I went back through my old blog, and discovered that I didn’t actually have a list anymore. No more copy of every vehicle I’ve ever owned and what I did with it. With that in mind, here’s a list of the rides I’ve owned over the years, and what happened to them.

1. 1988 Daihatsu Charade – Traded in on #2. POS.
2. 1994 Toyota Pickup – Laid low, shaved, and sold for nothing.
3. 1992 Honda Civic – Hit by drunk driver, totaled in 1 month.
4. 1996 Honda Civic DX Coupe – The “Bad Apple”, rolled in the desert outside of Blythe, 2000.
5. 1998 Ford Escort ZX2 – Technically my sister’s car, but I drove it for 3 years, delivering pizzas.
6. 1989 Nissan pickup – Owned for a month, and sold to one of my employees.
7. 1989 Toyota pickup – Sold this one to Aaron Hunt, a buddy of mine, who ended up bagging it.
8. 1988 Astro Van – The “Vangina”, sold to Jamez.
9. 1986 Astro Van – The “Astroglide”, sold to Lil’ Bob.
10. 1984 Astro Van – Parts truck, cut up and scrapped.
11. 1980 Camaro – Parts car, used for motor and trans.
12. 1987 Toyota Ex-Cab Longbed Turbo SR5 – Sold cheap, bent frame from previous owner
13. 1970 Chevrolet C10 Longbed – Traded for ‘87 turbo
14. 2000 Ford Focus Wagon – “Makin’ Waves”, sold to a 15 year-old kid.
15. 1988 Isuzu Amigo – Bought from Lil’ Bob, sold to kid. Never worked on it.
16. 1988 Isuzu Spacecab – Sold to a kid who won Fear Factor, it’s somewhere in Colorado now.
17. 1997 Isuzu Hombre – The first one, sold to someone I guess.
18. 1997 Isuzu Hombre – The second one, traded in for the ‘04 Silverado
19. 2001 Ford Ranger – Owned for 3 months, piece of shit.
20. 2001 Chevrolet Silverado – Juiced, channeled, still in my posession.
21. 1953 Chevrolet 3100 – “Ralph”, still own.
22. 1981 Chevrolet Silverado – “Steve I”, sold for way too cheap.
23. 1984 Chevrolet Silverado – “Steve II”, same color as Steve I, still own.
24. 1987 Chevrolet C30 – The crew-cab dually, still own it.
25. 2004 Chevrolet Silverado – The “Bad Idea”. Sold in April ‘08.
26. 1995 Chevrolet Silverado – Still own, daily driver.

I think it’s a fair question. After all, I had a blog before, and I worked pretty hard at it. Even had a fan base going. So why screw it all up? Why start from scratch?

Maybe I’m getting a bit ahead of myself, so let me start off a little bit differently.

My name is Kevin Whipps, and I’m a custom car and truck builder. I’ve been wrenching on cars since I got my first car in 1992, and I’ve been tearing them apart ever since. I’ve owned quite a few cars and trucks over the years, with varying results. Some were parts cars, some just transferred through my hands. Others were aborted projects, and even fewer were eventual magazine features. I’ve owned over 20 cars and trucks in my day, and out of those, you’ve probably only ever seen 5.

Well that’s all about to change.

See I had a blog for 5 years or so. First at carjunkie.blogspot.com, then on to kevinwhipps.com/blog, where I expounded upon everything from my sex life, to the death of my sister and everything in between. It was intensely personal, and really touched a nerve with a lot of people. Including my family.

But all that was behind me, and up until June, I was blogging pretty regularly. Then I got hit with a virus. A bad one, and it took out some of my most important posts over the years, completely randomly. The post about my wedding day? Gone. A post about my days working at WidgetCo? Gone. But the one that really set me off, was losing the post I wrote the day I lost my sister.

After 5 years of writing, toiling over several different computers and trying to build something up, I lost it all because some dicktard decided that it was more important to have fun with me than for me to keep my thoughts. No, it wasn’t backed up, and no, there’s no way to get any of it back.

The second thing that prompted this change, was a job. I had an interview with a prospective employer – one who would eventually become my boss – and he mentioned that he had read my blog. It had been my worst fear for years, but now someone who could become my superior had already found my blog, and knew all about me. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

So I decided to make a change. I’d take my namesake web site, Kevinwhipps.com, and turn it into my resume. A site where prospective employers could come to see examples of my photography and writing, as well as a place where I could expand as an artist and a writer. It would become the best example of my professional work.

Of course that means that I have to leave the blog at Kevinwhipps.com, something which I’m not thrilled about. To compensate, I’ve broken my blog down into two components: One is my custom car and truck work, and the other is my personal and work related blog. One is here, at weldburn.com, and the other is anonymous. Where is it? Can’t tell you. But I can say that it’s linked here on this site, and if you’re willing to troll my links, you’ll find it.

But why Weld Burn? Why name the new site after something so random?

I thought about a good name for the site for weeks. It had to be something unique, yet really descriptive. It had to be easy to spell and remember, but also appropriate for the audience. It needed to be good.

That’s when I went back. Way back to the carjunkie days and remembered that once upon a time, I did have a blog dedicated to my custom car work. It was called weldburn.blogspot.com, and I posted on it twice. Ever. Looks like I already had a perfect name.

So that’s where I’m at now. Why start a new blog? I think it’s pretty clear at this point. Now it’s time to move forward. This blog is dedicated to the custom cars and trucks that I build, and the process that gets them there. From my hunts on craigslist to find the newest parts and products, to the articles I write about them and everything in between, this blog will cover them all.

Welcome to my blog. I hope you stay a while.