Tag Archives: car show

Engraved Paint on Silver 2013 Nissan GTR

December 27, 2015 Route 66 Pub Co Leave a comment

Okay so perhaps you get jaded at the SEMA Show with all the rides on display. After a while you might say, “enough” but then you turn the corner and spot this 2013 Nissan GTR. Yes, ignore the eye candy and focus on the car. Sure a Nissan GTR may not be super rare, but it is different, right? But then check out the exterior finish.

Nissan GTR

That my friend may look like somebody silversmithed and engraved into the metal; but it is actually layers upon layers of paint! The artists from Japan slaved over this Nissan and with extensive taping added on layer after layer of paint to end up with this engraved look. They even used a buffer and tapered tool to grind into the paint and create some of those images.

Engraved paint

One of the workers was present at the show and mentioned they were then working on a different model for the upcoming Japan Car Show but in gold tones.

Forget the car, the artistry to make the paint act as engraved metal is outstanding. What do you think?

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Car show, Manufacturer news, Uncategorized

Laid Back Hauler

November 19, 2015 Route 66 Pub Co Leave a comment

When I first saw this COE set up as a hauler at SEMA at the Laid Back USA clothing booth I was blown away. And the more I looked and drooled, the more I liked!

Laid Back Hauler

The 47 GMC COE is a real deal patina featured hauler. The owner of Laid Back USA has a couple of woodies he uses as part of the promotional display but felt like he needed something authentic to haul the classics around in.

Enter this GMC truck that was converted into a car hauler in five short months, just ready for a premiere at our friends at Hot Rod’s Power Tour. I especially likedthe innards were modified to be reliable but the exterior was kept “as is” essentially.

Laid Back Clothing

And since Laid Back USA makes a line of classic car themed shirts, you just knew they had to make a shirt for their hauler right?

Here’s a link to the full article from eBay Motors.

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Car show, Manufacturer news, Uncategorized

Krypton Green 2016 Camaro Is Hypnotic

November 14, 2015 Route 66 Pub Co Leave a comment

SEMA Show has plenty of amazing new and improved products. But the one display that kept the crowds baffled was Chevrolet’s floor display of a 2016 Camaro – labeled Krypton Green. What kept the crowds mystified was a pulsating display of bow ties on the front quarters.

The display was hypnotic as the bow ties came on and off. Crowds kept looking for a light source or a projector beam but could not find one. Lots of smart guys put their hand in front of the body panel thinking they would block the “light”.

Lumilor Paint

But the bow ties were actually layers of paint – LumiLor paint to be specific that glowed as an electric current was applied to the body panel.

This is a neat look but at $80,000 for the effect, might be out of the budget for most folks. But a great display of undying American ingenuity from Darkside Scientific.

Click here for more details from the eBay Motors blog.

What do you think? Would you do it if you could afford it?

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Car show, Uncategorized

Jimmie Johnson’s 1971 Corvette

October 30, 2015 Route 66 Pub Co Leave a comment

Jimmie Johnson’s resto-modded 1971 Corvette was featured in the first episode of Jay Leno’s Garage series. The Corvette is awesome and features some modern technology to back up those classic styling lines of a 71 Corvette. But we had a chance to see it first at last year’s SEMA Show and the Chevy Media Preview Show.

Jimmie Johnson at SEMA

Jimmie Johnson was present to discuss his modified Corvette in person and it spent the balance of the week as a highlight of the Chevy display at SEMA.

Corvette LT1 Engine

The engine is a stock crate LT1 engine that puts out 460 horsepower and an even more astounding 465 foot pounds of torque. It was backed up to a 6 speed Super magnum transmission.

The 71 Corvette rides on 18″ rally wheels and is slowed down by C6 Z06 brakes; six pistons up front and four pistons in the rear. The interior included black leather and gray suede bucket seats and a three spoke steering wheel.

Enjoy the pictures! Wonder what the folks from Chevy will bring out to the SEMA show this week/ Look for an update here after SEMA.

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Car show, Uncategorized

Triple Nickel via the Grand National Roadster Show

May 16, 2015 Route 66 Pub Co Leave a comment

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.

AMBR Award

Now to be eligible for the roadster award you have to meet these requirements

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.

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.

Triple Nickel

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.

Car show, Uncategorized

Contenders for America’s Most Beautiful Roadster

February 12, 2015 Route 66 Pub Co Leave a comment

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?

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Auctions, Uncategorized

Two Lane Blacktop Builder

February 5, 2015 Route 66 Pub Co Leave a comment

Two Lane Blacktop

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.

Barrett-Jackson

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?

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Car show, Uncategorized

America’s Most Beautiful Roadster 2015

January 31, 2015 Route 66 Pub Co Leave a comment

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.

Grand National Roadster 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.

America’s Most Beautful Roadster

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.

AMBR Contenders

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.

GNRS Awards

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?

