It's the basement where you find the goods!
Often times goin' down to the basement can mean finding bargains or surprises and sometimes the surprises are more than you expected. Such is the case with the 100,000 sq. ft. basement of the Detroit Autorama. Sure upstairs has 700,000 sq. ft. of some of the finest cars and motorcycles our hobby (or sport) has to offer but what about the surprise in every box?
The basement of this years "Detroit" is full of Rat Rods and Tuner cars. That alone is worth the effort to see these two genre's side-by-side. Some may say they don't belong together but once you have taken a walk around you realize each has more in common with the other than you may think. If for no other reason a hallmark of any young builder is the ability to make more out of less. To work within a constrained budget--the term budget is used loosely. Often times the parts and pieces these young builders have to work with are hand-me-downs of the highest order. To call these parts used would kind. To call these parts castoffs, debris would be accurate.
So, that's why you should take a look at what the so-called Rat Rod builders are doing--they are building more with less. They are using volumes of creativity coupled with hours of effort and come away with a style of car that is uniquely their own. Couple to this they have figured out how to build a car as part of a lifestyle that they have carved out of society that is, again, uniquely their own: a job well done.
By Brian Brennan
Photos by Nick Licata, Brian Brennan
Detroit Autorama nears 100,000 spectators.
The Detroit Autorama is approaching 100,000 spectators and it is only Saturday evening. By all accounts it appears this years event will either break or come close to breaking attendance records. Ironically, while it may be the middle of winter with snow on the ground and temps in the low 20s the crowd has certainly turned out to support the event. All the while it is a gorgeous day outside just remember to wear a jacket.
In the mean time, here are some more photos to give you a feel of what's going on outside of the Ridler contenders.
By Brian Brennan
Photos by Nick Licata, Brian Brennan
The true meaning of different strokes for different folks.
Throughout the Autorama there has been a constant beehive of activity at the Pinstripers' Jamboree booth--which is some booth taking up enough space to allow several dozen people to try their hand (literally) at the art of pinstriping.
The money raised at the auction of the various pinstripers' work is being raised for a benefit. Both Street Rodder and Custom Rodder magazines along with PPG, Graphic Things by Hancox, Specialized Sign Supply, Signs of the Times, Auto Art Magazine, Auto Graphics, and Air Brush Action.
While there are plenty of notable brush men on hand it's the at large public that is invited to try their hand at the art of striping. Kids to grownups as well as the artistic and the artistically challenged are trying their hand and enjoying themselves tremendously.
By Brian Brennan
Photos by Brian Brennan, Nick Licata
The Driven Award
The first annual Driven Award presented by Street Rodder and sponsored by Lokar performance Products.
In an attempt to give recognition to all those rodders who actually drive their cars to these shows the staff of Street Rodder has come up with an award to do just that. The Driven Award is presented to a rodder whose car is truly a street rod--with the operative word being driven
This year's inaugural recipient is Norm Smith of South Lyon, Michigan for his 1948 Ford two-door sedan with, are you ready for this, 180,000-plus miles. Norm is the founding member of the Spark-Plus Hot Rod Club of South Lyon. The beginnings of the club can trace their roots back to the kitchen table of Norm's mom house and they celebrated their 50th anniversary at this show.
Street Rodder wishes a special thanks to Lokar Performance Products and its spokesperson Rick Craze for the sponsorship and the making of the great looking award. Here's hoping that there will be many more of these awards to come in the future.
By Brian Brennan
Photos Nick Licata
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