Kawasaki Bobber

When leaving the local pub last weekend I happened upon this Kawasaki bobber. It was  very dark so my phone's flash had to work overtime on these photos. Nevermind the dorky scooter in the background.

Red spokes, always a hit with the hot rod crowd.

Solo seat.

The best part was the lace paint job on the tank, despite this photo the paint was more of a root beer color than red or pink.

Two-Toned Class

This restomod was leaving the local auto parts store while I was headed home from the surplus store. The paint was very shiny with cool scallops, a badge on the side claimed to herald a V8, and the vanity plate says 'sparki.'

I'm not super familiar these cars, it's probably late thirties era Ford or Chevy .

Off-Roadie

I recently took a trip to my favorite surplus store, and upon leaving found this beast of a sand-rail/dune buggy parked out front. This is clearly a fairly high-dollar off-roader, all the paint and chrome, the high build quality, and the registration (not simple to get for these vehicles) point to a deep wallet or an un-cluttered schedule.

Plug plug plug.

Major suspension at work.

It's only two wheel drive.

All-business two-seater cockpit.

Plenty of lighting.

Fuel cell and cargo area behind the seats.

Exposed controls ahead of the cockpit.

Flaming Jeep

Saw this cool Jeep Wrangler with a flaming paint job on our way to the junkyard the other day.

From the Archive: Mystery Car (Mystery Solved!)

This is from late 2007, I saw this car in a fenced business yard near my storage unit. It's clearly a 1940's design, with bold and beautiful curves all around, great bullet bumper features, and wrap-around windshields. It's also a custom (I believe) with a truck bed on the back. This could have been inspired by the car/truck hybrids of later years, or could be a VERY early factory version of the El Camino (production began in '59) or Ranchero (in '57) but I've never seen anything like it, before or since. I would speculate that the rear windshield is the stock one, with the entire window frame moved forward and welded to the B pillar. As I said, this was in 2007, the car has long since disappeared and I've always been too shy to ask about it.

Does anyone else have any clues or insights on this mystery machine?

Post Script: This is the first of what I'm going to call an 'Archive Series.' Until now all the cars featured on the blog have been spotted recently, within six weeks of posting, but I'm sitting on a huge cache from the last seven years or so, which will be making their way up. Many of these will be poor photos, and some I won't remember any details about, but hopefully some of our helpful readers can add their own history or opinions to augment my own. You can all look forward to even more cool stuff in the near future!

UPDATE!
Thanks to a helpful Pinterest follower this mystery car has been identified! A 1954 Cadillac-Superior Flower Car. A quick Google search turned up this image:

Soure

It's definitely the right car. It is not a custom after all, but nor is it a production Cadillac. Superior is a coach-building company, they began as a professional car building company, making school buses, ambulances and hearses. Superior would buy Cadillac's and turn them into whatever vehicle was on order,building the body n trim to suit. Apparently, in the early and middle half of the 20th century, on the East Coast it was popular and traditional to have a 'flower car' carrying all the flower arrangements for a funeral to be part of the funeral procession. These flower cars would have to have been as classy and dignified as the hearse they were following. So, its not quite a production or custom vehicle, it's in the same category as ambulances and hearses, but clearly with a style all its own.
Thanks to Andre Simpson for the tip!

The Supernationals: Rafik Kaissi

A featured builder for the show was Rafik Kaissi, a Texas based motorcycle builder who has been shaking things up for a few years now. I first became aware of Kaissi when his 'chain bike' hit magazines and websites about five years ago. Since then he's clearly been letting his imagination run wild and putting his impressive fabrication skills to good use. I had the opportunity to speak to Kaissi about some of his creations and techniques, I found him to be very friendly and enthusiastic about his work, and was happy to have met him.

 There was a large and pressing crowd around the area, which made it difficult to get good camera angles. The bikes are also incredibly detailed, I tried to capture as much as possible but there is definitely missing information.

The Chain Bike

The antique fire extinguisher on the floor is actually the fuel tank, worn on the back while riding.

Nearby was this interesting bike with an off-center in-frame fuel tank, the seating area defies definition.

