My Old Hot Rod

What really is a hot rod? An old American car built to run fast? You see, what qualifies as a hot rod is still controversial even among the most hard core hobbyists. But if there is one common denominator that all hot rodders would agree on, is that, it's a car that is never finished, always under construction.

I first saw it parked on a driveway in Glendora, a 68 Mercury Monterey. It was in a pretty bad shape. Rust all over, cracked windshield, totally messed up dashboard, seats and headliners and was not running at all. But there's something in that car that made me start contemplating on buying it...But then, what will I do with it? Who will rebuild the motor? Will it fit in my garage? What about the brakes? Does it stop? Who will do the paint job? How much will I spend? Do I have enough money to restore it? While all those questions are still lurking on my mind, I suddenly found myself bargaining with the owner as I always do.  $800 later, it was a deal, called a flatbed truck, and brought it home.

Car had been so ugly, the homeowner’s association want me to get rid of it. But I kept it in my garage and with an artistic mind, I started visualizing the finished project. I can't wait till it's done. Sometimes I would just sit in my garage looking at it, thinking how good it would be to drive it when it's all done. Who wouldn't want to drive the coolest car in the neighborhood anyway?

As I started working on the car, I began thinking about my life. Who I was. Looked at the car, and saw myself in that big old Mercury. Where was I a few years back. Then it hit me. It's just disgusting. I was worse than most people think I was. I was just full of myself, and full of pride, my attitude, my evil desires, my dishonesties and my pretentions. A double life perhaps with too much inconsistencies.

But that was the past. I've been different from who I was. Yes I am still that same jolly person who loves to make people laugh. But something changed. What happened? Was it just a sign of maturity? Overhauled by experiences in life? Or was there really something far deeper than that?

It took a couple years before I was able to finally drive my hot rod. Two long years, of restoration, but worth the wait. Now it's a beautiful two-toner, bright yellow and white, and arguably the loudest car around. It gets the same attention on a cruise night, just as it does on gas stations. People honk to give me a thumbs up. Yes, it's now a nice, clean hot rod.

With so much rough edges in my life, I struggle to keep my life straight and to keep my testimony as a witness for Christ. Many times however, I fail, and realize how much inconsistencies I still have in my life. But I can honestly say that I’ve gone so far from who I was before.

My car had been restored. But is it really done? Not really. With so much time, effort and money spent on it, it's still is an old car. Well, the tranny leaks, the clutch slides, AC doesn't work and it handles like a semi. The gas gauge is dead, and so is the AM radio. But then again who needs a radio when exhausts are too loud anyway. Truth of the matter is, it sometimes sucks to drive an old car. You'll never know when it will die on you, so you got to be ready with your triple A and cell phone all the time just in case it decides to pull over by itself.

While others see a cool cruiser, I still see the imperfections. Sounds familiar? Modesty aside, people think I'm a nice guy. People at church think I'm a very spiritual person. But am I really that kind of person a lot of people think? Maybe yes to some. But then again, who really sets the standard? Maybe I'm just like my car, externally cool, but internally bad. Then I realized, no, I have changed a lot. I no longer had a broken wind shield, interior has been redone, and no longer have most of those rust spots in me. I've been restored, but just like my hot rod, still under construction.


God is really good. Just like my car when I first saw it, on its way to the junk shop, so was I. I was rotting and dead, a useless piece of junk, but He bought me with more than anybody can afford, His precious blood. Then He gave me life. Why? I don't know. He loves me, period. Nothing more, nothing less. And all He sees are potentials in me.


God only wants what's best for me. Just like an auto body mechanic, He burns the rust away, to replace it with new metal. Piece by piece, all for my own good. But does it hurt to get burned? You bet. Does He require perfection? No, but He wants holiness, consistency and maturity.

My hot rod is not perfect....and so am I. But one thing I'm certain of, God is not finished with me yet. And He will not stop sanding my imperfections, until I become what He wants me to be. 

