CARSPOTTING> 1965 Type II Volkswagen Bus
Many of us are dreamers, striving toward our dreams and goals, stopping at nothing to reach that finish line. Rolando Alvarado’s 1965 Type II Volkswagen Bus took 30+ years to cross the metaphorical finish line - but what a great finish line to cross!
Growing up, Rolando was always a fan of the air-cooled Volkswagen scene and it quickly became a personal goal of his to acquire one. It was his father’s 1954 European oval window VW Bug that got his heart pumping and started his love for the air-cooled engines. Despite that, it took a while for Rolando to realize his dream. It wasn’t until 1980 that he finally got his very first VW. Of course, being the die-hard VW head that he is, it ended up being a 69’ VW Bug.
The first time I laid eyes on this Bus, I just knew that there had to be a story behind it. To many, a Bus may just be another form of transportation, but to me this iconic Bus was a moment in a time when life was a lot simpler - the time of Wood Stock, hippies running through Haight and Ashbury in San Francisco, Jefferson Airplane...good times. During the photo shoot, this Bus almost became a time capsule to channel what life was like back then - an icon to remind us how things used to be. Read more...
Growing up, Rolando was always a fan of the air-cooled Volkswagen scene and it quickly became a personal goal of his to acquire one. It was his father’s 1954 European oval window VW Bug that got his heart pumping and started his love for the air-cooled engines. Despite that, it took a while for Rolando to realize his dream. It wasn’t until 1980 that he finally got his very first VW. Of course, being the die-hard VW head that he is, it ended up being a 69’ VW Bug.
The first time I laid eyes on this Bus, I just knew that there had to be a story behind it. To many, a Bus may just be another form of transportation, but to me this iconic Bus was a moment in a time when life was a lot simpler - the time of Wood Stock, hippies running through Haight and Ashbury in San Francisco, Jefferson Airplane...good times. During the photo shoot, this Bus almost became a time capsule to channel what life was like back then - an icon to remind us how things used to be. Read more...
COVERAGE> Rod&Kulture Nostalgic Dragfest, Pt.1
When I was growing up and first became interested in cars, Japanese cars were the focus of my automotive interests. My grandfather and all my uncles drove Toyotas, so that might have something to do with it. In college, I hung out with mostly Asian kids that were "fixing up" their import cars (although in reality, most of them didn't know what the hell they were doing at the time; they were ruining the reliability of their street cars in hopes of looking cool at the illegal street races), so American domestic cars were definitely not on my radar at the time.
Even though I've always admired and respected cars like 1968 Camaros and Shelby Daytona coupes, I'll honestly admit that when I was younger, I was never really interested in musclecars or hot rodding either - probably because I completely misunderstood what hot rod culture was all about! I used to think that hot rods were only for old guys that wore unfashionable Hawaiian print shirts with their cargo shorts, long white socks, and military trucker hats bearing the name of some sort of Navy vessel they worked on back in the day. I just didn't get it. The whole hot rod scene just didn't connect for me - possibly because most of the muscle car owners from my high school were always at odds with the import car crowd. Their high-and-mighty attitudes and constant disparagement of the 4-cylinder cars I loved created a social barrier that made it hard for Japanese car enthusiasts like me to connect to and learn about the cooler aspects of hot rodding.
It actually wasn't until I began building and restoring my 1973 Corolla 1600SR that I began seeing a lot of parallels between the Japanese nostalgic car culture that I love and the whole hot rod and scene. I don't want to get too deep into this subject (at least not in this story), but let's just say I'm a big fan of traditional hot rods, retro funny cars, and diggers now! This being said, I obviously couldn't miss Rod&Kulture Magazine's annual Dragfest at Famoso Raceway in Bakersfield, CA this weekend! Read more...
Even though I've always admired and respected cars like 1968 Camaros and Shelby Daytona coupes, I'll honestly admit that when I was younger, I was never really interested in musclecars or hot rodding either - probably because I completely misunderstood what hot rod culture was all about! I used to think that hot rods were only for old guys that wore unfashionable Hawaiian print shirts with their cargo shorts, long white socks, and military trucker hats bearing the name of some sort of Navy vessel they worked on back in the day. I just didn't get it. The whole hot rod scene just didn't connect for me - possibly because most of the muscle car owners from my high school were always at odds with the import car crowd. Their high-and-mighty attitudes and constant disparagement of the 4-cylinder cars I loved created a social barrier that made it hard for Japanese car enthusiasts like me to connect to and learn about the cooler aspects of hot rodding.
