Fred Beindorff photographed Ed Roth with his Ford F-100 pickup for Rod & Custom magazine in April 1957. The truck also appeared in the Nov. ’57 issue of Car Craft. Dave Shuten and his crew at Galpin Auto Sports returned the truck to this original state, right down to the Olds Fiesta hubcaps.
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“Ghost Rider” by Shawn Dickinson
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A product of SoCal, Shawn Dickinson grew up inspired by the surrounding counterculture of custom Hot Rods, Surfers, and the iconic art that was produced by the legends before him– you see the classic Rat Fink and Tiki influences that, in his hands, are at once timeless and fresh. He got his chops as a cartoonist for the underground Untamed Highway, which was chock full of 1950’s Kustom Kulture. Dickinson went on to illustrate posters for Rockabilly and garage bands, not to mention numerous comic projects and commissioned works.
I’m a big fan of the guy’s work. As he describes it, Dickinson’s creations and medium are a throwback fusion of, “Imagery stylistically inspired by 1930’s cartoons (what I feel was the craziest era for cartoons), mixed with iconic imagery inspired by 1950’s & 1960’s rock n’ roll, cars, bikes, etc. (what I feel was the craziest era for all those things). And I still paint with watercolor and India ink.” Love it.
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Shawn Dickinson featured in Car Kulture DeLuxe Magazine
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“Smooth” by Shawn Dickinson
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It’s Friday, folks. No heavy lifting. Sit back while TSY rolls-out The Best of 1970’s Biker Roundup. Badass bikes built by real bros. Slamming Bud in tin cans. Braided ol’ ladies with an aversion to bras, bouncin’ on back, bracin’ the sissy bar. Sucking SoCo from a skin. Passing out shirtless in the tall grass as the bonfire fades into dawn. Why, oh why did it have to end? Because it was too rad to last…
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Because he can. And back then it might get ya’ a boob flash. In a Herculean effort to prove the 45 Magnum is a lightweight, Randy Smith hoists 203 pounds of machine off the ground, solo. The whole 45 magnum weighs only slightly more than a unit Sportster engine.
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The bodacious Roberta Pedon straddling a Harley Panhead chopper. Think she knows how to ride?
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Proudly have pics like this in the ol’ family album? We may be kin. via
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Having grown up a good chunk of my life in Arizona, it was of particular interest to me when my buddy from the internets and writer extraordinaire, Bart Boule, clued me in on this interesting bit…interesting if you’re into this sorta thing, that is–
“…Von Dutch had a studio in the netherlands riverbottom between Scottsdale and Tempe — where the amazing club JD’s was, that Waylon Jennings and the Waylors were in residency, so that cowboys and fratboys could kick each others asses when Paul Revere and the Raiders or Buffalo Springfield played there…”
This sent me on a quest to dig up whatever I could find on this lost chapter of Von Dutch’s eccentric & electric existence. Then, what I’d been looking for turned up during a google image search (better than porn any day…heck, Von Dutch and “Big Daddy” Roth are my porn…), a long lost article, “Von Dutch is Still Alive and Living in Arizona.” Bingo. It’s chock full of priceless, colorful quotes from hizzoner, Mr. Von Dutch– and written by his good friend, Bob Burns, for the March, ’72 issue of Road Rider magazine.
This was a time when Von Dutch had moved to Phoenix from California with his wife, Sheila, and their kids to “get away from the race.” He wanted no part of California any longer. Dutch wanted to take it slow and easy– and do and honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay…
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“Steve McQueen had the first two Honda Fours in this country– and he gave them to me to tear into and customize.”
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Ed "Big Daddy" Roth
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Probably best known for his iconic “Rat Fink” cartoon creation (I’m personally not a fan of Rat Fink, or any rat for that matter…) Ed “Big Daddy” Roth (3/4/32 – 4/4/01) is synonymous with SoCal’s Kustom Kulture & Hot Rod craze of the late 1950s & 60s. He had a deep bag of tricks– an all around renaissance man skilled as a barber, cartoonist, display merchant for Sears, and expert auto painter / customizer. He’d been to school for auto engineering and served a stint in the Air Force from 1951-’55. After the service, Roth supported the wife and five kids workin’ for the man at Sears– until ’58 when Roth finally opened-up shop full-time (working with “The Baron” and his grandson Kelly) and was well on his way to stardom. Insane fiberglass bodywork, and intricate custom paint jobs were his speciality. Legendary Kustom Kulture contemporaries of Ed Roth’s included Sam & George Barris, Dean Jeffries, and Kenny Howard, AKA Von Dutch.
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Ed "Big Daddy" Roth's business card
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Ed "Big Daddy" Roth on a custom Harley-Davidson chopper.
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Ed "Big Daddy" Roth's custom shop --Roth Studios.
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"SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL FUZZ" --Ed "Big Daddy" Roth
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The Selvedge Yard 