Quarter Mile Chaos- Images of Drag Racing Mayhem by Steve Reyes

Some people love racing for the competition. Some for the speed. Some for the sounds. But there is a hell of a lot of people who go for the crashes. Hell who doesn’t love some good carnage. I know I do! Drag racing has its share of fender benders. Stockers clipping the wall and the occasional Pro Stock flipping on the top end. But when in the earlier days of drag racing you had stock blocks, small hard slicks and copious amounts of NITRO, you had a recipe for mayhem.

Steve Reyes has taken some of the best photos in drag racing history so it goes to reason that he’s also taken some of the coolest crash pictures. Quarter Mile Chaos compiles some of his best photos in one glorious book.

From funny cars blowing their bodies off to altereds crashing into the Christmas tree this book covers it all. Dragsters are well represented with both front engine and rear and yes they both blow up in spectacular fashion. The devastation nitromethane can do to an engine block, chassis, body, or the pocketbook is fantastical. Steve gets it in all its gory detail. Close-ups and action shots alike are vividly reproduced here, some in color but the majority are in black and white.

Damn fine book to look at and go 'glad it wasn't me'.

www.cartechbooks.com

Car Craft May 2007

Vintage Musclecars and factory racers is what the cover says and it delivers. Copo Camaros, hemi Chargers, AWB Merc’s are all included in coverage of The Forge Invitational Musclecar Show in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Seriously if the AWB Mercury doesn’t get you going, check your pulse.

Of course as in every issue of Car Craft there are loads of good tech(550hp Gen III 6.0L, New Victor heads for your 440 Chrysler and even an article on how to mold your own engine badges), the strange, a 500 Cad motor in a ‘66 Buick Skylark, the cool, a bad-ass ‘69 Valiant and the usual, a 10-second big-block Chevelle. This Guy’s Garage segment features the friendly confines of Holman-Moody. Whoever has a ‘66 Mk II, a ‘64 T-bolt road-race car and a rebodied Ferrari are my new best friends.

And since every issue has a Krass and Bernie cartoon, it’s always good issue.

www.carcraft.com

Church- Cars Not Culture Issues #1 and #2

Once in a while a ‘zine comes along that moves you. A ‘zine that is more than what you see. This is one of those magazines. Actually to call it a magazine would be slightly wrong. This is actually a ‘photozine’. A couple of words a page, one ad and a whole lot of soul.

Created by Coby Gewertz, Church is a brand that transcends words. The images contained herein are absolutely stunning. Photos that put you into a moment instead of showing it to you. Marc Gewertz is the man responsible for the pictures. His penchant for getting just the right angle, just the right time of day is amazing. You can feel the metalflake, smell the nitro and taste the patina. There is a close-up of an aged whitewall that should be a print in everyone’s garage. These photos make you want to reach out and rub the flaking paint.

Get one of these photozines in a hurry since they are limited editions of 3000. Please welcome a new lord in automotive beauty. It’s name is Church.

www.carsnotculture.com

Jeep Junkie Magazine Issue #22

Full-size Jeeps never got much love from the larger 4x4 media. I don’t know why. They were big, solid and easy to work on. So a little magazine called FSJ came about. It covered all things FSJ(full-size jeep). But alas the market wasn’t big enough and FSJ became Jeep Junkie. Now they cover 63-83 Wagoneers, 84-92 Grand Wagoneers, 74-83 Cherokees, 63-87 J-Series Trucks, M-Series Military Trucks, and 47-65 Willy's Wagons, XJ Cherokees, ZJ Grand Cherokees, along with newer "big" jeeps. The good news is that the style of the magazine hasn’t changed much. It’s still done with a nod towards fun. The idea of sometimes you have to make the part not just buy it. And real world feature trucks.

Issue #22 is the first in the transition. Again it’s a nice issue that seems done from the heart not for the advertiser. Project J4X is one mans quest to build a 4-door, short box, 1-ton AMC. The article is well written and fun to read. A couple of XJ/ZJ features and Part 5 of a LT-1 engine swap into a FS Waggy. Throw in some nice tech answers, readers rides and some trail fun and you have a magazine that is growing up.

www.jeepjunkie.com

Jeep Cherokee XJ High Performance Builder's Guide 1984-2001 by Eric Zappe

Having a lifted ‘91Cherokee myself I was very interested in this book. It covers everything you wanted to know about your XJ(Cherokee to the layman) from lift, axles, tires to protection. The author has a nice tone and explains things very well. Since he has an XJ himself, he writes from experience.