     It may not be the perfect hot rod, but it sure is fun to drive, and I'm always looking forward for the weekend for a nice cool drive. Another day to drive my not so perfect car. Under construction, but getting there. To God be the glory

Hot Rodding 101 types of Hot Rods

What is a hot rod? That is a question that cannot be easily answered even among the most hard core car guys. It’s use is very subjective and even its origin has not been clearly defined. Traditionally, hot rods are old American cars with big V-8 motors modified for speed. However, even the country of origin nowadays is no longer limited to America and the definition of modification has been completely changed. Technically speaking, every after market is a modification as they stopped making a 1957 Chevy for instance…well, in 1957. Datsuns and Anglias are stuffed with Chevy 350cis, and as difficult to swallow as it is, Mustangs are stuffed with Nissan motors (a.k.a. FF3 Tokyo Drift Mustang) … So to narrow it down to basic minus all the controversial cross-overs, and because hot rodding is an American culture, let’s just say a hot rod is an old American car that is personalized by the owner…and don’t ask about a cut-off age, as old in itself is way too relative.  So here are  my different  classification of hotrods

Stock numbers-matching car –  wait, if hotrodding is modification and personalization, then will stock be defined as a hotrod? Yes.  Ironically, it is harder to keep a 50 year old car to be stock, than to modify it. To keep everything factory original, you need 2 things….(1) passion (2) more money than brain.

Unrestored original – well, that should have been a subtype of stock that’s even harder to justify as a hot rod. But to be able to maintain a 40 year old car as an unrestored original, you need a big heart…and a big barn that goes with it.

 

 
Pro-Street – almost synonymous to hot rod and may have been the flagship of the hobby in the 80s. Cars are highly modified, tubbed, with large Mickey Thompsons in the rear, a wheelie bar that's completely optional of course, and some skinnies in front. These most of the time sport those Keystones, Cragars and the like. Engines are bigger than the car..so to speak, having those blowers large enough that sometimes you need to remove the entire hood. I love Pro-streets, however, with its design meant for straight line acceleration on the drag strip but unable to perform on twisty roads, it’s not the funnest car to be used as a daily driver

   

Pro-Touring – Because of the instability of Pro-street on the street and on road courses, a new breed of hotrodding came out, I guess in the 90s. Pro-Touring is simply defined as old car with a new technology. Not only does it have a big motor to carry the car to speed, it now has modern suspension making its handling on road course at par with newer sports cars. It uses larger than stock rims and lower profile tires, a lower suspension for a lower center of gravity for better handling. And yup, it stops better as well with those bigger 4 wheel disc brakes.

Gassers -  this is my favorite form of hotrod…yes, my heart jumps, the boy in me comes out whenever I see one. Non-car guys won’t get it. But for a traditional hot rodder like myself, ahhhhh, that's the coolest of them all. Started in the 50s and became big all the way to the 70s, these cars are stripped off with as much weight as possible and almost have that same setting as a Pro-Street with wide tires at the back and skinny ones in front but lifted high and uses a straight front axle usually coming from truck donors. They are so peculiar, even their glasses are changed to Plexiglas for weight purposes…and yup, it has to be tinted with some weird color…..My favorite gasser by the way is Steve Magnante’s altered wheelbase Wilshire Shaker Nova….way cool

 Traditional Hot rods – these are the basic period correct modification in a car.  These cars looks as if time had stopped when it was modified in its period.

 Rat Rods – they hate being called rat rods…but o well, over time, it was accepted as a label. Too broad to define, but let’s put it this way… It’s a rot rod, exaggerated versions of traditional hot rods. Rust issue? No problem….it’s a necessity for it.  Is it cool? You bet…could have been the coolest kind of car around…Is it fast? Maybe…is it safe? maybe not

 

Why Can't Formula One Drivers Excel In NASCAR?

I’ve been a big Formula 1 fan especially when Michael Schumacher was dominating. I seldom miss a race back then and had been so fanatic that I would wake up in the wee hours of the morning to watch the U.S. Grand Prix, a time that is not too friendly to some race fans in the Philippines like myself.



