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Sacramento Autorama - Sacre Bleu!Kustoms Galore At The Autorama-And The "Most Beautiful" Was Blue! From the August, 2010 issue of Rod & Custom By Kev Elliot
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With the area around California's state capitol long known for its connections with custom cars, rather than SoCal's propensity for hot rods, it's little wonder that the Sacramento Autorama, which celebrated its 60th birthday this past February, showcases customs. Its sister show, the Grand National Roadster Show, which occurs a mere few days beforehand in L.A., awards the AMBR trophy, while the premier award at the Sacramento event is the World's Most Beautiful Custom. Two new awards were introduced this year, namely Custom D'Elegance and King of Kustoms, each with different eligibility criteria, as well as the established Sam Barris Memorial award and the Joe Bailon award, all of which makes for a celebration of all things "custom"'-or "kustom", depending on your preference. Fresh out of the Standley... Fresh out of the Standley Brothers shop in Yuba City, CA, Mike Sue's '36 cabriolet runs a 700-R4 behind the 8BA Flathead, '41 Ford bumpers, '40 Chevy taillights, and a chopped windshield in preparation for a lift-off roof. The spider web white stone display was amazing, but made for strange reflections in the paint! But there was so much more than customs, with muscle cars, hot rods, restored classics, trucks, motorcycles, street rods, dragsters, and even boats, pedal cars, and bicycles. If it had wheels, chances are you'd find it at the Autorama. It was good to see the pinstripers moved into the Suede Pavillion this year, rather than stuck way out at the end of the complex where few could find them, the same building hosting a number of bands throughout the weekend, as well as a pin-up contest Saturday night. Elsewhere you could meet various TV stars, or bid for lots in the pinstripers auction, assuming you'd found time to look at all the vehicles on display of course! With the GNRS and Autorama so close date-wise, it's not surprising that many cars feature at both shows, which means that, for instance, though James Hetfield's Auburn won King of Kustoms and the Manuel Arteche Memorial award, you won't see it here, as we showed it to you last month. It's not like there wasn't plenty at Sacramento to point our camera at, that's for sure!  The "Lincster", by Advanced...  The "Lincster", by Advanced Restorations in Sacramento for Mike Gray and Val Tompkins, took the HA Bagdasarian award for World's Most Beautiful Custom, as well as the Custom D'Elegance Outstanding Engine award.  Mike Podaca's "Psycobilly"...  Mike Podaca's "Psycobilly" '51 Cadillac was redone by Caldwell's Rods & Kustoms and painted by Kolors Unique, with upholstery by Elegance Auto Upholstery. The chopped hardtop, extended front fenders, and elimination of the baby fins on the rear all contribute to the improved flowing lines.  Bob Smith's '55 Bel Air is...  Bob Smith's '55 Bel Air is an exercise in restraint and extremely subtle body mods, which explains why it looks so good but you can't figure out why! Try a 1 1/2-inch pancaked hood, 1-inch roof chop and driprail removal, vent wing removal, the top edge of the rear quarters raised by 5/8 inch, the rockers lowered 1 3/8 inches, and the lower rear quarters dropped 3/8 inch, amongst others. The '55 won the Custom D'Elegance award.  "Citric Acid" was a runner...  "Citric Acid" was a runner up in the Custom D'Elegance class. Joey Spada's '54 Chevy was built totally in-house at OZ Kustoms with the exception of the Devine's interior.  As with almost all customs,...  As with almost all customs, Lou Querusio's '59 Caddy would have displayed better with the hood and trunk closed, not that it stopped Querusio from taking the Outstanding Overall Custom trophy back home to Florida. Not only were the side moldings hand-fabricated, but so was all the interior chrome.  Ron Courtney's X-51 made the...  Ron Courtney's X-51 made the cover of R&C in 1958, was voted one of the Top 100 hot rods that changed the world in Hot Rod magazine's 60th anniversary issue, and has been in the care of Bob Page from Sacramento, for the past two decades. Page restored the car, making a few changes to make it driveable.  David E. Walters' '59 Caddy...  David E. Walters' '59 Caddy El Dorado Biarritz convertible is dubbed "Elvis II". Designed by John D'Agostino, with body and suspension by Aiello Customs, paint by Art Himsl, and upholstery by Divine's Custom Interiors, the Cad rolls on Roadster Wire Wheels and Coker tires. It took the Joe Bailon award and runner-up in Custom D'Elegance.  Though a Dodge Polara may...  Though a Dodge Polara may not be the first base for a custom project that comes to mind, as Richard Zocchi proves with "Thriller", it works! Of course, combining the talents of Art Himsl, John Aiello, Bob Devine, and Sherm's Plating was a huge help!  With the exception of a few...  With the exception of a few changes made to the motor, Tim Lohrey's '32 pickup was remarkably unchanged since winning the Barris award in 1970. It was part of the large display of previous "Big B" award winners in Building C, as well as one of seven cars-two previous and five new builds-displayed at this year's show by Lohrey, voted Sacramento Autorama Builder of The Year for 2010.  Hunter Blender's '61 Caddy...  Hunter Blender's '61 Caddy Coupe De Ville was in the Suede Pavilion, despite it having 26 coats of basecoat with a candy overlay under the gloss clearcoat, and 36 coats with metalflake on the roof!  After over 50 years in storage,...  After over 50 years in storage, the "Moon Rocket" was brought out of hibernation and appeared at the show. Owner Jerry Anolik drove the much-modified '55 T-Bird to 161 mph at Bonneville as well as entering it in shows from California to Puerto Rico between 1957 and 1961, before hiding it away.  Though some didn't and won't...  Though some didn't and won't "get it", Joe Fazio's '32 was a real gem among the glitzy Camaros and Tri-Fives. While this local Sacramento survivor had obviously been spiffed up for the show, it was perfectly displayed with dirty firewall, crusty carburetors, and stained hood top and engine block. Original Eddie Meyer heads grace the 21-stud Flathead.  Saturday's drive-in show saw...  Saturday's drive-in show saw a good turnout, the R&C pick going to Gary Levering's chopped '50 two-door sedan. Subtle mods included the elimination of the vent windows, filled center hood seam, and a neat third brakelight on the package tray made from a stock taillight in a custom pod.  We love seeing hot rods that...  We love seeing hot rods that have been with the same owner for decades, especially when you can see the various transformations along the way. Gordon and Cheryl White's display with photos of their '29 roadster pickup from 1961 with its square rollbar and whitewalls hanging out the rear fenders was one of our favorites at the show. The owner-built lil' truck never looked better than it does today, either!  Dave Grimmitt's '25 T track...  Dave Grimmitt's '25 T track roadster, dubbed "Simple T", drove in on Saturday, its simplicity appealing to us. With no brakes on the heavily dropped front axle, later-model top hat disc brakes had been adapted to the rearend to provide sole stopping power.  Lucky 7 Customs put together...  Lucky 7 Customs put together this cool '54 210 for Gary Morales using a Total Cost Involved IFS, 350/350, and C-notched rear, finishing it in pearl cream with metallic green scallops and accents. The slightly slant-chopped roof uses a '42 Stylemaster rear window and four altered '54 Merc taillights.
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