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The result were HogZZilla 1 and 2, in the exact style of CadZZilla, and which led the grand entry parade at the Daytona bike week in '92.

Gibbons' 'legion of iron' also includes the Fifties-style 'Kopperhed', and the '36 Ford Coupe-based 'Mambo', named after the box of Hawaiian shirts they found in the boot.

Daily drivers include the odd '8 Ball', a tricked-out BMW 325i with a louvered bonnet and pool-ball logos in place of the Beemer's badges, a customised '62 Chevy Impala called 'Slampala', and the incongruous addition of a Mini Cooper S.

Always on the hunt for the next project, he admits that it's becoming increasingly difficult to find a bargain. "In the good old days, pre-eBay, every once in a while you could find something that was not only attractive but affordable and quite a good deal.

But as you know, there's nothing left on the planet that everyone isn't an 'expert' in." More than 30 years since their stage debut, ZZ Top are currently on an epic US tour.

And somehow Gibbons still manages to shoehorn automobile events into his ludicrous schedule, including a Japanese car show, rallies, and a customization job on a 1961 Cadillac for a TV show.

But while Gibbons might have a lust for cars, his first love is still the guitar - he sold a 1936 Packard to pay for his infamous axe, 'Pearly Gates'. So if he had to choose between them, you know which one he'd go for. "I think I'll stick with the gee-tar," he confesses.

"I can carry it even when the strings break. But the weight of the hot-rod iron is a bit challenging when you're trying to push it down the street."

To see more of Billy's cars, visit the hot-rod harem image gallery.