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WHAT'S HAPPENING

BILLET PROOF - THE WORLDS LEAST IMPORTANT CAR SHOW A.K.A. TATTOOS AND HAIRDOS

The people - walkin' the walk - the music - the icons of sleaze. It was all there. The hosts and participants were so cool - so civilized. Not strutting. Just being there with righteous iron. Our Hop Up Guys snuck in and apparently went unnoticed. Wow. Someplace to fit in.

But don't be mistaken about the main people in this movement. They are not trying to be the guys back then. They are not trying to be anything. They are themselves. The cool is in place. They are not mimicking anybody that ever did it. If there ever was an original movement in hot rodding, then this is it. If anything, the people are caricatures of the Fonzies of the past. But the tattoos, hairdos and all , are way too cool to have been covered from early Rod Rockers. (Now, some modern day guys make want to knock-off the style and that, too, would be shallow and phony like some of the Fraud-Rodders we expose here from time to time). But the movement is pure and has style, true individuality, and totally rejects the whateveritis that you get with your wallet. Refreshing. Here's some snaps submitted by Hop Up guys (who were about 10% of the attendees, we're told).

DID YOU REQUEST	CUSTOMS?
PICKUP WON 'MOST BILLET PROOF'	SHOEBOX HAS OEM CYCLOPS LIGHT. THIS IS A SHOE BOX . 55,56,57 CHEVYS ARE SOMETHING ELSE.
CLONE OF DON SMALLS' CAR IN DP90
THESE MISDIRECTED GALOOTS ARE REPORTED TO BE IN SEARCH OF A LEADER; SOMEONE WITH CHARACTER, CHARM, WIT AND JUMPER CABLES

ART DEPARTMENT

Vern Tardel & his '32, Speedweek 1992:

There are some shots that just happen. You are in the right place at the right time and the right things happen. Vern Tardel and Mike McClure had just driven to Bonneville from Santa Rosa on Monday. It had rained Sunday afternoon and the salt was still wet, in fact the speed trials were on temporary hold until things dried out. Vern is an old hand with Bonneville and he is pure hot rodder, but after getting out on the salt that day and seeing how wet it really was, he was mumbling something about it not being the smartest thing he'd ever done. That's salt fever , and after the long drive to get there, it seemed right to go out to the pits. A highboy roadster does kick up the water, which in this case had a lot of salt attached to it. We thought this was something to be documented, for true posterity, Bonneville being the Holy Ground and all. We started photographing and before we had gone much further with the session, he'd put on this old leather driving helmet and goggles. This photograph could have been taken in the late 40's or early 50's. There isn't much giving away the true 1992 date. Vern and Mike are great guys and we always have good times when they are around. There was some thorough cleaning going on back in Santa Rosa when they returned.

Peter Vincent