We contributed an article and some photos about the recent SEMA Show held in Las Vegas, Nevada to our Canadian friends at www.mystarcollectorcar.comÂ
It’s always nice to share ideas, thoughts and car shows with others. You can check out the article here. The website posts a new article every day and never spams you. So check them out if you want a Northern perspective on car shows! Frankly sometimes, it is hard to realize that they are writing from Canada.
Take a 2008 Harley Davidson Dyna Street Bob motorcycle, add huge amounts of ingenuity, imagination and innovation and blend with over 3,000 hours of labor and you might end up with this homage to the ever popular 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air. This red beauty was seen at the SEMA (Specialty Equipment Marketing Association) show held in Las Vegas, Nevada last week.
The 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air is an iconic look from the 50’s. Any enthusiast will easily recognize the front chrome bumper, the bullets on the hood, the swoopy aluminum molding along the sides and the wild fins and rear tail lights of the 57. It is ironic that these styling features were only found on the 57 and none of the other Chevy years. For the tri-five years, (1955-1957) Chevrolet altered the appearance and styling of their vehicle. Try re-tooling a car line now like that every year!
The builder, LUPO Racing, was from France and brought over this interesting takeoff on the iconic ’57 Chevy Bel  Air. The builder/owner used the styling cues from the Chevy “fins” for his rear end and actually utilized the rear tail light to accentuate the rear view. The exhaust exits through the rear end’s light housing. Originally Chevrolet had thought of using the same idea for their cars, but the exhaust left a residue on the chrome which stopped that concept from going to production.  He also used the “chrome Dagmar’s”  from the Chevy’s front bumper to help carry off the theme. Add in some Chevy emblems and badging and mix up some great imagination, and you end up with one sweet look. Famed motorcycle builder Arlen Ness handiwork was even  used for the engine cover.
This motorcycle parked in front of the SEMA Show, where anybody could walk by and admire the handiwork. To top it off, the builder/owner drove it out of the SEMA Show on the Friday night Cruise. The bike caught the eye of Hot Rod Magazine, who was at the cruise too. Here’s their closeup of the motorcycle.
The bike had been featured in two writes up in bikenet.com previously as well. Part One featured the frame and Part Two looked at the rear tail light housing.
You’ve got to admire the craftsmanship of the builder and the expense of carting it over to the states to be seen for one week here in Las Vegas!
Congratulations to the trade school WyoTech that brought out a 1964 Ford F100 that was given a roadster treatment by a band of their students over an eight month period. Because half of the school day is spend in classes, away from the machines, that really equates to a four-month frame on build.
The students chopped off the top, making it a roadster. One student made the renderings for the “pickup” and all the students worked on various parts of the car from the body work, to even the final trim and upholstery.
It was on display by WyoTech at the SEMA show being held in Las Vegas this week, from November 5-8, 2013. Nice job by the students and good to see the future of rodding is in good hands. And nice job by the faculty staff doing the training, and inspecting.
The truck received continuous stares, admiring glances and positive comments.
This year’s SEMA Awards for the top trending vehicle models in four categories were announced on Tuesday November 5, 2013 at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. The Ford Mustang was named Hottest Car, the Scion FR-S took the Hottest Sport Compact honors, the Ford F-Series won Hottest Truck and the Jeep Wrangler received the Hottest 4×4-SUV award.
I was pulling for the Chevy Silverado and the Corvette Stingray, so I guess I struck out; there but no complaints with the Scion FR-S and Jeep Wrangler winning.
One of the fun parts of SEMA, is the over the top, just because I can, attitude of many of the cars. Enough said
At the world’s largest convention of automotive aftermarket parts and accessories, the SEMA Show –Specialty Equipment Market Association – one of the highlights is the Chevrolet display; and the chance for a sneak preview at the Media Party held on Monday night before SEMA opens.
Besides catching up with various executives and seeing some great cars, Chevrolet brings in a few celebrities to spice up the night. Fortunately these celebrities have straight connections to the cars featured at this press event.
This year NASCAR racers Ricky Carmichael (and AMA racer and X Games champ) and Jeff Gordon were there to delight the crowds. Some of the featured cars were:
The All-Activity Sonic concept was introduced by Carmichael and had a cold air induction, a lowered suspension and enhanced braking.Spark EV Tech Performance concept
Chevy “powered up†this all-electric tire smoking mini-car, the Spark, with an instant on 400 lb-ft of torque –http://route66pubco.com/wp-admin/post-new.php more than the classic 1969 Camaro SS muscle car with a 350 V-8 – for exhilarating acceleration. It can go from 0 to 60 mph in only 7.5 seconds.
It seems that Chevrolet always has a new version of the legendary COPO drag cars for SEMA, and they didn’t disappoint this year with a light blue version. Very well designed and ready for the drag strip as is. This year will feature new front and rear fascia and be limited to the fabled 69 cars.
A flat blue Corvette that will be featured in the latest version of Playstation’s Gran Turismo was promoted. All week at the Chevy display show goers will be able to play an advanced version of the game.