The book starts with a basic look at the XJ platform and moves through mods that most people want to do to their ride. Starting with lifts, Eric guides you through the ins and outs of each height, from 2" up to 6"+. What tire will fit, what steering mods you’ll need, etc.

Next up are brakes, axles, lockers, transfer-cases, engines, body and protection. Everything is represented with very nice photography. Action shots and detail shots are all crisply rendered.

Throughout the book there are short feature segments on some very cool XJ’s. Some basic, some extreme. It gives you a good idea of what your XJ could look like with various lifts and tires and what set-ups work.

The author does one thing very well. He doesn’t force you to believe everything says is law. He gives suggestions and reasons why he did it and then he lets the reader decide for if it’s right for them. If you have a Cherokee and are into ‘real’ four-wheeling, that is, mud, rocks and body damage then this book is for you. A definite thumbs up.

www.cartechbooks.com

Ryan Cochran Interview- by Randy Curran

Ryan Cochran. The man, the myth, the legend. A simple man with a simple mission. To spread the gospel of traditional hot rods and customs to hoodlums worldwide. The Lord of the Boards. King of the HAMB. The original. Ryan Cochran.


1. Why Hot Rod and Customs?

It's a creative release more than anything else I guess. I love pretty
much all cars, but traditional rods and customs make the most out of my
sense of form and function. The really early stuff is just so simple,
subtle, industrial... and in away, sinister... And those qualities are
the things that I find the most interesting.

2. Tell me about your first hot rod memory.

Easy. Sitting on the console of my dad's seriously hot rodded (twin
turbo) Corvette. I was around three or four at the time and I'd put both
hands around the chrome ball shifter. My dad would yell, "shift!" and I
would grab a gear as hard as I could. Tardel says I'm still a hard
shifter... I guess I really am.

3. What made you start the Jalopy Journal?

I had just gotten back from Europe and was in the middle of ending my
racing career. I wanted to build something that felt as natural and as
raw as a race car. I started reading Dean Batchelor books and one thing
just lead to another. I fell in love with those old cars in that book
and had to build one. Only thing was, I didn't know the first thing
about them. At the time, I lived in Oklahoma and there just wasn't much
of a traditional scene there. I'd go to the NSRA nats in Oklahoma City
and leave disappointed. I started The Jalopy Journal as an avenue to
learn more than anything else. It was an outreach.

4. When and why did the HAMB come along?

The H.A.M.B. started in 1996. A bunch of guys started bugging me about
adding a message board to The Jalopy Journal. I didn't like the idea and
didn't really buy into forums. Eventually, I relented and put up a link
to the "Hokey Ass Message Board" that everyone kept calling for. I still
can't stand the name... but hey, it stuck.

5. When did you realize that the HAMB was growing?

I don't know that I've come to that realization yet. I honestly see The
Jalopy Journal and the H.A.M.B. as the very beginning stages of
something that is going to be... more... There are so many things that
the internet in combination with a healthy community can accomplish and
I don't think we have even begun to capitalize off of much of it. Point
being, we are still a small (but thriving) community. In time and given
the resources, we are going to do some pretty amazing things.

6. Why traditional? Why not billet?

I like looking at some contemporary cars and I think there are some
great ideas to use as inspiration there, but I've always tended to tip
my hat towards history. I just think there is so much more to a car if
it can be tied to the past... My biggest passion is for late 40's/early
50's hot rods and customs. You can look at one that's done right and
feel the soul that comes from it. Sounds hippy, I know... But these cars
just do it for me. A traditional hot rod or custom is a car, a history
lesson, a mechanical study, and so much more. They are art.

7. What do you drive?



I have a '38 Ford coupe that I built while in college and recently, my
best pal Keith Tardel presented me with my dream car - a very
traditional '30 coupe on deuce rails.

8. What is the best thing about the HAMB?

I think I'm most proud of the dynamic. Literally, you get in what you
put out... And I see so many people put so much into the community and
get just as much back. I love that. One thing I've learned in the past
11 or so years is that most folks are just really good people with good
intentions.

9. What is the worst thing about the HAMB?

Being public. I'm not an outgoing person... I'm shy... reserved... And
because of the H.A.M.B., my name gets out there quite a bit. Sometimes
I'm not very comfortable with that.

10. Rat Rod. Go.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/?p=297
It's really a definition thing, right? To me, a rat rod is a car that is
thrown together with parts in hand. It's cheap, fun, and done quickly.
On the other hand, a traditional car takes more time, dedication, and
sacrifice to build. They are detailed and thoughtful... You can almost
see the pain the builder endured to get it done.

