Handcrafted, radical, and subversive, these custom cars are designed and made by a small number of specialists

Before beginning any custom car project, many choices must be made: body style, paint, upholstery, wheels and tires, engines, interior accessories, and more. By the end of the project, many thousands of dollars and hours will have been spent—and hopefully wisely. Before beginning your own custom car or hiring a builder, it pays to develop a vision for your car, how you want it to stand out, and what you want it to express. In Custom Cars, noted author and motojournalist Alan Mayes explores each element of a custom car build in detail with hundreds of award-winning customs as examples. From postwar classics to more modern cruisers to complete custom builds, Mayes explains the various types of materials and styles available with hundreds of color photos to illustrate the challenges and benefits of each. Spend a little time designing your dream car with Alan Mayes’s Custom Cars and you’re sure to create a real head-turner.

People customize their cars to look cool, go fast or both. To their owners, custom cars are more than just vehicles. They are a hobby, a passion, even a way of life. From high-powered hot rods and street rods, to fast and colorful tuner cars, each type of custom has a unique culture and community surrounding it. That's because car lovers like nothing better than to hang out together and share their love of cars. In this book, you will learn about everything from cool classic customs to the hottest new custom machines, the names of some of the most famous car customizers, and where car lovers gather to show off their machines. Photographs by Chuck Vranas.

Chassis swaps, frame clips, fender flares and sectioning, grille swaps and more packed into on comprehensive guide.

Among the hardest core of American automotive enthusiasts there always exists a desire to press styling and performance a step beyond the showroom floor -- to truly craft an automobile of one's own. This photographic and cultural history examines the evolution of American custom cars from the 1930s to present, covering touchstone trends, influential builders (Barris, Roth, Coddington et al), custom shows, enthusiast magazines and regional styles. An expensive collection of rare period photography and exclusive modern shots help illustrate how Detroit informed the styling of customs (and vice versa), the explosion of the custom car scene after World War II and the factors that led to the custom's near-death in the 1960s and its resurgence in the '80s. But most of all, this chronicle is a showcase of the great cars and people who influenced the movement through the years.

Hitting its stride in the 1950s, the underground hot rod culture spawned the likes of Rat Fink, Von Dutch, and George Barris. This collection of rare photographs and ephemera should be an essential for anyone who dreams of putting the pedal to the metal.h.

Describes custom cars, including hot rods and muscle cars, including both historical and current information.