When it comes to custom cars, beauty is often in the eye of the builder. By definition, customs tend to be very personal projects, modified and restyled to reflect the tastes and design senses of their builders and owners. Those changes are not guaranteed to
Every car guy knows, or should know, Car Guy Rule Number One: Don’t buy your wife or girlfriend an old car and call it her birthday present. Ninety-nine percent of the time, that’s a losing proposition. Harmon Anderson of Johnstown, Colorado, is the poster guy for
With the help of his father and the family’s ’58 Chevy pickup, Junior Mass towed his first project car, a ’32 Ford three-window coupe, home to their farm in Malvern, Iowa. He found the car listed in the classifieds of the Omaha World Herald newspaper.
Two decades ago, Ken Henderson was shopping for a first-generation Camaro that he and his 16-year-old son could transform into the teen’s daily driver. The 1968 Camaro they found turned out to be a highly optioned car, so plans changed. It was too nice to
Dare to be different, they say; it’ll be fun, they say. We’re not sure exactly who “they” are, but any hot rodder knows that building something different often requires a lot of extra work. In the case of Steve Leach’s uncommon 1938 Dodge RD10 pickup,
The bond between a car builder and his customer can be strong, especially when it’s a repeat customer. Most builds are multi-year projects, so you develop a relationship and learn a lot about the other person’s tastes. Ultimately, the builder is helping the customer realize
Couples who build hot rods together, stay together, and they also have a lot more fun cruising together with their family to car shows and events! At least that’s the case for Shannon and Kate Gaither with their 1965 Chevy Suburban, appropriately referred to as
Phil and Sarah Quinton fell in love with a ’61 Corvette at a Goodguys show in Pleasanton two years ago and tried to buy it, but the owner was not interested in parting with the car. Following the old adage about lemons and lemonade, the
Roy Cardoza of Livermore, California, grew up in a car-guy home, so it’s not much of a surprise that as an adult Roy would also live in a car-guy home based on his 1956 Chevy 210 wagon. “Growing up there was always some kind of
Brandon Putzier is not alone in having a project that traveled the slippery slope from “nice driver” to show-stopping standout that doesn’t belong in shopping center parking lots. He started his 1968 C10 pickup in one direction and happily ended up at a different destination. “I