It actually wasn't until I began building and restoring my 1973 Corolla 1600SR that I began seeing a lot of parallels between the Japanese nostalgic car culture that I love and the whole hot rod and scene. I don't want to get too deep into this subject (at least not in this story), but let's just say I'm a big fan of traditional hot rods, retro funny cars, and diggers now! This being said, I obviously couldn't miss Rod&Kulture Magazine's annual Dragfest at Famoso Raceway in Bakersfield, CA this weekend! Read more...
CARSPOTTING> Gingerbread Hot Rod for Christmas
Hey everyone! We got these photos from our good friend Chris “Hechtspeed” Hecht from the My Ride Is Me website. We think it’s a hell of a lot cooler than building a gingerbread man or gingerbread house! Maybe we should do some sort of gingerbread car building competition next year???
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE!
Thank you so much for all your loyal support of our website! It’s hard to believe that the MotorMavens website is still less than a year old! We officially launched the site in May of this year, and it’s already ranked pretty damn high because of all your site visits and comments and linkbacks!!! You guys are the best! Thank you so much – we appreciate all your awesome comments! From the entire Motor Mavens Family, best wishes to you and your families during this holiday season!
Oh, and let’s not forget the specs:
-Ford Model A Pickup, genuine Graham Cracker, Bonneville rat rod
-Licorice slicks in the rear, with licorice wide whites skinnies on the front (Notice the mad camber yo)
-Engine is a Buick GN topped with a 6-71 Gummi Blower and angle cut candy cane straight pipes a la rat style
-Green Jello Roof with high mounted candy cane side mirror
-Bright yellow Gumdrop headlights with icing trim
-Classic Mike-N-Ike grille
:: MotorMavens
COVERAGE> Rainy Day Rodding at Mooneyes
With December in full swing and Christmas-time near, tis the season for parties and holiday cheer. With hot rods on the freeway, plus an onslaught of rain, I had to yell at times, "stupid ass, stay in your lane!!!"
This past weekend, I attended the Annual Mooneyes Christmas Party at Irwindale Speedway. I can't believe it's already been a full year since the last time I visited the show. I have to admit... cold, rainy weather makes me feel pretty lazy. Living in Southern Cali, I think I've gotten used to the weather being 73 degrees all year round, so when it dips below 55 degrees outside, it's pretty hard for me to convince myself to leave the comfort of my baffled goose down comforter behind and trudge through the rain with 30+lbs of camera gear and flyers on my back. This Saturday, it was especially difficult because I was out with my friends at a house party and didn't get back until 4:30am on the day of the show.
However, I'm really glad I did make it to Mooneyes this year. Speaking to my friend Shige (the man behind Mooneyes and Crown Classics in Yokohama Japan), we both agreed that the rain did put a bit of a damper on the event's attendance, but it was good in a way. It weeded out most of the "trying to be down" scenesters and showed everyone who the real hardcore hot rodders were. Most of the guys who came to this year's Mooneyes Christmas Party actually drove their period correct traditional hot rods with vintage whitewall tires on the 605 freeway IN THE RAIN to and from the show. Now that's dedication! Much respect! Read more...
This past weekend, I attended the Annual Mooneyes Christmas Party at Irwindale Speedway. I can't believe it's already been a full year since the last time I visited the show. I have to admit... cold, rainy weather makes me feel pretty lazy. Living in Southern Cali, I think I've gotten used to the weather being 73 degrees all year round, so when it dips below 55 degrees outside, it's pretty hard for me to convince myself to leave the comfort of my baffled goose down comforter behind and trudge through the rain with 30+lbs of camera gear and flyers on my back. This Saturday, it was especially difficult because I was out with my friends at a house party and didn't get back until 4:30am on the day of the show.
