BUILD A BENDER
April 27, 2026
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THE PROJECT
When the time comes to begin building a new project, the process can often end up going in a different direction. By the time you are finished, the truck you started with can take on a whole new appearance, as if the French built it. That wasn’t going to happen with Rick Parsons’ project.
The 2022 SEMA Show
The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show engulfs Fabulous Las Vegas annually. It brings together the biggest names in the automotive world to show off the latest and greatest, whether it’s new products, amazing custom builds, or the newest trends. TheAutoBuilder is excited to be in the thick of it all.
’63 FORD FASTBACK
“Total Performance” is what the Ford Motor Company called its corporate racing program back in the early ’60s, and it was a great way to show the buying public how strong and well engineered the automaker’s vehicles were. In a bold and blatant fashion, Ford was heavily involved in competition—in a big way.
Instrumental Insurance
All of your hard work and efforts could go up in smoke before you have a chance to do anything about it. That is, unless you have a quality set of gauges to monitor initial and ongoing engine parameters. Gauges allow you to know exactly what is going on within
Hot Stuff
When I got a call from Craig Lieberman, marketing director of MagnaFlow Performance Exhaust, to tell me about the company’s new Ti line, I was totally stoked. Not because it had anything to do with titanium, but because I was going to get a firsthand look at what the new
THE BIG SHOW AT 58
When a particular car show carries a popular tradition for nearly 60 years, it’s really saying something about the organization that puts the show together. For 58 years, hot rod enthusiasts have been attending the Grand National Roadster Show, now located in Pomona, California, to witness the finest cars in
Too Cool
When Billy Durant approached Louis Chevrolet about designing a new automobile, Chevrolet was a famous race car driver whose exploits in the Indianapolis 500 were legendary. The year was 1911 and Durant, who could see the writing on the wall for his horse-drawn buggy business, figured who better to design
Product Spotlight: Dynamat Xtreme Bulk Pack
If your ride still sounds like a tin can at speed, it’s time to get serious. Dynamat Xtreme isn’t a luxury add-on — it’s a foundational upgrade for builders who want their cars to feel tight, solid, and finished. This is the same material trusted in high-end customs, competition cars,
GRAND DADDY
It doesn’t matter whether this event is held in Oakland, San Francisco or San Mateo—it still gives builders the incentive to strive to win the America’s Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR) title. For the past two years, the Grand National Roadster Show has been held in San Mateo, just south of
SENSUOUS AT SUNSET
It’s a mammoth effort—building world-class street rods, that is, and to accomplish the goal generally means employing the skills of craftsmen from all across the country. Dave Tucci Jr. is one of the “young gun” rod builders on the scene right now, but he has enough experience to know that
REVVIN’ UP AT THE ’07 AUTORAMA
Regardless of our residential location, there seems to be a specific show that we just can’t stand to miss. It’s a show we anticipate all year long, and we can’t imagine a season without attending it. It certainly isn’t the city it is held in that’s alluring; it’s the quality
THOROUGHLY MODERN MUSTANG
As a longtime automotive enthusiast, Susan Alonso was looking to make a statement with a car she had admired ever since it set off the pony car craze over 36 years ago. After all, the 1965 Mustang still has a fresh a look today, and being that this particular example
LITTLE DEUCE COUPE
LEGENDARY. For something to become a true legend (which actually may be a contradiction in terms), it must survive a certain amount of time. Our Funk & Wagnalls tells us this: “Legend (lej’end) n. 1. An unauthenticated story from earlier times, preserved by tradition and popularly thought to be historical.
