LOWTECH :: traditional hot rods and customs :: Because less is more.

el mirage, may 2013

2013-05-19T23:20:00.000-07:00

After my first visit to El Mirage two years ago, I was so excited to be back at this magic place on earth.

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And even better, this time I wouldn't have to drive and sleep in a rental car since my better half insisted on driving her El Camino to the dry lake. So here's my first selection of pictures from Saturday, May 18 at El Mirage Dry Lake. Find some more photos here in the slideshow.

speedseekers

2013-05-19T11:05:00.002-07:00

Fresh from the season opener at El Mirage. More to come soon!

cruisin' grand

2013-05-16T11:20:00.003-07:00

How many car shows and cruises can one bear per week? As with so many things in life, it depends on where you grew up.

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Being born and raised in Europe where it feels like old car season lasts only for a couple of days a year, it's hard to believe how much car-related stuff is going in Southern California. Thus, it is also hard not to give in the urge to attend as many gatherings as possible while actually being in SoCal. This is why I spontaneously decided to drive to Escondido for the Cruisin' Grand, a traditional town center cruise which is held every Friday night in summer. Here's what I saw.

tradition

2013-05-15T21:50:00.000-07:00

People can go to great lengths discussing how a traditional car has to look like and almost forget about what tradition really means. And then there's a moment like this that sums it all up.

decisions

2013-05-09T20:56:00.003-07:00

mercury

2013-05-09T08:10:00.000-07:00

Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. Previously unpublished photo of Goran Lassell's 1948 Mercury Custom.

dean jeffries

2013-05-08T11:04:00.001-07:00

It was in 1986 or 1987 when I saw The Manta Ray for the first time. I had no idea who had built it and why. During the 1990s when my interest in traditional custom cars was sparked I came across the name of its builder for the first time, Dean Jeffries. So in 2009 on my first trip to the holy land of car culture I was finally able to admire and appreciate some of Dean's work in real, in the shape of The Manta Ray exhibited at the Petersen Museum. In the meantime I had learned more about his builds and the impact he had made on automotive styling and custom car history. Yesterday, as the news of his passing spread over the social media I was struck not only by the thought that he was gone. It was more like, man he wasn't just a legend, he was a living legend. And he had still had his shop in Hollywood and I didn't make it there. Now it's too late. Godspeed, Dean Jeffries.

san dimas special

2013-05-06T10:11:00.000-07:00

Photography is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get. At least I don't. Sometimes I go all the way of planning a shoot and bringing the "good" camera and all that jazz. And I hate the results. Sometimes I just have a cheap point and shoot on hand and fire away. And I like it.

sundown

2013-05-02T17:25:00.002-07:00

Sundown on a wednesday in Downey, Los Angeles.

first time on the moon

2013-04-25T09:43:00.001-07:00

During his lifetime, every european hot rodder undertakes at least one pilgrimage to the holy land of automotive culture. The travel itinerary usually consists of a similar list of sacred sites like speed shops, drag strips and burger joints. One of the most popular places to be visited by the european hot rod community is Mooneyes in Santa Fe Springs. Since I was a sinner for way too long and after living in southern California for more than half a year, I decided it was about time to do my duty.

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Mooneyes is one of the most famous brands in traditional car culture. And it's one of the most widely accepted. The two iconic moon eyes have been seen on almost every imaginable or buildable kind of vehicle, like dragsters, lakesters, hot rods, volkswagens, stockers, hell even bicycles and boats.

It's hard to determine where this credibility has its roots. Of course there's the history of the company, but I think it's a combination of this with several other aspects, like the design or the fact that all of the signature Mooneyes parts like the tanks or the wheel discs are still being produced in the USA. And just like they wanted to prove their belief in virtues of reliability, quality and consistency they're still located at the same address since back in the 1950s.

In case you've never been to the Mooneyes shop on 10820 South Norwalk Boulevard, you're missing out on something. On the left hand side you find the store with all the merchandise stuff Mooneyes also is (in)famous for. Ratfink key chains, door pins, it's all there if you want to give your car and/or your lifestyle that kustom kulture twist... But there's also the machine shop. And if you ask politely you might get a tour.

Boxes of blanks, freshly finished parts, lots of impressive machinery: it's all there.

Manny Flores showed us the process how the spun aluminium discs are being made. Here you see him with the Mooneyes Starburst wheelcover.

The ever popular Moon foot pedal.

Wandering through this machine shop is an amazing lesson in hot rod history.

Some corners probably haven't changed during the last decades.

We also got to learn first hand how the spun aluminum tanks are manufactured. Thanks for the fantastic tour and keep up the good work, Mooneyes!