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Car show

Arizona Concours D’Elegance Awards

January 11, 2015 Route 66 Pub Co Leave a comment

Arizona Concours D’Elegance Awards

Arizona Concours D’Elegance kicked off a busy week of car auctions today, Sunday January 11, 2015. This is the second year for the concours judging show and was held at the famed Arizona Biltmore. Fifty four awards were issued to the various entrant in a variety of classes.

Dawn Patrol

To best appreciate the cars it is best to show up before dawn and watch and hear the cars parade into the lawns surrounding the Biltmore’s rooms. One eventual winner even fired up his race car, with an auxiliary starter powered by three car batteries, to let the crowds enjoy those unique sounds. Hope the hotel’s guest enjoyed them too!

Four Favorites

With fifty-four awards being issued it is hard to single out just one, so here are four winners we especially enjoyed. Hope you do too.

Arizona Concours D’Elegance Preservation Class – 1952 Oldsmobile

This 98 Holiday hardtop won a class award. And with only 29,105 original miles and 100% original everything why wouldn’t it? This beauty was a three owner survivor and due an award.

Arizona Concours D’Elegance – 37 Rolls Royce

At first glance one might think this was gaudy, until you stop and appreciate all the workmanship on this lovely lady. The Rolls Royce was originally a 37 and in 1947 rebodied by the then owner John Gaul. Afterwards it has been affectionately known as Gaul’s Copper Kettle and for good reason!. That is copper over steel body work and includes rattan lacework and copper burnishing. Absolutely breathtaking and countless hours were utilized to make this one off classic.

Arizona Concours D’Elegance -1949 Volkswagen

At first glance one might assume this was just another Volkswagen until you like at the rear end. That’s when you know something is up! This was a Hebmuller Cabriolet produced under license from Volkswagen. The exact number made and still in existence is hazy but this car is amazing. It won first in class for the avant garde category.

Arizona Concours D’Elegance – 1953 Corvette

Many know that only three hundred Corvettes were made in their first year; all the same exterior body and interior colors. This was #298 out of 300 and made on Christmas Eve, 1953. The current owner has owned it for four decades and it is a consistent award winner. Here it won a class award for Post War American Powered Sports Car.

Arizona Concours D’Elegance Tour

After the rigors of the judging on Sunday there is now an inaugural tour for the registered cars available on Monday January 12, 2015 so expect to see some serious classic rides on the roads around Phoenix. Plus in the parking lot, valet naturally, we saw this Zagato Lamborghini that we previously reported on. Perhaps for sale?

So what do you think? In a future article we’ll cover some entrants that surprisingly didn’t win an award. So stay tuned.

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Auctions, Car show, Uncategorized

Arizona Concours D’Elegance

January 6, 2015 Route 66 Pub Co Leave a comment

Arizona Concours D’Elegance kicks off a busy week of car auctions on Sunday January 11, 2015. This is the second year for the concours judging show and will be held at the famed Arizona Biltmore.

Arizona Auctions

No less than six companies come out to the Scottsdale, Arizona region for car auctions next week and include Barrett-Jackson along with Bonhams ,Gooding and Company, Russo and Steele, Silver and RM Auctions. Last year the inaugural Arizona Concours D’Elegance was held and is a great way to kick off this frantic week of car auctions. Plus the concours benefits a great charity, Make A Wish Arizona.

The Arizona Concours D’Elegance generally does not confirm which cars were accepted for the judging until the day of the event. But beautiful, historic classic cars will cover the grounds of the Arizona Biltmore. The emcee for the awards ceremony is our friend Keith Martin, who publishes Sports Car Market and is always present for the Arizona auctions.

Pierce Arrows

This year the committee selected four extra unique classes for cars to be entered in. They are the Pierce Arrows, the cars of Frank Lloyd Wright who is closely associated with the judging site – the Arizona Biltmore, competition Ferraris and the Carrozzeria Ghias.

We had a chance to check out these two Pierce Arrows at a local show and expect both to be on the judging fields next Sunday. The cars were in great shape and show the historic beginnings of the marquee. I was especially taken by the fuel gauge for the one Pierce Arrow being on the tank itself hidden behind the luggage. Hard for a driver to gauge his fuel economy on the fly!

Briefings

Along with Saturday’s festivities the Arizona Concours D’Elegance host two informative events on the preceding Saturday. There will be an auction preview, hosted by the Phoenix Automotive Press Association (PAPA), with representatives talking about their upcoming cars and trucks that will be auctioned off. Plus an Elegance at Speed panel discussion with Peter Brock, Nigel Bennett and Kip Wasenko is held immediately after the car auction preview.

Arizona Concours D’Elegance Tour

After the rigors of the judging on Sunday there is a tour for the registered cars available on Monday January 12, 2015 so expect to see some serious classic rides on the roads around Phoenix.

Only 2,000 tickets are available for this luxurious event so don’t wait to check out their website and buy your tickets now.