Tuesday, March 16

BOSS SNAKE Private Launch


You are privately invited to come see the 2010 Goodguys giveaway car: The BOSS SNAKE.
This '70 Mustang was detuned from 1000 crank hp to 770 for street-able drive-ability.
Just completed and debuted last weekend at Scottsdale Spring Nationals.
With a appraised value at over $300k, one lucky winner will win this unbelievable 1 of 1 build.

What: 1970 Boss Snake Private Launch
When: Sunday March 21
Where: GG HQ
Time: 2pm
-3pm

SPONSORS
Built completely in house by RPM, The BOSS SNAKE features a 770 horsepower Jon Kaase built 520 cubic inch Boss Hemi, Ride Tech suspension featuring Chris Alston components, PPG Goodguys Yellow Paint, Custom one off Intro Wheels, Baer 6 piston brakes with 14 inch rotors, Classic Instruments Gauges, Custom Interior by RPM, Custom exhaust by RPM and Stainless Works, Custom Flowmaster stainless exhaust, a Tremec Magnum 6 speed transmission and hundreds of intricately fabricated parts and pieces by RPM.

HISTORY
The BOSS SNAKE is a replica of the ultra rare “QuarterHorse” Mustang of which there were only two known to exist. Conceived as a possible replacement for both the Boss 429 and Shelby Mustangs, the so-called QuarterHorse Mustangs were built from actual Boss 429 Mustangs by the Kar Kraft company in Brighton, Michigan. Also referred to as the "Composite" Mustang, it contained several different parts and pieces than the original BOSS 429 Mustangs. The body was standard 1970 Boss 429, the front clip was Shelby Mustang, less the hood scoops, and the dash was Cougar. The first Quarterhose, KK 2061, was painted Grabber Blue and was initially fitted with a Boss 429 engine. It was soon replaced with a 429 SCJ and sent to Hollywood to star with Burt Reynolds in a short-lived TV series called "Dan August". The second Quarterhorse was Candy apple Red and was fitted with a 429 SCJ engine. Amazingly, both Quarterhorses survived the crusher and are in the hands of collectors.

PURPOSE
The BOSS SNAKE will serve as the official grand prize giveaway vehicle for the Goodguys 2010 event season. It will be displayed at all Goodguys national events this year.



Click here for official contest rules

Build pictures



Thanks, hope to see you there.

Monday, March 15

2010 Goodguys BOSS SNAKE Debut


Scottsdale, AZ – The long awaited debut of the BOSS SNAKE Goodguys Giveaway car gave fans a thrill at Westworld in Scottsdale as the car was introduced to a capacity crowd at the 1st Spring Nationals. Curt, Dan and E.J. from RPM Hot Rods (www.RPM-Hotrods.com) drove for two straight days coming from Warrendale, PA to make the debut, arriving in Scottsdale at 4am Saturday morning, March 13th. As Dan said 'We went and checked in to the hotel, brushed our teeth, took a 45 min nap then rolled over to the grounds to get set up for the debut. We're stoked to be here!"

The crowd was even more stoked to get a look at the masterfully constructed BOSS SNAKE.

Built completely in house by RPM, The BOSS SNAKE features a 770 horsepower Jon Kaase built 520 cubic inch Boss Hemi, Ride Tech suspension featuring Chris Alston components, PPG Goodguys Yellow Paint, Custom one off Intro Wheels, Baer 6 piston brakes with 14 inch rotors, Classic Instruments Gauges, Custom Interior by RPM, Custom exhaust by RPM and Stainless Works, Custom Flowmaster stainless exhaust, a Tremec Magnum 6 speed transmission and hundreds of intricately fabricated parts and pieces by RPM.

The BOSS SNAKE is a replica of the ultra rare “QuarterHorse” Mustang of which there were only two known to exist. Conceived as a possible replacement for both the Boss 429 and Shelby Mustangs, the so-called QuarterHorse Mustangs were built from actual Boss 429 Mustangs by the Kar Kraft company in Brighton, Michigan. Also referred to as the "Composite" Mustang, it contained several different parts and pieces than the original BOSS 429 Mustangs. The body was standard 1970 Boss 429, the front clip was Shelby Mustang, less the hood scoops, and the dash was Cougar. The first Quarterhose, KK 2061, was painted Grabber Blue and was initially fitted with a Boss 429 engine. It was soon replaced with a 429 SCJ and sent to Hollywood to star with Burt Reynolds in a short-lived TV series called "Dan August". The second Quarterhorse was Candy apple Red and was fitted with a 429 SCJ engine. Amazingly, both Quarterhorses survived the crusher and are in the hands of collectors.