Click here for the slideshow with 45 full color pictures!

irwindale swap meet

2013-04-21T21:38:00.000-07:00

The older I get the more I like getting up early. And it seems like this development goes hand in hand with my growing interest in swap meets. Irwindale is one of the newer swap meets in Southern California.

At least that's what they claim on their website. I liked it even though the number of vendors was somewhat limited. Several interesting rides still made for an entertaining sunday morning stroll.

the studebomber

2013-04-16T22:40:00.003-07:00

Tradition wants hot rods to be built from Ford parts. There might be an early nailhead or a hemi sitting between the frame rails. But everything around it should have been designed once upon a time in Dearborn, Michigan.

LOWTECH is all about traditional hot rods and customs.

And I hardly ever saw a hot rod that was appealing to my eyes and senses but wasn't a Ford.

Luckily there are geniuses like Roy of San Clemente, California who are capable of opening my stubborn, narrow-minded view. To my defense I must say he had to bring some pretty heavy machinery. And he had to piece it together from dozens of different car makes and models. But he did good. He did god damn good.

This is the story of Roy's 1934 Studebaker.

The front view is one of my favorite angles of this car. It's aggressive withouth being rude. It's dramatic but not exaggerated.

Everything is thoughtfully arranged around the centerpiece, a 354 cubic inch Hemi out of a 1956 De Soto. The headers are made of 1936 Ford torque tubes. And even the wheels combine 1940 Ford centers with 1939 Chevy outer rims.

Roy took the dashboard from a 1950 Ford and combined it with a Olds gauge cluster from the same year.

The cowl vent was specifcially built for this car.

In fact, every part on this car was made to fit. »My goal was building a car the old school way« says Roy. »Just using parts we had scrounged at swap meets and junk yards.«

We don't know where Roy found the steering wheel. But it originally came from a 1950s boat.

The decklid is from a 1949 Lincoln.

The gas filler cap is from an unknown source.

The rear wheel wells are pieced together from the hood sides of a 1954 Dodge. The upper door frames are from a 1939 Chevy and the rear wheels combine 1957 Buick centers with Chevy milk truck rims and Plymouth hoops. And yes you're right, the rear window unmistakingly came with a 1939 Buick.

Let's now take a closer look at the front which is pure architecture. The 1941 Lincoln front beam partly hides behind the 1939 La Salle grille which is flanked by a pair of 1961 Chrysler headlights. Even the lines on the hood flow perfectly which is not by coincidence but rather a result of Roy's relentless eye for aesthetics combined with his amazing craftsmanship.

While the car isn't finished yet, it has come a long way from what it was seven years ago. So, you say there was never such a thing like a 1934 Studebaker three-window coupe? So, you're right. This car used to be a four door humpback sedan.

And when asked why he had chosen a Studebaker sedan to build the hot rod coupe of his dreams, Roy replied: »I just couldn't afford a Ford.«

And here we got Roy on the left with my buddy Hendrik from Switzerland petting Roy's shop dog Otto.

eat dirt

2013-04-16T14:39:00.000-07:00

This is a public announcement for our european readers: Some friends of ours are inviting you guys to race your jalopies around the old Schenkenhorst dirt track in Potsdam, Germany. So if you like it dirty click here.

hippy killer hoedown #5

2013-04-14T13:40:00.003-07:00

While it was overcast and gloomy along the coast we were glad we had to head inland for the 5th annual Hippy Killer Hoedown.

The party was in full swing when we arrived so we had to leave our heap in the visitor's parking lot. Next time we'll get out there earlier but it was still a great show. Watch the slideshow or check out the gallery.

mercury saturday

2013-04-13T21:31:00.001-07:00

Seen today at the Hippy Killer Hoedown. More to come soon.

a night at the broiler

2013-04-10T10:48:00.001-07:00

I easily get bored at car shows. What I enjoy most about them is getting there but during the first one or two hours the excitement rapidly starts wearing off. Besides that, the overpriced food usually sucks. It's too crowded. And it's a pain to get any decent pictures. That's why I like early morning get togethers and, sometimes – even cruise nights.

