At the Kooks booth I came across a real interesting specimen that despite it’s retro leanings, really stands out. I find this interesting for two reasons: The first being that we seem to be coming to the end of the current manufacturer’s retro styling craze; second being that I’m particularly jaded when it comes to this type of treatment, whether it’s old-to-new or new-to-old. Continue reading
I’m going to get this out of the way: I’m still sick and tired of seeing Chevy motors in every god damn pro-street, pro-touring, or resto-mod or any other bullshit modernized car trend. Continue reading
Building a custom car is an exciting project because it gives the owner a chance to personalize it with their own style. The choice of color, wheels, and any performance modifications will reflect the personality of the owner – and no two owners seem to share the same tastes. That’s why I found it odd that STA-BIL 360 had this custom 1971 Chevrolet Camaro as a grand prize in their booth at SEMA 2014.
The car was built by Jared Zimmerman and Lou Santiago from the TV show Car Fix on the Velocity Network. Working 12 hours a day for almost five months, these guys transformed a 1971 Camaro into a powerful custom street machine. The value of the car has been appraised at $98,000 dollars. Continue reading
Steve Strope of Pure Vision Design was in the spotlight a few years ago with the Martini Mustang. He was back at SEMA 2014 with a real head turner, and quite possibly my favorite car of the whole show! This 1967 Ford Fairlane is called “Black Ops” and it was on display at the Dynamat/Dynamic Control booth in the Central Hall.
The name Black Ops warrants an explanation, seeing as the car is not painted black, but rather, a very pretty blue and gold. The concept for this car was to build an “experimental” racer as it might have been built back in the late 1960s. It is not based on any particular car that actually existed, but sought to recreate a “factory test mule” using period-correct parts and technologies. Continue reading
There was a lot of vintage Ford sheet metal on display at SEMA 2014, and I’m embarrassed to say that this one almost slipped by me! This 1968 Ford Mustang was just steps away from the Mustang at the Wilwood booth, and I almost didn’t see it. This dark green beauty was on display at the Griffin Radiator booth.
Griffin is a South Carolina-based company that has been making performance aluminum radiators since 1981. The 1968 Mustang in their booth appears to be most of the way through a major restoration. It’s common to see cars at SEMA that aren’t quite done yet.
I caught a glimpse of this red hot 1966 Ford Mustang on display at the Wilwood Brakes booth at SEMA 2014. As you can tell, this pony car is healthy as a horse!
This car has been completely transformed from a regular passenger car to a street machine. It was a contestant in the Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational, which took place alongside SEMA 2014 in Las Vegas.
