Hollywood Hot Rods Street Rodder Road Tour '12 Ford Unveiling

Last Saturday night, my father and I were invited to the unveiling of the Street Rodder Road Tour car for 2012. The car was built by Troy Ladd and the crew at Hollywood Hot Rods, whose work has been featured a number of times on the cover of the California Car Cover catalogs. We have also been a supporter of Street Rodder magazine for many years, so when we heard about the unveiling, we had to been there. If you are not familiar with the Road Tour, please visit the Street Rodder website.

The 1940 Ford was kept under a California Car Cover until the unveiling.

 This 1940 Ford Coupe will be driven back and forth across the country all summer long. The Road Tour is a great chance to see America and get behind the wheel of your classic car. My father and I drove on the tour from Los Angeles to Pueblo, Co last year.

 With all the driving demands, the Road Tour car not only has to look good, but has to perform even better. Hollywood Hot Rods builds quality vehicles, so there is no doubt this car will make it to many shows this summer without a hitch. Street Rodder also made sure some of the best suppliers were involved in the project. Ford Racing, Dennis Carpenter, Aeromotive, Comp Cams, Eastwood and many others all contributed to the assembly of this 1940 Ford Coupe.

 Ford Racing Coyote Engine.

Hollywood Hot Rods logo detailing

 Jerry Dixey, the driver of the 1940 Ford, celebrated his birthday earlier this week and the Street Rodder team presented him with a cake. Jerry will be spending most of the next few months on the road and is always a neat guy to talk to. If you see him at a show make sure to stop by and say hello. He'll probably put 25,000 miles on this car between now and October. The first events for the car start in May so follow along with Jerry on the Street Rodder Road Tour blog so you know where he will be next. We looking forward to seeing Jerry and other Road Tour participants at Back to the 50s, the Street Rod Nationals and the SEMA Show.

Special thanks to Hollywood Hot Rods and Street Rodder for having us out to the event. For more information on Hollywood Hot Rods, check out their website.

Check back next week for coverage from our first ever all Camaro event at California Car Cover, plus photos from the Ink & Iron Show in Long Beach, Ca.

Day #2 of the Tour: Off to Richfield, Utah

All participants of the Street Rodder Road Tour met in the parking structure at the Palms Casino for our driver's meeting. After the meeting we all cruised up the I-15 to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for a tour of the racing facilities and the adjacent headquarters of Shelby America.
Our guides took us up in a luxury box for a view of the entire Nascar track. We also enjoyed a quick lap around the Bullring racetrack in our tour van.

The next stop was the headquarters for Shelby America. We were not allowed to take photos inside the production rooms, but there were quite a few Shelby vehicles on display in the showroom.
One cool part of the town was the autograph wall. Since customers always asked for him to sign their Shelby vehicles he asks everyone that goes on the tour to sign the walls. You will see my name on the wall above.
Golden Shine Tour participants were given the option to stay on I-15 all the way to Richfield or take the slower, more scenic route through Zion National Park. We took the drive through Zion and it was well worth it. There were plenty of long tunnels and windy roads, but it was a sight to see.

On the way to Richfield, Pops spotted a junkyard full of classic Chevys. So of course we had to get out and take a tour. Terry, the owner of Another Man's Treasure was friendly enough to show us around.

There are a bunch of the cars on the drive, so everyone splits up along the way. We cruised with a few other cars most of the day. By the time we hit Panguitch we were ready for some pizza.
After our break, we kept driving through small town after small town along Route 89. It was great to see all the small towns, old farms, rivers and streams along the highway.

We finally made it to Richfield, Utah for the night. Just in time to get some dinner at the only restaurant still open down the street. A few of our fellow drivers had some mechanical issues along the way, but at least we all made it to Richfield.
Wednesday, we are off to Moab and the Arches National Park on the way to Grand Junction, Colorado. Once there, we will be checking out some classic cars and monuments.

Golden Shine Road Tour Day One

The Golden Shine leg of the Street Rodder Road Tour kicked off from the headquarters of California Car Cover this morning. More than 20 classic cars left Chatsworth, Ca headed for Las Vegas, NV (our night #1 destination). Jerry Dixey, the Tour Coordinator, gave each participant a briefing of what is in store for everyone over the next few days.

My father, Jim DeFrank, and I, Tony, will be driving along with the tour all the way to our final destination in Pueblo, Colorado. We will be cruising Pops' 1957 Chevy all the way to the NSRA Nationals this upcoming weekend.
Our first stop was of course lunch. Most drivers opted to each lunch at the In N' Out Burger in Barstow, Ca which is about half way to Las Vegas.

Here is a view of the cars on the Golden Shine Tour from our room. After relaxing and regrouping the convoy headed over to the impressive automobile collection of Art Goldstrom.


Art's collection of classics, race cars and memorabilia fills quite a few buildings. It was quite a sight for the participants.
Art's wife is also a collector. I was a fan of her collection of vintage lunch boxes.
Though unrelated to the tour, I was excited to see the collection of NHL trophies on display at the Palms. The NHL awards are at the Palms in a few days, so it was cool to see all the history. We are done for the night and getting ready for our drive to Richfield, Utah tomorrow. We will be stopping at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Shelby America facilities on our way out of town.

Jerry from Street Rodder will covering the Street Rodder Road Tour blog as well. You can view his take of the tour on the Street Rodder website.

Street Rodder Road Tour Kick-Off

A group of 14 West Coast hot rodders kicked off a drive from Los Angeles to Louisville, Ky at our headquarters on July 30th. The group is heading for the NSRA Street Rod Nationals next weekend. The Road Tour is put together by the great crew at Street Rodder Magazine. The magazine puts together quite a few road trips during the summer. Jerry Dixie, the lead driver, drive tens of thousands of miles each summer promoting Street Rodder and the Road Tour. We cannot thank them enough for letting California Car Cover and our new Golden Shine Car Care Products be the official car care provider for the tour.



Each participant on this leg of the tour was given a small goodie bag of Golden Shine products to keep his or her classic looking its best on the road.

This is the official Street Rodder Road Tour vehicle that Jerry has been driving all summer. Since May, he has already put 12,000 miles on it. Now, that's a daily driver.



14 classic and unique automobiles are driving from LA to Louisville. Here are some photos of the cars making the haul.











The guys from Custom Built Machines, located here in Chatsworth, drove over a few project cars to display during the meeting and talk cars with the drivers.





It was a nice morning to get together with local hot rod enthusiasts and hang out before everyone had to depart.





Jerry, the tour coordinator, holds a daily driver meeting so everyone knows what to expect and where to go. The first's day trip includes a little more detail as Jerry outlines what to do and what not to do. We assume that you should just listen up and follow him to Louisville.

Here's Jerry relaxing in the Chevy Sampan that John Schiess ( in the back) of Custom Built Machines is currently working on at his shop.

The cars head out of California Car Cover and get on the road. Next stop, Arizona. Again, thanks to John, Tim, Jerry and the rest of the Street Rodder crew for letting us be a part of the fun.



For more information on California Car Cover, please visit: http://www.calcarcover.com

For more information on the Road Tour, please visit: http://www.streetrodderweb.com

For video from the kick-off, check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ok35Hvqsdw