Cruises can be cool. You almost spend as much time driving there as it takes you to walk around the cars in the parking lot. You actually get to meet the owners of the cars. And depending on the venue, there's no shortage of somewhat edible food. So, for months I was planning on attending the almost legendary wednesday cruise night at Bob's Big Boy Broiler in Downey. A week ago we finally made it. Here's what we saw and needless to say, we'll be back soon.

the road to austin

2013-04-08T11:42:00.004-07:00

Some people say it's the best hot rod show in the world. Well, I couldn't make it to the Lonestar Round Up yet so I'm not the one to judge. But what I can say is that the road trip of Shawn and his family looks like it was the best family vacation in the world. (via Stylish Kustoms)

the homecoming (part II)

2013-04-03T23:25:00.002-07:00

As you may have guessed, I took a lot more pictures at the HOT ROD Homecoming Show. Here they are, all in one slideshow. Or you can check them out in the gallery.

the homecoming

2013-04-01T16:11:00.000-07:00

»Where it all began« is what they say at Hot Rod Magazine. Looking at its latest issues it sometimes feels hard to believe that this saying is true. But it is. Let's just face the fact that Hot Rod Magazine is 65 years old. And with 12 issues a year, you end up with – well just do the math – like yeah, a whole fuckin' bunch of paper filled with hot rod and custom history.

So, for their 65th anniversary they came up with a great idea: let's throw a birthday party! How innovative, you say? Well they didn't just want to celebrate on their own at a strip club in Las Vegas. They decided to do a car show. Not just a birthday cruise. A full blown car show at Pomona Fairplex. And they invited all of the cars – hot rods, customs, gassers, lakesters, dragsters, you name it – ever featured on the pages of Hot Rod Magazine.

Walking through the buildings at the show was pretty much like a walk down memory lane – even if it wasn't my personal memory but rather what I had memorized from books, websites and old magazines. Amazingly too, not so many people seemed to have heard about the show. So it wasn't as packed as one would have it expected to be. But who would complain? Here are just a couple of my favorites. Enjoy!

the lassell chevy

2013-03-21T22:46:00.000-07:00

Another outtake from a photoshoot for the french POWERGLIDE magazine: Goran Lassell's 1952 Chevy, built by Sacramento Kustoms.

garza kustoms: a family affair

2013-03-18T10:33:00.000-07:00

Whenever I get the opportunity to travel California's central coast, I really enjoy discovering and re-discovering this wonderful area. It always feels a bit like time travelling. The roads are straight and narrow. The towns are built on simple grids. A wide open sky stretches over seemingly endless fields. And there's an amazing heritage of custom car culture hiding in backyards, garages and shops.

But there's an even better reason why I'm always looking forward to meet up with Mark Garza and his dad Arnold: They're simply great people. And they work hard to keep their family's custom car tradition alive.

When we arrived on a late afternoon in February, we were greeted by Arnold Garza at his shop in Nipomo. He's currently building a 1941 Plymouth Coupe, owned by Gilbert Robles. Gilbert is another good friend of ours and runs a beautiful old school barber shop in Guadalupe.

A lot of custom work has been put into the Plymouth and there's still a long way to go until it will be ready to cruise the central coast's main streets and highways.

The Packard grille defines the front view of the car, perfectly blending in with the art deco feel of the coupe's original design. We like the way Arnold kept a part of the original grille's lower section. Another great reminiscence to the factory styling.

The chopped top is what really makes this car's sinister but elegant attitude.

Another great and very traditional custom touch: the bumper guard tail lights. Mark Garza made the tail light lenses. The fender skirts are mocked up and we're looking forward to the decision on their final design.

Gilbert has had a great idea for the interior but I won't give it away yet.

Arnold Garza does an amazing job and it feels easy to imagine the impact this kustom will make once finished.

It had been a long time since the Plymouth had seen the daylight. Here we rolled it a little bit out of the shop to appreciate the overall look.

We're looking forward to the progress on Gilbert's Plymouth and will keep you posted.

the lassell merc

2013-03-17T09:58:00.000-07:00

Outtake from a photoshoot for the french POWERGLIDE Magazine: Goran Lassell's 1948 Mercury Kustom, built by Sacramento Kustoms.

spring sale: 1931 ford coupe

2013-03-13T10:02:00.002-07:00

Ring in spring with a Hot Rod that needs nothing except for a new owner. Fellow ACES member and my almost-neighbor Chad is selling his 1931 Ford model A coupe.

It's got a well-proportioned chop and the stance is right on. Engine is a freshly rebuilt 327 Chevy smallblock (only 800 miles since rebuild) and the 700R4 transmission makes freeway driving a blast. The rear end with posi traction came out of a 1958 Chevy. Asking price is $20k. Any more questions? Just shoot an e-mail at chad54@cox.net.

art on wheels

2013-03-11T22:47:00.002-07:00

John Mearns' 1936 Ford Coupe, built by Jeb's Metal and Speed, Long Beach.

lowraider

2013-03-07T21:03:00.000-08:00

It's silver and black on the outside. And it's silver and black on the inside.

Henry's 1966 El Camino was painted by his son and is rolling on a set of astro supremes. While cruising the streets of Guadalupe we asked Henry why it's all silver and black. »I've always been a Raiders fan.«