Laced with evil, Derrick Pesko's...
Laced with evil, Derrick Pesko's '28 Ford was coated in decadent Benny Blue vibe, while rolling on '35 Ford wires. Inside a pair of vintage movie theater seats covered in blue and white fabric seal the deal. (See page 92 for more on this ride.)
Promoters, participants, and spectators all agree the biggest change over the past six years has been the increase in the quality of the cars entered. Tim King of the Detroit Poor Boys has been showing with the club since the first year of the Autorama Extreme. "We've seen the quality of the cars go from rat rod to real traditional hot rods," King says. "There is a lot of innovative stuff down here, some stuff that really belongs upstairs." In addition to showing his car with his club, King (along with Roger Atwood and Stretch) is responsible for another specialty of the basement: homemade automotive-themed trophies. This year the three of them have roughly 40 hours invested in the 23 trophies that were awarded, each one unique, incorporating some part of the award into the trophy. King concluded, "It's fun finding the stuff to make the trophies out of. It's an art and we enjoy doing it."
In addition to hosting better cars, Ruedisueli also believes the clubs are raising the bar by making better club displays each year and debuting fresh builds. "With nearly 50 percent of the cars shown being club cars, they are getting more and more creative with their displays," Ruedisueli says. It's also the clubs that the promoters have come to depend on for new, fresh builds. "Seventy-five percent of the cars here are fresh builds, whether it be a totally new car or upgrades to an old one. I can always count on the So-What guys (eastern Pennsylvania) to bring new stuff and good cars to help bring the show to a better level," he says.
With the 2010 edition of the Autorama Extreme in the books, it's time to start building for next year. Will we see total traditional domination of the Basement? Time will tell.
We really dig Chris Herod's...
We really dig Chris Herod's '26 Ford roadster with its reet style, vibrant orange and cream body, tasty period-styled scallops, and whitewall slicks on chrome reverse rims.
Aaron Blatter's midnight black...
Aaron Blatter's midnight black Deuce pickup was loaded with subtleties, including a well-balanced chop and mild channel, front and rear split 'bones, and a rare marine intake-topped '57 Ford 312ci V-8.
Everywhere you looked, Jo...
Everywhere you looked, Jo Kerr's sinister '61 Buick nailhead-powered '30 Ford coupe was covered in resplendent touches. Many of his own handmade parts gave the car its unique personality.