I have no problem at all with rat rods. It's just not a genre I'm all
that interested in.

11. What drives you as a person, what makes you get up in the morning?

Easy... My wife and little girl. Just about everything I do, I do for
them. As any H.A.M.B. Drags attendant will tell you, Marcie is the best
hot rod wife in the world. And Presley? Cooler than any hot rod in the
world. She's so rad...

12. How much time do you spend working with the HAMB?

Some weeks I can get by with 30 or so hours, but other weeks get pretty gnarly... I'd guess I am averaging 50 hours a week right now on top of
my daily job. Running the joint would be absolutely impossible without
all the guys that donate their time to help moderate. I don't think most
folks realize how much these guys do. Just the classified section alone
is enough work for three or four guys to do full-time.

13. If you could have world peace or the coolest hot rod which would it be?

It's sick that I had to actually think about this one for a while...
World Peace.

14. What do you think of the reality-tv hot rod show?

(http://www.jalopyjournal.com/?p=51)
I don't watch them enough to really have an educated response here. I
think it's made a lot of folks a ton of money... and good for them, but
at the same time it has been kind of embarrassing to watch as folks try
their hardest to cash in after the initial wave. I can't blame them, but
I also can't bare to watch sometimes.

15. When did the Jockey Journal come along?

Two years ago... Jason Kidd runs that site and I just kind of support
him and pay the bills. That site has been tough for me as I don't know
the folks or the genre as well, but we are starting to figure it out a
little better. It's a lot like The Jalopy Journal was 6 or 7 years ago.

16. How did the HAMB drags come about? And what is it's future?

One of our members (Sam) had the idea and I just took it and ran. I
think the first year we were expecting maybe 30 cars and 80 showed up. I
think we had close to 200 cars at our last one. It's been crazy... So
much fun though. In my estimation, the H.A.M.B. Drags is really the last
place a guy can go to see a close representation of how the early drags
really were. It's heads up, run-what-ya-brung, good old fashion
racing... A bunch of pals trying to go fast... It's really hard to
explain to someone that hasn't attended. It's not like any other drag
race in the country.

We are working really hard to get more drag race events in... I'm hoping
to have an east and west coast HAMB drags in 2008, to support the HAMB
Drag Nationals in Missouri (August 25).

17. The biggest misconception about Ryan Cochran?

I think people tend to give me more credit than I deserve. The Jalopy
Journal/H.A.M.B. was really built by the great folks that put so much
time and energy into meaningful content through the years. There would
be no site if it wasn't for those people. I just put some code together
man... There are just so many people that have done so much for this
thing, that I can't even begin to make a list.

18. Why should I be a member of the HAMB Alliance?

The Alliance came about after years of consulting with some of the media
industry's smartest and most well liked folks. The late Steve
Hendrickson really made the final pull... One of the last things he told
me before he past was that it was better to regret what you did do
rather than what you didn't. Five or six days after he left, I launched
the Alliance.

The idea was to find a revenue source for The Jalopy Journal/H.A.M.B.
that didn't compromise our content or our mission. I wanted to find a
way to do what I love for a living while giving people more than their
money's worth. Value is pretty hard to come by in this day and age and I
wasn't about to sell something that didn't return it in bulk.

The Alliance is mostly a way for our community to pool together their
power and use it to get great deals from vendors who REALLY support our
cause. I haven't quit my day job yet, but I am really proud of how well
it has worked out for everyone...

19. Here Lies Ryan Cochran___________________? You finish.

A Sooner born. A Sooner bred. And when he died, he was a Sooner dead.

www.jalopyjournal.com

Tom Fritz Interview- by Randy Curran

If you don't know who Tom Fritz is, please get out from under that rock. Tom is licensed by Harley-Davidson, and has been featured in The Robb Report Collection, American Iron, Easyriders -- just about every other big magazine in the free world. And rightfully so. His work just hints at what 's there. It's not about getting every letter on each tire correct. It's the emotion that it represents. We all get too caught up in the numbers and details without looking at the big picture. Tom knows just how much to show and when to hold back.



I finally caught up to him and had a chance to talk to the man himself, and this is what he had to say.

What are your first memories of motorcycles?

My earliest memory is kind of painful. When I was about 3 or 4 years old, I took my first-ever ride on the back of Pop's Cushman scooter. It was a hot summer evening, I was wearing cut-offs and the pillion was just a rectangle of freshly sawn plywood. Well, I can tell you ya jus' don't forget plywood splinters on the inside of your thighs.

