Metallica’s James Hetfield Brings Heavy Metal to the Petersen Automotive Museum

Google World’s Largest Concerts and likely as not, Metallica will come up in the top five with 1.6 million people attending Monsters of Rock at Tushino Airfield, Moscow in 1991. The images from that concert are staggering and they form a juxtapositional backdrop to ‘Reclaimed Rust: The James Hetfield Collection’ a new exhibit at the Petersen Automotive Museum, Los Angeles, CA, featuring the cars of Metallica front man James Hetfield.

“I believe everyone needs or deserves a second chance or a third chance or a fourth chance. So knock the rust off and continue the story.”James Hetfield, Metallica

Prior to the opening, there was a fireside chat with Hetfield who talked candidly about his love of automobiles, and custom cars in particular. Hetfield was born in Downey, California in 1963, which at the time was the epicenter of the custom car culture saying about the exhibit, “It’s historic for me; as do our albums, these cars mark my life for the past 14 years and it’s great. I love that they are staying together and that youngsters will be inspired by them.” When asked what was behind the name of the exhibit, ‘Reclaimed Rust’ Hetfield said, “I believe everyone needs or deserves a second chance or a third chance or a fourth chance. So knock the rust off and continue the story.”

StateofSpeed was invited to the Media/VIP preview but we first encountered James’ amazing cars at the 2012 Goodwood Festival of Speed. The Duke of Richmond had invited a number of rock stars to display their cars including Hetfield’s 1936 Auburn Speedster ‘Slow Burn’.

Unfortunately, some typical shipping damage put a slight damper on the proceedings but the Auburn, built by long time Hetfield collaborator Rick Dore Kustoms, showed well alongside Billy F Gibbons’ CadZZilla and Jimmie Vaughan’s ’61 Cadillac.

Indeed, five of the 10 vehicles on display at the Petersen Automotive Museum were collaborations between Dore and Hetfield and they included a 1934 Packard-based custom ‘Aquarius’ and an unrecognizable 1948 Jaguar named ‘Black Pearl’.

Both these cars and particularly the Packard lean heavily on European styling of the thirties, specifically the French designs of Delahaye and coachbuilder Figoni et Falaschi. Both cars feature swooping, sensual hand-formed one-off aluminum bodies by Marcel’s Custom Metal, Corona, CA.

The other collaborations with Dore include the centerpiece of the exhibit, a 1953 Buick Skylark ‘Skyscraper’ that features, as do some of the other customs, what appears to be a solid but lift-off convertible top. These tops, created in the 1940s are known as Carson Tops, after the Carson Top Shop in Los Angeles that first developed them.

While not as outwardly radical as some of the other collaborations, the 1937 Lincoln ‘Voodoo Priest’ features more subtle modifications below the stunning Candy Apple Red paint by Darryl Hollenbeck, Concord, CA., including a fully hot rodded Lincoln V-12 by HandHFlatheads. The engine breaths through three classic Stromberg 97 carbs and note the one-piece curved windshield by Timo Tanskannen of Finland.

Not all the cars in the exhibit at the Petersen Automotive Museum are radical customs, some are more hot rod than custom. For example, ‘Iron Fist’ is a tough-looking bare metal, chopped ’36 Ford 5-window coupe that has no paint but attitude a-plenty.  Built by Scott Mugford’s Blue Collar Customs of Sacramento, CA., the ‘Fist’ is powered by a small-block Chevy V-8 and protected by a coat of clear by Darryl Hollenbeck.

Also completed by Blue Collar Customs is Hetfield’s ’56 Ford F-100 pickup known as ‘Str8 Edge’. Powered by a 455 cubic inch Oldsmobile engine, the ‘Edge’ features a 5-window, extended cab with a 2-1/4-inch top chop, a side-opening hood and a ’60-’61 Chrysler grille with Thunderbird trim. The wild paint was handled by Jason Haskin.

The other late-thirties custom in the collection is the 1937 Ford ‘Crimson Ghost’. More of a custom than a rod, the pan-draggin’ ‘Ghost’ is different because of its pillar less door opening and sweeping roofline that flows seamlessly down into the decklid.