Also on display was this tube-framed trike.

Very cool pulley-and-wire suspension system.

Kaissi and his lovely companion visible in the background.

Finally this bitchin', out-there creation, with one of the most unique suspensions I've ever seen.

Notice the single coil-over shock.

Notice the ring around the engine.

Notice that the front wheel is attached to the outside of the ring, the rear wheel to the inside.

The whole bike flexes at the middle to absorb bumps in the road.

I found both the man and his creations inspirational, he's definitely pushing the envelope of avant garde motorcycles, and I genuinely appreciate that he took the time to show his work speak to his fans on a personal level.

The Supernationals: the Hot Rods

Always one of my favorite and most under-represented kind of car is the hot rod. These pre-1940 cars were lightweight and cheap after the war, and in the late forties and fifties many returning soldiers looking for excitement got themselves an old Ford, Chevy, Dodge (or Other) coupe, took out all the unnecessary junk, tuned the engine for performance and went racing. Early hot rodders were considered a menace (the term 'hot rod' was a pejorative originally, referring to the high performance crankshafts being installed), due to their dangerous street racing, eventually many of them were forced to start early dragstrips and retreat to the salt flats to meet their racing needs. In the 1960s, following the rise of high chrome and fancy paint schemes from the factories, hot rodding moved towards the 'show car' mentality, hot rods were painted wild colors, given gobs of chrome (chroming the frame of the car even became standard eventually) and some were built with themes, Ed 'Big Daddy' Roth was one of the most influential and prevalent members of this time period. The hot rod culture has swung back and forth ever since, frequently depending on the economy to dictate which style is in fashion.

The 1932 Ford roadster is considered by many to be the epitome of hot rods, it was the first factory V8 available and sold in such great numbers that they were affordable all the way into the 60s. They are such an icon of motoring that numerous songs have been written about this one car, and they are still being produced as fiberglass replicas.

Commonly called 't- buckets' these cars were built with the body of a Ford Model T, which was essentially a steel tub with seats in it. These are good examples of the stripped down but still high dollar show cars that became popular in the sixties.

Here is an example of an excellent Ford Model A coupe, with a modern Chevrolet V8 powerplant in front.

Classic post-war influence.

A newer trend in hot rodding is the so-called 'volksrod.' As with the early trend setters, Volkswagens are affordable and easy to work on. This one has a chopped roof, suicide doors and the fenders have been removed. The moon covers on the wheels are a classic salt flat racing accessory.

Dig the upholstery.

This wild car is a perfect example of the excesses that come with purpose-built show cars. Every surface is either chrome or deep black. The 'body,' which resembles a t-bucket, is actually steel bars forming a cage, which is also fully chromed, a theme that carries over to the grill. The engine is another modern Chevy small-block, with a huge chrome supercharger and twin chrome carburetors.

Notice the mirror under the car, so you can see the various chromed and painted under-surfaces.

Outside the show we saw this cool themed hot rod, inspired by a hearse. The body is most likely fiberglass, the suspension is all chrome, the interior has a pleasant style to it, and there are many fun details such as the taillights to discover on your own. It's also for sale!

The Supernationals: Customs and Classics

Even more of the massive collection of cool cars from The Supernationals, featuring the classic sedans of coupes of yesteryear, like this 1937 Buick:

Originally a businessman's sedan, the owner has clearly restored the paint and interior, and added some flash under the hood in the form of chrome and modern electrics.
Just around the corner from the Buick was this gorgeous AC Cobra:

 In miles deep black with perfect red stripes, faux hub-bolt rims and side pipes, this Cobra is the epitome of racing cool.

Just check out that gauge cluster, and the fire extinguisher in case the gauges have bad news.

 The only thing I could possibly take exception to on an exceptional vehicle like this is the (in my opinion) questionable mural on the door panel. It's not my taste; but then, it's not my car either.

There were a number of attractive restorations and mild customs as well:

Beautiful Z car

Saw this great first generation Z at the supermarket tonight, aftermarket chin spoiler, racing buckets, a general air of sportiness, and the red interior drives me wild.