Now I’ve seen my share of lowriders. I love the look and the friendship that these groups have. The craftsmanship in their cars is remarkable.
Usually I expect to see Chevy’s done up; especially a Monte Carlo or an Impala. So imagine my surprise when I ran across this baby in San Diego
Whoever sees a 49 Hudson out and about? Let alone it being a lowrider!
Sweet ride
Here’s the full story from eBay Motors.
World War Two MemorialThe Washington DC area has plenty of memorials and monuments but for me, the World War Two Memorial is most striking. Daily you see elderly men and women coming to pay their respects for their friends and comrades. It is quite touching to see these people coming to honor others. They truly are part of the greatest generation.
We take a detour from the general automotive theme of this blog to honor all those who fought in conflicts, to allow us to live in freedom.
On the back wall of the memorial is a sea of gold stars. Each star represents 100 Americans who died during World War Two. There are four thousand and forty-eight stars for the 405,399 casualties from the war.
Thank you all !
When you go to a roadster show, you expect to see roadsters. At the Grand National Roadster Show you’re going to see LOTS of roadsters. In fact eighteen roadsters were vying for the title of America’s Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR). The winner came out of Bobby Alloway’s shop, but we also saw this 32 Ford and so did our friends at Hot Rod. They are featuring the Triple Nickel in the July 2015 issue of Hot Rod magazine.
Now to be eligible for the roadster award you have to meet these requirements
And while the judges selected another car with an unconventional “top” last year, I don’t think they wanted to buck “tradition” twice in a row, so by displaying the car at the Pomona Fairgrounds with the stainless steel top attached, the owner might have lost a little interest.
But there is no denying the look and stance of this car is killer. And those wheels! Those are actual cast magnesium wheels that were then CNC’d to the final design to mimic the old Hallibrand looks. When is the last time you saw actual magnesium wheels on a new car? Yeah, I though so….
So enjoy our look at this Hot Rod featured car.
We already showed you the winner of this year’s America’s Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR) award at the Grand National Roadster Show. There were eighteen contenders and many of them were great builds and worthy of serious contention. Figured this would be a good time to spotlight the others, who perhaps put as much time, sweat and effort into their builds.
32 Ford
This is an interesting build with twin turbos sticking out above the headlights. The owner wanted to compete so much for the AMBR award that he crafted two sets of doors, the ones shown have no windows and the other set have roll up windows (which would disqualify it for the AMBR).
1932 Ford Pickup
This truck qualified as a roadster and uses a 350 short block with a 700R4 transmission. It’s always neat to see pickups as a contender for America’s Most Beautiful Roadster.
28/29 Ford
Hats off to a guy who built it himself except for the paint and interior. Front end is reminiscent of a sprint car.
1932 Ford Roadster
This owner is from Norway but Hollywood Hot Rods built it here in the good old USA.
34 Ford
Again an owner/builder wrenched on this car and amazingly it is powered with a Nissan engine. Perhaps because the builder worked for Nissan? A Speed Star body doesn’t generally scream to me as a traditional roadster but…
32 Ford
It comes with a Hemi engine and the Hilborn injection is retrofitted for electronic fuel injection. Mike Curtis built the wheels (he did last year’s winners wheels too).
33 Chevy
Finally a bow tie was in the mix! A LS 6 engine provides the power with fuel injection and a Jaguar rear end.
31 Ford pickup
The owner has had this truck for over fifty years and did some custom aluminum casting for some of the parts.
32 Ford
Now this sure seems to be what comes to mind for a traditional roadster. If nothing else the display should win an award!
34 Ford
Lots of body work and part swapping went into this build. LS 7 powers this baby with a blower for extra force. Kugel independent front and rear suspension too.
36 Ford
Lincoln engine with a supercharger is under this louvered hood.
32 Ford
The top is interesting on this roadster with power from a Ford 351. Not sure about the wheels though?
