It's that time of the year, when our hot rod brethren from the East, South, North and everywhere in between do much of their hot rodding indoors. Something about it being cold and a lot of white stuff on the ground. That's okay, as many West Coast rodders begin their year enjoying the indoor show season themselves. There are many shows throughout the Western states, but two of the veteran, and popular, shows are the Grand National Roadster Show and Blackie Gejeian's Fresno Autorama.
For starters, unless you are a subscriber, by the time you read this editorial, the GNRS will have occurred and you will be thoroughly giddy about which car won the America's Most Beautiful Roadster Award...or you won't, which seems to be the case more times than not! (Hey, you knew the "rules" before you entered, so be happy for the other guy and deal with it.) Yet odds are you still have almost a month before Blackie's show. Blackie promises us this year, being the 50th, will be special, covering more floor space and more cars than ever before with a number of historic hot rods providing old and young rodders with an opportunity to see many famous cars from the past.
Speaking of anniversaries, the GNRS is celebrating its 60th go-around, and with the likes of all four double-winners present, such as the George Barris-built Ala Kart (1958-59), the wild Bob Reisner Invader (1966-67), Lonnie Gilbertson's 1923 T-bucket (1971 and 1975), and the Don Thelan-built 1925 T roadster of Ermie Immerso (1989 and 1991), this will be special.
At an event in Paso Robles...
At an event in Paso Robles in 2007, the Beckdolts were driving their unpainted Bow Tie around town, much to the delight of onlookers. All of the bodywork had been done, and the trim and bumpers were already copper plated. Though it would soon get its color, this was a great way to show off the extensive metalwork that had taken place at Ben York Jr's Roseville Rod and Custom Shop.
But the fun doesn't stop there. Alongside the double winners will be past winners in a specially decorated hall called Twice in a Lifetime, as if it were the old Armory shows from the '50s.
Past GNRS winners included: Blackie Gejeian's Shish-Kabob 1927 roadster from '55, Rich Guasco's highboy roadster from '61, STREET RODDER magazine co-founder LeRoi "Tex" Smith and his XR-6 winner from '63, Don Tognotti King T from '64, the Art and Mickey Himsl Alien from '69, John Corno's Russ Meeks-built flip-top body 1930 roadster from '72, Ed Hegarty's Richard Magoo Megugorac-built '32 Deucari for Brian Burnett in '79, John Corno's John Buttera-built 1929 roadster from '80, the first Boyd Coddington winner, Jamie Musselman's '33 roadster from '82, and many more.
And then there's Detroit, home of the Don Ridler Memorial Award (known simply as the Ridler). This event takes place March 6, 7, 8 of '09, so you should still have time to get out there and take in one of the truly great shows. While the field generally runs around 25 entrants, it is the Pirelli Tire Great 8 where these finalists truly are something to behold, as the creativity and craftsmanship abounds.
That's 576 cubic inches of...
That's 576 cubic inches of Merlin Hardcore motor sitting in the engine bay, and it looks sharp! Roseville Rod and Custom Shop not only custom fab'd the injection stacks for the Imagine fuel injection system using a '60s-era Moon manifold, but they also created an electronically-controlled twin header system that extracts gasses through either twin mufflers and out the back of the car or straight out a pair of Zoomies, exiting through the front fenders just behind the wheel.
The Feature Builder Exhibit honors Daryl Starbird for '09. Six of Starbird's cars will be on display, including the Lil' Coffin and The Predicta. Other named builders honored this year are Sam and George Barris with three of their iconic cars: the Ala Kart, Hirohata Merc, and The Sam Barris Merc. There is also a display dedicated to Back to the '60s, which will feature five of the coolest cars from that era: the Harry Markiecki's '23 T-bucket Trojan ('61), Ed Roth's Outlaw, ('62), Bill Cushenberry's Car Craft Dream Rod ('63), Ed Roth's Orbitron ('64), and Dan Woods' Milk Truck ('65). More good ol' hot rod heritage comes in the form of Neal East roadster from the cover of Rod & Custom and the Preservation Award.
The Pinstripers Jamboree is another popular gathering with 100-plus pinstripers. These creative artists come to Detroit for camaraderie and to lend their creativity to helping raise over $60,000 each year for a local charity. This year STREET RODDER is very proud to be associated with this award. Another SR award is the Driven Award, presented by Lokar Performance Products, that is given out to the hot rod that is, well, driven! This is always a fun award as the recipients are always very appreciative and their hot rods exemplify what our hobby is all about.
Traditional hot rods have taken over the basement for the past three years (this being the fourth), and while these rods are most definitely not your father's hot rod, you will appreciate the creativity and workmanship here as well. And then there is the pin-up girl contest-enough said!
Student Day was started in Detroit, and now takes place in many other Autorama and World of Wheels events. Thousands of Detroit area high school students in automotive programs take in the show and are treated to speakers from the auto industry locally and nationally. Following the speakers all the students are then free to take in the show-a great "school day."
Well, each year I get excited about the indoor season and try and make it to a handful of shows. Aside from staying day and warm, there are always plenty of good-looking hot rods and potential feature material to view. See you indoors, all warm and fuzzy!
 |  |  |
 It's the mark of a master...  It's the mark of a master when you can make something look simple when, in reality, it was a real chore to do, but that's what Roseville Rod and Custom Shop did with the Beckdolt project. Subtle touches are everywhere, from the trim pieces for the Zoomie exhaust, to the rounded and boltless rear bumper (made from two front bumpers), to the forward-leaning B pillars, to the exhaust ports fab'd into the rear bumper-it's all great. |  |  Dave Putman of Orangevale,...  Dave Putman of Orangevale, CA, did the upholstery in Colleen's cruiser, covering the Glide split-bench front seat and a rear seat of his own design with pleated pearl white Ultraleather (the same material was also used on the floor of the car). Also on the interior floor is a large Roman numeral III-a tribute to Lewis Orville Coley III, Colleen's father-and a symbol that has made its way on many of the cars and bikes in the Beckdolt family. The dash features two custom aluminum pieces made by Roseville: the gauge surround and the glove box door. Rebuilt Chevrolet gauges were used, and a reproduction '40 Ford steering wheel got the full detail treatment. All of the controls and knobs are hidden behind the milled glove box door. In the trunk, the 15-inch-wide wheels are hidden under covered tubs, and some of Mike Clines' pinstriping is showcased on the custom 18-gallon fuel tank. |
 |  |  |