Tag Archives: Ford

Hot Rod Industry Alliance (HRIA) Shows Off at SEMA

December 20, 2015 Route 66 Pub Co Leave a comment

The Hot Rod Industry Alliance (HRIA) holds an evening reception during the SEMA Show. And while I enjoy meeting up with old buddies and making new friends, I also enjoy checking out the cars that were handpicked to be displayed at the reception.

A total of six cars and trucks were highlighted this year, so let’s take a look at these beauties.

HRIA – 55 T-Bird

From NASCAR’s” hometown” Mooresville, NC came this 55 Thunderbird in silver hues. A tube chassis mated up to a stock floor pan. It has a Ford Coyote 5.0 L 302 under the hood and Tremec six speed, with Vintage Air Conditioning and nice Halibrand knock off wheels.

HRIA – 63 Corvette

This convertible Corvette is powered by a Chevy small block 355 with a five speed Tremec. A slick set of Inglese side draft carburetors looked mean and it borrowed some C4 chassis components and a C5’s brake set up. The blue color was an added touch.

HRIA – 55 Ford

Another Texas build, this one used an Art Morrison chassis and a 528 Boss engine with a TKO 600 transmission. Knock of wheels looked nice with that stance and Gabe’s Interiors did the upholstery.

HRIA – 59 Rambler

I never get tired looking at this beauty. It was a Great Eight finalist for the Ridler Award in Detroit. The 2 door wagon features a LS small block with Hemi heads and a supercharger. Gabe’s did this interior as well and a Mesa, AZ shop did the work, including over 30 body modifications.

HRIA – 70 Challenger

This blue beauty hailed from Mooresville, NC as well and used a 4L60E transmission with an Edelbrock EFI set up. Lots of custom work went into shaping those bumpers and changing the rocker panels by lowering them.

HRIA- 69 Chevy C-10

In acknowledgement that trucks can be hot rods and the C-10 is a hot model, out rolled this nice 1969 Chevy. It has a LSX engine (461 ci) with a supercharger and a Tremec six speed. The Roadster Shop supplied the chassis and the owner claims 1000 horsepower with this set up.

So a nice collection of vehicles helped make for a great evening with the Hot Rodders. They gave out some nice awards and acknowledgements. Can’t wait to meet up with them next year.

So what vehicle struck your heart?

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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?

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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?

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Gas Monkey Garage at Barrett-Jackson Results

January 30, 2015 Route 66 Pub Co Leave a comment

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.

Spoiler alert

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.

Prices

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.

66 Volkswagen “Shorty”

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.

69 Ford Truck

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.

68 Chevy Impala

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.

68 Shelby Mustang Convertible.

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.

86 Porsche 930 Renspeed

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

64 Corvette

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.

1971 Chevrolet Kingswood Station Wagon

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

76 Chevy C-10

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

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Auctions, Car show, Uncategorized

Gas Monkey Garage at Barrett-Jackson

January 12, 2015 Route 66 Pub Co Leave a comment

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.

Spoiler alert

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!

66 Volkswagen “Shorty”

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!

69 Ford Truck

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.

68 Chevy Impala

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.

68 Shelby Mustang Convertible.

86 Porsche 930 Renspeed

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.

64 Corvette

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?

1971 Chevrolet Kingswood Station Wagon

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

76 Chevy C-10

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

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Lace Paint on a 27 Ford Track T

December 30, 2014 Route 66 Pub Co Leave a comment

Here at Route 66 PubCo we love lace paint jobs. Any car show that has a car with some lace paint is worth the trip! We’ll see some at a Goodguys Rod and Custom Show and once in a while at a local event, but this year at SEMA we saw an awesome full on example with an interesting twist.

Lace Paint

Lace paint is a dying art form but there are still some old schoolers laying down some lace and painting the cars. Traditionally a lacey fabric would be stretched tight across a body panel, frequently the roof, and the paint sprayed down through the lace. When the paint dried and the lace pulled off, the intricate lace design would remain on the panel. Wicked cool we say.

At this year’s SEMA Show we saw this venerable 1927 Track T from John Gilbert. The track T was sitting outside the North Hall and plenty of people rushed by in a hurry to see the indoor exhibits and keep their appointments. But they missed a chance to pour over a true legendary car, just taking a break outside. John probably has forgotten more stuff about cool cars than we’ll ever know and he showed his licks on the roadster. Using spray cans from Eastwood he put down this rubberized elastic wrap that was just a temporary paint job on the Track T.

ElastiWrap™ from Eastwood

ElastiWrap™ is a unique strippable rubberized coating that can be easily applied over most surfaces and can remain in place indefinitely or be removed by simply peeling off. It comes in spray cans or in large cans as needed. ElastiWrap is durable and holds up well in the scorching sun. And because it is treated like a paint, it can be any color or tint you desire.

The roadster measures just over 12 feet and has a GM crate 350 engine with a TH350 automatic. The car just looks cool.