Grass Hopper
Galpin Ford built this baby as a tribute to the “Grass Hopper” from the early 6o’s. Some of you might have built the model kit from years ago. An Olds engine is here with a blower (notice a trend?) with a Hallibrand quick change rear end.
26 Track car
This came from Charly’s Garage in Arizona who we profiled before. We loved the Buick finned drum brakes.
26 Hiboy
Another owner built car so we have to love it too. Stock body with a custom frame. Personally this looks period correct and could have been time warped from the 50’s easily.
30 Ford Roadster
30 Roadster with a hand built body and a big 540 ci Hemi with a Viper speed. The owner comes from Sweden.
26 Roadster
Father and son team worked on this car with a small block Chevy and 700R4 transmission.
So there you have the other contenders from the Grand National Roadster Show. Which is your favorite?
Here is a link to a recent article that we did for eBay Motors on the original builder of the 55 Chevy’s for the cult classic movie Two Lane Blacktop.
The 55 Chevy recently sold at Barrett-Jackson in Scottsdale for $159,500. The builder has some great stories and we think it a shame he never provided more awesome cars for Hollywood.
What do you think of his build?
To win the America’s Most Beautiful Roadster Award (AMBR) at the Grand National Roadster Show (GNRS) you must meet certain requirements, besides knowing the alphabet. The car must be a roadster (no hardtop), have no windows in the doors, younger than 1937 and not been entered into any previous public show.
For the sixtieth year of the Grand National Roadster Show, which bills itself as the longest running indoor car show in the world, the judges selected a 1933 Ford roadster built by Bobby Alloway as the winner of the gargantuan trophy. Larry Olson from South Dakota owns the car. The Grand National Roadster Show originated in Oakland California, moved to LA and then settled in at Pomona.
This is the second time a Bobby Alloway built car won the award. To make this beauty low, Alloway touched all the panels and stretched the front end two inches. It was finished in black with a yellow “Ohio-style” flame job,The motor is a Hemi 241 with a set of Stromberg 97’s on top, but hiding an actual fuel injection system. A Tremec five speed is attached and links up to a Halibrand quick change rear end.
There were eighteen contenders for the award this year and some showed some serious workmanship and were rightful contenders. Along with the contenders, the past year winner was present which we have seen before, as was the Detroit Riddler winner. Made for some impressive bragging rights in the building.
Besides the AMBR award there are a slew of other awards issued in various categories and on Saturday and Sunday the locals bring out some neat cars for a two-day outdoor car show. One building was dedicated to just the 1940 Ford, celebrating its 75th anniversary. In future blogs we will highlight the other contenders and some other awesome cars we saw. So be sure and subscribe to our blog.
What do you think of Alloway’s build?
Gas Monkey Garage came out in force at the Barrett-Jackson Car Auction this year. Richard Rawlings and Aaron Kaufman, the stars of Discovery Channel’s Fast N’ Loud, brought out seven vehicles that they have been part of at their Dallas, TX garage, in some way.
We have been fans of their antics since the first season and profiled one of their cars that was sold at Barrett-Jackson before their garage became so well known.
One of the cars is so new it has not even been seen on the show yet. So proceed only if you want to see all of Gas Monkey’s vehicles that sold at auction.
The prices listed include a 10% buyer’s commission. So if the winning bid was for $35,000 the buyer actually shells out $38,500 to Barrett-Jackson, which is what we list. And Barrett-Jackson typically takes a similar cut from the seller, so from a winning bid of $35,000 the seller would net $31,500.
This bus must have been left outside in the Texas rain and shrunk. Interesting twist on the usual VW bus and hard to miss. Richard bought it for $2K and intended on putting $7,500 more into it. Sue charged him $3K to install the kit alone, so suspect he invested way more than $7,500. This was the only Gas Monkey garage vehicle sold on Wednesday. It sold for $38,500.
The shop truck with a definite tinge of patina sold solo on Thursday. This has definitely seen some wear and there are even some minor holes in the bed so we know it has been put to work. It sold for $42,900.
