With my parents living in North Carolina, I don’t get to see them more than once or twice a year now, so when they came up to visit over the last week, I wanted to get in some guy time with Dad. Too cold for the garage, so the day after Christmas, I took him to the Saratoga Automobile Museum to see the Right Coast Rods exhibit, where I snapped a few photos to share here. It’s an impressive exhibit, giving credence to an often overlooked subset of hot rodding with its assembly of unique cars that blurred the lines between hot rodding and customizing.

As for my dad, he’s always been a muscle car guy, and aside from a year in Rhode Island as a young teenager, he never lived in the Northeast, so I didn’t think these would be right up his alley, but he nonetheless enjoyed seeing how the cars were modified and appreciated all the stories that went along with the different cars.

The Right Coast Rods exhibit at Saratoga will run through May 8.

A portion of the Right Coast Rods exhibit at the Saratoga Automobile Museum
The Andy Kassa 1932 Ford coupe, owned by Gary Mekita of Fairfield, New Jersey
The Leslie brothers' "Starlite Coupe," owned by Gerry Christensen of Scotch Plains, New Jersey
The Fred Steele "Album T," owned by Bob Collins of Woburn, Massachusetts
Paul FitzGerald's 1932 Ford roadster, which was also featured at the 2008 New England Concours d'Elegance
George and Scott Veracka's 1932 Ford five-window coupe
The Bob Bateman 1931 Ford Model A, owned by Al Engel of San Francisco, California
The Joaquin Arnett/Andy Granatelli 1934 Ford three-window coupe, owned by Bill and Ellen Couch of Washington, Michigan