Continuing coverage of the 2014 KKOA Leadsled Spectacular from Salina, KS. Continuing my comments from yesterday, I would love this show to return to it’s roots, even though that would mean that my 63 Galaxie wouldn’t be allowed in. Comment below what you think of the show, and what background do you come from? Kustom guys seem to be thinking along the lines that I am, where as just car guys in general like the shows that have all types of cars.
The Drags have brought big crowds to the event but the diehard kustom folks don’t attend, and don’t support them. This is where I’m torn, I enjoy going except for when it’s as hot as it was this week, but I really could do without them. They are entertaining, and they bring a big crowd to the event. The drag photos start later in this post and continue tomorrow.
TheĀ 2014 KKOA Leadsled Spectacular was in town all weekend just in time for the first major heatwave of the summer here in Salina, KS. The 34th annual event was held in Salina for the 9th time, lots of cars showed up but not a lot of leadsleds or kustoms. Since the show’s registration requirements have opened up the show has grown but it’s lost a bit of clout in the kustom community. Some notable kustom car builders and owners have privately told me that they disagree with the bigger is better show rules and they long for the days when the show had strict rules for entry. I’d like to see the show like that again too. Not that the show is bad like it is now, just different.
Most of Thursday was spent gathering up stuff for our booths, KKOA Leadsled Spectacular Set Up Day. After a quick run to a nearby town to pick up an electric fuel pump to get a buddy back on the road we packed our booths for the day and headed out to Bright Built Hot Rods for their Open House. Here are some photos from that event. Click Here to see all of the photos
Every year on the Wednesday before the KKOA Leadsled Spectacular, KKOA member and 2014 KKOA Hall Of Fame Nominee Rocky Burris throws a little get together at his home shop. This year had the added bonus of honoring the Leadsled Spectacular’s Grand Marshall and Kustom Legend Dave Stuckey. KKOA President Jerry Titus came down from the busy pre-show last minute work in Salina to tell us all some stories of working with Stuckey at Starbird’s Star Kustoms Shop back in the old days. Read the captions on each pic to get more of the story. Thank you Rocky for always inviting us all to the pre-party!
In this episode Royboy interviews Ryno of Ryno Built Rod & Customs. Hear about all the cool stuff going on in his shop, the unique job that he does when he’s not building cars and a special offer from Royboy.
Ryno’s Unibody Ford pickup that was featured on the cover of the 2014 Classic Trucks Magazine. See the episode show notes for a feature video on the truck.
After the shoot we went to grab some dinner with friends. About the time we were finishing up my girl friend’s son got sick, we packed up and headed home so sorry no night shots this year.
The Automobilia Show has been going down for about 20 years now. Nearly everyone in the area has some story about the show. One of my favorites involves a full beer can still in a cooler full of water that was being poured into the radiator of a running engine. I’ll get that story on the podcast some day for you all. Personally I’ve shown up at the show twice at about the same time as a huge thunderstorm and had to cut my time at the event short. So, I much prefer the heat and crowd to the rain. Here’s more from the show.
This year it wat was dry and a little hot which meant that as the sun went down the crowd went up exponentially. I rushed through the show so that I could head out and do a photo shoot a mile or so away.
It never fails, this weekend’s show is always either almost painfully hot or raining. This year it was hot. The crowd seemed down a bit but that could easily be contributed to not only the heat, but a Wichita Wingnuts baseball game and a Motley Crue concert in all going down in the downtown area at the same time.
“Hi to all joining us at Travis’s great site ! Hope your Cruisin’ is going well this year…still lots to do !
This is a truly GREAT Interview you’ll love from Keith Dean…his info & story from his earliest days, plus working with his Dad: Dick Dean.
HE GREW UP WORKING BESIDE HIS DAD, DICK DEAN, but KEITH “KID” DEAN has come into his own, is a Hall Of Famer, and has created some of the most beautiful customs you’ve ever seen in the last few years.
In this late-night Interview that Keith & I did at the KKOA 31st Annual Lead Sled in Salina, he talked about his early years, his Dad, and, some of his favorite cars.
