28th Cruisin Nationals - Coastal Cruisin'

While the La Salle grille is prime kustom fodder, Wolfgang Krew used the whole '37 La Salle and built a killer ride using a 509 big-block Caddy mill, Fatman MII IFS and 12-bolt rearend with airbags all round. The brandywine paint is gorgeous, but it's those sidepipes that slay me. Just fantastic.

With its drab satin green paint and blacked out bumper and grille, Phil Jennemann's '40 Chevy has something of an army staff car look about it. We were digging the nicely-chopped top.

They're not chrome reverse rims but silver-painted steels with trim rings, perfectly setting off the lavender paint on Pat Jeter's '31 A pickup. The shorty bed, spun tank and slicks give off a drag vibe, and Pat was stoked to be among the award recipients.

Brian Nieri's Phat Caddy, a '57 Coupe de Ville that has received a 4-inch chop, '57 Stude fins, '48 Chevy rear window, custom dash and numerous other body mods thanks to Frank De Rosa Sr. and Jr., was coated in HoK Pagan Gold, but being parked under a shade tree meant we never got to see its full effect.

It was worth the wait for Frank and Louise Ledesma to close the hood on their '48 Buick to bring you a picture of this understated metallic green beauty. With a modern tan interior they have the best of both worlds.

Black Cherry, dark metallic purple, or whatever you want to call it, seemed to be one of the stronger color choices at Santa Maria this year, and what better to cover Tom Gomez's sliced '47 Chevy coupe, showcasing the flawless bodywork underneath.

Hoodless kustoms seem to be a growing trend, and while it bridges the gap to hot rods, it does interrupt the flow of the lines. It's the same reason kustoms look better displayed with doors and hoods closed at indoor shows. That said, this '37 Chevy was lookin' good.

Cecil Dearo's '54 Chevy hardtop positively glowed in the sunshine, thanks to its perfectly applied candy paint. Hard to chop well owing to all that stainless trim and the vent windows, this one turned out perfect.