The only real hot rod in the show is a quintessential ’32 Ford Roadster tagged ‘Black Jack’. Built in the traditional style by Josh Mills of Marietta, GA., it’s an original, all-steel 1932 Ford with no parts newer than 1949 on the entire car.

The rod, which is actually brown rather than black, appeared in the 2017 Grand National Roadster Show but did not win the America’s Most Beautiful Roadster Award. Instead, that went to Bruce Wanta’s Packard built by Troy Ladd’s Hollywood Hot Rods. As do some of the customs ‘Black Jack’ features a padded, lift-off Carson-style top and a flathead Ford V-8 under the hood.

‘Reclaimed Rust’ is a worthwhile exhibit especially if you are a fan of Hetfield and customs spelt with a ‘K.’

No doubt a little tongue in cheek, the final car on the roster was the 1963 Lincoln ‘Dead Kennedy’. Painted satin black and looking a little road worn, the side-piped Lincoln with shaved door handles was perhaps the black sheep of the show and did not express the workmanship of the other cars on display.

‘Reclaimed Rust’ is a worthwhile exhibit especially if you are a fan of Hetfield and customs spelt with a ‘K.’ Incidentally, all of the vehicles on display were donated by Hetfield to the Petersen Automotive Museum and the ‘Reclaimed Rust’ exhibit, sponsored by ESP Guitar Company, will run through October 2020. For more information visit Petersen.org.

Hot Rod Wagon:  Classically Modified 1955 Chevy Nomad

It’s a dream of many hot rod enthusiasts: to have a wicked looking Nomad Wagon. It is the staple of rare but “cool” to modify vehicles and Brian Hill of Hill’s Rod and Custom used his expertise to create this beautiful utility rodder out of his own 1955 model.

If there was one show and actor that helped cement the Nomad for modern hot rodders it was Tim Allen and his show, Home Improvement. That car is even listed as the 19th of the top 50 TV cars by Rod Authority back in 2016. It was owned by Allen and the 1956 Nomad was tied to the main character, Tim Taylor, but canonically the car was the daily driver of his on-screen wife, Jill.

However, it would be the episode titled “Don’t Tell Momma” that would cause every Nomad and Bel Air enthusiasts’ hearts to collectively sink when the car was “crushed” on accident. Fortunately, the stunt car was a four-door Bel Air with a wagon roof added, rear doors welded and smoothed enough for the shot, and crushed on-screen while the real 1956 Nomad wasn’t harmed.

…it’s not a proper looking Nomad if the top isn’t its signature pristine white…

He even pulled the car on set to show it was still around to the live audience for that show’s taping. It would eventually be sold for Ebay’s “Auction for America” on October 4^th, 2001 to benefit victims of the September 11^th attacks just a few weeks earlier.

Fortunately for Hill’s Rod and Custom in Pleasant Hill, CA, this 1955 model wasn’t crushed or destroyed but was still put through a full, frame-off restoration before it was modified. Brian Hill pulled every piece and part off to strip, bang, straighten and finally repaint his in the Lamborghini Orange Pearl. However, it’s not a proper looking Nomad if the top isn’t its signature pristine white for that classic two-tone look.

All the glass was then replaced with new reproduction versions with modern weather-stripping for a noise-free ride. This was done to make sure the Vintage Air heating and air-conditioning system didn’t leak the cool interior air to the Bay Area’s hot atmosphere.

…a 1955 Nomad that’s worthy of television stardom.

That’s even as this Nomad makes its own atmosphere when it arrives. The interior is a fully-custom leather that carefully compliments that Lambo orange and chrome touches throughout. New, but classic gauges complete the classic looks of the Tri-Five dashboard.

Those new gauges are designed to work with the TurnKey Engine Supply LS1 crate engine, a 5.7-liter displacement that makes 410-horsepower and 420-torque to the crank with its 10.25:1 compression. Inside, the rotating assembly is lead by a set of Mahle forged pistons and squeeze fuel and air into cathedral port GM heads.