Over time, I've become aware that I must have spent a great deal of my childhood quietly "observing"; making mental notes of neat sensory stuff about the experience and environment encapsulated by a bike – you know – that which surrounds it. Stuff like: the smell of exhaust on a cold morning, with the steam condensing out the end of the pipe, the short hop taken before following through when kicking over the bike. The smell of ethyl, new rubber, cleaning solvent, and grease. The gorgeous variations of blue, gray, and orange on a chromed pipe near the manifold. Slicing in and out of the microclimates on an evening run through the canyons. The smell of Dad's leather jacket, and plunging my hands deep into his jacket pockets to keep warm.

Some special memories –Waiting for Dad to nod when it was time to mount, riding with him in the evenings to fire lookouts in the Angeles forest. The time Dad took me on the back of the bike to Cal Automotive to look at their fiberglass '23 T buckets destined for my hot rod. Cigarette ashes coming over Dad's shoulder. Cutting through Goler Wash and heading on toward Death Valley, just days after Manson's arrest at Barker ranch. Bubble shields. Having a snowstorms chase you out of the southern Sierras. Helplessly watching as the hubcap launches off the front wheel of a vehicle that just smacked a pothole two lanes over on the 5 – and slicing across your line of travel, neck level, like a UFO. Lifting a bike into a truck and wrapping my wrist around the hot exhaust pipe. Spills aplenty. Dodging vermin, rattlesnakes, quail. Riding shirtless on a hundred degree-plus day and getting walloped in the left nipple by a dragonfly at 70 mph. Watching the sun go down while patching a tube in the Mojave Desert… experiences you just can't get sitting behind a wheel.

When did you realize you had the ability to draw?

At maybe 3 years old… you know, when your memory is just forming. I remember responding to visual conventions describing depth – like overlapping forms, varying scale, and one point perspective way before I could draw a figure that wasn't a round head with stick arms and legs. It was fascinating. It was like TV, except I was in control. And people responded. I started to develop my brain-to-hand coordination everywhere. I drew on the underside of chairs and tables, on my PF Flyers, on my Red Ball Jets. On two by fours in the garage. On remnants of butcher paper, on the inside of game box lids, and on newspaper. Once I discovered this cool thing I could do, I couldn't put it down. Coloring books were a mixed bag – I got to explore with my crayons, but being forced to work within the bounds of black lines was boring.

You attended Cal State Northridge and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Illustration. A lot of artists say art school looked down on "drawing bikes and hot rods" What was your experience there and how did it help your artwork?

Tough, but good question. I understand the statement you presented. Education is what you bring into it, and what you get out of it. Art school for me was a searing experience. A compressed, arduous journey that created its own logic and its own enlightenment. Having run the gauntlet, I discovered what is occurring on the other side of the equation. Art schools don't look down on any particular subject matter per se, but rather on students who are self-limiting. By that, I mean those who lock into responding to only one subject, be it bikes, hot rods, Muppet characters, rock stars, door stops… what-have-you. And for good reason. Whatever is your own definable self-interest, one has to get away from one's private cesspool for no other reason but to maybe obtain some perspective. It's what you don't know that becomes the challenge. In school, you broaden your understanding and allow yourself to perceive things you haven't yet thought of or already combined in your own mind, then lock-in and focus. By all means, get the best education you can afford – heck, there's really no excuse… the library is free and certainly was an important adjunct to my education.

What was your experience there?

Here's what my experience taught me. It taught me about maintaining sanity. Perseverance. That a diploma is a sheet of paper given in bright daylight and later consigned to a dark drawer. That the illusion demanded by the art world that creative people spring from the head of Zeus is a fallacy.

My art school experience did teach me about art, but more importantly, it taught me how to learn. Development. Absorption. There's a fundamental difference. Education is powerful. It is continuing; it becomes an art in itself. It is life long; I pursue it daily. The sheer magnitude of its application is awesome. Seize what the masters left for you and go for the jugular. In art school, you put yourself in the position of having judgments rendered on you by a value system that is pretty sophisticated, which makes you reach deeply within yourself and come up with tough stuff.

How did it help your art?

Art school showed me the wheel and forced to me accept that it had already been invented. My task becomes rolling that wheel on down the road, reconstituting what I've learned, applying it to my needs, translating my vision outward, and seeing if there is a resonance of response. It prepared me for a plow, painful evolution of image and style within the constraints and skills I have. Not having to invent the wheel everyday helped my immensely. It frees me to more easily get in touch with the greatest power I could ever feel, my own.

