Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com Autoblog http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[How to turn your hood into wall art]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2012/08/20/how-to-turn-your-hood-into-wall-art/http://www.autoblog.com/2012/08/20/how-to-turn-your-hood-into-wall-art/http://www.autoblog.com/2012/08/20/how-to-turn-your-hood-into-wall-art/#commentsFiled under: ,



I hadn't had my '78 Scout Terra painted for more than a week when I found myself plodding along a crooked farm road in the dead of night amidst a howling thunderstorm. Rain threw itself at the flat-pane windshield in violent splashes, threatening to drown out the static cough of the one-speaker AM radio in the dash. Soft green light poured from the gauges as I flicked through the dial, curious to hear what the low clouds would drag across the airwaves from the farthest corners of the state. The needle slid to a talk radio show with host and guest locked mid-debate on the merits of extraterrestrial visitation and the federal government's continued efforts at an ongoing cover-up.

The headlights did their best to shove through the deluge with decreasing efficacy. I dialed back the speed as the old International rounded a corner into a long straight. The radio began to speak in low tones as the guest carefully detailed his own personal visitation experience. There was talk of paralysis. Operating tables. The guest began painting a vivid picture of the cold, vacant eyes of his captors when the signal dropped into pure static. I began to reach for the dial when the countryside exploded in brilliant white light, flicking down the strands of wet barbed-wire on either side of the road and splashing across the Death by Stereo skull and lightning bolts I had stenciled onto a black field on the hood in my parents' driveway a few nights prior. The deafening clap of thunder that ensued a half breath later felt like a boot to the chest, voicing itself even over the low grumble of the truck's lumbering V8 and producing in me a primal urge to bolt for cover.

The radio sparked back to life before the thunder had ceased making its rounds down the valley, leaving me with the afterimage of that white skull etched on the inside of my eyelids. I can't tell you why, but that was the moment that made the truck mine.

It didn't take long for word to get around that I was the kid in town with a rusty old Scout slathered in matte black Rustoleum enamel with a skull on the hood and DTH PRUF vanity plates at each bumper. Through the years, the truck has been my most loyal vehicle, proving to be shockingly reliable and nie-unstoppable off road. So when it came time for a new batch of sheetmetal to replace the corroded bits, I had to find a suitable way to honor the hood that had pointed me toward the life I now lead. Rather than stick it in a corner of the garage or send it off to scrap, I decided to take a shot at hanging it my office. Odds are, if you've spun enough wrenches, you may just have a body panel or two itching for a spot on your own wall. Here's how to make it happen.

Continue reading How to turn your hood into wall art

How to turn your hood into wall art originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 20 Aug 2012 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>auto artcar artcar hoodhang hoodhoodhow tointernational harvesterscoutscout terrawall artMon, 20 Aug 2012 11:57:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/20304210/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2012/08/20/how-to-turn-your-hood-into-wall-art/20304210/article-detail.xml 20304210 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2012/08/15-scout-hood-opt_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2012/08/15-scout-hood-opt.jpg <![CDATA[Autemo gives the '75 International 150 pickup the rendering treatment]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2011/03/22/autemo-gives-the-75-international-150-pickup-the-rendering-trea/http://www.autoblog.com/2011/03/22/autemo-gives-the-75-international-150-pickup-the-rendering-trea/http://www.autoblog.com/2011/03/22/autemo-gives-the-75-international-150-pickup-the-rendering-trea/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

1975 International 150 Pickup Automotive Rendering
1975 International 150 pickup rendering by Autemo - Click above for high-res image gallery

The resurrection of my International Harvester 150 pickup is moving along at a pace that could be described as somewhere between glacial and imperceptible. That's especially curious considering that the hulk has a rather ravenous appetite for time and money that's only eclipsed by its affinity for defecating disappointment all over the garage floor. Needless to say, any time I look at the big IH right now, I'm filled with sensations typically associated with ipecac.

And homicide.

So when the good folks at Autemo offered to take a crack at rendering the butternut millstone into something close to my ultimate vision for the project, I was a little skeptical. It wasn't that I doubted the site's skills. Autemo is a gateway between enthusiasts and a global network of artists with a similar passion for vehicles. If you've got a laundry list of modifications in mind, the crew at Autemo can render them into photo-realistic images in a hurry so that you know exactly what they look like before you spend buckets of cash on parts. So far, the site has served up designs to over 250 clients.

