Typically, when a person goes to Barry Lobeck, they do so for only one reason: to have a car built. But it isn't just because of his shop's talent. That high aptitude level is backed up by an equally high artistic level, which is sort of like comparing an interior designer to an average-yet-skilled handyman when weighing Lobeck's against a run-of-the-mill rod shop. I wouldn't go so far as calling Lobeck the Carson Kressley of hot rods, but he does have that "eye" for concept, color, and complete overall design of a project.inline_mediumwraptextright27004306/featuredvehicles/1001rc_1934_ford_cabriolet1001rc_02_o+1934_ford_cabriolet+passenger_side.jpgTrue

The story of Roger O'Dell's custom project begins with a phone call. It was a friend of his complaining about a '36 Ford roadster he'd purchased, based only on photos. When he received the car, it was-surprise!-not anywhere near as nice as it had been described. It was, in his words, "a pile" and he just wanted it gone.inline_mediumwraptextright26582548/featuredvehicles/0912rc_1936_ford_roadster0912rc_01_o+1936_ford_roadster+driverside.jpgTrue

Earl Jones knew he married the right woman when she gave him a '50 Chevy for a wedding present.inline_mediumwraptextright30776562/featuredvehicles/0912rc_1950_chevy_fleetline0912rc_01_o+1950_chevy_fleetline+driverside.jpgTrue

I'm always anxious when I see a new build and then hear that the project started with an existing old hot rod because I love old barn finds and survivor cars from back in the day. When I spoke to Gary Bennett about shooting this five window, and saw its nostalgic appearance, I figured it had been a '50s or '60s build. Despite its stunning reconstruction, my heart sank a little. This only proves that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover because when he sent me a CD full of pictures of the Deuce on the day he bought it, my (selfish) fears proved unfounded. Sure it may have been rodded farther back in the past, but what Gary purchased was an '80s-built rod that hadn't stood the test of time, and he's done a heck of a job bringing it to what it is now.inline_mediumwraptextright27006292/featuredvehicles/1001rc_1932_ford_coupe1001rc_01_o+1932_ford_coupe+front_angle.jpgTrue

These days, Dennis McPhail is anything but "understated". Roll back the calendar some 15-plus years, however, and that would've probably been the best way to describe him ...or at least that's how this West Coast greenhorn photojournalist perceived him after our initial introduction in the early '90s.

My favorite cars have always been traditional-style rods, in particular, the early "show coupe" style of the late Fifties/early Sixties-cars like the Catallo Deuce and the Tognotti and the Andy Kassa coupes, which managed to combine the best of features of hot rods and customs. After owning a few hot rods and customs, when the chance finally came to build one from the ground up, I wanted one that evoked that era.inline_mediumwraptextright30329616/featuredvehicles/0911rc_1931_ford_model_a_coupe0911rc_01_z+1931_ford_model_a_coupe+driverside.jpgTrue

As with so many hot rodders, the seed was planted very early for Lynn Bird. While his earliest memories would be of his uncle's fixed up cars when he was very young, Lynn would forever be a builder after he was introduced to scale model car kits in the Fifties (one of his favorites was the Ala Kart kit). In the early Sixties, Lynn was a teenager in Southern California, where, in addition to cars, he was drawn to the beautiful nearby coastline. Many years and almost as many cars later, Lynn was starting yet another project with a few forlorn pieces and a picture in his head as to what he could turn those bits into. A well-used 1927 Ford Model T roadster cowl and pair of doors found their way into Lynn's busy garage, and were all he needed to get the wheels turning toward building his own version of a Fifties "show rod" inspired by the Ala Kart.inline_mediumwraptextright24898784/featuredvehicles/0911rc_1927_ford_roadster_pickup0911rc_02+1927_ford_roadster_pickup+custom_headlights.jpgTrue

One of the best things about welcoming new young people to the rod and custom scene is the fresh perspective they bring with them. Untainted by decades of rituals, rodding rookies are much more willing to break many of the hobby's unwritten rules. Like the one that says you should avoid old Mopars-and four-door sedans. Texan Kent Ladner ignored both of these jewels of rodding wisdom when he applied a host of modern custom tricks to a '55 Plymouth Belvedere, creating the slinky sedan shown here.inline_mediumwraptextright29708703/featuredvehicles/0911rc_1955_plymouth_belvedere0911rc_01+1955_plymouth_belvedere+wheels.jpgTrue

A big part of the appeal of show rods like Craig Smith's wild customized '32 roadster is nostalgia for the early Sixties. It was a time before assembly-line musclecars replaced hot rods, before brightly-colored bell bottoms replaced indigo dungarees, and before some British mop tops elbowed out American-born musicians like Elvis and Jerry Lee. Of course, not every music star of the era was playing rock 'n' roll. One wavy-haired young piano man was making the ladies swoon with his showy interpretations of the classics.inline_mediumwraptextright24894106/featuredvehicles/0911rc_1932_ford_roadster0911rc_01+1932_ford_roadster+wheels.jpgTrue

What we have right here is a perfect example of the often talked about but seldom seen "barn car". You know the one; we've all heard the stories. It was found in perfect condition in a barn after decades of abandonment and was spirited away by some fast-talking, butter-and-egg man from parts unknown to places we can't imagine. The story always comes to you via a friend of a friend of a friend of the guy who is the cousin of a guy who knows the sister of the second-cousin of the guy who once saw the car somewhere in what can only be described as a hallucination or a parallel universe. Well that's not the story this time. This time we have pictures and the straight-up information from the guy who bought the car.inline_mediumwraptextright30812601/featuredvehicles/0912rc_1930_ford_coupe0912rc_01_o+1930_ford_coupe+driverside.jpgTrue

America's first whack at a sports car wasn't much to talk about. The brainchild of Powel Crosley Jr., the Hot Shot debuted in 1949, a decade after the appliance magnate and broadcaster introduced cars just as thrifty as the radios that bore his name. Though flimsy and underpowered, those first cars served a legitimate purpose: During an economic depression when gas was expensive, and during a war when gas was rationed, they made the most of every gallon of the stuff.

