Handcrafted, radical, and subversive, these custom cars are designed and made by a small number of specialists

Describes custom cars, including hot rods and muscle cars, including both historical and current information.

People customize their cars to look cool, go fast or both. To their owners, custom cars are more than just vehicles. They are a hobby, a passion, even a way of life. From high-powered hot rods and street rods, to fast and colorful tuner cars, each type of custom has a unique culture and community surrounding it. That's because car lovers like nothing better than to hang out together and share their love of cars. In this book, you will learn about everything from cool classic customs to the hottest new custom machines, the names of some of the most famous car customizers, and where car lovers gather to show off their machines. Photographs by Chuck Vranas.

Before beginning any custom car project, many choices must be made: body style, paint, upholstery, wheels and tires, engines, interior accessories, and more. By the end of the project, many thousands of dollars and hours will have been spent—and hopefully wisely. Before beginning your own custom car or hiring a builder, it pays to develop a vision for your car, how you want it to stand out, and what you want it to express. In Custom Cars, noted author and motojournalist Alan Mayes explores each element of a custom car build in detail with hundreds of award-winning customs as examples. From postwar classics to more modern cruisers to complete custom builds, Mayes explains the various types of materials and styles available with hundreds of color photos to illustrate the challenges and benefits of each. Spend a little time designing your dream car with Alan Mayes’s Custom Cars and you’re sure to create a real head-turner.

Chassis swaps, frame clips, fender flares and sectioning, grille swaps and more packed into on comprehensive guide.

Lightning McQueen is in for a surprise or two during his fun afternoon in Radiator Springs with his friends. In Lift-a-Flap Sound Book: The World of Cars, Custom Cool, McQueen and Doc are introduced to the concept of "bling" by their friend, Ramone. Ramone provides paint jobs for the racecars, and he offers to paint McQueen a bright yellow. McQueen settles for some bling instead-a nice new decal on his hood. When he goes off to show his girlfriend, Sally, he finds that she has a nice new paint job, too. From the engaging Lift-a-Flap Sound Book line, this book has the following features that will make learning fun for pre-readers: bull; Flaps on each page that toddlers can lift to reveal more about the story, and cues as to which fun sound button should be pressed bull; Ten buttons that play interesting sounds that illustrate the story bull; A "Peek-a-Boo" window that slides back and forth, revealing two different pictures that, when pressed, will play associated sounds bull; Board pages that withstand the rigors of heavy use bull; Coated pages for easy clean-up in case of spills

Among the hardest core of American automotive enthusiasts there always exists a desire to press styling and performance a step beyond the showroom floor -- to truly craft an automobile of one's own. This photographic and cultural history examines the evolution of American custom cars from the 1930s to present, covering touchstone trends, influential builders (Barris, Roth, Coddington et al), custom shows, enthusiast magazines and regional styles. An expensive collection of rare period photography and exclusive modern shots help illustrate how Detroit informed the styling of customs (and vice versa), the explosion of the custom car scene after World War II and the factors that led to the custom's near-death in the 1960s and its resurgence in the '80s. But most of all, this chronicle is a showcase of the great cars and people who influenced the movement through the years.

Hitting its stride in the 1950s, the underground hot rod culture spawned the likes of Rat Fink, Von Dutch, and George Barris. This collection of rare photographs and ephemera should be an essential for anyone who dreams of putting the pedal to the metal.h.

"This book explores how lowrider car culture allows Mexican Americans to alter the urban landscape and make a place for themselves in an often segregated society"--

The Sacramento Delta has produced some of the finest hot rods and custom cars ever made. The passion of the area's builders is evident in the incredible cars they created, which drew nationwide attention. Harry Westerguard, who taught George Barris bodywork, worked on the second "America's Most Beautiful Roadster"----a 1923 "T" that was a style-setter for its day. Bob Dron built his first custom when he was only fifteen and a half, and Lenny Byer created his own "Candy Apple Red" in Rio Vista. Detroit might have had its vision, but the Delta region built its own. Discover the stories behind the cars and their builders as author John V. Callahan takes us on a trip down memory lane.