This is the first Hot Rod we saw as we pulled up in our Shhhh.. rental car... don't tell anyone. I like it because it sits so low and the red roof really works... for some reason.

I've always had a soft spot for red and grey.

Now it doesn't get much more "Aussie" than this. A Hot Rod parked outside of an RSL Hall. I'm pretty sure there's no pokies in this RSL.

Check out the perfect blue sky and not a breath of wind. The weather was like that all weekend. Perfect.

Here's me trying to be a little arty. Flames and mucho carbs. Pretty cool... hot???

This little A coupe actually has very similar pinstriping on the decklid to my camera. In fact, they may even have been done with the same tin of paint by Geoff "Whodaky" Rea.

I just really liked the dash layout on this Deuce roadster. I'm not sure what the gauges are out of, but they make a very nice set. I think they were Smiths gauges, so they're most likely out of some pommy car, maybe a Jag.

The chrome strips actually finished in a point on both sides of the dash. Very nice.

This hot pickup was built by Matt Jansen from the ACT (that's the Australian Capital Territory to all you furriner's). The whole truck was built in the back yard and painted by the owner, including the flames.

Under the hood is a blown small block Chev. Matt cruised all weekend... still didn't pick up any chicks!

Here's me and a couple of Bona Fide Hot Rod Legends! On the left is Stewart Campbell, owner of that fantastic '29 Dodge roadster I'm leaning on, and on the right is one of the nicest Legend's you will ever meet, Leroi "Tex" Smith.

This is the second time I had met Tex, the first being on my honeymoon in the US. It was great to catch up with him again to hear more of his great stories. I also got him to sign my photo album.

Here's a close up of the Cad motor. The rocker covers are "Hildebrandt" and are pretty rare I imagine.

I'm sure you could fit more carbs on that motor though.

This crazy combination belongs to Dennis Moreau(?). It's usually drags around his Alfa Romeo Doorslammer drag car, but this weekend it had his blown big block T-Bucket in the back.

The truck is (was) a '48 Chev and is powered by a 454 Chev. The trailer is fully decked out with everything you could need for a few days, even weeks on the road.

This channelled '33 was just parked on the side of the road next to the Show & Shine. I think slot mags could be making a bit of a comeback.

Paint it bright red and put some early billet wheels on it and you'd almost have the Vern Luce coupe, which was also at Castlemaine by the way.

Here's a shot of the car park. The building in the background was where registration took place, so it was a "hive" of activity around here most of the weekend.

The red roadster had literally just been finished and licensed hours before. There's another pic on the next page. I'll fill you in there on the details.

The Tourist Centre was turned into a Hot Rod memorabilia museum for the weekend. Apart from heaps of pics and paraphernalia from Hot Rodding in the Castlemaine area, there was this flatty on display.

Now where's that slingshot frame I had lying around...???