However, I'm really glad I did make it to Mooneyes this year. Speaking to my friend Shige (the man behind Mooneyes and Crown Classics in Yokohama Japan), we both agreed that the rain did put a bit of a damper on the event's attendance, but it was good in a way. It weeded out most of the "trying to be down" scenesters and showed everyone who the real hardcore hot rodders were. Most of the guys who came to this year's Mooneyes Christmas Party actually drove their period correct traditional hot rods with vintage whitewall tires on the 605 freeway IN THE RAIN to and from the show. Now that's dedication! Much respect! Read more...
SHOPAHOLIC> Walden Speed Shop
Earlier this week we stopped by Walden Speed Shop to observe what makes these world-class metalcrafters tick. Greeting us at the entrance were a beautiful '27 T-Bucket with a Buick Nailhead 425 and a partially built '36 Ford smuggling an L92 crate motor between its bulging fenders. A gorgeous collection of vintage gas station signs hung like tapestries of automotive art signaled good things in store. Read more...
COVERAGE> El Mirage and Land Speed Racing
About an hour and a half north of Los Angeles lies El Mirage, a historic dry lake bed that has been a home to land speed racing and the organization that hosts these land speed racing events, the Southern California Timing Association (SCTA) for over 60 years. Just think about it - sixty years! That's a long time. Even though it is only about 1.5 hours from where I live and I've known about El Mirage for years, I had never actually been to El Mirage until this past weekend.
For me, the journey to El Mirage was something like a time warp. We had to drive through the high desert of the Antelope Valley, and eventually began noticing lots of old homes and old buildings... not to mention ghost-town looking businesses that look like they haven't seen a customer walk through their doors in a decade.
On Sunday, Travis and I decided to drive our Nissan Cube press vehicle up to El Mirage to check out the scene and see what it was all about. On the way to the legendary dry lake bed, we stopped off at this liquor store/gas station for drinks, and were happy to find an old Ford hot rod parked outside at the gas pump. I approached the owner of the car, a gentleman named Dave, and said hello while he was refueling his hot rod with a funnel, as the gas station's modern style gas nozzles wouldn't be long or slender enough to get the entire neck of the fuel nozzle into the vintage gas tank without spilling onto the side of his old Ford. Read more...
For me, the journey to El Mirage was something like a time warp. We had to drive through the high desert of the Antelope Valley, and eventually began noticing lots of old homes and old buildings... not to mention ghost-town looking businesses that look like they haven't seen a customer walk through their doors in a decade.
On Sunday, Travis and I decided to drive our Nissan Cube press vehicle up to El Mirage to check out the scene and see what it was all about. On the way to the legendary dry lake bed, we stopped off at this liquor store/gas station for drinks, and were happy to find an old Ford hot rod parked outside at the gas pump. I approached the owner of the car, a gentleman named Dave, and said hello while he was refueling his hot rod with a funnel, as the gas station's modern style gas nozzles wouldn't be long or slender enough to get the entire neck of the fuel nozzle into the vintage gas tank without spilling onto the side of his old Ford. Read more...
COVERAGE> Retro Choppers at Ink n Iron
Motor Mavens is a photographic blog site that focuses on all aspects of car culture. This being said, we don't dip into motorcycle culture too much because we aren't too familiar with them. However, sometimes we're at events where certain motorcycles just catch our attention and we can't help but stare and admire them. This was the case at the Ink and Iron show in Long Beach, which melds tattoos, hot rods, kustoms, and custom choppers from all over.
Since we don't have too much information on these choppers themselves, we thought we'd just present them on the site as a photo gallery, so everyone can enjoy the hard work and craftsmanship that goes into creating one of these two-wheeled works of art. Read more...
Since we don't have too much information on these choppers themselves, we thought we'd just present them on the site as a photo gallery, so everyone can enjoy the hard work and craftsmanship that goes into creating one of these two-wheeled works of art. Read more...
COVERAGE> 2009 Woodward Dream Cruise
Detroit's annual Woodward Dream Cruise rolled into town this weekend along with droves of visitors looking to get in on the fun and Cruise Woodward. The estimated attendance was to the tune of just over 1 million visitors, which is said to be a few hundred thousand less than last year, although I'm not sure exactly how you'd go about counting everyone. Despite the Los Angeles-style traffic that comes with so many visitors, the boost in the economy is more than welcome around these parts. I even saw a few nuns, of all people, hustling visitors for their prime parking spots at a church parking lot. Well done sisters!
