Back Roads & Side Streets

If you can get away from speeding down the massive interstate system that crisscrosses our great country and slow your speed to fit into the state or county highway system, you will find some really great automotive jewels. Whether these jewels are in the shape of a small hometown automotive museums, the custom shops that you don’t see on television or the occasional rusty relic that really catches your eye, they are there to be found if you just slow down and hit the back roads & side streets.

2017 Spring Coker Tire Cruise-In

Chattanooga, Tennessee
Article and photos by Sierra Hamilton
Edited by Larry Crain

There was no foolin’ around on this April Fool’s Day at the 2017 Spring Coker Tire Cruise-In as the sounds of engines rolling through downtown Chattanooga. Being one of the first events in the Southeast, the car show season kicked off to a great start early Saturday morning. With incredible growth each year, Coker Tire expanded the grounds to allow more cars in and this year even incorporated a swap meet for the first time.

Read More

2017 Wild Wheels Car Show

New Orleans, Louisiana
Article by Larry Crain
Photos by Barbara Crain

Take New Orleans, AKA, “The Big Easy”, The Mercedez-Benz Superdome, and over 225 of the most awesome cars, trucks and motorcycles, mix them all together and you have the 2017 Wild Wheels Car Show. This all-new event was put together by Lionel and Paul Dowling, the father and son team that make up Dowling Productions. Neither one of then, along with Show Chairman Kal Smith, are newbies to the car scene as they live and breathe hot rods. So, who better to put on a car show in what is one of the greatest places to host an event.

Read More

1956 Chevrolet Bel Air

A Four Wheel Memorial
Article and photos by Larry Crain
Additional photo provided by Stephanie Sanchez

This article is about how a family is using a 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air as a rolling memorial to a father that was a great car builder and a well-loved man throughout the automotive community along the Gulf Coast. Doug Brock of LaPlace, Louisiana passed away in September of 2016 and will always be remembered as a man that loved to build cars and enjoyed driving them just as much. Over the years Doug built seven cars, and one of my favorites, a 1933 Packard, convertible now resides in a museum.

Read More

Stranglehold – 1971 Plymouth Cuda

Article and show photos by Larry Crain
Additional photos supplied by Kyle Cothren

Sometimes we can start out on a project that we think “oh this will be a cheap and easy build.” Then next thing you know you’re bleeding cash and the credit card is maxed out with the project still not finished. Kyle Cothren of Santa Rosa Beach, Florida found himself in a similar situation with this 1971 Plymouth Cuda, and after completion of the project appropriately nicknamed the car Stranglehold.

The Stranglehold Cuda was found in a barn in South Carolina where it had been sitting for about 30 years. The owner had no real interest in selling it as it was his dream car and was going to finish building it one day. Kyle had kept an eye on the old Cuda over the years in the hope that the owner would one day change his mind about selling it. Years went by and the owner of the Cuda passed away without ever seeing his dream car completed. The old car sat for another seven years before a deal was struck with Kyle and the owner’s family.

Read More

Pro-Touring – 1963 Chevy Nova

Article and photos by Larry Crain

This beautiful 1963 Chevrolet Nova owned by Gene Delcomyn of Brandon, Mississippi is an awesome example of the Pro-Touring style brought to show level. While most Pro-Touring style cars and trucks are built from day one as engineering marvels and feature beautiful craftsmanship, they mostly see the autocross or road course tracks, not the floors of indoor shows. I saw this one recently in a video Scottie D had done for ScottieDTV while at the Birmingham World of Wheels, and then I saw it again at the Wild Wheels Car Show in the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Read More

Pro Street Monster

1972 Chevy C10
Article and photos by Larry Crain
Original truck photos by Teddy Mueller

Teddy Mueller of Summerville, South Carolina owns a Pro Street 1972 Chevrolet C10 truck that could be the four-wheel version of the “Hulk”. An apt description would be big feet “tires”, green as any mean ass monster should be and nothing but a sheer terror if you make the mistake of messing with it on the street.