Keith Dean is an amazing crafstman, was Inducted into the KKOA Hall Of Fame, in 2013, tells cool stories, and so this is one Interview ya gotta hear !Ā Ā SO, simply Click-On Right Here , listen, and, enjoy !
Iāve heard it for at least 5 years, āThe Des Moines Goodguys is the best GG show that there is, you HAVE to go!ā Finally I did. Letās face it, the GG shows held at racetracks all kind of run into each other. The ones at the Kansas Motor Speedway (2012 coverage here, the show has been killed so that’s the latest coverage) and the ones Iāve attended at the Texas Motor Speedway (2014 coverage here) really are all the same in my memories. Lots of cars, lots of people, but no real atmosphere. So you get to drive your car around the track, okay that part is cool, but other than that the cars are basically just parked as if they are in a parking lot. As a spectator and especially as a photographer, thatās boring.
So this year it was time to finally make the trip up to Des Moines to see if this party still is the best GG party around. Of course due to some poor planning on my part the 6 hour trip northeast started with a 90 minute drive south. Itās a long story, but the short version is we had a long day. First we headed south to Park City, KS to see a small show there, one that we never even got into because traffic was backed up and we didnāt feel like making the day even longer by waiting in line to get in. Along the way we saw a Historical Marker that I’ve driven by for decades and never stopped to look at. It marks the crossing of the Chisholm and Santa Fe Trails. Near here there are a couple of areas where you can still faintly make out where the Santa Fe Trail went thanks to an indention in the ground from the wagon wheels. From there we went east to pick up some newly silk screened coozies from B. Scott Studios and hopped on I-35 towards Des Moines. We pulled onto the turnpike and set the cruise. After some sight seeing stops at the birthplace of Jesse James outside of Kearney, MO, an Amish āWelcome To Iowaā store just across the border we saw the sign for the Covered Bridges of Madison County. Yup the ones from the movie. Iāve never seen the movie, but it seemed a worthy departure from the interstate. Just off of I-35 is St. Charles, IA and one of the bridges. We stopped, read the signs, took a couple of photos and got word that some friends were going to meet for dinner at the Iowa Beef Steakhouse. It had already been suggested that we head there so we changed the GPS destination and got our taste buds ready.
The company was fantastic, the car crowd was filling the joint and the steak was phenomenal. It was pricey for our budget but not overpriced for the experience. With nothing really planned for the evening we settled into our hotel room and tried to catch some shut eye for Saturday. We were warned that at noon on Friday the window placards were already numbering at over 3200 (Iām not sure if they start at 1 and are sequential or not), so we needed to get there early to see all of the rides. Too bad for us a state sized thunderstorm moved into Des Moines before sunup and didnāt clear out until about 10am.
Its no secret that I take my cars to Jeff Myers at Premier Body & Paint in Arkansas City, KS. Jeff is once again nominated for the KKOA Hall of Fame this year, and since I had some spare time last weekend I figured it was time to pay a visit to Premier. Jeff has a number of kustoms in the shop that are under construction, but his collision work has been so overwhelming that it’s time to bring on some help so that he has more time to work on the kustoms.
Jeff’s Hell CaminoRoy’s 41 is back from Fat Lucky’s shop in CA and will soon be on the road to being… well, on the road.Roy’s 41 is back from Fat Lucky’s shop in CA and will soon be on the road to being… well, on the road.
The new blood in the shop isn’t exactly new, Voodoo Jim (Jim Allen) will be around the shop to handle mechanical duties, wiring, etc.
Jimmy’s Buick with it’s new Lincoln tail lights and Jeff holding a future fender addition.Jimmy’s BuickThe 57 project’s 390A bobber pickup frame getting dressed up.The 60 Fairlane door. After a city bus decided that it didn’t like the shape of the door.
Aircraft strut makes cool openings.
The 57 project front fenderSneak peak of the 57 project. The top has been chopped, the body will be getting some attention as well as you can see here.Lucas Myers bad ass bug. This was one of Jeff’s cars in High School. Lucas has done the majority of the work himself so far.
With the new help, expect to see the 57 and 41 rolling out of the shop over the next year or so, plus Jimmy’s Buick, and some new paint on my Galaxie amongst others!