This truck was a restored beauty and featured a new crate engine package from Chevy. The E ROD 5.3 L package is a plug and play emissions compliant powertrain.
His SS came with a red satin (flat) finish was an awesome car with subtle power touches. A LS3 engine and a 6 speed automatic transmission were the power plant for the SS.
The road worthy Z/28 in all black was released at this event. Featuring Brembo brakes, less weight and a LS7 engine helps make this track car a worthy competitor and lives up to its namesake.
Three cars from the 2014 Transformer movie were on hand to be admired; a new Bumble Bee Camaro, a Sonic and bright Green Corvette Stingray
Good times, good cars, good people. SEMA cranks up in full power mode in a few hour son Tuesday November 5th. More details at Chevy Performance.
SEMA – the Specialty Equipment Market Association – show starts officially on Tuesday November 5, 2013 in Las Vegas. Car Nirvana is spread over 2 million square feet of interior space and even more cars are positioned outside. I figured if Hot Rod Magazine can prediction what the SEMA 2013 will highlight, I can predict too.
I’ll be more modest and only give you five trends to be spotted at SEMA this year.
Car of the Year – Has to be the Corvette Stingray. This is the after-market convention after all and there has been no more pent-up demand, than seeing the Corvette C7 hit the streets.
Flat is back. We’ve seen variations of flat paint jobs in the past, and that trend is going to explode. Both from the mainstream manufacturers but also the specialty shops. And contrary to some opinions, it takes as much prep work on a car body to spray it flat as it does for the shiny clear coats.
Step up the transmissions. Used to be standard to row through four speeds, but not that Detroit is issuing out sheet metal with 7 speed transmissions to help up the EPA gas mileage, so will the aftermarket.
Truck of the year? Got to be the Chevrolet Silverado. Demand is back up for trucks, that’s where the money is and that’s where General Motors has hit a home run. It might be apolitical to have two winners from the same manufacturer, but the Silverado deserves it!
Retro is back with a passion. Clothing, accessories, and cars will all be showing an old fashioned look. Woodies, rat rods, salt wagons will all be highly visible.
Stayed tuned and we’ll see how many of these predictions you might agree with after Friday and the show wraps up.
Gasser’s are easily spotted from a mile away. The body’s are lifted up with a straight axle highly visible in the front. In the early 60’s that is what everybody brought to the local drag strips. Back then you didn’t care about pro-touring handling, you just wanted something to go lickity split for a quarter of a mile.
The latest issue of Hot Rod magazine (December, 2013) has an article on a 58 Ford Gasser that the folks at Galpin Ford did for a sales manager, Steve Carpenter. The article is a nice write-up on a nice car.
The 331 cubic inch Ford engine produces 500 horsepower and matches up to a Borg Warner 4 speed, using a Hurst 4 speed.   A Currie 9 inch rear end with a 4.11 posi helps hold everything together.  Lots of chrome, which probably wasn’t in use as much back at the old airstrip dragways, is evident. That’s a nice gold pearl paint job with real gold and silver leaf lettering.
We first saw it at the Barrett-Jackson Auction in January 2013 in Scottsdale, Arizona and thought we could share some extra views of this gasser for our readers.
Galpin Ford has a solid reputation for doing cars right, and just previewed a supercar at Pebble Beach. Here’s hoping that both cars will be at their booth in Las Vegas next month at the SEMA Show.
One of the advantages of being in Arizona for car guys is the chance to see new, unreleased “mules” on the road. Arizona is home to most of the car manufacturers for proving grounds. But these cars don’t just stay inside the fenced grounds, as these spy shots of the Nissan Rogue show. “Mules” are test cars used by the makers to test things out in real road conditions.
They wander around the Arizona geography and get a chance to try out these prototypes on twisty roads, interstate highways and with elevations changing from sea level to high mountains. Of course the area is known for the opportunity to test in high heat conditions, but the cars get a chance to experience all of what Arizona climates offer. They often are loaded up with plenty of telemetries recording all sorts of feedback from a myriad of sensors.
Of course the manufacturers aren’t keen on the public recognizing these cars. Besides sporting manufacturer plates these cars often have geometric black and white wraps to help disguise the final shape and design of the cars. But plenty of photographers go out on the hunt to track down a shot of these beauties.
Recently two Nissan Rogues, which will have a new release in 2014 were seen out and about on the Arizona highways.
It’s rare to see these cars stationary, but the drivers have to take a break on occasion!
Finally got the chance to see “Snake and Mongoo$e†movie this weekend. If you love drag racing and appreciate the history and our past this will be a great movie to see. Unfortunately it is only at limited locations for now, so you’ll have to check the website for any local theaters in your area showing this film. The producers actually have keyed in on sites that host NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) races, figuring they would have a built-in audience at those locations.
I saw a clip of this film while at the SEMA (Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association) show last year in Las Vegas, Nevada and it already looked interesting then. If you follow NHRA coverage, they have pushed it heavily since this year’s National’s. John Force Racing even had his cars decaled with the movie for the National’s to help promote it. Here are links to our previous coverage, and an interview with the writer and co-executive producer Alan Paradise.
