2024 Port City Spectacular

Last year’s show was one of the highlights of my year! Like many shows in their first year, a lot rides on every moving part and person involved. Nobody wants to see a flop! The inaugural PCS was everything but a flop, but lets go back to the beginning and talk about how I got involved. I’ll sprinkle my favorite photos I shot over the course of the weekend in between.

Last year was my first foray into really cranking up an Instagram account. I spent my evenings scrolling and following when I ran across talk of this show happening for the first time that year. I was intrigued, and since Muskegon, MI is semi-local, I reached out to Brandon Morrison who put on the show asking if he had anybody to cover video of the show. He got back to me saying there were a couple photographers coming, but nobody on video, and that he would be happy to have me there. I jumped at the opportunity!

I was trying to grow my YouTube presence and looking to branch out from videos of myself wrenching on my projects and get into doing some videos on local cars, owners, and events, so this was perfect!

I knew a few people in the local scene, but really not too many. It was a huge opportunity for me to cover the show, and it helped the show out huge too! I’m still pumping out content from November, 2024, because there were just so many good cars under one roof.

The cars are only half of the story, though. The people I got to know that weekend have already become friends, and I have made plans to be involved with the show again this year, so if you’re able to, try to make it out to Muskegon, MI for the 2nd Annual Port City Spectacular!

Watch the 2024 Port City Spectacular Video right here!

The Port City Spectacular | Indoor Traditional Rod and Custom Car Show | Muskegon, Michigan 2024

Big News, Upcoming Season

What’s New?

The RCCA is Born

Just last week I put into motion an idea I’ve had for a while: The Rod and Custom Creators Association or RCCA. Apparently this was a good idea because I could not keep up with the demand and growth of the page in the first week! The RCCA is a group of content creators producing videos about traditional/nostalgia hot rods and customs. I created this group to help people find this content all in one place, and to help lesser-known channels grow viewership more quickly. Follow @rodandcustomcreators on Instagram to learn more, and check out the growing list of YouTube channels by clicking the logo below.

New Video on YouTube

There’s a fresh one out this week; just a little wrenching on the 1941 Chevy coupe. I’m trying to get out into the cold barn once a week or so to make some progress on the car, and this time I wanted to see if the “rebuilt” Carter W-1 carburetor would run the engine! Check out the video below.

Subscribe while you’re over there!

Catch Me At These Shows in 2025

You can find me at this year’s Custom Car Revival in Indianapolis June 5, 6, and 7! I’ll be there to hang and shoot photos and videos of a ton of cool traditional style customs.

You’ll also be able to find me at Relix Riot at Gilmore Car Museum in August. I’ll likely be around Saturday, the 16th. If all goes to plan, I’ll be driving one of my old cars this year!

Don’t forget about The Port City Spectacular! This old school indoor show had its debut last November in Muskegon, MI, and is slated for another year, dates are TBD at this point.

Shooting Car Feature Videos

I’ve been pushing out some content about shooting the Yard Art Roadster video last year with the owner, Dan Bearman. It was honestly one of the highlights of my year, and I think Dan has said the same thing goes for him. I was able to prove my concept of doing a “car and owner feature” type video, and I’m really excited to do more this year while learning and improving my skills. I hoping to shoot 4-5 of these as the weather warms up, so keep your eyes peeled!

Watch The Yard Art Roadster video below.

Spread The Word!

Help others learn about Hard Luck Garage, what I’m up to, and, specifically, this newsletter. Share a link with a friend through a message!

I think I’m going to push more into writing and shooting some “mini articles” for this newsletter as a way to work on photography and journalism while getting real-world feedback as well.

Please leave a comment with your thoughts on anything you read here, or just whatever is on your mind.

Until next time,

Jon - Hard Luck Garage

Who am I, and why you should care?

Hi, I’m Jon. I run this little getup you might know as Hard Luck Garage. I would like to answer a couple questions with this first post. Who am I, and why should you care?

Who am I?

Let’s get into it! Some of these bits and pieces are a little open-ended, but that’s intentional. I’ve got to have something to talk about later!

Who am I? Well, I’m a guy in his 30’s with a passion for traditional hot rodding and custom cars. I enjoy long walks on the beach… ok, ok. Let’s not go there. I was brought up with a hopelessly automotive background. My Dad owned and operated a small used car sales and service lot, and the end result was inevitable for me. I was his firstborn and only son, so I spent a lot of time around him and around cars in general, and eventually ended up turning wrenches in the family business.

Growing up, Dad always kept two old cars around: a ‘28 Model A sedan, and a ‘71 Olds 442 W-30. As some of you may know, the Model A is still with me today, which means, unfortunately, Dad is no longer with us. That’s a story for another day. These cars always had my attention. As I got older, I would always bug him about getting them running and driving again, which we would eventually go on to do. More on this if you stick around!

Let’s circle back to another crucial developmental point in my life that steered me toward the traditional. I was a magazine kid. I had every car magazine subscription I could get from the school magazine sale, but they were all modern day, new car magazines. In my early teenage years, my uncle gave me a stack of old Rod & Custom mags he had lying around, and I would sit in my little beanbag chair in the corner of my parents’ living room and leave no page unread. I was hooked! I have a tendency to be a purist when it comes to period correctness, or at least things that give the feeling of it, and the traditional hot rod scene satisfied a lot of things that were growing inside me.

As life went on, I found myself in my twenties with several friends older than I was who were involved in traditional hot rodding in one way or another. They pushed me over the edge. I was able to get my hands dirty on some really cool builds, and build some lasting friendships and memories over the years. Believe me, I can get into these in more detail down the road here, too!

Why should you care?

I started Hard Luck Garage for a few different reasons:

1. There’s a huge local scene in West Michigan, and I want to showcase the locals. I want to put the West Michigan traditional car scene on a pedestal and show off what’s going on in this part of the world through video, photos, and writing.

2. I want to strengthen the existing community by putting out quality media that can be shared around, deepening personal connections with real people through cool old cars.

3. I want to produce accessible content that (I hope) inspires some younger people to pick up the torch of this hobby. 

My current fleet of vehicles:

I plan to dive deep and update as I go on each of these, so without further ado, here are my three current relevant project cars:

1928 Model A Sedan

My plans are to keep this simple. 1940’s mild hop-up, ready to drive when I am!

1941 Chevrolet Business Coupe

Looking for an easy driver out of this car. It’s lowered, and that’s about it!

1930’s Jalopy

While it may just be a 1923 Willys Overland tub vise-gripped to a Model A chassis, I think this has great potential. I’m planning to keep the “build” 1930’s depression-era spec.

That’s all folks!

This got a little long, but I had to start somewhere! Thanks for reading, and keep your eyeballs right here for more!

Jon Van Oyen

Hard Luck Garage