  I‘ve always been into the impression that these drivers are the best of the best, reaching the pinnacle of motor sports and therefore, I concluded that they can simply excel in any form of auto racing series. Any race fan will remember Nigel Mansell winning F1 WDC in 1993, then moved to CART the next year to win the series.  And we all heard about the golden days of Mario Andretti where he would easily adapt to any form of racing he goes to and win races, be it F1, Indy, or stock cars.


I’ve never been a NASCAR fan. I thought it’s just way to boring to watch stock cars that aren’t stock at all racing for 500 or so miles in an oval. It’s something that puts me to sleep while watching it on a Sunday afternoon. What’s in it with a racing series that got stocked in the 50s era using old school technology push rods and carburetors without the use of telemetries? What’s so cool about a race car that is comparatively cheaper than an F1 steering wheel?

Well it changed everything when someone “big” from F1, the guy that I constantly didn't like because of his attitude, quit the pinnacle of motor racing to move to a primitive series. Juan Pablo Montoya made an announcement in Chicagoland. He is moving to NASCAR.  

It all started with intrigue on my part that I started watching NASCAR. Why? I want to see what an F1 star would do in NASCAR thinking, it’s time to prove to the world, especially to those message board NASCAR  aficionados who think they know it all, that the F1 boys can kill any NASCAR driver in any given race track at any given time. Montoya will just dominate those poor inferior wanna-be race car drivers.

I was so wrong.......And what merely started as an intrigue, later on got me hooked up to NASCAR. My reason? I was waiting for Montoya to excel…not because I liked him, I just wanted to prove something… well, it didn’t happen. He was a consistent mid fielder, almost always outrun by his team mate Jamie McMurray.

 And then there was Jacques Villeneuve  the 1997 F1 world champion who barely qualifies in some NASCAR races, Red Bull Racing’s Scott Speed, well, a mediocre in F1 just as he is in NASCAR,  Renault’s Nelson Piquet Jr, another midfielder in NASCAR’s Craftman Truck Series, Max Papis, whose name you barely hear being consistently one of the series’ backfielder, and of course the latest addition to the list, 2007 world champion Ferrari driver turned rally car driver before going back to F1, Kimi Raikonnen, who made a series of comical errors with his bad-mouth, frustration-driven, Finish-accent-hilarious comments when he finished the race 4 laps down.



So why can't they excel? I don’t know. Is it because there are too many racing lines in an oval? Are they too dependent on technology? Are they afraid to pass, not in the pitlane, but in the race itself? Is it the H tranny?  Or the tin tops? Or maybe because they’re not seeing the front tires while running wheel to wheel with other racers.  Have we really lost the Mario Andrettis and the Dan Gurneys today?

With the different time zone from this side of the shore where I now live, and with the retirement of Michael Schumacher my interest in F1 slowly dwindled ....and with the Pinoy Ginebra mentality, it looks like I  I am now a converted Montoya fan, a.k.a. NASCAR’s biggest disappointment....Left NASCAR to go back to open wheel...with only 2 wins, both on the road course....but never had one on an oval. 

So why can’t they excel? Well, that is still a big question mark to me.






by the way...get well soon Michael!

Purist or Hot Rodder?

It's the never ending argument among old car guys. Hot rodders screams shame on trailer queens, and not so thrilled about numbers matching cars where the value significantly drops the moment you loose the original air in your tires...so to speak. Because when value of the car kills it's fun factor, then it defeats the entire purpose of the hobby.

Not with the purist....they keep it stock, they keep it numbers matching, and they keep it in their garages, waiting for equity. They cry foul with the idea of a modification, and they call their hot rodder counterpart butchers.

I however am a car junkie that appreciates both. But I definitely am not a purist. Don't get me wrong, I love numbers matching cars...specially if it's a Hemi-powered Mopar)... To each his own, as long as it's old. I love both worlds, and I love every old car from anywhere in the world...but I got to admit...I am still a hot rodder at heart.........So if you ask me a hypothetical question...what would I do with a Rolls Royce....or a Ferrari?, my answer is plain and simple...and yes predictable as well.....I'll tub it! then I'll butcher it....ooppss, I mean I would hot rod it!

