KUSTOM KINGS KAR KLUB

Kustom Trucks

2011-05-08T04:20:00.000-07:00

Ever since I first saw the Rod and Custom Dream Truck, I have loved over the top half ton haulers!

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T03:58:00.000-07:00

This picture, from a rod run this month in Arizona, looked as if it was very appropriate to the holiday in its paint color. Trust you all had a blessed Easter and will be looking forward to getting out and about with your rides. Maybe yesterday's snow here in NH will be our last until next fall.

2011-04-11T04:20:00.000-07:00

Joe M.'s new ride, a very tasteful chopped Cadillac. Mild custom that is really easy on the eye.

CRUISE TO THE BEACH II!!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-03-05T06:10:00.000-08:00

Hey it is official now. The 2nd annual Kustom Kings Cruise to the Beach will be June 11, 2011 with a rain date (let's hope not) of June 12. The location is Hampton Beach, NH and the event supports the American Legion Post. So mark it on your calendar, and spread the word.

Spring is only two weeks away!

2011-03-02T04:20:00.000-08:00

Don't forget there is a club meeting, weather permitting, next Monday night, March 7th. We will hand out Rev 01 of the show list for 2011, vote on the draft bylaws and hopefully see a DVD of the GNRS kustom kars if Larry shows up.

2011-02-15T04:21:00.000-08:00

So the wind is howling, the temperature well below freezing and the snow drifts are shoulder high on my front walk. But it is nice in Ventura, CA as these car show pictures show. Just a neighborhood car show at a local speed shop. Each morning I get a cup of coffee after stumbling out of a warm bed and view the latest posts on www.jalopyjournal.com. The HAMB, Hokey Ass Bulletin Board, provides hours of tech information, inspirational pictures and great classifieds. Hey only 34 days until Spring guys!!!!

Belated Happy New Year

2011-02-14T06:15:00.001-08:00

Well a belated Happy New Year to all the Kustom Kings. I will endeavor to do a better job on this blog so stay tuned. Good to see Larry Robbins, former club member who has returned, at the February meeting. Larry is doing a '57 Ford tudor post he got from Michigan. Christy, who relocated from Boston to southern Maine, is doing the tin work. Heard from Larry Kimball, who may attend our March Meeting. Jim Cushman and Larry are two of the main reasons the Kustom Kings didn't fade into obscurity. I met Larry on the HAMB but look forward to meeting him in person. Also Larry has a CD with 1400 pics of the Grand National Roadster Show which I am eager to view! The sectioned shoebox pictured was one of the "old" kustoms featured in a 75 year review of kustom kars at the event.
Rev. 0 of the 2011 Kustom Kings show/swap meet schedule has been emailed to those members I have addresses for. IF you have email and don't get Kustom King emails, let me know at quiltsnwoodies@myfairpoint.net and I'll get you on the list. Also thanks to Larry for providing several shows I didn't have on Rev.0 and will be added to Rev. 1.

Raymond, NH Car Show

2010-09-20T16:16:00.001-07:00

The club had a great showing at the Raymond Downtown car show last weekend. Dick got the Allen Berry Award for his Merc, TJ got Best Paint for his Merc and Joe got Best of Show for his Merc. Thanks to Jim C. for the update, the video which I am still trying to link to this blog and to Joe M. for this picture of the club lineup at Raymond.

Rick's Deuce

2010-09-15T04:26:00.001-07:00

Rick's shoebox

2010-09-15T04:24:00.001-07:00

Roger's shoebox

2010-09-12T15:09:00.000-07:00

A mild custom, nosed, decked, rounded hood corners, flathead with two 2's, dual exhausts, this is a clean cruiser.

Paul's shoebox

2010-09-12T15:07:00.000-07:00

Radical kustom, chopped, suicide doors, Chevy power, wild paint, cruiser skirts and a great interior.

Jim's Shoebox

2010-09-12T15:04:00.000-07:00

Chevy power, chopped 4 1/2", Fatman front end, this is a great cruising kustom befitting a KKOA Colonel for New Hampshire.

Carl's Mopar

2010-09-12T15:03:00.001-07:00

A CA drag car in the 50s, this Mopar coupe is all Mopar in the driveline.

DIck's Merc

2010-09-12T15:00:00.000-07:00

A chopped '50 Merc, owner built and painted, probably one of the most photographed cars in New England in last few years. 401 Buick, five speed, Corvette rear end.