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Royboy talks with Jerry Titus of the KKOA about the upcoming Leadsled Spectacular and some history of the show as well as some stories of the historic Wichita kustom scene.
There should be 2 photos above this text, please let me know if it is not there! Total of about 30 images in this post! Click here to see the entire post
One of the many great folks that Iāve met along all of these adventures is my buddy Doug. Doug sells shirts at many shows across the midwest, we run into each other quite a bit. He has a show in Winfield, KS called the Winfield Garage Show. For the 2nd year I took my Galaxie to the show, itās a small show but lots of good people. Hopefully the show can grow a bit in the next few years, Doug does a great job of putting on a show.
On day 48 of a 48 Day road trip, Floyd & Becki Dutton’s 1958 Edsel Roundup Wagon. I shot this mild custom for a magazine article, keep your eyes open to see it in print!
Since I hadnāt been to RJayās Speed Shop before I made sure to check the facilities out while we were there. They build a bunch of their own parts that then get sold to other retailers and they carry just about everything that it takes to build your hot rod.
The show was titled Burnouts For Brice, the facebook event page had this to say: āWe will be having a benefit car show for Brice Eidson who is a great young boy fighting leukemia. All proceeds will go to help cover hospital cost. So come out and have a great time.ā
In total near 100 cars showed up and raised nearly $2000. RJayās made a small burnout pad of concrete and a few of the show goers pulled up to see what kind of clouds they could produce.
RJayās Speed Shop has been a sponsor of royboyproductions.com for a few months, but Iāve been friends with RJayās main man Cory for a couple of years. When he invited me to a show at his new location I thought it would be a great opportunity to check out his shop and give you some show coverage from a new event.
The day started at 7am with me running out to my Dadās to borrow his truck and one of his trailers. He purchased an early 50ās Chevy Truck cab from a buddy of mine that lived along my route to the Adrian, MO home of RJayās Speed Shop. After the Indy trip last week I was a bit short on funds, but since it had been 8 months or so since Dad bought the cab it was about time that we pick it up and drag it home. So with his gas card in my pocket and his F250 loaded with my camera equipment, girlfriend and her son, we were off!
After the stop at Nealās shop to pick up the truck cab we made our way over to Adrian and found RJayās. There were almost 100 cars on hand and the show raised almost $2k for the charity. Click here to learn more about the event and the cause.
PS: All photos on this page are available as prints up to poster sizes. Buying them not only makes your walls cooler it puts gas in the tank to get me to another car show or feature shoot. Please consider buying a print, if you canāt do that, I understand. IF you like this post, share it with your car friends using the social media sharing buttons below or just by sending them the link to this page. Every set of eyeballs on the site helps! Or just hit the Store page and buy something or make a donation!
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Want to see more? Click on any of these photos to go to the gallery page and see about 50 more images from the show!
If you haven’t voted yet for your favorite New Blood Entrant, head over there to do that now. You only get one vote and you must be logged into facebook to vote. I can’t count votes that are set to private so make sure that I can see who you vote for! The winner gets $500 cash!!!
PS: All photos on this page are available as prints up to poster sizes. Buying them not only makes your walls cooler it puts gas in the tank to get me to another car show or feature shoot. Please consider buying a print, if you canāt do that, I understand. IF you like this post, share it with your car friends using the social media sharing buttons below or just by sending them the link to this page. Every set of eyeballs on the site helps! Or just hit the Store page and buy something or make a donation!
Get your Hot Rod Stencil Shirt ordered today, they are in short supply and will not be reprinted, get one now or don’t get one at all! Click here to order one now.
Buy one of these shirts or mugs and help Chrome Pipes & Pinstripes advertise online and pay for hosting fees.
Scott Pavey’s “Candy Cane” is immaculate. I first saw this car in a video that Doug Reed shot at the 1983 KKOA Leadsled Spectacular when Scott was 16 and had just finished it’s first version. It was awesome to see the car still in his hands and still looking awesome.
Gary Minor and his wife drove from the San Fransisco area to Indy to be a part of this show.
I first noticed this car at the Stray Kat 500 this year and a week later at the Pete & Jake’s Open House. Good to see it here in Indy.
