a ROCKIN' great time at Billetproof '07 (part one)

(above and two below) one of James Hetfield's customs,

an early addition to his stable

(above) just love the subtle paint

(above) and the subtle pinstriping

(above and two below) Customizer Art Himsl's 1937 "Zeppelin".

Apparently the Zeppelin started out its life as a prototype

house-car built by a mechanic at the Chris-Craft

boat dealership in San Francisco for a local doctor.

A shortage of materials during WWII prevented greater

production of the vehicle, which was restored by Himsl in '02.

(above) note see-thru all the way to the unique back windows

(above) the Zeppelin's cockpit

As you can readily see, Billetproof continues to be (under new management) a hugely exciting exhibition of vintage hot rod and custom Americana, with Wild West and Max Max aspects evident everywhere. This time, I really admired all the coupes.

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This is the first of three or four blogs. I had a great time hangin' and snappin', and it also was nice to see the new issue of Mike LaVella's GEARHEAD Magazine available at his booth (cover by Rockin' Jelly Bean). Gotta pick it up, if you haven't already.

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Nice hang with Hetfield too, at the Beatniks' annual Billetproof spread.

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