Ol Skool Suede

2010-09-08T10:08:00.000-07:00

well I am fifty years past when I first started reading the little format hot rod books like Rodding and Restyling and Rod and Custom. Used to hide them in my books in study hall and wish I could have a cool ride. Not many hot rods in the upstate New York farm community of 1200 people I grew up in. Of course everyone these days knows the place as the wedding site of Chelsea Clinton but then I digress.
Back then, the late 50s, every used car lot had '49-'51 Fords on the back row. They were just old cars. Anyone in my high school class who had a decent part time job bought one. Generally dual exhausts and lowering blocks, along with removing hood and trunk chrome, was as far as our wallets would let us go back then. So as I approach 70, it is time for one more grab at the brass ring, a chance to show that I may grow in chronological age, I never want to stop being that teenager that loved customized Detroit iron.

Joe' s new Merc

2010-09-05T04:05:00.001-07:00

New England Kustom Heritage

2010-08-24T04:12:00.000-07:00

I start most mornings with a pot of coffee and a website called www.jalopyjournal.com. The HAMB (Hokey Ass Message Board) populated with hard core motorheads gets me going. Well a recent thread is very relevant to this blog. The thread is a history of kustom cars in New England, from New Jersey to Maine. You gotta read it!
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=260679
Rick Becker's shoebox, now owned and being restored by Paul Aldrich, is in there. The redoubtable Lenny Legere from the Boston Area who built lots of radical kustoms for the ISCA show circuit posts on the thread. He is restoring his sectioned '71 Javelin for the upcoming Boston show. Sonny Vennuti, the late Red McCormick, and late Dave "Boots" Ripley (who was a KKOA colonel and a Kustom Kings member) are all mentioned. If you are like me, grew up as a teenager going to the Hartford Autorama and other venues like that to see kustom cars complete with angel hair (!) then you'll love this thread and will return to "back in the day".

History of the Kustom Kings

2010-08-04T03:56:00.000-07:00

Recently Dick LeClair, one of the two remaining charter members of the Kustom Kings, unearthed a Classic and Custom magazine, dated October 1982. From this article on the Rockingham County Rods and Customs, the predecessor club of the Kustom Kings, I was able to put together some information on the early days. The Kustom Kings of NH was charted as an original charter club of the Kustom Kemps of America (KKOA) in 1983. In fact I still have the dash plaque each of us got that year from KKOA stating we were a charter club and have it on my shoebox ford. That year we boasted of having the KKOA colonels for Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts in our membership. We started out doing cruise nights at a local dairy bar and then due to demand moved to a local retail outlet (Telly's in Epping, NH if you know the area). We also did cruise nights at the local MacDonalds.
When Connecticut Dragway closed, the Conn. street rodders brought their nostalgia drag event to New England Dragway. The Conn. club did this one year and then decided it was too far from their home base. The Kustom Kings took over and did the nostalgia drag event for three years at New England Dragway. After some bad feelings with the then track manager over tee shirt sales, we passed the baton to the Mass Street Rod club who continue to run the "Back to the 50's" event. This years event will be August 29 and the Kustom Kings will have a club event at the drags with some "alumni" members returning to join us.

Kustom Kings at Goodguys Rhinebeck

2010-06-30T03:16:00.000-07:00

Check out this pic, you can see Cushman's shoebox. Jim and Paula were at the 2010 Goodguys in Rhinebeck, NY recently. This is a super venue for a car show, the Dutchess County fairgrounds is tree lined and paved with plenty of room. Of course having been born and raised in Rhinebeck, I am somewhat prejudiced I guess. In fact if you ate at the restaurant across Route 9 from the fairgrounds main entrance, that was my father's grocery store when I was a kid.

