild, 60’s show rod styled 1934 Ford 5-window coupe belongs to Beau Boeckmann of North Hills, California.   Take a moment to bask in what was the excess of 1960’s show rods!

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Thanks Dan! Folks remember to go over to Dan’s Hot Rod Photos and like the page to keep up to date with all that Dan is doing.

See you at a show,

Travis