When the West Coast Primer Nationals was dreamed up a couple of years ago, the organizers had no clue whether or not it would be a success, but nearly 300 pre-'65 hot rods, customs, trucks, low riders, and custom American and British bikes rolled into SeaSide Park in Ventura, California, for the first "kustom kulture festival and swap meet." The following year, just under 500 participants showed up. This past October, the Saturday event turned three, and hosted more than 600 cars and bikes from all over the state, as well as more that 150 vendors, a swap meet, automotive artists, and a whole day's worth of live bands.
In addition to Saturday action, West Coast Primer Nats activities included Friday night and Saturday live music at the Ventura Bowling Alley, and a Sunday morning run to nearby Lake Casitas.
The 4th Annual West Coast Primer Nats is coming sooner than you think. The date has been moved forward from October to Labor Day weekend, to avoid any chance of lousy weather. We'll see you there.
Learn all about the West Coast Primer Nationals at www.primernationals.com.
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The paint on Richie Valles' seldom-seen '50 Chevy is dressed up with some sweet pinstriped flames and low-key airbrushed skulls. The slammed custom rides on a TCI chassis with a 350 small-block under the hood and 700R4 automatic. The upholstery is grey tuck 'n' roll. |
Mark Codd worked from a bunch of 50-year-old photos to build this '31 five-window just like the hot rod his dad drove in the '50s. The patina'd coupe body sits on an International truck frame, with a suicide front end and a drilled Lincoln front axle. Six 97s feed the early Hemi. The distinctive headlights are old Pep Boys lights. On the inside, he added a boat wheel, '31 Cadillac dash with Stewart-Warner gauges, and steel bomber seats. |
After Victor Wilson passed away unexpectedly last summer, his brother Donn and other members of the Calaveras Rods & Kustoms decided to keep building his small-block-powered '27 roadster. The Duval windshield, paint, and pipes are recent additions. Harley tires roll on 16-inch rims in front with BFG-tired 15s in back. A tunnel ram and four Webers are coming. |
Orange suede looks great on Ralph Gonzales' '51 Ford F-1, especially with the just-finished white vinyl interior with orange piping... |
...The pickup has a Mustang II front end and 4-link set-up underneath, and runs a 283 engine. Ralph's father bought the truck in 1970, and gave it to Ralph in 1972, the year he was born. |
Bare metal is not the typical finish of choice, with is why Lalo Hernandez' '40 Lincoln Zephyr caught our attention. It was "blue, high, and ugly," before Lalo sent the car to Randy Haught at Imperial Hot Rods in Riverside. The TCI chassis features a Mustang II front end and bags. |
A '40 Ford hood was used to create the boattail back end of Tom Raftican's roadster. The cowl is from a '29 and the rest of the body is hand-fabricated conduit. The rearend hangs on reversed quarter-elliptic springs. The taillights are '46 Chevy pickup turn indicators. The mill is a 365ci Cadillac. Door panels are faux fur. |
This belly-scraping '64 Pontiac Catalina, owned by Suzie Gambino, is painted teal green with a silver metalflake top, and some subtle scallops on the front wheel wells and upper quarters, plus a little 'striping on the hood. |
This far-departure from a '31 sedan, built by Junichi Shimodaira of Paradise Road in Nagoya, Japan, has been making the rounds. Hard to believe it's completely steel, including the front end, built from a '59 Cadillac bumper. It's a modified A frame underneath, and an Olds Rocket engine doing the work. |
Speaking of making the rounds, the Early Riders channeled and chopped T dragster, shows up at runs and races all over the place. We've seen it go a few rounds on the dragstrip as well. |
The canary yellow and white interior of Eunice Rojas' '55 Fairlane shows what the the exterior looked like before the butterscotch and green metalflake color combination it wears now. Eunice has owned the Ford, with a 312 mill, for four years. |
The '59 Impalas came with a ton of style right out of the box, but George Cuellar added a little '70s custom flavor to his small-block-powered blue and silver number, with the addition of a Continental kit, 14-inch wire wheels, and some nice metalflake paint on top. |
Mike Harbison had a good idea for customizing a 4-door '56 Buick--suicide the rear doors. |
A little rain the night before was affecting the finish on Romero Marshall's '54 Ford Kustomline. Romero fixed the problem with a little ScotchBrite. |
What do you think of the looks of the dual headlights on Scott Goddard's '30 A five-window coupe? |
Another chopped and channeled tri-power '30 five-window for your enjoyment. This one belongs to Steve Caballero. |
Paul from Winnetka is the owner of this well-done fat-fendered '36 Ford cabriolet. |
Local-builder Darin Nelson built this '49 Chevy hardtop for his father, Bob Nelson. The engine is a 235ci 6-cylinder with a 3-speed. |