Voodoo Larry was in attendance
The Toad looking good all the way from Wichita.
Dave Pareso and his wife Chris brought their Merc to the show with it’s new exterior color, the interior will get transformed to match soon.
“String of Pearls”
Pure gorgeousness
This ride was for sale for $15k and seemed a steal at that price.
Ross came 850 miles down I-70 with his chopped, channelled and sectioned Merc.
I came back to get this car without the shadow, but the car had left, good thing I got this one.
Soooo kool.
Your favorite summer time beverage just tastes better colder, why not keep it cooler and show off your hot rod/kustom love with this killer Royboy Coozie?
Lots o’ Louvers
Mark Moriarity helping Don Wallin get the Merc back on the road.
Don Wallin’s Merc
Gene Weaver’s beautiful 54 Chevy from Wichita
Dan Jetter’s Caddy
Roger Jetter’s Caddy
If you haven’t voted yet for your favorite New Blood Entrant, head over there to do that now. You only get one vote and you must be logged into facebook to vote. I can’t count votes that are set to private so make sure that I can see who you vote for! The winner gets $500 cash!!!
PS: All photos on this page are available as prints up to poster sizes. Buying them not only makes your walls cooler it puts gas in the tank to get me to another car show or feature shoot. Please consider buying a print, if you canāt do that, I understand. IF you like this post, share it with your car friends using the social media sharing buttons below or just by sending them the link to this page. Every set of eyeballs on the site helps! Or just hit the Store page and buy something or make a donation!
Get your Hot Rod Stencil Shirt ordered today, they are in short supply and will not be reprinted, get one now or don’t get one at all! Click here to order one now.
Buy one of these shirts or mugs and help Chrome Pipes & Pinstripes advertise online and pay for hosting fees.
Friday morning we headed over to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for a tour. The Museum was $5 to get in and was amazing.
From the parking lot of the Museum on to the inside there were awesome rides everywhere.
He wasn’t really too happy about posing for photos.
However, Jack relished the opportunity.
This was our ride for our grounds tour.
Ad, Jack, Mickey, Dave and Royboy in the post race pressĀ conference.
Pretty sweet doors!
The view from the Media Center.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway isn’t actually in Indy, it’s in the city of Speedway.
Dan Greenberg taking a photo of the Pagoda.
The most famous 36″ of bricks in the world.
Your car, your toolbox, your fridge, you know you have something thats needs to have a kool sticker like these on it. Get one here.From touring the Indianapolis Motor Speedway MuseumFrom touring the Indianapolis Motor Speedway MuseumFrom touring the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum
Heading into turn 2
The Pagoda is an impressive structure.
Dr. Dave on the finish line.
Not much of an exciting race judging by Dan Greenberg’s lack of caring about the race. š
How much fun would it be to run 230 down the front stretch?
There was a bit of action at the track with some Ferraris and Lambos taking laps on a short road course.
From touring the Indianapolis Motor Speedway MuseumFrom touring the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum
Later it was back to the hotel parking lot to see all of the new arrivals.
My favorite photo of the weekend, right there.
Tomorrow starts the coverage of the actual show event. Subscribe in the top right hand corner to make sure you don’t miss a single day’s coverage!
If you haven’t voted yet for your favorite New Blood Entrant, head over there to do that now. You only get one vote and you must be logged into facebook to vote. I can’t count votes that are set to private so make sure that I can see who you vote for! The winner gets $500 cash!!!
PS: All photos on this page are available as prints up to poster sizes. Buying them not only makes your walls cooler it puts gas in the tank to get me to another car show or feature shoot. Please consider buying a print, if you canāt do that, I understand. IF you like this post, share it with your car friends using the social media sharing buttons below or just by sending them the link to this page. Every set of eyeballs on the site helps! Or just hit the Store page and buy something or make a donation!
Get your Hot Rod Stencil Shirt ordered today, they are in short supply and will not be reprinted, get one now or don’t get one at all! Click here to order one now.
Buy one of these shirts or mugs and help Chrome Pipes & Pinstripes advertise online and pay for hosting fees.
