Monday, December 12, 2011

A Great Gallery for Classic Car and Truck Photos

OldRide.com has provided a browseable gallery of photos for classic cars, trucks and hot rods.  Many of the great photos are dating all the way back to the early 1900s and contain some rare, never seen or long forgotten photos.

Rusty Rat Rods and Hot Rods
photo courtesty of OldRide.com
Car Photos on OldRide.com features everything from rat rods and hot rods to classic trucks, Mopars, Mustangs, muscle cars, junkyards and more. Some of these pictures will leave you reminiscing about the days of old and wishing we could go back to the day when gasoline was about $0.20/gallon. 

Viewing Car Photos on OldRide.com is a great time waster for me. If you want to see some great classic vehicles you can visit the variety of albums and view pictures of classic ads, brochures or junkyard cars.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Great Holiday Gifts for Hot Rod Enthusiasts

This year I would like to suggest some great gifts to buy that are useful and significantly more fun than some of the typical holiday gifts auto enthusiasts are given.

Here is a list of gifts that you can use to spice up the holiday season of your Hot Rod enthusiast.


A Hot Rod Book - $24
For Sale on Amazon.com
In its sixty-plus years of existence, Hot Rod magazine has featured hundreds of cars on its cover. To those in the muscle car, street machine, and hot rodding hobby, having their car selected for the cover is the ultimate coup, a near unsurpassable bragging right. Often, the cover car is a landmark vehicle that sets new standards for years to come. Hot Rod Magazine All the Covers showcases each cover in full color, along with images of the cover car from select issues.



Hot Rod T-Shirt or Sweatshirt - $15-$28
For Sale on OldRide.com
 
You are sure to be pleased with this custom graphic t-shirt, including the OldRide.com logo on the front with a larger logo and Rat Rod on the back. This shirt is made comfortable, using 100% cotton and comes pre-shrunk. A perfect gift for any classic car enthusiast! 



Genuine Hotrod Hardware® Tool Box Fridges - $330
For Sale on SummitRacing.com

Nothing looks worse than a stark-white refrigerator in a car guy's garage! The Tool Box Fridges are the perfect accessories for any car guy's place. They're designed to look just like a toolbox, so they fit perfectly with your garage or shop's decor. From their top door lock and heavy-duty locking casters to their rugged metal non-operational drawer pulls, the Tool Box Fridges look like the real thing! They feature a lighted interior, a Dispense-A-Can can stacker, spill-proof shelves, and the capacity to hold all of the necessities to finish the job (including 2 liter and 1/2 gallon bottles)! They measure 37 in. tall by 19 in. wide by 23 in. deep and weigh 62 lbs.


Driving Experience $700 - $3,200

If your budget is no object, then the Skip Barber Racing or Driving School makes a great gift for someone special in your life.  You can even buy yourself the gift you’ve always wanted.   Purchase before the end of November and receive 20% off!




Happy Shopping and Merry Christmas!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Turn your Hot Rod into a BBQ Grille


"It's not unusual for chrome-plated thoughts to race through Willie Elder's mind when he browses Craigslist or eBay for odds-and-ends parts. Restoring vintage cars and trucks is his hobby.

So when he found the front end of a 1939 Dodge pickup for sale online, Elder naturally wanted it. He haggled the price down, as well as delivery — the seller was from Akron — and when the old Dodge rolled into his driveway in Greeley, Elder's mind's eye quite literally blazed.

“It was almost instant — I'm going to make a barbecue grill,” he recalls.

About a year of work later, the immense grill of the Dodge, a one-time asphalt truck coated in rust and tar, gleams along with the hood, headlights and fenders in its second life as, well, a high-horsepower grill.

“This is the beast,” Elder says as he pushes a remote-control button.

Guurrrrruuhummm goes the hood of the old Dodge, rising 3 feet via a motorized pulley and displaying the grill's impressive guts. They look remarkably like a 1930s-era V-8 engine."
Read the full story here - Car guru's skills turn into high-horsepower grill | Greeley Tribune

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

An Article Too Good Not to Share

Below is an article I recently came across on Jalopnik that I thought was just too good not to share with others. Thanks Thom for your wonderful insight!

An Open Letter to the Typical Classic Car Seller/Owner
By Thom Douglas
Aug 20, 2010 04:00 PM

I'm getting increasingly bothered by the fact that I don't have a car, whether drivable or not. This frustration rises exponentially when I'm "window shopping" for a car on Craigslist. I come across one in which I'm halfway interested (usually within the late 1930′s, late 40′s, early 50′s or late 60′s model years) & then see the price.

When you want $4,000 for a rusted up, disassembled, & probably incomplete, shell of a *insert faux-rare model here*, you probably (unintentionally, of course) aren't trying to sell it to anyone under the age of 40. Then you, the "older" car enthusiast, turns around to bitch & moan about how your "old car enthusiast culture" is dying because we, the younger generation, seem to be disinterested in your culture.

News flash, old timer(s): it's not that we're not interested, on the contrary, we're very interested.

The problem is that you price these "collector" cars at ridiculously high prices. So, you poured half your retirement fund into restoring it. No one told you to do that. Yes, the car looks great, but don't expect to make back what you put into it, then plus whatever that bullsh*t KBB says the car is worth.

