Car culture - pinstriping, customising and cartooning - is nearly synonymous with Southern California culture. Kustom Kulture tells the story of the revved-up legends of the custom car cult of the 1950s, 60s and 70s in Los Angeles. Features art work by Robert Williams, Von Dutch and Ed |Big Daddy| Roth. Hot rod art at its best by three masters of the form.

People are as interesting in painting and customizing now, as they were when this material was first created, in the 1950s. Everyone wants to know how to do a flame job, or how to run a pair of pinstripes straight down the side of their car. In this book George Barris explains how he and brother Sam did their custom painting and early flame jobs in the 1950s. No one can tell this story as well as George Barris, a fine photographer and the man who built many of the cars shown in the book. This particular book, Volume 4, contains more than just the photos and words of George Barris. This volume contains first-person side-bars by legendary painters and builders like Dean Jeffries and Larry Watson, describing how they developed their talents and what it was like to customize cars in those days.

(from the book) The year was 1978 and I was sitting in the back booth of the Pizza Hut in Mulvane, Kansas, splitting a deep pan with my good friend, Darryl Starbird. Our friendship was close, and I had always respected his opinion on just about anything to do with the automobile, and especially the “kustom” vehicle. Not only is Darryl a champ at building kustom creations, he is also one of the top auto show producers in the U.S. For some 21 years I had been in the shadow of this high-energy, often unbelievable, man helping him build cars and produce car shows–a schooling that isn’t available in any six-month course or college anywhere. I had cruised with him on the high roads, and crashed with him on the low shoulders. Believe me, auto show producing is not for the weak or conservative. But my interest was up, boosted by a recent writeup on ‘49-’51 Mercs, and front cover spread of a chopped ‘51 Mercury, by Street Rodder magazine, which at the time was predominantly a “pre-’48” street rod magazine. Someone shared an interest I felt I might be the[...]”

Uses market research and analysis to provide values for vintage or collectible instruments, including information on more than eighteen hundred brands accompanied by eleven hundred photographs.

(Book). Electric guitar players can choose from a library full of guitar books, but comparatively little has been written about the other 50% of the electric guitar: the amplifier. This book takes a giant step toward redressing the balance, providing the first overall view of amp-dom, including: how amps work, profiles of the major manufacturers, 'transistor dinosaurs' and their place in amp history, reissues vs. vintage amps, and troubleshooting. Terms are defined in the margin as they are introduced, and plenty of photos and diagrams illuminate the text.

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