Gilbert writes for a variety of magazines and the 27 Ford has been featured in several. Here is a short video from Eastwood where John explains the process of painting this wicked lace paint job. What do you think?

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Rod Authority’s SEMA Top Six -Our View

December 29, 2014 Route 66 Pub Co Leave a comment

Our friends at Rod Authority picked six cars as their favorite from the recent SEMA Show. That’s the nice thing about car shows, big or small; everybody sees things their way and pick different favorites. We’d be hard pressed to limit ourselves to just five vehicles (or six with a bonus selection).

But if you are going to pick some, we couldn’t argue with some of their selections. Here’s our view of some of their picks.

1935 Ford

This sedan was sitting outside and drew lots of glances. From the straight body work to the 306 Ford engine mated to a Tremec six speed, this car was just downright neat. The owner incorporated Inglese electronic fuel injection and it rode on Kugel front and rear suspensions components with coilovers.

Two special items to note about this car. On Friday night’s Cruise it drove out under its own power, which always earns bonus points in our view. Plus that color! While you might label it olive green it actually shows what happens when you change up the base undercoats. This color is actually the result of laying down a House of Kolor Deep BLUE Pearl over black! Nice job guys.

1932 Ford Roadster – Double Trouble

This red beauty was at the Barrett-Jackson booth and came from Ron Pratte’s Collection which sells in Scottsdale next month. It has a 296 ci V8, with a Tremec five speed transmission and a quick change rear end. Pratte’s cars are rarely seen in public so you have to see them when you can.

1942 Willys Coupe – Gasser

This brown beauty named “Single Barrel Jack” and featured a 392 Hemi. It had a 411 posi from a 57 Oldsmobile and a blower matched to a Hilborn injection unit. It is styled like a gasser but without an exaggerated lifted front end. So it is a very subtle ride with an awesome paint job. No wonder it was at the PPG Paint booth.

Thanks Rod Authority for your view. So now you have our view and pictures of some neat SEMA cars. What’s your opinion?

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Cruisin’ Grand Car Show in Escondido

October 7, 2014 Route 66 Pub Co Leave a comment

Escondido’s weekly car show, “Cruisin Grand“, wrapped up their summer of events this past Friday with one last show. It started back in April and we covered the start as well. There are just some awesome cars and trucks at this weekly show that you won’t see anywhere else.

Escondido

Escondido, California may be best known for being home to the San Diego Zoo’s Safari Park and is a short inland drive from San Diego’s cool tropical climate. But every Friday night, downtown Escondido heats up with a neat car show-cruise.

The main drive is reserved for classic cars and trucks. A few side streets are blocked off as well. bands play on various corners and an emcee/DJ plays some oldies and keeps the crowd entertained. But the real draw has to be the cars.

15 Year Anniversary

This is the 15th anniversary year for the free show that pulls in cars from across the SoCal car scene with their theme nights and club sponsorships. The final week is Nitro Night which is a huge draw and even picks up some national magazine coverage.

Escondido Downtown Merchants

Many restaurants stay open specifically for the Friday night cruise and there is a terrific kettle corn lady along with other food and drink vendors. It takes a large group of volunteers and some cash to keep this event safe and fun and they all do a good job!

It is worth the drive, if you are there on a Friday night next summer!

Here are some additional cars to feats your eyes on. Which is your favorite?

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Encinitas Classic Car and Truck Cruise In and Show

September 20, 2014 Route 66 Pub Co Leave a comment

Encinitas, California is located just a short hop up the San Diego coast and offers a laid back surfer vibe. It is known not only for the surfing action and fish tacos, but also local one of a kind shops and furniture showrooms. But twice a month during the summer months the downtown streets come alive with a classic car show.

Thursdays are for Cruising

On the third Thursdays in the summer, from May through September, the Encinitas downtown group sponsors this car show along historic Pacific Coast Highway 101.

Along with the cars, bands can be heard performing and of course cars are always cruising the main drag. Plus many adjacent bars and restaurants are open with specials offered for the onlookers.

Classic Cars and Trucks

Now being a surfer city you just know Encinitas will dust off a few woodies for the show. But all varieties of classic cars and trucks come out for this once a month laid back car show.

Pacific Coast Highway

The car show spans the 101 Highway, from D to J Streets, along with some adjacent parking lots from cooperative shops. Portions of the Ppacific Coast Highway 101 hug the coastline of California.

Unlike other local events there is no signage reserving the on street parking for the classics so you often get a mix of classic Detroit Iron next to a plastic swoopy car! Awards are given out but there is more interest in the cars presented than the picks and awards.

Cruisers

Now parking for the public is a bit intense so if you go, plan on your own “cruising event” looking for a parking spot, but you’ll be rewarded with a sweet show. The season, alas, has ended for the Encinitas show, but you can relive the fun times with our pictures. Enjoy the snapshots and let us know your favorite.