It’s designed to be installed and ran as it included everything, even the throttle pedal for the LS1 electronic throttle body but its ECM is calibrated with a TurnKey tune so it doesn’t need a GM PATS key. The only change was the addition of “Nomad” script emblems on the engine covers and painting the intake to match the Lambo orange of the body. Its power is then sent to a GM 6L80E six-speed automatic transmission.

We certainly wouldn’t mind being caught in it.

To control sway and pitch as Brian drives his Nomad, a modern set of coilovers were installed up front but the rear retains its leaf spring design. It’s not a race car and you’ll be able to haul more utilitarian loads thanks to the leafs if you desire or need it.

It’s fitted with a set of 17-inch American Racing VN508 Super Nova 5 in a mirror chrome finish and wrapped in Milestar MS932 Sport tires in 205/50R17 front and 225/60R17 rear.

Brian Hill and Hill’s Rod and Custom have certainly designed a 1955 Nomad that’s worthy of television stardom. Thankfully, it doesn’t come with the usual headaches fame brings but instead gives its driver the comforts of modern cars with the looks of a great classic Tri-Five. We certainly wouldn’t mind being caught in it.

The Milestar CAN-AM UTV of Cora and Erik Jokinen

The Milestar Can-Am UTV of Cora and Erik Jokinen was originally built for an impossible task. When Ultra4 Racer Mike Bergman found himself without a car to race at King of the Hammers in 2017, CT Race Worx put this Can-Am together so he would at least have something to drive in the race.  He wasn’t racing it against other UTVs. Instead, he was going against the biggest and baddest Ultra4 unlimited cars. Despite being outgunned, the car qualified 50th out of about 200 cars and gave them all hell on race day. In 2018, Erik and Cora brought the car back but raced it at KOH with the other UTVs.

King of the Hammers combines long, open desert sections that are run at high speeds, with the toughest rock trails found in Johnson Valley, California known as the Hammer Trails. The course is diabolical with sand, ruts, whoops, and rocks, and that’s just the desert section. The rock trails are literally piles of boulders that cling to the sides of steep canyons. Big rocks, small rocks, round rocks, and sharp rocks. What the rocks don’t do to you gravity will. There are many off-camber side hills and steep drop-offs.

Despite having competed in the toughest single-day offroad race in the world twice, the Can-Am is not too exotic. Most of the modifications come right out of the CT Race Worx catalog and are bolt-on parts. The Can-Am runs ADS shocks and was used to develop the Jokinen’s Torque Locker differential lockers. The traction department also benefits from their Milestar tires.

When the only thing holding you to solid ground is your tires, they need to be the best. The Jokinens’ tire of choice is the Milestar Patagonia SXT. New for 2018 is the soft compound Black Label tire that has all the superior features found on the SXT but with a stickier rubber compound for even more traction. The SXT Black Label has the same Kevlar® belt package for strength and light weight as well as the deep, wide grooves with stone ejectors that help to disperse dirt and debris. The wide overlapping tread blocks maintain stability and improve sure-footed control during rapid acceleration and braking. The distinctive tread pattern provides excellent control in sand, silt, and rocks.

Cora & Erik got to put them to the test when they headed to Sand Hollow State Park in Utah after displaying the Can-Am in Milestar’s booth at the SEMA Show. “It was nice not to be in a serious competition and be able to just play around in the sand,” said Erik, “The scenery is spectacular and the sand is very fine and deep. I experimented with air pressure to get the maximum flotation in the sand. The way the tread wraps around the sidewall of the tire gave me excellent traction while aired down. We were in some big dunes but also hit some rocks and hard packed two-track trails. It was quite an experience; I’m hooked. We don’t have dunes in New York where we live.”

Erik says they will be racing Dirt Riot events back East next season and might even do some rock bouncing. That is where you point your UTV up a steep rutted, and rocky trail to see how fast you can make it up. It’s not for the faint of heart, but the fans love it. You need lots of traction, but also a tough tire that can take the incredible abuse. Their Milestar SXT’s will be the hot ticket in those conditions.

14th Annual Eibach Honda Meet

Eibach Meet hosted their 14^th annual event for the second year running at Auto Club Speedway located in the heart of Fontana, CA.  It goes without saying, if there’s one passion that can bring people from all around the world together, it’s the undying love of Hondas and Acuras. 