Teddy has owned this truck since 2002 but back then it was just a mild mannered primered C10 with a 307 engine, a Turbo 350 transmission and a rear end with 3:73 gears. Teddy was in the Air Force at the time he bought the truck, and he left it as-is until he was discharged. But as soon as he got home, the truck started getting some changes with the first one being a motor swap to a 350 four bolt and an early Cuda green paint job with blue flames. Terry drove the wheels off the truck during this stage of its life, but in 2011 he inherited a 468 cubic inch big block Chevy motor. His brother-in law had owned a 1979 Camaro drag car that was also street driven a few times before he lost a battle with cancer, and Teddy’s sister knew the perfect place for her late husband’s motor to reside. This is when the old Chevy truck started a radical transformation into the Pro Street Monster it is today.

Read More

Weda’s Street Rod

1930 Ford Model A Sedan
Article and photos by Larry Crain

Old skool style rods have always been cool even back when they were first being built just as hot rods to cruise or race in. As a gearhead I love almost all things that have four wheels and burn fossil fuel but traditional style hot rods really catch my eye. This particular rod was on display at the 2017 Wild Wheels held in the New Orleans Superdome and it just screamed “Look at me! I am the history of hot rodding!”

Read More

Stage II Max Wedge

1963 Plymouth Savoy
Article and photos by Larry Crain

Okay the first line of the title should have gotten your attention right off the bat if you are a true fan of muscle cars. This fine example of a factory-produced true muscle car is owned by Rich and Paige Udell, who live in The Villages, Florida. If their name sounds familiar it is probably because of their Great 8 Award winning 1932 Ford Roadster known as “Timeless”, or their other well-known car “Instigator”, which is a 1934 Chevrolet sedan. When I saw Rich and Paige recently in Panama City Beach, Florida during the Spring Emerald Coast Cruizin’, they were riding in, not a street rod, but this awesome little Plymouth Savoy.

Read More

Cool Blue and Aged Well

1957 Chevy Truck
Article and photos by Larry Crain

I had to come up with a title that was catchy and quick to grab your attention, plus pertain to the vehicle that this article is about and the title fits this truck very well. The truck was built by Kirk Peterson about 15 years ago, and then about 8 years ago it was given a good going over to make it all fresh again. That’s right! This awesome looking, show-winning machine was last freshened up that long ago and still kicks butt!

The truck that Kirk built, which has stood the test of time, is a heavily modified 1957 Chevrolet 3100 Series stepside. The frame is a modified stock piece that has been reinforced with square tubing and then powder coated. The front suspension is a Heidts IFS with rack and pinion steering. The rear section of the stock frame was altered so it could become the home of a Cadillac Allante disc brake rear end that is equipped with 3:73 gears. The powder coated rear suspension is a four link equipped with Eaton three inch drop springs. Raising or lowering the truck for show or cruising is taken care of by a Shockwave system from Ridetech. The brake system on the truck is all Corvette from the power brake booster assembly to the disc brakes on all four corners. The wheels for this custom chassis are Foose Fishtail with 18’s on the front and 20’s on the rear.

Read More

The Griffey’s 1954 Corvette

The Griffey’s 1954 Corvette
Transitions Concept 546
Article and photos by Larry Crain

The road to building an award-winning vehicle can be a long one with a lot of twists and turns. The travel down this road is attempted by many but not all follow it to the end. Larry Griffey, owner of Larry Griffey’s Hot Rods & Restorations, has traveled this road many times in his business of building vehicles that are as varied as his taste in them. He has built everything from weekend cruisers to Great 8 winners and a First Place winner at Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

Eight years ago Larry came across a 1954 Corvette project car that was just a pile of parts and a custom Jamison Chassis. It took a while and quite a bit of negotiating with the owner, but Larry finally got the deal he was looking for and the Corvette found a new home in his garage. The car sat for a few years then Larry and Chuck Powell began a six-year journey down a road that saw a whole lot of custom fiberglass work take place on the car. Larry’s wife Robbie was a major factor in keeping them focused on seeing the project to completion during those years. With the initial fabrications and body modifications completed at Larry’s home it was time to move the car over to the shop for final fit of the body and disassembly for the car to be painted. At this stage all the talents of Kevin Riffey and Dustin Boone were brought into action completing the car with all of the equipment on hand at Larry Griffey’s Hot Rods & Restorations. The group effort at Griffey’s saw the Corvette transformed into what would become a 2017 Great 8 Award winning car.

Read More

ScottieDTV Watches