Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Chrome Love Affair

"The gleam of chrome is as irresistible to a man as the word "sale" is to a woman."

Like most weekends we spent a lot of time on highway 101. Our first stop on Saturday was at the Custom Chrome Inc 40th Anniversary Dealer Show at the historic Dolce Hayes Mansion. What a great event. Custom Chrome brought together their dealer community, vendor community and Custom Chrome community in one great venue. We spent most of our time there visiting and talking to vendors and snapping a few pictures of the bikes Custom Chrome had on display.


Of course our favorite bike on display was the recently built 40th Anniversary bike built by Cole Foster and the Salinas Boys. Cole and the boys took parts available through Custom Chrome and built a very cool 70's inspired chopper.

Kirk Taylor assisted the Salinas Boys by painting the tank.

After the show we scheduled two shoots. The first shoot was with Marcos Gaitan's 1966 Impala, the second shoot was for our upcoming catalog with Lil Watcha's 1964 Impala. To save a liitle time we hopped into Lil Watcha's 64 and drove to our first shoot.

Young Lil Watcha driving his 64.

A sneak peak at Marcos' 66.

After both shoots we cruised downtown San Jose a little. We ran into tattoo artist Abraham Ortega cruising his El Camino.

We followed Abraham home to wish his lady a happy birthday and hit the strip one more time.

Our last stop in San Jose (after eating some tacos at Tacos El Paisa of course) was at Big Watcha's house. You can never get tired of looking at Big Watcha's 1962 Impala. Flawless!

Sunday morning we woke up really early and headed back down south to South Gate for the Greenspan's Car Show.

At the Greenspan's show it was definitely Quality over Quantity!

-Juan

Friday, March 12, 2010

Deadend Facebook

Check out the Official Deadend Magazine Facebook page we just launched.... Become a fan!

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Support AB 1740.

This is one we all need to see pass here in California. The basic gist is that it would eliminate the 500 "Special Construction" vehicle limit. Meaning you could register your un-numbered field-find without jumping through the ever-shrinking, yet multiplying, hoops the state government imposes.

This bill is actually a step in the right direction, so DO SOMETHING NOW to show your support. Write a letter, email, make a phone call or, even better, show up to the public hearing.

For those who can attend, the hearing will be at...

State Capitol Building Room 5128
corner of 11th and L Street
Sacramento, 95814

Our bill should be heard between 2 and 3PM. Wear your club colors, we want to be noticed. These details seem to change by the minute, so I'll keep updating.

Three Ways to Act that are quick and painless!

1. Phone! This is the easiest and quickest option. You simply call the Assemblyman or woman's office and say "I'm calling to support AB 1740." The secretary will record your name and your hometown while officially recording you as a supporter of the bill and that's all! No political debates, no confusion and it takes 10 seconds!

2. E-mail! Send a quick e-mail announcing your support of AB 1740. Keep it simple. Make sure to include your name and hometown in the e-mail

3. Fax! Send a fax to the Assemblyman or woman's office simply stating that you support AB 1740. Include your name, your hometown and that should do it!


ASSEMBLY
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE
KEVIN JEFFRIES

March 8, 2010

Thank you for contacting me regarding your interest in AB 1740, a bill which would delete the current 500 ‘kit-car’ limit on the number of specialty constructed vehicles that can be registered in the state on an annual basis. Our bill would delete this limit, and instead require the Department of Motor Vehicles to register any car that meets specified criteria. This issue is a particular interest of mine, having grown up around custom cars as the son of Dean Jeffries and being an automotive enthusiast to this day.

AB 1740 will be heard in the Assembly Transportation Committee on Monday, March 22, at 1 PM, in Sacramento, CA. Because it is a public hearing, any member of the public can testify and express support or opposition of the bill. Traditionally, the committee chair gives the support and opposition of the bill approximately three minutes total to speak. After these three minutes are up, additional interested parties can register support or opposition, for the public record, by stating their name, affiliation and whether they support or oppose the bill. We will have a designated witness or two to testify on our behalf, so our best course to influence the outcome of the bill is to write letters, make phone calls and contact members of the committee prior to the hearing.