Sweltering triple-digit temperatures didn’t seem to deter many of those who drove from as far as Florida and New Jersey. As the Eibach Meet continues to grow with every passing year, event founders Ryan Hoegner and Matt Rodriguez expected a healthy turnout but didn’t expect EM14 to shattered previous attendance records. We were informed following the event, that there were over 1,200 registered cars and 8,000 spectators continually streamed past the front entrance throughout the day. Can you say world largest Honda and Acura meet in the West Coast?

This year, the event offered with a twist by securing the drag racing facility for some quarter mile action including over 40 vendors displaying and selling newly released products. The ICB Motorsports booth was swarmed with crowds throughout the day as they debuted the new reproduction Desmond Regamaster EVO II wheels.  GReddy Performance was also on hand to showcase their newly revised and re-released Honda S2000 street-legal turbo kit.

Titan 7 has been making their presence known in the street performance and motorsports world with their fully forged wheels at reasonable pricing. 

This gold Civic has quite the reputation among the Honda community. Vehicle owner Jorge Hernandez has been known to constantly change the appearance of his EG but at this year’s event, he rolled into the venue sporting a set of 16×7-inch Volk Ce28N Magnesium Blue wheels, Mugen front lip, JDM front and rear lights and an Exceed × Mode Parfume rear wing.  

Ho Dao was on hand to represent with his old school DA Integra that he’s kept in storage for quite some time. Simplicity was the key to his build as his Integra was outfitted with a Kaminari front lip, replica Mugen side skirts, and rear wing and laid out on a set of Blitz Type 01 wheels.   

Nothing spells old school quite like a CRX on a set of O.G. SSR Super Fin wheels and rare Mugen Body Kit. Speaking of O.G, you might have noticed the Cyber Racing Sticker adhered to the front windshield. For those not in the knowing, the Cyber Racing crew terrorized the drag racing circuit in the late 90’s to early 2000’s, setting a number of world record quarter-mile times in the process. 

Honda owners aren’t afraid to push the envelope. This turbocharged Civic is rumored to produce well over 1,100 whp on a K-series hybrid engine. The most intricate portion of this build was the custom EK9 Kinsler intake manifold sporting dual fuel rails.

Sang Pham’s turbocharged AP2 S2000 was in a class of its own. The Honda was kitted with a J’s Racing GT wide body kit before going through a complete color change in Grigio Telesto gray. 

What’s a Honda event without witnessing a few classics like this first generation (’72 to ’79) Civic sitting on a set of CCW wheels? 

As with every passing Eibach Meet, the number of cars attending the celebration continues to grow and by our estimations will outgrow the infield parking lot by next year!  For information on the event or schedules surrounding both East and West Coasts, check out eibachmeet.com. Hope to see you all at next year’s event!

Is this ’69 Chevy Camaro SS Classically Original?

Curt Hill’s 1969 Chevrolet Camaro SS

It’s the dream car for many people around the world and screams absolute “Americana.” The 1969 Chevrolet Camaro SS is a car that captures the imaginations and romanticization of writers, directors, and car customizers. When you say “Camaro,” Curt Hill’s example will be the exact image people will have pop in their heads.

When it was built, the Camaro was Chevy’s answer to the Pony Car – a small, rear-wheel drive coupe with either an inline-six or V8 and a “live” rear axle. It was based on the F-body platform and it was a long-lived one. The first built in 1967 and ended in 2002 in favor of the Zeta-platform when the Camaro returned in 2010. The F-body was based off the X-body, a compact for its time platform in which the Chevy II and Nova, Buick Apollo and Skylark, Oldsmobile Omega, Pontiac Ventura and Phoenix, and the Canada only Acadian were built on. The only cars that were made with this chassis code were the Camaro and Pontiac Firebird. The first-generation specifically, which is what Curt Hill’s 1969 SS is, was carried over until November of 1969 due to delays in designing the second-generation chassis.