This is brand new to the TV viewers, since it hasn’t been aired yet. It did not even meet the print deadline to be in the humongous Barrett-Jackson catalog! Green with a black vinyl top. Equipped with a crate ZZ5 engine and a two speed Powerglide transmission. Ride Tech suspension and Wilwood brakes with nice Intro wheels. Rumor has it the winning bidder can return to Dallas and be in the show, since he bid $50,600.
This baby even came with an AM radio/eight track player. But Rawlings’ crew couldn’t locate an eight track to test it out. It’s been repainted Lime Gold and uses a 302 V8 and a three speed. Ironically the catalog fails to mention any connection to Gas Monkey Garage but it still sold for $106,700.
This baby is Rawlings’ friend Dennis Collins’ sale and is one of twelve built. The red color looks nice and there is only 9,000 miles on this baby. Nearly 30 years old and only 9,000 miles – go figure. It sold new for $168,000 and was last serviced in 2011. Dennis sold it for $165,000
Another late entry that missed the catalog deadline. It is fuel injection with a 327 and a four speed and is a numbers matching car. It sports original Kelsey Hayes knock offs for a nice authentic look. The price went up to $77,000.
This was used to help promote “Ugly Kid”. It has a crate 454 engine and a 400 automatic with a supercharger (hence the hood alteration). On the show Richard sold it for $42,000 but later took it back from Ugly Kid. Love the Cragars wheels and the “wood” trim but honestly it is showing some age but still sold for $36,300.
Finally we saved the best for last
This truck was donated to a local Dallas charity and Dennis Collins stepped up to the plate on TV and bought it for $85,000. Now he flipped it at Barrett-Jackson and sold it for only $45,100. It uses a LS7 engine for power and has a 4L85E automatic . 
Many folks on Rawlings’ “interweb” question the build but it looks solid; but Dennis should have had somebody tweak the hood better. The alignment is terrible.
Driver’s Side Hood Alignment
Passenger Side Hood Alignment
Now I’d be guessing that Richard didn’t have to pay the full 10% seller’s commission, but that’s between him and Craig Jackson. So do you think Richard flipped out okay on these cars?
Enjoy all the pictures of the cars and trucks from Gas Monkey Garage
Here’s our recent story for eBay Motors on this nice resto-mod 1961 Corvette that was sold at Barrett-Jackson last week in Scottsdale, AZ. Two years ago we covered the sale of his Scooby Doo themed Mystery Van.
The builder started out with somebody else’s 1961 Corvette convertible and after removing the body ended up with this sweetie.
The resto-mod utilized a new LS3 engine from GM along with a new 4L70E four speed transmission. Nicely and tastefully done, this convertible screamed fun and power.
So with this rest-mod you end up with the classic styling of a 61 Corvette with all the modern touches and upgrades that make this fun to drive. The builder even installs power studs under the passenger wheel well to allow for a trickle charger to be discretely in place, if needed. The Corvette just screams that it is ready for whatever the road brings on.
What do you think?
Gas Monkey Garage is out in force at the Barrett-Jackson Car Auction this year. Richard Rawlings and Aaron Kaufman, the stars of Discovery Channel’s Fast N’ Loud, have brought out seven vehicles that they have been part of at their Dallas, TX garage.
We have been fans of their antics since the first season and profiled one of their cars that was sold at Barrett-Jackson before their garage became so well known. Their vehicles start selling on Wednesday so stay tuned and we can see how good a flipper they are.
One of the cars is so new it has not even been seen on the show yet. So proceed only if you want to see all of Gas Monkey’s vehicles that are up for auction. Remember most cars at Barrett-Jackson are sold at no reserve, meaning the highest bid price is the sold price!
This bus must have been left outside in the Texas rain and shrunk. Interesting twist on the usual VW bus and hard to miss. This is the only Gas Monkey garage vehicle selling on Wednesday. Good luck Richard!