Butchered? or a fun-factor car

Ahh Ferrari...Molested? Nah....it's hot rodded

...but at the end of the day...as Dennis Gage puts it....."Remember...honor the timeless classics! Happy motoring!"

Monterey the Greatest Car Show in America........Finally

Monterey the Greatest Car Show in America........Finally

Ever planned of an event you so badly wanted to see but you just miss it every time? Year after year you plan it, but every time the day gets closer, something more important pops out of your calendar. An unscheduled activity perhaps, or sometimes just plain life’s necessities that needed to be given priority.

People plan vacations that never happen... a surf in the beaches of Hawaii, a skiing adventure in Switzerland, a safari expedition in Africa, or maybe a cross country drive in Germany's no speed limit Autobahn.........  Well, for me, it's just an event not too far, a 5 hours drive north of where I live. Monterey, California.  It's an event in my calendar that I've been planning every year, unfortunately it just didn't happen everytime.



I love old cars as it always brings out the boy in me.  So if there's one thing I wanted to do every summer,  is to be at the week-long car celebration at Monterey. It’s the biggest car event in this side of the shore where car aficionados from all over America, Europe and even Asia and Australia, gather where they would ship their million dollar race cars to Monterey not just to show it off, but to push the pedals to the metal in the corkscrew of Laguna Seca...a collector car insurance' worst nightmare.

These are not just race cars; these are legitimate historical cars, from different racing series: from Formula1 to Indy, from Grand Nationals to the Trans Am series, from 24 hour of Le Man sports cars to some old GT cars. All the famous race cars names will be there, from Ferraris to Porsches, Mustangs to Mini Coopers, from Alfa Romeos to Datsuns and everything in between.

But the 3 day Monterey Historic race is just 1 event of the week-long celebration. Drive a few miles west and you’ll witness the most prestigious car show in America, the Pebble Beach Concour De Elegance where car guys the caliber of Jay Leno is a regular. Well of course if you are willing to pay at least the $300 spectator's fee.  Then there's the Concorso Italiano, where you’ll see the rarest Ferraris, Lamborghinis and other Italian marques whose badge you probably have never heard and well... you can hardly pronounce, the Monterey Auctions, if your pocket is deep enough to pay for a car whose value cost at least 5 average houses in Los Angeles. Then there are road rallies where you see vintage cars driving along the scenic Monterey roads, and dozens of free street car shows everywhere where you'll see hot rods, muscle cars, classic cars, race cars and rare cars.... And then of course, the show for the ugliest of ugly called the Concour De Lemon, a parody of Pebble Beach's Concour De Elegance, where you got to be sure you are up to date with your tetanus shot before even braving that show. 

Well after years of planning, I finally was able to pack my bag to drive up north and finally get a taste of Monterey.  My "Disneyland" x 1000......I feel like a kid in a candy store! Definitely a bucket list to every car junkie out there

 

Opinion of a Car Freak… My Top 20 Choice For My All Time Favorite Cars

I’ve been a car fanatic as far as I can remember, but if you ask me what would be my top choices, its definitely difficult to decide. Can it be looks? Performance? Is cost an object? I came up with these top choices in random. I don’t consider my self as a hot rodder, as my appreciation for cars is so broad. So I’d say, I’m probably the moneyless version of Jay Leno.  Here’s my list for my top 20 favorite cars in no particular order....

                                                  1. 1965 Shelby Cobra 427
This is every car enthusiasts' dream. An AC Cobra that first came out in 62, American icon Carol Shelby stuffed in a good American Ford 427cu in motor.  Beats up every European sports car in any given series. Although there are more replicas than there are real ones, the contour and the sound coming out from those big side pipes gives me goose bumps every time I see one on the road. On a side note, when you see one and you get the chance to talk to the owner, always assume it as real, than assuming it’s fake, when in fact it’s a $500,000 car.