Do you do thumbnails or sketches of when you start a new piece?

Yes. Inspiration hits anytime, anywhere. The thumbnail is me plumbing my personal depths to make a tangible record of the vision as I perceive it… distilling and getting the ideas down… downloading the information and freeing up mental RAM to accept additional incoming. If I didn't get these images out, my head would explode – kripes… imagine the mess in the studio…
The sketches are exploratory. Starting with the thumbnail and working up a composition considering balance, form, shape, movement, dynamics, color, expression – all that good stuff. It's part of my process; I can't just sit down and hang on to the handle of the brush and watch it flow – the sketch is the foundation; it keeps me from destroying a lot of otherwise perfectly good, white, expensive canvas. I just have to work through the underlying structure of the painting first.



What medium do you enjoy working in and why?

I was staff artist for a major defense firm for 25 years, and freelanced since high school, so I've been exposed to all the commercial media – graphite, inks, dyes, colored pencils, markers, dry pastel, gouache, airbrush, acrylic, watercolor – even digital. I enjoy working with oils. There is a range of tactile qualities inherent in the medium, and chemistry that I can alter to my advantage. But the main reason I work in oils? Sounds simplistic, but I dig the smell – even better than markers.

What is it like to display your art?

Drop your drawers and hope folks don't point and laugh.

What is the oddest thing someone has ever said about your art?

"Nice shot" or, "This shit makes my dick hard!"

What do you use as reference material?

Anything. Whatever works. I build props if I need to. Historical photos lend indications for model stature and dress – offering strange nuances not seen today. As far as the vehicle reference goes, it gets horrendously difficult to ship them across country. And if I have to wheel them into my studio, I'll have to chase the band out. Then, having to spend two weeks squinting past my outstretched arm with my thumb at them would wear me out. So I photograph them. I attend shows, museums, and collections, network my needs, and try to scare up hardware. Dig up my landscapes. My models are friends, neighbor's dogs, cohorts, pizza deliverymen – whoever fits at the moment. I've maintained a morgue file for years and am always adding to it.

Who are some of your favorite artists and who influenced your art the most?

Names have never stuck well in my head – sometimes I call my son the dog's name, and vice versa. Images are easier to recall – check my grades in Art History… I'm gonna miss some, but here goes: Renoir, Daumier, the fluidity of Tiepolo's line, Manet, (especially his later works where he was influenced by the avante garde Impressionists), Degas, Monet (his color contrasts), Delacroix (for his expressive use of juxtaposing complementary colors), Morisot, Sargent (esp. for his highly economical, confident, and accurate brushwork). Van Gogh. American Illustrators: Remington, Howard Pyle, N. C. Wyeth, Leyendecker (composition and awareness of contour and silhouette). Rockwell (narrative). Hard to say who influenced me most, though.

What does your wife and kids think about your art?

Molly gives me balance. She's my partner; she keeps me straight; she understands. I hope anyone who attempts a journey into something as indefinable as art should find a true friend like her. She's my first set of fresh eyeballs when mine are blasted, and she won't hesitate to tell me when "that wheel ain't round".

For the kids, it's simply what Pop does. I don't think they can grasp the intensity of the act. I believe they find it fascinating to watch the images appear, but they also get to experience the traumas of producing satisfying results first hand. They get to see their silly artist father thrashing and slashing and slowly developing his aesthetic.

What do you want people to come away with after viewing your art?

I guess I could launch into some flowery art-speak here – but I won't lie to you. I want them to come away with that painting. I want them to buy it from me, and hang it on their wall because they experience transference; a reflection of my passion, and feel so strongly about it that they can't deny its impact. I have to make a living doing this; otherwise I'll go back to fixing vacuum cleaners.

Any advice to aspiring artists?

Commit. Stop aspiring and start perspiring.
Learn as much as you can about your art – and the business. There's no recipe for success, no 12-step process, no rulebook. You can create all day, but you also have to know how to market your work.

Plug anything you want.

Honestly, I'd like to drop the names of the folks, their products, and their services that have treated me right. But if I missed just one of you, it might somehow be construed that you didn't make the cut. And then I'd feel lousy. And that would affect my mindset. And in this burning pustule of misery, I'd probably cut off my left ear… so, you know who you are… just keep passing the positive energy on.

www.fritzart.com