Spoiled rotten is the only way to describe how I felt flying through the canyons of northern San Diego County in the shotgun seat of a roadster on a sunny Saturday in the middle of January.
Don Dillard was driving his recently finished Deuce ("Readers' Rods," Apr. '05) and I was providing ballast on the passenger side. We were in one of more than 100 traditional rods and customs that showed up that day for the Ranch Run, the annual endurance run organized by Jim and Carrie Benitez. C&G Early Ford Repair, Hot Rods & Custom Stuff, and KustomImaging.com help sponsor the event.
The day started out like it does every year, early in the morning in downtown Temecula, a little Western-style town about halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego. After 90 winding miles through valleys, hills, and canyons, and some of the sweetest scenery you'll ever see, the trip terminated at the Benitez's hilltop home outside of San Diego, where Jim and Carrie, little Samuel B, a big pot of chili, a cooler of refreshments, and the band had all been waiting for us to show up. After a few more hours of hanging around and having fun, it was time to go home and start reviewing our photos from a fun January Saturday.
You'll find a lot more photos from the 2005 Ranch Run on Don Dillard's site (donshotrodpage.net)
Big 'n' littles with kidney beans and knock-offs, some sweet pinstriping, and a blown 355 set off Chick Koszis' black Deuce highboy. Chick lives in Valley Center and is a Ranch Run regular. | 
This bare-metal turtle-deck T is another Ranch Run vet. Dave Eltholtz built the entire car, including the hand-fabricated flip-off top on what used to be a roadster body and the rear portion of the body, built from VW fenders. | 
The gray primer was added at midnight before the Run to cover the chop seams and shaved handles on Rich Norton's '49 Ford. The sedan is powered by the original Flathead that is now backed with a C4 gearbox. |
Rodney Bauman's dad first built this '28 touring back in the early '60s. It was rebuilt in the '80s and is now driven by Rodney and his wife Marlene. The Chevy small-block is hooked to a TH350 automatic. | 
Randy Haught's '32 Chevy RPU is loaded with great details, including the '33-'34 Chevy grille, '55 dash, and '40 Packard headlights. The engine is a 250ci I-6 Chevy. Human-skull door-hinge pins are too small to see here. | 
After getting rear-ended in his Riviera, Jason Sanabia used a lot of the leftover parts to build this low-slung hot rod pickup that was participating in its first Ranch Run. The '36 Ford cab was dropped on homebuilt 2x3 rails. Engine is a 401 Nailhead. Taillights are Cadillac. |
We like what a little mud adds to the looks of this hard-driven '32 three-window. Eric Preuss from Escondido, California, has owned the coupe, driven by a '49 Merc Flathead, for five years. | | |