Observations From the Field
December 28, 2022
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Beach Please: Jeep Beach 2024
The 2024 Jeep Beach Festival in Daytona Beach, Florida, was an exhilarating celebration of Jeep culture and off-road adventure. Held from April 19 to April 28, the event promised a week filled with excitement for Jeep enthusiasts from around the globe.
Re-Rigging For Aesthetics
When someone buys a boat as a bare hull and finishes it themselves, the odds are that the boat won’t be nearly as sanitary as the original manufacturer rigged it. The original owner of this boat did a decent job but it was no way up to the usual Howard standards. The owner wanted the rigging cleaned up, spiffed up and colored up so he took it to Maveric Marine in Van Nuys, California where Dan Duffin straightened everything out and color-coordinated the powdercoating.
Cool as ICE
Gary Brigham bought his 1929 Ford roadster pickup several years ago. There was just something about it that he liked. First and foremost, it was a pickup. Even though he was not planning to haul any building materials, he did need the bed room for transporting the pop-up tent that he and wife, Janice, used at the many shows they attended. Second, it was a roadster, and he wanted an open car. The roadster pickup fulfilled both requirements.
Product Spotlight: BMP Aluminum 440 Wedge Engine Block
The Bill Mitchell Products BMP 088550 Aluminum 440 Wedge Engine Block gives your next RB build a fresh foundation with 357-T6 aluminum construction, billet steel main caps, and replaceable cylinder sleeves. Bring the big-block ambition. This is where you start bolting it together.
Product Spotlight: BTR 5.7L Red Hot 580HP Power Package
The Brian Tooley Racing 5.7L Red Hot 580HP Power Package gives the smaller LS a serious naturally aspirated attitude adjustment, with a combination built to keep pulling upstairs. BTR reports 580.9 horsepower at 7,425 rpm and more than 450 lb-ft of torque. That’s enough to make “it’s just a 5.7”
PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT: Intellitronix Analog Gauge Panel for 1964–1966 Chevy Trucks
A classic Chevy truck’s dashboard deserves the same attention as its paint, stance, and engine compartment. It’s where every drive begins—and where tired instrumentation can leave an otherwise finished interior feeling unfinished.
The Intellitronix AP6002 analog gauge panel gives 1964–1966 Chevy trucks a fresh focal point with a direct-fit replacement
Product Spotlight: BTR Godzilla Truck Norris Camshaft
Godzilla already has the displacement. Truck Norris brings the attitude. If your idea of a good truck involves a rumbling idle and a healthy appetite for throttle, Brian Tooley Racing’s Godzilla Truck Norris Camshaft deserves a spot on your build sheet.
THE NSRA NATS WEST 1983
In 1983 when the NSRA rolled into Merced, California, they would be celebrating the sixth-ever NSRA Nats West and the final year to visit this rod friendly town. Merced always welcomed the hot rods and this year 1,797 hot rods passed through the gates to tree lined streets of the
Bucket Brigade: AutoZone’s Popular Giveaway at Cruisin’ the Coast 2026
There were hot rods worth a second mortgage, muscle cars with horsepower to spare, and enough swap meet parts to turn “I’m just looking” into an expensive afternoon. But one of the most popular take-home items at Cruisin’ the Coast 2026 didn’t have chrome, a camshaft, or even moving parts.
PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT: ALL NEW Classic GM 350 from Gandrud
Say “350” around a group of car people, and you probably won’t need to explain yourself. For generations, the GM 350 small-block has been the engine under the hood of a first truck, a favorite cruiser, or the project that taught someone how to turn a wrench. It’s familiar, straightforward,
CRUISIN’ THE COAST 2026: DAY 6 – Bay St. Louis, Pass Christian, & Ocean Springs
By Friday, October 9, Cruisin’ The Coast 2026 was heading into its final weekend, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast was still overflowing with vintage iron. Six days into the 30th anniversary celebration, hot rods, muscle cars, customs, and classic trucks continued turning the coastal highways into one enormous rolling car
CRUISIN’ THE COAST 2026: DAY 5 – Pass Christian, Biloxi, & Vicari Auction
By Thursday, October 8, Cruisin’ The Coast 2026 was showing no signs of slowing down. Five days into the 30th anniversary celebration, the Mississippi Gulf Coast was still crawling with hot rods, muscle cars, customs, and classic trucks. But Day 5 brought a different kind of excitement, with smoking tires,
CRUISIN’ THE COAST 2026: DAY 4 – Biloxi Block Party & D’Iberville
By Wednesday, October 7, Cruisin’ The Coast 2026 had hit its stride, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast was looking more like a rolling automotive museum than a vacation destination. Hot rods, muscle cars, customs, and classic trucks were everywhere, with thousands of enthusiasts making the most of the event’s 30th
