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1949 -1951 Mercury Lead SledsMyHotRodTVWithin its era and beyond, the Mercury was popular with customizers. In 1949, Sam Barris built the first lead sled from a 1949 Mercury, became the definitive “lead sled”, much as the Ford V-8 (as the “deuce”) was becoming the definitive hot rod. The Mercurys were among the first models to receive an aftermarket OHV engine swap, since Oldsmobile and Cadillac developed the first high-compression OHV V8 engines in 1949, whereas Ford was still using a sidevalve engine.Sam and George Barris also used the 1949 body style to build “the most famous custom car ever” the...

KDawgFilmz"Dave Kindig, star of Velocity’s “Bitchin’ Rides”, introduced a 1957 Ford Fairlane 500 convertible with a 427 FE block and dual throttle body fuel injection at SEMA 2017. Creative Kindig touches include ’68 Camaro bumpers, flush mounted head lights, and wide white rims. It’s a one-of-a-kind Bitchin’ ride!"3-min YouTube video: Dave Kindig’s 1957 Ford Fairlane 500 Convertible Revealed at SEMA 2017https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmIgF7GbKVo

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On a forthcoming cover, actors Owen Wilson, Ben Stiller and Snoop Dogg preen in their Starsky & Hutch best, while for a previous issue basketball player Kobe Bryant posed sitting on the bumper of his canary-yellow Lamborghini Murcielago. Then there's rapper Lil' Kim, who modeled for her cover in a minidress zipped down to her navel, her Mercedes-Benz G500 peeking through in the background. The magazine in question isn't Rolling Stone, People or even Maxim. It's Dub, a niche car periodical with a tiny paid circulation that has nevertheless become the bible of the urban automotive subculture devoted to 20-inch-plus...