When the Camaro dropped in 1967, it came with three submodels (not including the base model) and packages upon packages as options for potential owners. You had the RS, which was mostly an “appearance” package that had hidden headlights and different taillights. The backup lights were under the rear bumper and you got RS badging on top of the brighter exterior trim. Then there was the Z/28, a high-performance package to work within the SCCA Trans-Am series rules, meaning it had a solid-lifter 302-cubic inch V8, four-speed manual transmission, power disc brakes, and two wide stripes down the hood and trunk lid.

Then you had what would become the package everyone in high school at the time wanted – the SS or Super Sport. It was the signature that indicated you had the best parts from the General outside of a COPO. You could get it with either a 396-ci V8 or the L48 High Output Chevy 350 V8. The chassis was upgraded to handle better and deal with the bigger power of the 350-High Output and 396. Further distinctions included the non-functional hood inlets, special striping, and that unmistakable SS badging. Before the Camaro, SS-badged cars were a mark of high performance with the Monte Carlo, Nova/Chevy II, El Camino, Chevelle, and Impala all carrying it.

The Camaro just continued to stamp in credits of its legacy, even to this day. In 1969, the final year of the first-generation with its own unique body design, the SS could be ordered as an RS/SS package. However, many laymen have trouble spotting the differences from 1967, ’68, and ’69 Camaros, but the immediate thing to look for in a 1969 is the lack of vent windows in the doors as that tells you it’s at least a 1968 model. The grill also has a deep “V” shape to it over the 67 to 68 as well as the deeper set headlights make the front end distinct to the ’69. The ’69 also looks wider and that’s because it is as the front and rear fenders are pulled out wider than the 67 to 68 and the doors also had to change to match the shape.

Curt’s is a standard SS, one of the 34,932 sold in 1969 and of the 243,085 total Camaros sold that year. His version is the 350 SS with the L48 engine, which came in all SS cars with the 350-ci V8 in 1967 to 1969 where it became available for all of Chevrolet’s car lines that could fit it. It’s a very different engine from the Generation One GM Small Block V8s. This 1969 is original, so it’s the version features a four-bolt main cap block (casting number 010) holding in the crankshaft with cast pistons moving in the 4.00-inch cylinders with 041 or 186 casting heads. Up top is a four-barrel Quadrajet carburetor with a hydraulic lifter system on a matching cam bumping the pushrods up and opening the valves. With a compression ratio of 10.25:1, the 1969 L48 can produce up to 300-horsepower and 380-lb/ft of torque.

The only modifications done to Curt’s engine is the addition of a custom painted carburetor hat (with Hill’s Rod and Custom) with an aluminum intake manifold under that and a set of custom painted valve covers. The only other modification was the addition of a set of trac bars under the leaf springs to help alleviate wheel hop. Other than that, it’s pretty much as he found it. The reason it looks as good as it does is due to it being in storage since 1988. He purchased the car and, other than the carb hat and valve covers, put on a new set of Milestar Streetsteel tires sized in P235/60R15. While these are P-metric sized tires, they are the closest to match the classic look and style of the of the 15×7 Z/28 Rally style wheels while offering modern radial tire construction.

Curt’s car is a barn find if it didn’t get found in a barn. It’s a very original, if a little hotter than OEM, Camaro SS. It certainly would look right at home on the streets of Van Nuys or Pleasant Hill, CA during its original heyday. It looks just as good now as it did when it was stored almost 30 years ago, maybe better now that it’s running around instead of sitting in the dark. We unquestionably enjoyed looking at it for this feature.

LS Fest West 2018

Fans of GM’s All-Conquering V8 Gather in Las Vegas

It’s hard to believe, but 2018 marks the 21st anniversary of the introduction of the original LS1 engine for the 1997 model year. In those two decades, the LS family of V8 engines has become all things to all people and has been swapped into practically everything that moves – not just cars ranging from Mustangs to hot rods, but boats, aircraft, and even helicopters. 

It’s easy to make power with these inexpensive and anvil-tough engines, and if you can’t find the parts you want in a junkyard waiting to be reborn, the aftermarket has you covered with everything you need; blocks, internal components, engine management, and even swap kits to make installation paint-by-numbers simple. 