2010 Events

2010-06-27T15:23:00.000-07:00

2010 CALENDAR FOR KUSTOM KINGS OF NH (Rev. 02)

CRUISE NIGHTS

SUNDAY

Weathervane Seafood Cruise Salem, NH 5/16, 6/20,7/18,8/15,9/19,10/17

MONDAY

GoGo Mart Auburn, NH 28 bypass, starts 5/3
Moos Cruise Night, rt 111 Derry, NH 5-8 pm starts 5/17
Sugar River Bank, Newport, NH starts 5/10

TUESDAY

Goldenrod Drive Inn, 1681 Candia Road, Manchester, NH 5-8pm, starts 5,4
Arnies Place Cruise, Loudon Road, Concord, NH 6-8pm, starts 5/4
Chop Shop Pub Cruise, Rt 1 Seabrook, NH 5:30pm, starts 5/4
Remember When Diner, Rt 11 Rochester, NH
Liars Paradise Cruise 118 Stage Road, Nottingham, NH
North River Market, rt 202 & 9, Northwood,NH 5PM, starts 5/16

WEDNESDAY

ABC Pizza Cruise, 21 Londonderry Turnpike, Hookset, NH 4/21
Applebees Cruise, 14 Manchester Road, Derry, NH 5-8, starts 5/12
High Tide Restaurant Cruise, Main Street Hillsboro, NH 5-8
Weirs Beach Go Kart Track Cruise, starts 6/30, 6-8PM
Lilac Mall Cruise, Rochester, NH 6-8pm, starts 5/12
Texas Road House Cruise, Newington, NH
Scott Wright Autobody Cruise, Epping Road, Exeter, NH 6/9, 7/14, 8/11, 9/8

THURSDAY

Clam King Cruise Second Street south of Queen City Bridge, starts 5/6
Chesters Cruise Night 15Chester Street, Chester, NH 5pm 5/27, 6/24, 7/22,8/19
Seabrook Park Cruise In, Rt 107, 5-9:30, Every other Thursday starting 5/6
Cruisin at Target, Rt 101 Amherst Street, Nashua, NH starts 5/7
Pure Adrenaline Motorsports Cruise, Rt 3 Center Harbor, NH starts 6/3 5pm
TJ's Pizza, Rt 1, Biddeford, ME, 5-7PM, starts in May
NH Veterans Home 4th annual cruise, 8/12
American Legion Hampton Falls Cruise, 5:30 PM, live band 7/8

SATURDAY

Skips Snack Bar, Rt 110 exit 53 off 495, 4pm 5/22, 6/5, 6/19,7/10, 7/24, 8/7, 8/21, 9/11, 9/25
Cruise to the Beach, Hampton Beach, NH June 12, 9am to 4pm
Pink Cadillac Diner, Rt 11 Rochester, NH, starts 5/8, 5PM

SUNDAY

Shaws Ridge Farm, Rt 224, Sanford, ME, 4-6pm

NOSTALIGA DRAGS & SPEED TRIALS

NEW ENGLAND DRAGWAY NOSTALGIA EVENTS 5/30, 7/25, 8/29, 9/26

ORANGE, MA AIRPORT DRAGS REUNION, 9/11

LORING AIR BASE LAND SPEED, Limestone, ME, 7/31-8/2

SHOWS

OLD TYME CRUISERS SHOW, Kingston Plains, Kingston, NH 8/8
GOOD NEWS GARAGE SHOW, Manchester, NH, Exit 7 off 293, 8/21

CANOBIE LAKE (Pre-'52), be there by 10am, Free rides 9/11

TYRODS MEET, 9/12

LAKE GEORGE, 9/10-12

CONCORD, NH KIWANIS, 9/11 Fort Eddy Road 9 to 3

RYE LIONS SHOW, 9/19 Parson's Field Rye, NH

ALTER BOYS NOSTALGIA JAMBOREE 9/18, Natick, MA Superior Dr. AMVETS Post 79

STRATHAM HILL SHOW, 10/3, Stratham, NH Rt 33, 8-3

SWAP MEET/FLEA MARKETS

ACTON, ME, rt 109 Fairgrounds 6/20, 7/17-18 (show also), 9/19, 10/17

STAFFORD SPRINGS, 10/17

THOMPSON RACEWAY, 11/6-7

LEE RACEWAY, 11/13-14

Kustom Kings of New Hampshire

2010-06-26T08:02:00.001-07:00

The Kustom Kings of New Hampshire is a car club formed in the early 1980s as a successor to the Rockingham County Rods and Customs. The Kustom Kings were one of the original Kustom Kemps of America (KKOA) Charter clubs. Our first president was the late Allen Berry, proprieter of Berry's Custom Autobody in Raymond, NH. The club, while it has had and still does have rods, is primarily aimed at preserving the hobby of building and driving customized automobiles, mostly from the 1950s and 1960s.