The only people who can afford these immaculately restored cars are people of your age group. No wonder the classic car culture is dying. The only people who can afford them literally ARE…dying.

Now, to be fair, I have no problem with a "well maintained" classic, priced reasonably at $10,000. If the upholstery is good, the paint is decent, & there is little or no rust, that's definitely 100 Benjamins well spent.

But when you come on the internets & you post a rusted up, non-running, "they made 1 million of these cars, but it's definitely rare" Ford for $10,000, that is NOT 100 Benjamins well spent. In fact, it's literally a waste of money. And time, both on your part & the readers'/shoppers' part.

I see postings all the time for classic cars with low-ish miles (40-50k), in decent shape, & drivable. And then I see their $6,000 price tag. That is a hell of a deal if you ask me. My favourite postings are the ones that have a 30′s, 40′s, or 50′s car for sale & in the description it says "this was/is my daily driver." Dear seller, you're doin' it right.

I can justify giving you $10k for a car if it looks presentable, IF…& only "if," it is not "perfect" because it's your daily driver. Anyone who appreciates a classic for what it is: a car to be driven, deserves to have an extra $2k added to their asking price, because they know the true value of the vehicle they are trying to sell. As long as you can upkeep your classic AND use it as a daily driver, you have my respect & money.

I CAN'T justify giving you $10k for a car that is in perfect condition that you just let sit in your garage in between seasons/car shows. I don't care that it's never seen rain or snow. You know what that tells me? It tells me that this isn't a car to you. It tells me that you think this car is some sort of trophy. Something to be looked at & never truly driven for fear of God only knows what.

If it's not in decent shape because you're neglectful, then that tells me that the car means less to you than it does to the man who thinks it's a trophy. It tells me you think it's equivalent to a paper napkin: something to be disposed & forgotten about. Since that's what it appears to be, you should probably just drop the asking price to "free."

But getting back to immaculately restored, never driven cars…

So one or two parts might be a little hard to find. That's not worth not driving the car. Don't not drive it because you're afraid something will break. Cross that bridge when you come to it.

Classics are not "special." They are not "rare." They are not meant to be roped off so a child can't touch them. They are cars, meant to be driven, enjoyed, used, & loved. Not the faux-driven, faux-enjoyed, faux-used, or faux-loved like too many classics are. If you have a true, unadulterated passion for automobiles, not just classics, you will understand this article. If not, then I'm sorry I've wasted your time. If you feel so inclined, send me an angry email that I will just post & make a mockery of in a later article.

Thom Douglas loves boats, vintage cars & educated vocabulary; gin Martinis, Manhattans, Southamptons, or a good Scotch; jazz or music that's equally as relaxing. He blogs about Detroit and life on his blog Leftovers For Dinner.


Original article can be found here - http://m.jalopnik.com/5615911/an-open-letter-to-the-typical-classic-car-sellerowner

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Hot Rods


To me, hot rods are a vehicle of wonder and amazement. Sure, you can take a car and restore it to it's original image but a true piece of work that really tantalizes the eyes is a fine crafted Hot Rod. A Hot Rod came to be known in the 1930s or 1940s as the name of a car that had been "hopped up" by modifying the engine in various ways to achieve higher performance. A typical Hot Rod consists of vehicles from the early 20's through 60's especially pre World War II vehicles and their parts.

There are those who criticize and believe the practice of modifying rare vehicles and their parts should be abolished and consider Hot Rodding a derogatory term, while others who enjoy this type of restoration keep the hobby alive.

To view more pictures of Hot Rods or those vehicles that could become Hot Rod Projects visit OldRide.com and view their Rusty Rides section.


1938 Lincoln Zephyr

The following websites are a staple in Hot Rod Culture:
  • Get the know-how to customize your Hot Rod for other HotRodders at Hotrodders.com
  • The true genius when it comes to American Hot Rods - Boyd Coddington
  • And if you really want to get into the nitty gritty, join the NHRA

Friday, July 23, 2010

The Ultimate Classic Car Website

An informative and always interesting website for all you classic, vintage, or what have you car enthusiasts is www.oldride.com. There is always something happening on this website. From new classifieds to daily car shows and classic car clubs to join, as well as technical data and pictures of rusty old cars. One can find it easy to become addicted to browsing through the many pages.

Where should a classic car lover turn to get information about car makes and models? The OldRide Library contains specialized information that is not easily available in one place to classic car owners.

Where can a classic car enthusiast go to appreciate a gallery of rusty classic cars sitting along roads or hidden in barns? The Rusty Ride Gallery on OldRide.com contains thousands of pictures of just the sort. It is enough to make you drool and cry all in the same moment.

Where can one go to get answers for those hard classic car restoration questions? OldRide Answers provides of community of classic car enthusiast the opportunity to help one another out. Don’t know where to turn to receive help about identifying casting numbers for a 1968 Chevrolet Camaro bell housing? Turn to OldRide Answers. If that doesn’t help, turn to the OldRide Resource Directory for more information regarding classic automotive related services and products.

One of the greatest things in general about OldRide.com is that new information is always being added. Each week, there are new pictures, new information, new deals on classic cars and more. Chalk this one up as one of the best classic car websites around.