Recognizing how important the LS engine had become, back in 2010 Holley Performance Products organized their first LS Fest in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and ever since then, the annual event has drawn larger and larger crowds, with participants coming from all corners of the continent. It’s more than a car show, though – there’s something going on from the time the gates open until they close, on the dragstrip, the drift and autocross circuit, the chassis dyno, or the swap challenge tent. “An assault on the senses” is sort of a cliché, but it’s a totally appropriate description for a day at LS Fest.

In 2017, Holley added a second event to the schedule, the LS Fest West, taking over the sprawling dragstrip and motorsports complex at The Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada. May 2018 marked the second annual spring event, and as anticipated, it was even bigger than the inaugural LS Fest West.

“The best way I can put it to you is that LS Fest events are a party,” says Holley’s Blane Burnett. “Sure, there are competitions that take place within the event, but for the most part, everyone is here to enjoy what they’ve built and have a good time.” In case you think that Burnett might just be saying that to earn a paycheck, know this – He’s a True Believer with the cleanest daily-driven (and autocrossed) LS-swapped Nissan S14 you’ve ever seen. 

Speaking of swaps, one of the most striking things about LS Fest West 2018 was the sheer variety and number of LS-powered vehicles on the property. While the event runs three full days, it’s almost not enough time to take it all in, between all the various competitive events including drag racing, drifting, a road course time attack, and even off-road competition, then trying to see everything in the show-n-shine. 

We only got to experience a fraction of everything that was going on this year, but as you can see, if you are a fan of late-model GM performance (no matter what is wrapped around that engine) there’s a compelling reason not to miss LS Fest West 2019.

Holley Performance LS Fest West 2018

Who knew you could have so much variety from just one engine design? Holley Performance LS Fest West was the perfect way to show that and celebrate all things GM and LS V8.

LS Fest has been a staple of Holley Performance since 2010 but the West was begging for their own event. So, last year, Holley brought their famed celebration to Las Vegas and with it came a variety of automotive disciplines to show off the amazing LS engine. 2018 brought some changes, improvements, and expansions with two new exhibitions.

One of the substantial changes that came this year was combining the Autocross, 3S Challenge, and Drifting into a single area. This made getting to and from those events and the off-road or drag racing a much shorter trip. Not far from it were the new attractions – the Hoonigan “Thunderdome” and Mr. Chow’s Side Show, a demonstration of the NorCal car stunting culture that normally takes place illegally on city streets. Basically, it’s doing donuts in an enclosed area but doing so legally as compared to what normally happens.

Drag racing and LS engines just go together, so of course The Strip would be open for all three days with the Three Pedals Rumble, Cam Motion True Street, SAM Tech Street King, Vortech Late Model Heads-Up, Earl’s LS Truck 1/8-mile and MSD LS Outlaw 275 1/8-mile classes. For those not looking for compete or just wanting to run for fun, Hooker Headers opened the drag strip to Grudge Racing and Test-and-Tune, as well.

Over on the off-road side, with the Nitto Tires Off-Road Challenge, Loren Healy in the MBRP/Nitto Ultra4 4400 rig took the win. This is his older 4400 that might have seen its last race with him behind the wheel of it. It’s potentially sold and his new Unlimited ready for Ultra4 Racing’s Metal Cloak Stampede at Prairie City SVRA on May 11th and 12th.

For on-road, it was dominance by Rich Willhoff and his 2006 Corvette Z06. On the QA1 Autocross Course, Willhoff set fastest time with a 32.067-second run while on the Super Chevy 3S Challenge, he finished first with a 26.174. The Racepak Road Course Challenge saw him on top for a third time with a 1:22.388 time. The Lucas Oil Drift Challenge brought out the youngest winner so far in LS Fest History with Branden Sorensen taking first place in LS-swapped 212 Performance BMW. Second went to Noah Michaels in his Torqstorm supercharged S13 Nissan 240SX while Ian McDougall took third in his Drift Shop S14 Nissan 240SX Coupe.

That was it from LS Fest West in 2018 and they have promised to come back with even more in 2019. We’ll be there as well and look forward to bringing it to you next May!