The shop truck with a definite tinge of patina is selling solo on Thursday. This has definitely seen some wear and there are even some minor holes in the bed so we know it has been put to work.
This is new to the TV viewers, since it hasn’t been aired yet. It did not even meet the print deadline to be in the humongous Barrett-Jackson catalog! Green with a black vinyl top. Equipped with a crate ZZ5 engine and a two speed Powerglide transmission. Ride Tech suspension and Wilwood brakes with nice Intro wheels. Rumor has it the winning bidder can return to Dallas and be in the show.
This baby even came with an AM radio/eight track player. But Rawlings’ crew couldn’t locate an eight track to test it out. It’s been repainted Lime Gold and uses a 302 V8 and a three speed. Ironically the catalog fails to mention any connection to Gas Monkey Garage.
This baby is Rawlings’ friend Dennis Collins sale and is one of twelve built. The red color looks nice and there is only 9,000 miles on this baby. It sold new for $168,000 and was last serviced in 2011. Good luck Dennis with this sale.
Another late entry that missed the catalog deadline. It is a fuelie (fuel injection) with a 327 and a four speed and is a numbers matching car. It sports original Kelsey Hayes knock offs for a nice authentic look. With the top down, will the price go up?
This was used to help promote “Ugly Kid” and now hits the auction block on Sunday. It has a crate 454 engine and a 400 automatic with a supercharger (hence the hood alteration). Love the Cragars wheels and the “wood” trim but honestly it is showing some age.
Finally we saved the best for last
This truck was donated to a local Dallas charity and Dennis Collins stepped up to the plate on TV and bought it for $85,000. Now he is flipping it at Barrett-Jackson. It uses a LS7 engine for power and has a 4L85E automatic .
Many folks on Rawlings’ “interweb” question the build but it looks solid; but Dennis should have had somebody tweak the hood better. The alignment is terrible.Driver’s Side Hood Alignment
Passenger Side Hood Alignment
So how many cars do you remember seeing in the show? Which was your favorite and how much will the show truck go for? Will Dennis lose his (embroidered name) shirt?
Subscribe to this site and you can see how the flippers did at Barrett-Jackson.
Enjoy all the pictures of the cars and trucks from Gas Monkey Garage
Gas Monkey Garage’s 1976 Chevy C-10 truck is selling at next week’s Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona. It’s green (of course) and was featured for two episodes of this season’s Fast N’ Loud “reality” TV show on Discovery Channel.
We saw the truck in person for the first time at the 2014 SEMA Show where it was parked out front. It got lots of attention and interest from those who recognized it.
It’s dropped suspension is courtesy of an Accuair Suspension. The folks at Gas Monkey Garage used a crate LS7 engine, which is the stock engine for a Corvette Z06. The used a 4L85E automatic transmission to get power to the Intro Wheels, plus a Currie 9″ rear end. It slows down with Wilwood brakes all around. Got to admit the boys at Gas Monkey Garage know the good name brand parts to throw on a truck or car.
Since it was built in Dallas, Texas it also has Vintage air conditioning.
You’ll remember the episodes this truck was on. They donated the truck for the high society Cattle Baron’s Ball which was held at the world famous Gilley’s bar. Rawlings figures some rich guy would pony up some serious cash for the truck, but forgot that most guys brought their wives which might have stifled the bidding. After bidding slowed down on this truck, Richard Rawlings’ friend Dennis Collins (the guy who has his name embroidered on all his shirts) bought it for $85,000.
Collins is the guy who brought out the repaired Ferrari to Barrett-Jackson last year.
So now it goes on sale at Barrett-Jackson. Dennis Collins snagged a good spot on Saturday at about 1:30 PM so we’ll see if he does any better on this auction sale. And you can bet that the Gas Monkey Garage name will be mentioned often during the bidding. Remember that most of the Barrett-Jackson cars sold are no reserve meaning somebody is taking it home.
What do you think the truck will sale for?
