a preview of a ROCKIN' car event, Billetproof, in Antioch, CA this Saturday, the 11th annual

(above) the road to Billetproof; photo by Mad-Lad

(above) photo copyright Troy Paiva, www.lostamerica.com

(above) photo by erick n jessie

(above) photo by evil1

(above) photo by Brent

(above) photo by buschandbusch; note license plate!

(above) photo copyright Ben Wojdyla, www.jalopnik.com

(above) photo copyright Ben Wojdyla, www.jalopnik.com

(above) photo copyright Ben Wojdyla, www.jalopnik.com

(above) photo copyright Ben Wojdyla, www.jalopnik.com

(above) photo by Bease

(above) James Hetfield, admiring the very first copy of

ROCKIN' DOWN THE HIGHWAY, shipped in

by the printer in Hong Kong; author Paul Grushkin (white cap, right);

photo by erick n jessie

(above) James Hetfield's '36; photo by Mad-Lad

(above) James Hetfield's '36

photo copyright Troy Paiva, www.lostamerica.com

(above) photo by buschandbusch

(above) photo copyright Troy Paiva, www.lostamerica.com

(above) photo copyright Troy Paiva, www.lostamerica.com

(above) photo copyright Street Rodder Magazine

(above) photo copyright Ben Wojdyla, www.jalopnik.com

(above) photo by buschandbusch

(above) photo by evil1

(above) photo by buschandbusch

(above) photo by evil1

(above) photo by evil1

(above) photo copyright Troy Paiva, www.lostamerica.com

(above) photo copyright Troy Paiva, www.lostamerica.com

(above) photo by Mad-Lad

(above) photo copyright Troy Paiva, www.lostamerica.com

(above) photo by Bease

(above) Billetproof flyer, 1998, Albany Bowl

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#11. Yo!

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Yes, the eleventh annual Billetproof Nor-Cal show will take place this weekend, on Saturday, September 15, at the Antioch, CA Fairgrounds on West Tenth St. It's one kick-in-the-pants event, featuring "the sickest pre-1965 do-it-yourself traditional rods, kustoms, and motorcycles on the planet." There are also live bands and great vendor set-ups, including one by my close friend Mike LaVella, publisher of Gearhead Magazine who will be unveiling the latest issue.

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As you can see by the photos posted here, Billetproof is a sort of Mad Max meets the American West type event. According to the promoters, "it's for those who appreciate the skill, ingenuity, and creativity that went into building hot rods and customs during the early days of the hobby--a time when the vehicles were about what you could do in your garage rather than with your checkbook. It's not about having the best looking car, nor the ugliest. It's not a revival of the fifties or rockabilly. It strives to be a unique event and state of mind. It's about DOING IT YOURSELF."

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Billetproof was founded in 1997 by Kirk Jones and Jay Ward. This last year, attendance soared to 918 vehicles and nearly 4,000 people in attendance. Where the event first took place, at bowling alleys (see flyer above), city parks, and even a dusty rodeo ground, these proved to be too small, and beginning in 2004 Billetproof moved to the Antioch Fairgrounds in the East Bay.

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You can read more about the event at http://www.billetproof.com/ and at http://www.jalopyjournal.com/.

In addition, more photos can be seen at http://jalopnik.com/ and at http://www.flickr.com/people/lostamerica/ (which in addition is a key site for locating photos by Troy Paiva, who also authored the book LOST AMERICA for Motorbooks, the publisher of ROCKIN'). Troy's own destination site is http://www.lostamerica.com, and I hope to blog about his inspired nighttime and junkyard-automotive photography in a future blog, with his participation.

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A note on the photos. I found these cruising the Internet. I hope I've correctly credited all the photographers, at least by their "handle." Please let me know if I can update any of the ID's to reflect proper copyright citation. Thanks to everyone involved. See y'all there!

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