Ridler Award Winner 1957 Chevy 150
Ridler Award Winner 1957 Chevy 150
It was just announced at the 2018 Detroit Autorama that this year’s Ridler Award winner is a 1957 Chevy 150 Hardtop owned by Greg & Judy Hrehovscik and co-owner Johnny Martin of Johnny’s Auto Trim & Rod Shop, Alamosa, Colorado. Although there was some top competition among the Great 8 contenders, the Ridler Award went to a car that was totally refabricated from front to back. The attention to detail on this Tri-Five custom is amazing.
This is one of the cars everyone was talking about as a Ridler Award favorite here at the 2018 Detroit Autorama this weekend. The one-off machining is incredible. It has a 515 ci Donovan Twin Turbo big block, which makes 1,084 horsepower on pump gas, with a Turbo 400 by Bowler. It all mates up to a very innovative “ball and socket” type independent rear suspension, the work of Bob Thrash, an incredibly talented automotive designer and fabricator. The interior of the car was all hand crafted and fabricated from steel panels. The consoles and seats were hand crafted just for this car. The dash and upholstery is Terracotta leather throughout (even into the trunk.) All of the wiring is hidden and tunneled. The engine compartment is so unique, it’s one-off look reminds you of an aeronautic theme.
The Ridler Award winner has a complete custom hood. Even the cowl was removed so the hood runs right up to the glass windshield (much cleaner look.) The car has been chopped, sectioned, channeled and the roof was perfectly hand fabricated. All the chrome pieces on the car were hand fabricated. Note that the taillight lenses were custom molded out of acryllic designed into the hand fabricated chrome design. The bumpers were from a ’56 Chevy but turned upside down and fitted perfectly to the body.
Here is an interview with Johnny Martin, the builder, as he talks about his Ridler Award winner.
Be sure to look for this car to be featured at the Tri-Five Nationals in Bowling Green, Kentucky in August.
To review all of the Great 8 contenders for this year’s Ridler Award competition follow this link to the Cars-On-Line.com blog on the 2018 Detroit Autorama.