The BOSS SNAKE will serve as the official grand prize giveaway vehicle for the Goodguys 2010 event season. It will be displayed at all Goodguys national events this year.



www.good-guys.com

Wednesday, March 10

Wekfest Journey - 2010 // Part 2 //

Saturday Pre-party started at Sonic MS in Mountain View. Platinum VIP, VIP Modular wheels, and all of the SF Crew cars gathered the entire day shooting the breeze and prepping for the event. Many that drove the night before got hit by the crazy storm on the way up from Socal. Darwin was the master host, opening his doors, bays, tools to anybody that needed to do last-minute fixes. Some cars were adjusting coilovers, others were in fix mode like this Q45 with 22" custom wrinkle black VIP Modular wheels.



VIP Modular owners were present with their hellaRad late model Q45. This thing had a custom white paint job with ruby red flakes, 22" inch custom finished VIP wheels, custom aero kit, coilovers w/Phantom Cups, and a custom burgundy cross-stitched interior. Hawt was an understatement.











SF Crew was present. This E-class was just completed. Darwin and the boyz at Sonic created the first frame-dropped E-Class. This car originally came with the OEM air struts. Once ditched, custom UAS bags were mounted to Blistein shocks for the ultimate ride. The drop is insane. Even the Socal boyz were amazed.






But this pre-party was indeed planned to debut one special car. Platinum VIP have been working on an all metal widebody gen2 GS Aristo. The owner was a businessmen that traveled from Socal to Florida. He too was present to witness the debut of his deeply invested project. When Kennedy and his crew rolled by, it was a site to see. First, Kennedy's person gen1 Aristo was enough to ask hours of questions, then the widebody gen2 came up on a trailer. This was the outcome:

















One word: Insane.

To give you an idea on how wide this car was, the wheels under the rear fender arches are 21x14s..!! All custom metal fabrication just like the good old Hot Rod days, Kennedy has raised the bar very high in custom body work. The car is rocking a widened Aim Gain aero kit with a full custom stitched interior to match. Full coilovers and Phantom Cups on all four corners take care of ride and clearance. The 2JZGTE chrome motor did not make it in-time but was at the shop waiting to be dropped-in.

Notice the widened rear doors. They even relocated the door handle to fit the new metal body. Back-in-the-days, you would see door handles sunk deep into the original location on wide-bodied cars. Not today. Kennedy has worked countless hours to ensure this quality of craftsmanship.

Although amazing, I did have a hard time accepting the newly widened front fenders. In my opinion, it doesn't match the rear. The front fender looks almost like an afterthought. But, besides that this build was one-of-a-kind.

Look out for Platinum VIP this season as they continue to push the fabrication limits to new heights.

This car took top honors of Best VIP.



Back to the Story:

Wekfest came to an end, when the fire marshall shut-down the show and asked everyone to go home. It was the moment we all dreaded. People were still lined up outside trying to get into the last bit of the show. But, city codes and safety rules are more important and cramming 25k people in an low ceiling, underground parking garage with 450 show cars truly is not the greatest idea. Let's hope Wekfest do not get fined by the city, but one thing forsure.. we need a new location next season.

Wekfest Journey - 2010 // Part 1 ////

The annual Wekfest event has been a Bay Area favorite since its' grassroot days ran by another organization. Today with the end of the corporate giant, HIN smaller local shows have given a push by hungry show car owners to go BIG. Wekfest 2010 was exactly that.

Yes, there were so many people trying to get into the poorly ventalated underground parking structure for a glimpse of HIN flavor. What they got was the best of the best in the Import turner scene plus the eye candy and lots of good attractions and food upstairs.

