The 58th annual Sacramento Autorama - Heart of Custom Country

We're glad Suede Pavilion organizer Alex "Axle" Idzardi saved a spot for his own suede '36 Ford three-window coupe. The car had been parked since 1962 when Axle found it. He restored it-including "real Tijuana tuck 'n' roll"-to how it could have been built back then.

There's a lot to look at on Roger Scott's channeled '26 T sedan, one of our favorite traditional hot rods from the Suede Pavilion. The engine choice is a 250 inline-six with three carbs on an Offy manifold.

Randy's Rods built this '49 Ford convertible for Dee and Carolyn Barnes, dropping the chopped, wedge-cut, and sectioned body over an Art Morrison chassis. Sid Chavers did the upholstery, and the judge's awarded it Outstanding Interior in the WMBC class.

Here's a Deuce like you've never seen. The all-steel coupe, built for Mike Espinor by Tim's Hot Rods, drew double-takes all weekend due to some unusual proportions. The doors and quarter-windows were stretched, and the deck abbreviated, to create a whole new profile, executed by Bill Keylon.

In addition to some knockout traditional hot rods and customs, the Suede Palace offered live music throughout the weekend, including Lee Rocker, on suede doghouse bass, and his roots rock band.

This bare-metal '53 Ford pickup, in progress by builder Tom Pagano, was finished when it was an ISCA show winner in 1960 and appeared in Hot Rod magazine in 1962. The owner stopped a rebuild three years later. Tom's finishing the job, and we can't wait to see this survivor when he's done with it.

Paint-gun legend Art Himsl shot the '69 Camaro Blue on Richard Sides' owner-built Deuce Tudor, which took First Place in the Early Altered Street Sedan Pre-1935 class. The original-steel sedan is loaded with a 331 Hemi, while front and rear custom buckets fill the cockpit.

Ed Umland is hoping for 9s on the 'strip and 200 mph at Bonneville with his homebuilt '31 coupe. With a fully caged frame with drilled and sleeved 'rails, and an 8-71 blown 468ci big-block with Brodix heads, he has a good shot at doing it. The seats and dash are hand-tooled and hand-stitched leather (like you see on motorcycles); a matching top is in-progress.

This '31 Plymouth was first hot-rodded in 1964. Dave Fluke bought it in pieces three years ago, and Josh "Lefty" Mullican built it, using a blown '56 Chrysler 354. The old owner built the chassis with a Mark William Funny Car torsion-bar suspension, while an in-between owner added Halibrand mags from a Mallicoat Brothers gasser.

C-notched 'rails and Air Ride 'bags drop Ken Harris' '36 deep down into the shag rug. Six Holley 94s feed the 327. The list of cool stuff includes a 31/2-inch chop, Mustang buckets done in white-pearl vinyl, a '59 Pontiac Bonneville wheel, and Radir wheels.

Dan Dermott put his '48 Ford pickup through a radical makeover that included a scratch-built pancaked hood, shortened and narrowed late-'90s Ford bed, assertive chop, and raised fenders for a sectioned look. The blacked-out custom grille teeth and rims go great with the gray 'flake paint.