 

                                                       2. 1992 Dodge Viper
Any Shelby Cobra fan would definitely have a Dodge Viper on their list as it was the modernized version of the Cobra - sort of.  With a V10 motor, and a minimalist design, having no power steering, no airbags, no power windows, of course having those inconvenient side curtain window, and a canvas roof that can’t even hold off the car’s top speed, it’s a car you would never drive long distances, or in the rain. But who cares? Well, actually a lot of potential buyers did. By 1995, all convenient features were added to the car.

                                       3. 1948 Volkswagen Beetle “split window”
The people’s car and might have been Adolf Hitler’s only good contribution to the world.  With its 16hp engine, it’s not going to thrill the racer in you, but with it’s nostalgic look, and an icon to the automotive world, it definitely makes it to my list. I would prefer the gray paint. It looked so German. I never owned an old bug, but I currently  own a modernized version of it.

                                                 4. Mini Mark II (1967 - 1973)
This is a must own vehicle for me. It’s so cute, yet so fast. Had ran and dominated rallies and road courses all over the world. So small, yet so much potentials, and handles like a go-kart. I love it on British Racing Green with a union jack flag on its roof. Add 4 Cibie rally lights in front, and you got one cool ride that would turn heads anywhere. I currently drive a big mini (sounds like an oxymoron), the Mini Cooper Countryman....not exactly the classic Mini, but definitely still got it's soul having that go-cart feel as it corners...hmmm, not really!

                                                      5. 1963 Fiat Abarth 500
OK, I’m not a micro car fan, but this Fiat (just as the Mini) will definitely be on my list.  FIAT is an acronym for Fix It Again Tony!!! The Abarth though is the “Cooperized” version of the 500. It’s small, not so powerful, yet a lot of F1 drivers including Michael Schumacher owns 1. A white with red rally stripes and a couple of Cibie rally lights complete the package for me.

                                       6. 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz Convertible
It’s a boat. It does not park, it docks. This is the only car I guess that would look good in pink. It’s the Marilyn Monroe of cars. Add a white interior and it’s perfect. It was my first model in 1:18 scale, and yes it’s pink. To restore one, you need to have a deep pocket, as the chrome restoration itself could cost you the price of a brand new Cadillac - sort of.

 

7. 1958 Ferrari Testa Rossa

If there is a Miss Universe for cars, this would definitely be the sure winner. I love those super sexy lines. This car had a tremendous racing heritage winning the 24 hour of Le Man in 58. With it’s rarity, it’s almost impossible to see one, and much more, own one. I’ve seen a red example in Monterey Historics at Laguna Seca. Although I’ve never seen it race, it looked so fast even when it’s parked. An identical car had been sold in an auction a few miles from Laguna Seca, hammered down at $16.4 million.

                                                  8. 1968 Mercury Monterey
Mercury what? OK I love odd and orphan cars. Why? It looks so rare nobody knows what it is. In any given car show, Mustangs, Chevelles and Camaros are a dime a dozen. But people flock at cars so weird, nobody thought somebody would actually restore them. It made it to my list because I currently own one (the one in the picture). Was it a first choice? Not really. I just want to restore an old American car, but I want a cheap one. Then I saw it parked in a driveway with no one wanting to buy it. It’s now restored and for the record, there's been a lot of people who actually approached me asking if I’m selling it. My answer was quick and predictable - No sir!

                                            9. 1970 Plymouth Roadrunner Superbird
Aerodynamic meets horsepower. It’s a highly modified Road Runner intended for NASCAR. Plymouth did a very limited production just to satisfy NASCAR’s requirement. It use to be that stock cars are cars intended for production that can be modified for a Sunday race. The Superbird changed that. It’s a racecar tuned down to be used for the road. An orange paint with the Road Runner cartoon graphics just looks so cool.  A stock 426ci Hemi makes it one of the rarest car, and law of supply and demand makes it almost impossible to own.

                                                      10.   1971 Toyota Celica
A.K.A. TA22, this is probably my favorite Japanese car. Could be Japan’s sort of answer to the muscle car war, having only 4 cylinders though. I’ve seen some with Chevy 350ci motor, but as a conservative, I’d go for a Japanese 4AGE, a 2TG, or maybe a double spark plug 3TG motor. This is rather one of the affordable car on my list.

