Car Kulture Magnets

broom broom

Kustom kulture with pinstriping

Kustom kulture with pinstriping

R.F. is a grotesque green rat with wild eyes and sharp teeth – an intentional antithesis to that super wholesome mouse that everyone knows all too well. He’s recognizable for his crazed look, unattractive body, gaping mouth, and overalls with his initials on them. He became a familiar sight among hot rodders and the kustom kulture scene and was – for a time – one of the most recognizable characters around.

Kustom kulture airbrush and Pinstriping

Kustom kulture with red and blue pinstripe design.

If you are of a certain age, The Red Baron needs no introduction or explanation. If not, well, we're not talking about Baron von Richthofen, the renowned German World War I pilot. It was the '60s and over the top hot rods were all the rage. Looking for a follow-up to their very successful 'Beer Wagon' plastic model kit, Monogram's designer found it in a World War I German army helmet. Again, if you were around back then, it's not as weird as it sounds. German helmets were adopted as a sign of rebellion by bikers, surfers, and other cultural outlaws, so it made sense to build a hot rod model around one. Of course, like with the 'Beer Wagon' kit, a real-world version would materialize and just like the model, it too was an instant hit.

This is the one that Kenny himself would have worn if he were alive in the days of overpriced trucker hats with his name on them...

Van life

I made this artwork for cultural custom practitioners in the world and for all people who like it

Kustom kulture hot rod

A collage of all custom paintwork

Old school lettering with pinstriping

Angel brush and scrolling pinstripes.

What do you get when you mash up hot rods and monsters? In 1980, the answer would have been Weird Wheels trading card stickers. Featuring a checklist of colorful creations along the lines of the late '60s Odd Rods cards, the set blends Kustom Kulture with matinée horror. The cards themselves have monsters and other creatures driving absurdly customized cars, trucks, and motorcycles. As cool as the cards looked, they came out at a time when the Kustom Kulture was well past its peak, and the set flopped, but that doesn't mean they're still not cool! This one features the 'Loco-Motive' in an odd recreation of the classic damsel in distress on the train tracks from card #3.

Kustom kulture hot rod Art

Frankenstein hot rod

Rabid Rat has been seen on everything from the back of hot rods and motorcycle helmets, to tool boxes and beer fridges, for decades. This variation has him busting through and giving you the finger in a classic Uncle Sam 'I want you' style.

Pinstriping design with a cartoon pinstripe brush character.

Vintage Hot Rod magazine- Ride or Die . Some say Big Daddy became a mormon and didn't make no cars no more. Some say he rode into the sunset with art in his eyes, in a custom car dragging a horse with no name.

Old School lettering with a pinstripe design

Old school lettering with pinstriping design

Kustom truck

1956 Orange County California Yellow License Plate

Lowrider car text and scroll Pinstriping design

Are you a hot rod girl? Make sure everybody knows what your passion is!

What do you get when you mash up hot rods and monsters? In 1980, the answer would have been Weird Wheels trading card stickers. Featuring a checklist of colorful creations along the lines of the late '60s Odd Rods cards, the set blends Kustom Kulture with matinée horror. The cards themselves have monsters and other creatures driving absurdly customized cars, trucks, and motorcycles. As cool as the cards looked, they came out at a time when the Kustom Kulture was well past its peak, and the set flopped, but that doesn't mean they're still not cool! This one features the reaper from the outer packaging tearing it up in his '37 DeLuxe Cabriolet.

Lower Class Hot Rod Monster Fink

Hot rod letters with old school flames

When van customizing became the hot new thing, most shops focused on styling out vans with custom paint, tires, wheels, and countless appearance upgrades, but never really got into the performance side of things. Van Works Customs of Los Angeles took a slightly different approach, instead focusing on balls out powertrains that would give even the hottest muscle cars a run for their money. Big block power in an early Econoline? No problem. Supercharged 327 in a G10? Done deal. You name it and Van Works Customs could pull it off, the crazier, the better.

Lowrider Clown

Old school hot rod flames with a twist

Hot rod weirdo monster

What do you get when you mash up hot rods and monsters? In 1980, the answer would have been Weird Wheels trading card stickers. Featuring a checklist of colorful creations along the lines of the late '60s Odd Rods cards, the set blends Kustom Kulture with matinée horror. The cards themselves have monsters and other creatures driving absurdly customized cars, trucks, and motorcycles. As cool as the cards looked, they came out at a time when the Kustom Kulture was well past its peak, and the set flopped, but that doesn't mean they're still not cool! This one features the 'Hunchback of Notre Drag' in his hot rodded 2CV from card #1.

Red Devil Racing Fuels were formulated in Los Angeles, exclusively with gasoline product out of the El Segundo Refinery from genuine California crude. With advertising that played on variations of 'hotter than hell,' their smoking devil was a common sight around the west coast drag strips, both on fuel drums and decals on drag racers. While others made various octanes, Red Devil only made their 110 high test which was known to be a good 5 octane higher than stated, something that would come back to bite them a few years down the road.

Ed "Big Daddy" Roth inspired art. Growing up on Hot Rod and Horror Magazines was the best thing I ever did.