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The beauty in a beast

By on Filed Under: Nice Rides 1 Comment

Ric Legge sits atop his 1966 Land Rover Safari station wagon. Photo by Stuart Villanueva

In this ride, the joy lies in simplicity

For Ric Legge, the itch to own a Land Rover, that iconic British answer to the American Jeep, started early. [Read more…]

A morning at ‘the roost’

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A roseate spoonbill takes flight past sandhill cranes at the Galveston Bay Foundation’s Sweetwater Preserve on the West End of Galveston Island. Photo by Jennifer Reynolds

West End preserve is a popular place for sandhill cranes

Houses along the east side of 103rd Street sat dark in the predawn gloom as a small group assembled at the barricade blocking a muddy track running off west into the salt marsh. [Read more…]

Your grandfather’s SUV

By on Filed Under: Frontpage, Nice Rides Leave a Comment

Tom Malone owns a lovingly restored 1949 Willys-Overland wagon. Malone did all the work except the painting during the four-year, frame-off restoration. Photo by Stuart Villanueva

’49 Willys is a monument to off-road rugged

In 1994, Tom Malone went looking for the skin and bones of an automobile suitable for building into a hot rod. He came home with just about the exact opposite. He was hunting a hare; he bagged a tortoise. [Read more…]

Cooler still at 50

By on Filed Under: Frontpage, Nice Rides 3 Comments

Kathi Richardson shows off her yellow 1967 Corvette Sting Ray on the west end of the seawall in Galveston. Photo by Jennifer Reynolds

Islander’s 1967 Sting Ray still has value and cachet

Wouldn’t it be nice to be like the Chevrolet Corvette? To start off up near the pinnacle of cool — among the elite of things powerful, sleek, stylish and sexy — and then just keep getting cooler as the years roll by?

The 1967 Corvette models turned 50 this year, but have grown exponentially in both value and cachet during those five decades. [Read more…]

‘Custom, with a K’

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Mike Landry started with the shell of a 1950 Chevy when he began building his custom lowrider. Photo by Jennifer Reynolds

Lowrider blends disparate parts into a harmonious whole

People encountering Mike Landry Jr.’s lowrider for the first time might suffer a little dissonance. On the one hand, it has the familiar sweeping, elliptical silhouette of 1950s American passenger car. But even with all the digits of the other hand, it’s impossible to put a finger on exactly what it is. [Read more…]

‘Near perfect’

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Elmer Johnson sits in his 1957 Chevy Bel Air Sport Coupe, which he bought at a swap meet in Dallas in the late 1990s. Together with his son, the Friendswood resident spent about four years on a frame-off restoration of the car. Photo by Stuart Villanueva

Restored Bel Air racks up miles and trophies

When you meet somebody with a car the likes of Elmer Johnson’s 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe, chances are good you’ve encountered one of two kinds of people — the guy who bought the car as is for an awful lot of money; or the guy who built it frame up and knows every inch of it, including, probably, the torque specifications of every nut and bolt. [Read more…]