For Detroiters, it was a pleasant surprise to see the American automakers on hand and still showing their support for the event. Ford went as far as shutting down a portion of 9 mile Rd. in Ferndale,MI to turn it into Mustang Alley, lining both sides of the street with Mustangs from all generations and styles. It was pretty impressive such a variety of Mustangs including the original Shelby's from the mid-60's. Read more...
For Detroiters, it was a pleasant surprise to see the American automakers on hand and still showing their support for the event. Ford went as far as shutting down a portion of 9 mile Rd. in Ferndale,MI to turn it into Mustang Alley, lining both sides of the street with Mustangs from all generations and styles. It was pretty impressive such a variety of Mustangs including the original Shelby's from the mid-60's. Read more...
VIDEO> Hot Rods and Pin Up Girls
Antonio has just gotten back from Seattle Formula D, and I’m sure many of you are waiting to see the photos from the event. He is currently preparing photos and stories to post up, but while he’s doing that, we thought we would change the pace just a little bit.
Many of you I’m sure have seen some of Antonio’s stories and photos from the 2009 Ink and Iron festival. (There are A LOT more photos by the way… we just thought we’d spread out the postings in case not everyone was feeling the style.) While we were at the show, we decided to get some video footage of the event. This time we only used Antonio’s Canon 5D Mark II digital SLR camera in video mode. He’s just starting out with trying his hand at shooting video… it’s a really different skill than shooting still photos, as there are different techniques that make both disciplines challenging.
Many of you may not be aware of this, but the 5D Mark II is becoming a huge favorite of the independent filmmaker. The 5D’s insane depth of field, color quality and low light capabilies make it ideal. There’s no high speed or time lapse capability, it simply has amazing picture quality.
Along with video footage we got from the 5D Mark II, we integrated some of Antonio’s still shots. See if you can tell which shots are stills. Enjoy the new video and let us know what you think.
:: Travis Hodges
POINT&SHOOT > Camera Testing at Ink n Iron Festival 2009
Ink and Iron brought out some amazing hot rod crews and tattoo artists. One of the first traditional hot rods that got our attention was this Ford pictured above. The huge rear white walls, and the low and wide stance really set this Ford apart from the other cars. Not to mention that old school lock hanging on the trunk. Read more...
COVERAGE> Ink n Iron Festival 2009
If you've been paying attention to what I've been writing on Motor Mavens and other automotive websites at all, you may have noticed that I've recently become a fan of hot rods and kustoms. While I'm certainly no expert when it comes to these cars, there definitely are particular aspects about this whole car culture that I personally identify with and have fallen in love with.
Travis Hodges and I recently paid a visit to the Ink n Iron Festival at the Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA. While the show was certainly expensive at $40 each for 'media passes' and $15 each for parking (at that point, we realized we haven't paid to get in to any car related event in YEARS), it's okay because the event had tons of cool looking cars and other elements of hot rod culture that made for some interesting photos. Read more...
Travis Hodges and I recently paid a visit to the Ink n Iron Festival at the Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA. While the show was certainly expensive at $40 each for 'media passes' and $15 each for parking (at that point, we realized we haven't paid to get in to any car related event in YEARS), it's okay because the event had tons of cool looking cars and other elements of hot rod culture that made for some interesting photos. Read more...
COVERAGE> So-Cal Speed Shop Open House
For my first post on MotorMavens, I thought I'd write on a subject you don't normally associate me with - hot rods. Those who are familiar with my work in books, magazines or other websites like Speedhunters.com normally associate my name with drifting, old school Toyotas and other aspects of Japanese car culture.
However, because of my experiences this past year producing content for Speedhunters, I've come to realize I really admire many aspects of hot rod culture, especially traditional hot rods and kustoms. Read more...
However, because of my experiences this past year producing content for Speedhunters, I've come to realize I really admire many aspects of hot rod culture, especially traditional hot rods and kustoms. Read more...
