Year of the Custom

West Coast Kustoms Keep The Paso Fire Burning

Neither rain, nor snow, nor even devastating earthquakes can keep West Coast Kustoms down! No sir, not even the mighty rumor mill can spoil the annual Memorial Day get-together, as evidenced earlier this year when the quaint wine-country town of Paso Robles, California, was once again infested with rods and customs from nearly all walks of life.

Though still showing scars from the "shaker" that shook the area just the year prior--namely the historic clock tower building as well as the park library and even the Paso Inn--community spirits and visitor enthusiasm were anything but crumbled. Quite the contrary, as if it weren't for the scattered remnants of the 'quake, you'd never have known anything happened...Friday night cruise was bumpin', the park was filled to the brim, and finding a hotel anywhere within the region along the coast was out of the question. Basically, it was another Paso in full force!

Honestly, about the only casualty we experienced was a room cancellation at the Paso Robles Inn due to various damage that substantially reduced their total number of rooms. Not a problem, as we were able to snatch up a room at the nearby Farmhouse--and as it turned out, right next door to the room Bo Hopkins and Candy Clark were bunking in (if you have to ask who those two are, don't bother!). Our new lodging venue meant we didn't roll into town till mid-day Friday, and subsequently departed earlier on Sunday than normal, but regardless, there was more than enough time to take in all that Paso had to offer. Matter of fact, we even had time to scope out a few new "eateries" amongst all the regular car stuff...but that's another story for another time.

Along with the expected barrage of minimalist hot rods hell-bent on one-upmanship, there definitely seemed to be quite a few new customs in Paso this year. And plenty of painted ones, too! Yessiree, as well as the rainbow cornucopia of suede or satin-finished cars, there were more glossy-painted customs than in probably all the prior years of the event, at least in our accounts. Whether it was a '60s Cad or an early Chevy Bel Air (hey, even your own editor managed to get his freshly painted '53 up there!), mixed in with the usual fare of automobiles in attendance was a very large number of "waxable" customs! Of course, you can't forget the slew of in-progress cars, either--from recently chopped Mercs with freshly burned-up grinder discs lying inside to the Shoeboxes reeking of primer coats breathing from beneath, Paso is known for its vast "under-construction" element. And to be quite frank, while it was indeed a breath of fresh air to see so many finished cars, there's nothing quite like seeing a project with naked lead work, raw welds, etc. (just take a look at Paul Bragg's beautiful '54 Merc!).

Okay, so hopefully you get the point by now. Hell, we've been preaching about Paso for well over a decade--it's about time you got the point! Enjoy, and we'll see you there next year.