2015 Grand National Roadster Show

1933 Ford Roadster built by Bobby Alloway
is 2015 America’s Most Beautiful Roadster …
Larry Olson of Sioux Falls, South Dakota asked Bobby Alloway to build his 1933 Ford Roadster, and the rest is now hot rod history. This stunning flamed ’33 roadster has won the America’s Most Beautiful Roadster trophy for 2015. The announcement was just made at the 2015 Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona, California. The awards ceremony at the GNRS just concluded and Olson’s 1933 Ford Roadster announcement was the finale of a great weekend event held at the Pomona Fairplex.

Long and low and crouched across its show display like a flaming black panther, the 1933 Ford Roadster looked like the car to beat today. Alloway has set many trends in street rod building and his roadsters are famous. This one was stretched an extra two inches for a look and stance that is perfect. The secret to the car is in the details. The lines are simple and smooth, enhanced by perfectly formed steel body panels and gaps. It has Alloway wheels which complement the stance.
The engine is a 241 ci Dodge Red Ram Hemi fed by six Stromberg 97s set up in an original old school style. What you can’t see is the fuel injectors hidden in the cylinder heads. The car has a Tremec T-5 transmission, Winters Performance V8 Quick Change rearend, Posie suspension parts and Billet Specialties. An old school custom black interior was done by Steve Holcomb Pro Upholstry.
Olson brought the flamed black roadster to the 66th Annual Grand National Roadster Show to win the America’s Most Beautiful Roadster trophy. And that is what he did.
Cars On Line Facebook followers also picked Larry Olson’s 1933 Ford Roadster as their favorite to be America’s Most Beautiful Roadster. COL readers were placing their “unofficial votes” for the AMBR winner on our Facebook page. The ’33 Roadster got 441 likes on Saturday, most of any of the AMBR contenders. Our readers agreed with the AMBR judges here in Pomona.
There were 18 entrants in the AMBR competition this year. We’ll show you the whole field here below.:

















Other Car Show Categories …
The America’s Most Beautiful Roadster award is just one of the many judged categories at the 2015 Grand National Roadster Show. There were more than 500 cars competing in categories such as Custom Hardtop, Radical Custom Hardtop, Radical Custom Convertible and more. Be sure to read our coverage of some of the Top Cars at the 2015 Grand National Roadster Show at this link.
This was one of our favorites:

While we were here at the Pomona Fairplex we couldn’t resist the opportunity to explore the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum. You can’t imagine the feeling of looking at the cars that were the heritage of the California hot rodding hobby. Standing there in the museum was like retracing the beginnings of our American car culture.

Our Cars On Line newsletter readers are very aware of the 1935 Chevy Phaeton owned by Wes Rydell which won the America’s Most Beautiful Roadster Award in 2014. It was built by noted street rod and custom designer Troy Trepanier at his Rad Rides by Troy facility in Manteno, Illinois. Rad Rides by Troy is now considered one of the premier hot rod shops in America. This car was in contention for the Barrett-Jackson Cup at Hot August Nights in 2014 (follow this link to read more about the incredible competition at Hot August Nights last year.)

Show promoters have really done a great job in bringing thousands of cars to this years event. It is the biggest street rod show in the country. The America’s Most Beautiful Roadster award is one of the most coveted trophies in the street rod hobby.
We were here at the 2015 Grand National Roadster Show this weekend to find out which of the 18 contestants would win the America’s Most Beautiful Roadster Award this year. The venue is the Pomona Fairplex which is also the home of the NHRA Museum so we get a chance to see both when we cover this show. It is the 66th Annual Grand National Roadster Show which was held January 23-25, 2015. It is in its 11th year here at the Fairplex. Previously it had for decades been known as the Oakland Roadster Show.
They say over 500 show vehicles were here to compete for awards inside all of the Fairplex buildings. Show promoters were surprised to find that thousands more vehicles have joined the event Saturday & Sunday for the 9th Annual Grand Daddy Drive-In.