I absolutely, thoroughly enjoyed the film. It tells the beginning of Don “the Snake†Prudhomme and Tom “the Mongoose†McEwen when drag racing was something done on the weekends and you had a day job Monday-Friday. Prudhomme was a car painter/body man at his dad’s shop and McEwen worked for Douglas Aircraft.
The story tells how McEwen and Prudhomme ended up being sponsored by Hot Wheels. This was the first non-automotive sponsorship in motor racing and led the way for corporate America sponsoring motor racing. Hot Wheels sponsored them for $100,000. That wouldn’t buy much in today’s competitive races! Hot Wheels and Mattel always has had close relationships with Detroit and the car manufacturers. In fact at the GM display at SEMA last year, a substantial part of the floor space was a mockup of the orange tracks used by the Hot Wheels. And Chevy even offered a limited production Hot Wheels Camaro available to the public.
The film does a good job blending archival film in with the new stuff. Had to laugh seeing a much younger Keith Jackson doing a spot for Wide World of Sports. Remember when you had to wait weeks to see a short taped episode of your favorite sporting event (interspersed with cliff diving from Acapulco)? A lot of the current action looks like it was shot at Famoso Raceway.
Plenty of actual drag cars are in the background. Plus even the houses in the scenes have that period authentic look that only Hollywood can achieve. The race sequences are real archival footage to help add that authentic, realistic touch.
As with any historical film, you already know the ending. But people still went to see “Lincoln†right? The film starts with a spot from the 1978 Nationals and then sweeps back to the beginning of the Snake and Mongoo$e story. I sense this was a labor of love for the filmmakers and hope it is a money maker for them. The only drawback I can see is that if you aren’t into drag racing, the storyline might not be as compelling. Hearing Prudhomme talk about crewing for Tommy Ivo and driving for Roland DeLong, might not be as relevant if you don’t know the backgrounds of these characters. Don’t want to spoil the ending for those of you who might not know the story, but there are a few emotional spots towards the end and a few good life lessons to ponder.
When I see the Nike swoosh on NFL practice uniforms, listen to football broadcast from ATT Dallas Stadium and see ads on the NBA basketball court, it is amazing to realize this all might have stemmed from Hot Wheels first successfully sponsoring the Snake and Mongoo$e.
The actual restored drag cars and the matching iconic haulers will be sold by Don Prudhomme by Barrett-Jackson at the Scottsdale, Arizona auction in January 2014. They are scheduled to be present for the Las Vegas auction this weekend so you are apt to see a glimpse of them on the television coverage this weekend.
Some pictures/artwork courtesy of “Snake and Mongoo$e – the Movieâ€
Richard Rawlings and Aaron Kaufman team up in Dallas, Texas to form Gas Monkey Garage. Their “Fast N’ Loud” TV show is a hit on the Discovery Channel, where Richard buys a relic; Aaron and his crew update the ride and then “flip†the car to a new buyer that keeps Richard in beer money. The show gets great ratings, has a loyal following and has a familiar format. Grab a car, make a ridiculously short deadline and stand back to watch the resulting havoc.
At the January 2012 Barrett-Jackson car auction in Scottsdale, Arizona one of their creations, a 1931 Ford, was auctioned off for $12,870 by one of those buyers. So I guess that seller flipped a flipped car? And at a loss, since the buyer on TV bought it for $21,000.
Gas Monkey Garage decided on a different plan for the just concluded Barrett Jackson auction held at Reno, Nevada last month. They took a brand new 2013 Chevrolet COPO Camaro added some decals and auctioned it off for $137,500 (We always list the selling price of an auctioned item with all related buyer’s commissions.) Not bad for a car that isn’t street legal.
COPO stands for Central Office Production Order and was used by Chevrolet to offer limited runs of unique setups of their cars to selected special dealerships and those “in the knowâ€. The most legendary COPO was the 1969 Camaro made for Fred Gibbs, with 69 cars sporting an aluminum ZL1 monster motor. In muscle car collections; this is the mother lode. In 2012, Chevrolet resurrected the COPO Camaro but with a severely limited run of only  69 cars. These COPO’s are not street legal, lacking most of the NHTSA safety requirements, and are strictly designed for the drag strip. They are lean and mean.
At the 2012 SEMA (Specialty Equipment Manufacturer’s Association) show, the GM folks showed off their only COPO convertible, painted in Inferno Orange. Of course having a drag car racer, without a hard top, might make it hard to pass a tech inspection but it looked great; once you cleared off the slobber marks!
Well Chevrolet said let’s do it again, and made a limited run of 69 COPO Camaro’s for 2013 and Richard Rawlings got his hands on one and added a few extra touches and decals before auctioning it off in Reno. This COPO might be featured in an upcoming episode of their television show and I’m guessing Richard Rollins took advantage of the engine build option and went back to Michigan to be part of building “hands on†the LS7 427 cubic inch engine for the 41st Camaro.
The Camaro was fitted with a NHRA chorme-moly cage and a solid rear axle and looked mean and lean.
Selected photos courtesy of Barrett-Jackson