Like every year, I am trusted to judge the Lexus and VIP category. This year was the largest presence by Lexus ever which made the judging process more difficult. Many of the Socal owners made the trip including AutoFashion and Platinum VIP. It's funny, when Socal shows up, Norcal cars just cannot compete. Hate it or not, it's a fact.

Jowe and Mike from Auto Concepts were able to bring up one of the Gold Top Secret Supras from Socal. From rain storms to dead batteries to getho rigging Silvia S14 wipers just to drive thru the storm, those 2 had one crazy weekend. But it was all worth wild. They came and saw Goodguys first hand and had the pleasure of helping me fix my wheel fitment problem. Next a nice welcome party and dinner was provided by the folks at Club Lexus and they walked away with the Best Supra and Best Engine bay award. Trust me, winning 2 awards at Wekfest is very unlikely. Being a judge, we spread the love.

This car is very popular and have toured the scene for many years now. The owner actually has another Gold Top Secret Supra with an entirely different kit and mods. The word is Supra #3 is in the works.

Being able to see the car up-close with all the time on Saturday helped me realize the patience and dedication poured into this car. From custom carbon kevlar door panels by Seibon to the Roberuta CUP air suspension sitting on Top Secret coilovers, this car is truly bad ass. Seeing it inside the GG HQ warehouse with all the classic Domestic hot rods in the background were a fresh experience. Congrats for the win and thanks for joining us at Wekfest.

1st Place Supra and Best Motor





Besides working for Wekfest, each year I bring Goodguys presence into the event and let me tell, this year was like none other. Last year, I drove the companies '70 El Camino. It was good, but many of the kids just don't know the '70s era with muscle cars. So, how about a '61 Lincoln Continental from the movie Matrix. Black on black, suiside doors, dropped on solid face billets with fat whitewalls. The moment I rolled the Gangsta-Beast around the Japantown garage, all the kids broke necks saying "oh-shittttt..." Cameras took pictures like I have never witnessed before. This Lincoln stood out like a sore thumb inside an all Import show and it connected with that demographic at that very moment.

One of the first person to flip-over the car was my old friend Antonio from MotorMavens. He walked up on the street and started snapping pix. Infact he blogged it on his site here: MotorMavens. As I rolled into the entrance, kids stood still with amazement and the grand presence of the once popular car that JFK owned.

Goodguys ran a simple booth with 2 banners and a table full of Gazettes and event information for the new season. I had a good friend help out. Chris ran the booth while I was running around judging the 450 cars. Chris was so damn good at PR, he gave away all 500 copies of the Gazette, bags, event flyers, and pocket schedules in 45 minutes into the show. Amazing. The man is a machine. Chris so happened to be the owner of the LS460 build a few months back. Look at it this way, now he's helping me out.

Overall, Goodguys delivered what we intended to do and that was to continue to create awareness in a pond not quite familiar to our culture. The kids loved it, there are images of the Lincoln all over the net.









Another friend that drove all the way from SoCal was Guillermo from GPR Auto. Guillermo has been a long time Lexus member with his ever changing gen1 IS300. Again, he did not disappoint with one crazy Animal-theme. Just like the the Top Secret Supra, he too had plenty of drama driving the car from SoCal. Saturday while at Sonic MS, I get a call from him about hitting a pot-hole at a car wash in the city that caused the ultra stretched 215 to pop-off the 18x10s. What happened was the side wall cracked and new tires had to be purchased at Pep Boys. Darwin @ Sonic played host to many shops and crews that needed last minute fixing or adjustments before the event on Sunday. Like a champ, Darwin bought beer for everyone and opened his shop for everyone to use for free. More on that later.

Once the tire was fixed Guillermo and his boyz went out exploring the city until the event on Sunday morning. By noon Sunday another tire was bald and another trip to replace the tired was needed. But, being creative and extreme comes at a price and he knows it. That's why 2 sets of wheels were brought up. One to drive on and for the show. Parked next to the Top Secret Supra, the Animal caused such a roar with onlookers. It was nothing they have ever experienced before.

Keep up the creativity and never look back. Thanks for making the trip.

1st Place IS category



Wekfest by Studio Mountain

WEKFEST Car Show - San Francisco, Ca - Japan Town 2010 from studio mountain on Vimeo.




This video sums up one crazy weekend. Nice job Studio Mountain! - s