We would encourage you to write letters, send faxes and make phone calls to the Transportation Committee consultants, and to the Assembly members who sit on the committee, which I have listed below. I do not believe we will have any problem getting Republican members of the committee to support the bill, but it is critical to contact the Democratic members of the committee to let them know how important this bill is to you. Please feel free to share your story (what kind of car you have—or wish you had—and what kind of events you drive it to), with a call, e-mail or letter, in order to try and persuade them to support AB 1740. At a minimum, everyone (and every club) should write a letter to the Chairman of the committee and/or the committee consultants.

It is especially helpful if you actually live within the district of one of these members. Furthermore, if you have friends, or know of other car clubs that do live in the districts represented by the members of the Transportation Committee, I would encourage you to let them know about this bill as well. Please note that the “official” deadline for having your support registered in the official committee analysis is Tuesday, March 16. All communications should be received by the Assembly Transportation Committee at that time.

Assembly Transportation Committee- (ph) 916-319-2093 (fax) 916-319-2193
Address: Assembly Transportation Committee, State Capitol, Sacramento, CA 95814

STATE CAPITOL
Room 5128
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 319-2066
FAX (916) 319-2166

DISTRICT OFFICE
41391 Kalmia Street, Suite 220
Murrieta, CA 92562
951-894-1232
951-894-5053 fax

Assemblyman Mike Eng (D—El Monte) Chairman Assemblymember.Eng@assembly.ca.gov
(ph) 916-319-2049 (fax) 916-319-2149

Assemblyman Bill Berryhill (R-Stockton) Assemblymember.Bill.Berryhill@assembly.ca.gov
(ph) 916-319-2026 (fax) 916-319-2126

Assemblyman Bob Blumenfield (D-Van Nuys), Assemblymember.Blumenfield@assembly.ca.gov
(ph) 916-319-2040 (fax) 916-319-2140

Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan (D-San Ramon), Assemblymember.Buchanan@assembly.ca.gov
(ph) 916-319-2015 (fax) 916-319-2115

Assemblyman Warren Furutani (D-Long Beach), Assemblymember.Furutani@assembly.ca.gov
(ph) 916-319-2055 (fax) 916-319-2155

Assemblywoman Cathleen Galgiani (D-Merced/Stockton),
Assemblymember.Galgiani@assembly.ca.gov
(ph) 916-319-2017 (fax) 916-319-2117

Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal (D-Long Beach),
Assemblymember.Lowenthal@assembly.ca.gov
(ph) 916-319-2054 (fax) 916-319-2154

Assemblyman Jeff Miller (R-Corona/Mission Viejo), Assemblymember.Miller@assembly.ca.gov
(ph) 916-319-2071 (fax) 916-319-2171

Assemblyman Roger Niello (R-Sacramento), Assemblymember.Niello@assembly.ca.gov
(ph) 916-319-2005 (fax) 916-319-2105

Assemblyman Chris Norby (R-Fullerton), Assemblymember.Norby@assembly.ca.gov
(ph) 916-319-2072 (fax) 916-319-2172

Assemblyman Jose Solorio (D-Anaheim), Assemblymember.Solorio@assembly.ca.gov
(ph)- 916-319-2069 (fax) 916-319-2169

Assemblyman Tom Torlakson (D-Martinez), Assemblymember.Torlakson@assembly.ca.gov
(ph)- 916-319-2011 (fax) 916-319-2111

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Andrew Shedlock, in my Capitol office, at 916-319-2066, or by e-mail at Andrew.Shedlock@asm.ca.gov

Thank you again for your support.
Sincerely,
KEVIN JEFFRIES
Assemblyman, 66th District