Monday, May 30, 2011

Scot Campbell's Never Never Van (photo album from Facebook)

Mr. Campbell's Never Never VanA lucky day to visit the city to get my passport updated led me past a paint store, where as luck would have it the man also known as Extremo the Clown had stopped off.Here's one of his videos on sign-painting.

Kustom's King #1 Ed "Big Daddy" Roth

This man has been an absolute pleasure to research, picking off layers of memory like old paint. I would imagine anyone who has run across Ed "Big Daddy" Roth's work in either auto or illustrated form can remember when their face would go into a face-splitting grin; I remember Revell models that were being built with regularity that included a background of Dr.Demento, Evel Knievel and MAD magazines. It blew my mind that any of these things could be real, but sure enough they were and a testament to American ingenuity when allowed to manifest. His was a creative spirit to art and experimentation that still exists to this day, and I look forward to the day someone will have a field day and take up the cutting torch for 21st century customizations with engine efficiency. Roth was a pioneer with the V-8s and American cars of a previous era; it will be a kick to see who comes up next in this age of electronics, hydro and biodiesel.

It would be many years before I found out about how he shaped fiberglass into all of his wild shapes and still allowing functionality, using plaster rather than wood, and the design process in clay he demonstrates in an interview in TALES OF THE RAT FINK by Ron Mann. I will do a review of the film at a later time, but suffice to say it is a beautiful tribute to Big Daddy and what he gave to generations of gearheads, artists and musicians. Makes me wonder what would have happened if he and Buckminster Fuller were given a huge bankroll, maybe some creative doodling will crop up when I'm surfing the Web.

An interesting detail, and one that I hope will come around in American car design, is the placement of the motor in back of the driver. The placement made it possible for his cars to be road sturdy and also go long distances where there were fewer stops for gas, water or a leg stretch. Ed Roth is one of the few car designers I know of currently who took into account the motor then he designed a customized ride, and most important he was a man who asked ( what he would call) the "basic questions" rather than what would make a pretty outside. Until I develop my research further, I would have to agree with him that art schools do not make the students consider the physics and operations of a motor: fuel combustion, lubrication points, and efficient engine cooling are only a few of the things that should be considered when designing a body to go around it rather than a body and conforming an engine to it's shape-if it's a bad design, then no money should go to manufacturing (oops, too late). But I digress…

Here are links to car collections and an article from Pat Ganahl from 2009 about the Orbitron; the auction that included a "lot" from Ed Roth's estate plus glorious color photos with my dreambaby the Druid Princess -enjoy!

http://www.petersen.org/default.cfm?docid=10
Petersen Automotive Museum Los Angeles,Ca
America’s Car Collection -Flying A Garage
  
Icons of Speed and Style auction including tools,supplies from Roth and Von Dutch



Sunday, May 22, 2011

Volvo customizing with Home Dec

David Burrows made my day with this picture of his car interior made from upholstery fabric from the department. Here is his posting from a forum devoted to Volvos; thanks,sir!

Portland, OR automotive resource Perfect Fit

http://www.perfectfit.com/

This is a company that my department buys product from such as 1/8" and 1/4" headliners, heavy felt and an increasing amount of interior vinyl.They carry an extensive inventory of vinyl,foam,automotive carpet, and upholstery supplies. As they are local to me ( N.Portland), I will be updating this entry the more I hear about them and their product line, in addition to adding more resources for automotive restoration and customization. Right now I am on a search for a machine shop that can fabricate clips for vintage seating and a better scanner for uploading film photos; any help and information will be greatly appreciated. Have a good one!

Thursday, May 19, 2011


http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif Harrod Blank is amazing; not only has he made art cars, but he has also directed films about the cars and the culture that has been created.The need to create is strong, and what drives and motivates people in his films to keep going helps me as well. Here I am with Harrod, out on my birthday and blithely running into this event I had No Idea was going on; to say I was blown away would be an understatement:


Please check out his website at http://www.harrodblank.com/

How do :)

I have always been fascinated by car bodies of all makes,models and modifications. On my Facebook page, I've tended to not post much about them due to the "temporary fix" feeling I get using the site. With this, I hope to post pictures as well as elaborate further on the postings with either direct information or shout-outs for help. Basically, this is what will save me from constantly bookmarking pages that suck my time away and have all my favorite wheels and information in one spot. If you have information on car bodies, remodeling and reupholstering I sincerely hope to hear from you; thank you for visiting,catch you later!