Cavalcade of Customs Part 3

            The last of the entries for this year’s Cavalcade. Be sure to mark 13-15 on your calendar for next January and be sure to see the great cars and bikes on display.

Cavalcade of Customs Part 2

            If you’ve looked at part one of the Cavalcade of Customs you’ve hopefully noticed that there are a lot of different types of cars and some amazing customization. There are incredible paint jobs and cars from every era. Located on two floors of the Duke Energy Center, the Cavalcade of Customs is sponsored by KOI Auto Parts.

Cavalcade of Customs Part 1

            Every January for the past 51 years, classic and custom rides have rolled into Cincinnati. This past January, in the middle of some unseasonably warm weather, the Duke Energy Center was filled with amazing rides. In addition to hundreds of the finest hot rods, customs and motorcycles, this year’s event also featured radical concept cars, street rods, vintage racers, seminars, training sessions, and more.

            I know this is a little after the fact but since Josh and I go every year and didn’t have the blog going back then, we thought it would still be a good idea to post some pictures of some of our favorite cars. Give them a look and tell us which ones you like the best.

Putting a Kicker In the Paint

            J.R. Lovins he got interested in classic cars when a few of his friends who were involved asked him to drive some of their cars to different shows. Deciding that he wanted to have a car of his own, eight years ago he bought a 1953 Chevy BelAir.

            It took him two years to restore the car, along with some help from those same friends. When they got started J.R. realized that there were about 40 pounds of unnecessary bando that someone had used. It got cleared away and the original body was re-finished to create the shell of this vehicle.

            Other original parts include the front suspension and the frame. One place where he did up grade was by dropping in a 454 V 8 that kicks out 510 horse power.

            When it came time to choose a paint color, J.R. searched for a long time before one of his friends showed him a color called Gold Rush. The paint was from California and utilized the Kicker process, which enriches an acrylic Urethane paint. In fact, J.R. learned that his car was the first to have this color East of the Mississippi.

According to J.R., depending on how the light hits it, the paint will take on five or six different colors, from a bright yellow to a rich green. So keep your eyes out for this classic ’53, just be aware that it may not be the same color every time you see it.