44th Annual Fresno Autorama Invitational

So what did your grandfather do last weekend? In Fresno, one 77-year-old capped a year-long search for the 200-plus vehicles he wanted to invite to his area car show--a show he's organized for almost 50 years. He traveled to Oakland, St. Paul, San Mateo, Detroit, Boise, Pleasanton, San Diego, and to the L.A. Roadster show to personally invite car owners to attend his event. A tough job for a 77-year-old who has had his hip replaced twice? You bet! But, on the other hand, the septuagenarian we're talking about is Blackie Gejeian (pronounced ja-GEE-an).

It's safe to say there is no one like Gejeian (who got his "Blackie" handle because it was the nickname given to his black roadster). He says his Fresno Autorama is like a family, and it's obvious that he likes a big family. But the uniqueness of the show, besides being an invitational, is that it's the one and only time these cars will be shown here (there are no "repeats" from year to year). Because of this policy, local spectators can rest assured that what they see inside the huge Fresno New Exhibit Hall is new and fresh.

Blackie scours the countryside looking for the "right" cars to invite and most who have gotten the nod from Gejeian take his invite as the highest form of praise. After all, it would be hard to find anybody who has been around the hot rod hobby longer or who has been immersed in it deeper. And he's done it all. He's not only been a street racer and show car builder (his Shish-Kabob Special won the America's Most Beautiful Roadster award at the National Roadster Show in 1953, before "Grand" was added to the show's name in 1962), but has been a show owner and promoter as well (he owned Clovis Speedway in NorCal for 20 years and, of course, has owned the Fresno Autorama for more than 40). These accomplishments give Blackie an edge on providing what spectators want to see.

There are a handful of vendors selling their wares inside the facility but, make no mistake about it, the cars are the stars in Fresno. A room adjacent to the vendors area, nicknamed the Nostalgia Room, houses early hot rods (ones that frequented the drags and that were street driven as well). A few full-on racers, such as two '50s- and '60s-era Indy cars, were especially nice to see this year. Another entrant, 86-year-old Eddie Bosio, still builds cars for show and has had a vehicle in Blackie's invitational for each of the past 30 years, including this year.

When it comes to awards, Blackie personally hands them out at the end of the show, and there are only two major trophies: Best Custom and Best Rod. Gejeian is from the school of thought that believes any year car that has significant customizing done to it is a custom and all others are rods. This year Best Custom went to Ray Von Uhlit of Fremont, California, for his '51 Plymouth wagon, which was built by metalman Mickey Galloway. Best Rod went to Fresno local Charlie Lambetecchio and his '36 Ford roadster, which was built by South Dakota's Larry Ruth. And this year's Builder of the Year was Dean Bryant, whose collection has included a chopped and customized '66 Rolls Royce!

But just being asked to display your ride at Blackie's Fresno Autorama is enough honor for any rodder. Everyone knows it features the best of the best and, while some shows struggle with their identity, people come away from the Autorama saying they don't know how Blackie could top the effort he's put into that year's show. But that's the kind of show you get when the owner of the show lives and breathes hot rods!