But I'm a man of meager goals, especially when it comes down to this truck. The simple fact is that I'd pawn an organ or three just to be able to pilot the beast across town without having to worry about careening into oncoming traffic, erupting into a fireball or, most dreaded of all, have to be towed home by an inferior model pickup.

There is no greater shame.

That's not to say that I don't have a vision for what I'd do with the machine if I had more money than sense. Jack Davies, the marketing manager of Autemo, urged me test his rendering abilities with whatever wants I could dream up no matter how specific. I set aside a solid afternoon for daydreaming and got to work.

Continue reading Autemo gives the '75 International 150 pickup the rendering treatment...


Gallery: 1975 International Pickup Project Vehicle


Photos copyright (C)2010 Zach Bowman / AOL

Gallery: Autemo Renderings


Renderings by Autemo.com

[Source: Autemo]

Continue reading Autemo gives the '75 International 150 pickup the rendering treatment

Autemo gives the '75 International 150 pickup the rendering treatment originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 22 Mar 2011 20:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>1975 international 150 pickup1975 international harvester 150 pickupautemoautomotive renderingfeaturedinternationalinternational 150international 150 pickupinternational harvesterinternational pickuprenderingTue, 22 Mar 2011 20:28:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/19886673/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2011/03/22/autemo-gives-the-75-international-150-pickup-the-rendering-trea/19886673/article-detail.xml 19886673 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/03/ih-render-630_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/03/ih-render-630.jpg <![CDATA[How Not to Buy a Project Vehicle: The tale of the 1975 International Pickup]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2010/10/28/how-not-to-buy-a-project-vehicle-the-tale-of-the-1975-internati/http://www.autoblog.com/2010/10/28/how-not-to-buy-a-project-vehicle-the-tale-of-the-1975-internati/http://www.autoblog.com/2010/10/28/how-not-to-buy-a-project-vehicle-the-tale-of-the-1975-internati/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

1975 International Pickup Project Vehicle
1975 International Pickup Project Vehicle - Click above for high-res image gallery

Fifty miles. After 16 grueling hours of nonstop cursing, bleeding, sweating and huffing gas fumes from the open jerry can in the floorboard, I'm less than an hour from home, laying on the oil-soaked asphalt of a truck pull off on the side of I-40 with antifreeze in my eyes. Both of them.

Admittedly, this was not part of the plan.

Confession time: I spend an inordinate amount of time in the autos section of Craigslist. That site is like Krispy Kreme doughnuts dipped in crack cocaine for any connoisseur of bad ideas, and I, loyal readers, am the world's foremost authority on poor decisions. So it should come as no surprise that when my wife took off for a business trip for a few days, I turned to my other mistress - the thought of securing an inexpensive, tough as nails long-bed pickup via the wonder of the internet.

I landed on a 1975 International 150. The listing read like my ultimate wish-list for a truck - International? Check. Three-quarter ton? Check. Four-speed manual with a divorced two-speed New Process 205 transfer case? Check. From California with minimal rust? Check. According to the post, it even had a mere 40,000 miles on the clock and had spent most of its life languishing on a farm out west. The posting even said it ran like a top. By all accounts, the truck was exactly what I wanted. Sure, I could have easily nabbed a local Ford F-150 or Chevrolet Silverado, but I suffer from a very rare genetic defect that causes me to be sympathetic toward the International cause. There is no cure.

The only real problem was that it was located three and a half hours away in Bowling Green, Kentucky - not exactly a quick trip across town. My options were to either let the truck pass, con a friend into dragging a car hauler all the way to Kentucky for a truck I wasn't sure I was going to buy, or wing it.

I'll take door number three, Monty.

Continue reading...


Gallery: 1975 International Pickup Project Vehicle


Photos copyright (C)2010 Zach Bowman / AOL

Continue reading How Not to Buy a Project Vehicle: The tale of the 1975 International Pickup

How Not to Buy a Project Vehicle: The tale of the 1975 International Pickup originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 28 Oct 2010 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>150 pickup19751975 international 150 pickupbowling greenbowling green kentuckyfeaturedinternationalinternational 150international 150 pickupinternational harvesterknoxvilleoutlawsroad triprustThu, 28 Oct 2010 11:57:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/19692343/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2010/10/28/how-not-to-buy-a-project-vehicle-the-tale-of-the-1975-internati/19692343/article-detail.xml 19692343 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/10/lead1internationalpickupproject_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/10/lead1internationalpickupproject.jpg -1 2