Paradise Road, outside of Nagoya, is a full-service hot rod, custom and lowrider shop owned and run by Junichi Shimodaira and is unlike any of the other custom shops we visited. The shop’s interior is a visual explosion of ‘50s and ‘60s Americana including signs, photos, posters, toys, car parts, and cars that Junichi purchased and collected over time from various American swap meets and car shows.
The artwork of UK based illustrator Ryan Quickfall summons up nostalgic memories of my childhood when comic books were printed using only four colours and motorcycle racing was celebrated as a sport of legends. His work echoes the visual style of retro comics and vintage bill posters and mimics the print production techniques from that same era.
![[Number Nine] — Isamu Kondo's 1949 Mercury Custom](static/562ff836e4b05cda5f7ab9a5/5636e82fe4b06c8363f41110/579411ee893fc05f7309259c/1472368626418/_RAY7348.jpg)
One of the best things about being an invited guest at Kustomfest in Indonesia earlier this year was the opportunity to award someone’s bike as my pick of the show. It wasn’t so much the fact that I was being seen as someone important enough to give the award (which was a pretty humbling experience), but more about the fact that I had the chance to make someone feel pretty special at an event with attendance numbers of well over 20,000.
I always look forward to the FUEL Coffee and Classics gatherings held in Port Melbourne. I most enjoy seeing the unexpected and unusual collection of vehicles that turn up. In the past, everything from ex-military vehicles, LA inspired low riders, to concours level restored classics have made an appearance. Just when you think every corner of motoring culture has been represented, something different appears and reminds us why we bothered to wake up early on a Saturday morning.
As part of our Fuel Magazine HOODS art exhibition, we've got together with two of the artists involved to produce a limited run of screen prints based on thier unique designs.
Buy here.
The Australian Grand Prix was first run in the late 1920s at Phillip Island. For eight years the races continued on the rectangular dirt road circuit. This unpredictable and unstable surface called for creative mechanics and thus, the ‘Australian Special’ was born.