                                                   11. 1971 - 74 Toyota Corolla
Talk about Japanese cars, this is my other favorite car. A.K.A. KE25, it has been nicknamed as the poor man’s Porsche. A lot of potential for these cars, but engine is a bit too small (3K 1.3L) to be called a performance car, unless you want an upgrade for a mightier 2TG or 4AGE motor on it.

                                                     12. 1971 Hemi Cuda Convertible
Now we’re talking, by now you probably noticed my inclination is towards Mopar. The 1971 Hemi Cuda convertible with original 4 speed manual transmission is one of the rarest Mopar that an authentic one (not cloned) is in the low 7 figure dollars. A cloned version was used by Don Johnson in the short lived TV series Nash Bridges

                                                    13. Knight Rider Trans Am
OK, most car guys in my generation got hooked up to cars, and I blame it on Knight Rider. It was so unrealistic, yet I never missed an episode.  Intended to be an advertisement to the F-body Pontiac Firebird, the car runs at least 300MPH, in TV that is. I do love the shiny black paint and those led “scanner” lights that I don’t know the purpose, but I’d admit it does look cool.

                                                  14. Mercedes Benz R107 series
This is the longest running series of the Mercedes SL class, started in 1971 all the way to 1989. It’s not too hard to find, but looks of these cars impressed me so much when I was a young boy. It may not be the most desirable SL, but these definitely is growing in the charts of becoming the next car with good investment potential. Currently, I own a red 1982 380SL. It’s not the fastest car in the world but sure is fun to drive specially with the top down.

                                                    15.   Lamborghini Countach
 Finally, an exotic car in my list. The most pseudo aerodynamic car around, every boys that I know in the 80s and 90s has a poster of it in their bedroom. The first one I saw was an all white car in an exotic car show in Pasadena Arts Center. With all other exotics in the show, this car pretty much stood up from the rest - in my opinion of course.

                                                          16. 1962 Dodge Dart
It’s so ugly, it’s beautiful. So you either love it, or you hate it. There is no middle ground here. And I love it. I’ve seen a few with a 426ci hemi under the hood. Call me odd, but it’s one of the coolest car for me. Give me a white one with a red interior, and don’t put hubcaps on those steelies please.

                                  17.   1965 Volkswagen Variant Type 3 Squareback
Talk about nostalgia, this was our first family car. A very under appreciated car back then, I never expected I would see one in a local car show being sold for 12 grand. OK that’s too much for $12,000, but when I went inside, the boy in me just jumped out. I felt like I was 10 again. And because of that, I ended up buying one, at the fraction of the 12grand they were asking of course...but a big project that I am currently working on.

                                                  18. 1968 Ford Mustang Fastback
Anybody who watched Steve McQueen's Bullit knows what I’m talking about. The coolest Mustang for me. Love it in forest green with those 14 inch torque thrust wheels. Prices are getting unfavorably high, getting to buy a cheap one without rust is a big challenge.

                                        

                                                   19. Mercedes Benz W116 series
OK, got to have a sedan on my list. This was my dream car in 1980, and never get to own one until 2006. If you love the R107 series, this is its sedan version. I had a 1980 300SD Turbo Diesel that I sold a few years back and I do regret doing that. I do however prefer the 450SEL 6.3. It was Mercedes’ definition of what a hot rod should be.

20. Last but not least, 1958 Plymouth Fury
It’s a car that fell in love with the owner. It’s Christine, but well, it’s actually the other way around in real life. Almost every car guy I know, fell in love with Christine. I’ve watched the movie over and over again and still feel some pain every time I see Hollywood destroying these cars. I’ve read they’re planning to remake the movie ....but maybe not!, which is cool because it's sad to think a few more 1958 Fury that’s left out there will definitely be destroyed again. It is a necessity to the movie, but that will just jack up the prices of the remaining cars, making it even harder to find nowadays.  By the way, they never did a factory red Plymouth Fury, it was only in the movie.