For most of us, it's the first big event of the season, and for 56 years, the Grand National Roadster Show has been drawing the selected few of the elite show cars, along with a healthy portion of non-elite but genuinely excellent street rods and custom cars, to wherever it has been held. For the last two years, it has been held at the Los Angeles County Fairplex in Pomona, California.
Unlike the other three big events in the Dan Cyr Enterprises lineup (the Sacramento Autorama, Portland Rod & Custom Show, and Seattle Roadster Show), the GNRS isn't officially identified with a specific city, and the move to Pomona last year seemed to be successful. The 2005 event expanded from three Fairplex buildings into five, packed with more than 100 vendors and exhibitors in addition to approximately 500 cars and motorcycles.
The bikes were a new addition this year, and these two-wheeled rods were eligible to compete for the America's Most Beautiful Motorcycle award. For car builders of course, the greatest prize at the Roadster Show is to win the title of America's Most Beautiful Roadster, along with the 9-foot trophy that accompanies the honor. As the world already knows, Paul and Erik Hansen's Deuce, built by Tom Walsh and Steve Moal, won the award for 2005.
SO-CAL Speed Shop, headquartered in Pomona, just a few miles from the Fairplex, was distinguished with the Builder of the Year award. The GNRS featured a special section dedicated to some of the significant hot rods to come out of SO-CAL since the shop was established by Alex Xydias in 1946.
Here's an eyeful of some of our favorites from the first and foremost show of the year. For more information about attending or participating in next year's Grand National Roadster Show, contact Dan Cyr Enterprises at www.hotrodshows.com. And to see more of our coverage on the Grand National Roadster show, go online to www.rodandcustommagazine.com.
There was no real surprise...
There was no real surprise when a year (almost) after making its splash at the Detroit Autorama, Paul and Erik Hansen's Tom Walsh and Steve Moal-built '32 roadster, nicknamed "Sedeuced," came to the Grand National Roadster Show to claim another name: America's Most Beautiful Roadster.
Thursday was spent setting...
Thursday was spent setting up the displays and making sure that every flaw was attended to. In some of the cases the displays can be as elaborate as the cars themselves.
"Loaded," the '29 roadster...
"Loaded," the '29 roadster pickup built by Eric Peratt and the crew at Pinkee's Rod Shop, was displayed in the shadow of the AMBR trophy. We've seeing a lot of low-slung RPUs in the last few years, but this one floored us. The design details on the RPU, built from Christian Dotson's concept drawings, are endless. The '55 Dodge Hemi is topped with Strombergs and hooked to a T5. The monochromatic root-beer-brown paint is complemented with touches of nickel and a little bit of chrome.
Highboys abound at the GNRS,...
Highboys abound at the GNRS, but David Martin's two-tone '31, built by Hot Rods & Hobbies, was a standout. The original steel body rides on pinched and notched Deuce rails, with a Chevy small-block and Richmond five-speed gearbox and Winters quick-change rear to move it along. The inside consists of leather-wrapped aluminum panels. The wire wheels are the perfect finishing touch.
A few years ago, we were impressed...
A few years ago, we were impressed by Steve Frediani's Mk VIII-powered '66 Mustang. In 2005, he got our attention with this '51 Ford convertible.
This year's powerplant surprise...
This year's powerplant surprise comes in the form of EFI with billet throttle bodies from Imagine Injection on a 351 Cleveland with Pantera 4V aluminum heads.
Dave Spear of Beavercreek,...
Dave Spear of Beavercreek, OR, started with a fastback and turned it into a hardtop, carving a couple of inches out of the top in the process. In true custom fashion, this '52 Chevy is modified with a bunch of borrowed pieces, including the '50 Olds grille, '53 Stude frenched headlights, '54 Chevy windshield, '54 Packard taillights, and a '58 Impala vent serving as a third brake light.
Robert Lomas brought out his...
Robert Lomas brought out his recently finished "Spare Parts" '34 three-window. The channeled coupe gets its motivation by a '49 Cad 331 backed with a '63 T-10 four-speed and quick-change.
Looks like the '60s show rods...
Looks like the '60s show rods are alive and well. This recreation of the Lil' Coffin...
...and the gold Model A from...
...and the gold Model A from Japan could just as easily participated 40 years ago.
Ron Kelso has owned this three-carb'ed...
Ron Kelso has owned this three-carb'ed Flathead-powered '36 coupe since he was 15 years old. About the only non-traditional item on it was an electric fan.
The Rollin' Bones Hot Rod...
The Rollin' Bones Hot Rod Shop out of New York brought out a trio of hot rods we'd love to have. The number 232 B roadster was stripped of its street gear in preparation for a run on the salt.
Roger Morrison had Dave Crouse's...
Roger Morrison had Dave Crouse's team at Custom Auto restored the Berardini Bros. 404 Jr. '32 roadster to its earliest historical configuration. They were awarded the Bruce Meyer Hot Rod Preservation Perpetual Trophy for their effort.
When it comes to hot rodding...
When it comes to hot rodding mysteries, the fate of the Warth-Hilborn Streamliner tops most lists. It was crashed and rebuilt in the late '40s and then believed to be dismantled in the early '60s. This recreation by Jim Lattin is as faithful to the original car as you can get.
It's hard to beat a clean,...
It's hard to beat a clean, black '36 coupe. Jerry and Cissy Lewis must know that. They did an immaculate job of building this original steel car, but kept much of the original look as well. The small-block-powered car rides on a SAC chassis rolling on 16-inch Wheel Smith steelies with caps and rings.
The interior is primarily...
The interior is primarily stock, with tan leather covering the bench seat.
A great example of a crossover...
A great example of a crossover custom/lowrider/street rod was this wide white and Buick-wired '48 Chevy convertible brought out by Juan Godinez.