Spectators at the '09 Grand National Roadster Show (GNRS) were the first to see Jim Benitez's Model A roadster pickup in finished form. Jim's newest and greatest creation, nicknamed Faster Pussycat, made its first formal appearance in Pomona, California, last winter-and not just in the show, but among the finalists for the prestigious America's Most Beautiful Roadster award. This was not, however, the RPU's first trip to the GNRS. The car was there the year before in unfinished bare metal, and the year before that as a finished frame-both times in the display booth for the Jalopy Shoppe.inline_mediumwraptextright25375451/featuredvehicles/0912rc_1930_ford_roadster_pickup0912rc_02_o+1930_ford_roadster_pickup+driverside.jpgTrue

The goal behind building a custom, some people say, is to attract attention. The history of customs is full of cars that get-or got-a lot of attention with retina-searing paint schemes, impossibly radical chops, insanely slammed stances, and elaborate interiors stuffed with more gauges than the USS Alabama-the kind of razzle-dazzle show-car stuff that stops you in your tracks for a second or two, maybe three.

Putting a single person's name to this story from one angle might seem to be a bit of an overstatement, but at the same time not tying it all together with a selected surname would be a bit of an oversight as well.

One thing that makes old pickups perennially popular projects is their availability. Hardly anyone throws away an old truck-they just haul it out back and let it sit. Consequently, there are thousands of old commercial vehicles languishing in fields across the country just waiting to become hot rods.

Over the past generation it seems that every piece of hidden treasure has been discovered. Well, we're here to tell you that it's still out there.

Everybody jokes that a hot rod or custom is never finished, but once upon a time it was gospel. As if by clockwork, trendsetting cars vanished only to reappear the following season even more exuberant.

The amazing '60 Chevy custom you're looking at has been making the rounds of the top-shelf indoor shows for the last couple of seasons, attracting trophies along the way. But according to owner and builder Pete Kroeker, the car was borderline too bad to build when it first showed up at DMK Customs in Winnepeg, Manitoba, Canada.

Jump ahead to 2007 when nostalgic rods and customs are no longer outcasts in the hot rod world. Seeing where the movement is headed, Darryl once again decided to break out the torch and re-work the Li'l Coffin, only this time, put it back to Stuckey's original model car design. First up, the updated chassis needed to take a trip back in time. The original pickup points for the Deuce's underpinnings were still traceable, therefore Darryl was able to place a new '37 Ford axle and split wishbones in the appropriate position and maintain the original wheelbase. Once in position, Darryl crafted the custom spring pockets with coil springs and shock mounts. At the center of the Deuce 'rails lies a custom-fabbed stabilizer bar, which connects to the '37 axle keeping the frontend assembly centered. A '48 Ford quick-change rearend, converted to open drive, was relocated under the rear with split wishbones.

Everybody loves a saga, a story about an ordeal that never seems to end. So next time you're bench racing with your buddies, bring up the story of Jerry Kincade's '51 Ford.

One of the most popular competitors for the America's Most Beautiful Roadster Award at the 2009 Grand National Roadster Show was the Black Widow, a 24:1 scale replica of a 1960 model kit based on a hot rod that never existed-until now. Michael Feinstein had the imagination to dream up the concept. Hollywood Hot Rods had the talent to turn it into a reality.

Paul and Erik Hansen are the owners of Resilience, this classic but contemporary '52 Buick custom, but they are just part of the team responsible for the creation of the car. The father-and-son enthusiasts made a big splash about 5 years ago with a '32 Ford roadster nicknamed Sedeuced. That car was a huge success, starting with its premier appearance at the 2004 Detroit Autorama (where it was a Great 8 finalist for the Ridler Award). The roadster was invited to the Fresno Autorama a few weeks later, and was named America's Most Beautiful Roadster at the Grand National Roadster Show in 2005.

Cromling's history with this particular '40 Ford coupe is somewhat unusual in the respect that he has owned this car since 1972. Sure, there are plenty of folks who have kept a car for as long, maybe longer, but in today's throw-away society, it's refreshing to hear of someone who's kept a car from becoming "the one that got away"! Bill purchased this '40 back in the early Seventies, in Dayton, Ohio. It was black with a rolled and pleated interior, '56 324 Olds with a LaSalle trans and '48 rear. Nostalgic even by 1972 standards.

What do you picture when you think about hot rod activity from the Fifties? Dusty dragstrips with leaping flagmen? Stripped down roadsters tearing across a dry lake? If your mind conjures up images of dragstrips and dry lakes, you're in good company. Those were definitely a couple of the best known breeding grounds for the hobby when it was still something new. But remember, local strips weren't as common 50 years ago as they would be by the Sixties and Seventies. And most parts of the country still don't have dry lakes, even after all these years.

Rod & Custom Feature Car