Yep. I'd peg it to 1979-80 in England. And, to 1982 in the U.S. The Stray Cats did not start it, but they certainly fueled the more mainstream fire.
Shit I was the old guy hangin with those guys telling ol storys how it use to be .So now I relay feel effin old ha ha. Great story and those guys are for real...................
Drunken stupidity at its finest. Funny thing, i hate Hip Hop & Break dancing. ha ha ha. Ryan, we (Shifters) are all reading your part 1 article and wish we can write like that. Excellent job and thanks !
Awesome artical Ryan. I have had the pleasure to meet a few of them. The Shifters when they began launched what we see today. All the way from the rebirth of Traditional Hot Rods to Rockabilly to Lifestyle. Thanks guys.
Hot Rods and wild Rock'n'Roll have gone hand in hand since the early days of both. IMO (and experience), that they appeal to the same type of person. Axle and his guys were instrumental in the emergence of the SoCal holistic hard core retrospective lifestyle "scene" that has become so overdone and misunderstood in recent times. In Oz during the early '8o's it was the Stray Cats that opened the door to the rebellious R'n'R, modified cars and pop culture of 1950's America. Yep it's a lifestyle and it's with ya for life!
Awesome read, and long overdue IMHO... When you put this all into context, most car shows around that time were still full of pastels and wild graphics and tweed interiors, billet trailer queens, crying dolls, poodle skirts etc. etc. These crazy cats were scoring all the old stuff for pennies on the dollar, and driving their hotrods hard just like the 50's! I remember reading about these guys in the 90's, but they all lived in Riverside and I was in WLA. I will have to find that Continental Restyling where they are all mooning the camera. haha. I first met Axle in '97 at the Hootenanny. I remember I asked him if I could stand on the tire of his yellow coupe so I could get a good picture of Chuck Berry. Cool bunch of guys that really know their cars, and Im glad to call friends.
having gone to high school with a couple of them and having a shop next door to thier shop for a nearly a decade- let me tell you these guys are the real deal, they were greasy gearheads before it was cool.
No question of what the Shifters are all about. I rolled into Riverside late one evening and Alex took me a few friends on an alley tour of Shifter garages. When we pulled up behind Kevans place it looked like a pic right out fo the late '40's or early '50's. Two guys wrenchin' on a '40 Merc Coupe, all I needed was B&W film. Over the last Ten years or so I have come to know these guys as friends. They are the real deal hands down ! The passion and commitment the Shifters have to traditional Rods & Sleds is a given. Anybody who thinks otherwise does not know these fellas. Viva is its own animal and they take a beating for it regularly, often from propaganda on this board. Just remember, it's not an invitation only event....they don't write a guest list. Is it a freak show on roller skates ? Absolutely. Is there a core group of Hot Rod & Custom guys who show up with great cars every year and seek each other out for the shop talk and fellowship ? Every year I've been, (thats the last Eleven). The first time I met Squeak Bell, (the man with the fabulous scalloped '40 Coupe), he was laying on the ground underneath my 5W Deuce, at Viva, checking out the work. Nice to see them get a "tip of the hat", it's well deserved. Johnnie.
The Shifters ruined my life!! I cant even begin to explain all the fun I had with those guys. Jimmy White
Ryan, well done on the article. One of your best. And koudos to Shifters, I think a lot of the new gen. hot rodders have a lot to thank them for and many of them may not even realize it.
i still remember you hand winding a chewed up vhs copy of Desperate Generation so i could watch it on the tv/vcr in the guestroom. looking forward to tomorrow's post
Great story Ryan! Kinda like a Spotlight article on a Car Club (cool to see more). The Shifters are great bunch of fellas too! A big influence and big involvement in the 90's and so on........ Ken
Met these guys in 96 or 97 at the Hotrod Reunion at Fomosa Raceway and our passion for the cars and shared interests instantly created a bond! That and the fact that I owned a Cadillac, LOL! I'm proud to have them all as friends! They welcomed me like a brother when I moved to Orange County and we've had many fun times and adventures together over the years and I look forward to many more! Great article Ryan, I look forward to the next parts.
This is the best explanation I've seen of the clear distinction between traditional rods and rat rod crap. A lot more poeple need to read this, including a few magazine editors. Well done, Ryan.
The Shifters they are the reason that after racing for many years with my boys that i got back into hot rodding an traditional hot rods.At 45 years old i wanted to be cool again thanks for the read Ryan an thanks to the Shifters for keeping it real you can't fake the funk an these guys rule!!
is there anything other than a chopped coupe ? glad the west enders finally coming around to the "EAST COAST" way of thinking ! !
If any one is interested I have a some copies of Desperate Generation now available,, Pm me if interested... 22.95 + 4.50 shipping evel
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