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2017 Detroit Autorama

1966 Corvette Called Split Ray Named Great 8 Pick

A 1966 Corvette called Split Ray made the cut to be one of the Great 8 award winners here at the 2017 Detroit Autorama. It is generally felt that if you make the Great 8 your car is one of the top eight custom show cars in the country. Now owners Dennis Johnson and Scott Roth will be biting their nails until Sunday evening when the 2017 Ridler Award winner will be announced from among the top eight contenders here at Cobo Center in downtown Detroit.

  • 1966 Corvette Called Split Wiindow

The Split Ray monicker is a play on words. The 1966 Corvette called Split Ray has been entered in the Autorama judging in the Radical Sport 1963-67 category. The car was built by The Auto Shoppe of Burlington, Vermont. It is all about speed and performance. The Auto Shoppe even made it “look” fast. It is a true wide body with an extra 6 -3/8ths inches added to the center of the car down the middle. The Corvette is channeled and the gills have been relocated for effect. The front end is dropped and restyled. The floor was dropped and has en enclosed driveshaft. Cooling for the supercharger is integrated into the body.

The engine is an LS9 Superchared 6.2L putting out 638 horsepower, 604 ft-pounds of torque. It features a T56 Magnum 6-speed. The interior is high quality Richmond leather relicate with styling much like a 2015 Z06.

1930 Ford Model A Coupe Called After Thought

1930 Ford Model A Coupe After Thought

A 1930 Ford Model A Coupe called After Thought has made the cut to be in the Great 8 this year at the 2017 Detroit Autorama. Ted and Colleen Hubbard of South Bend, Nebraska are the owners. They had the car built by CAL Automotive Creations in Omaha. Andy Leach and his team at CAL Automotive Creations have been here before. They won the Ridler Award in 2013. Now they’re back with their “After Thought.” The “cast-look” is a basic theme of the design.

  • 1930 Ford Model A Coupe After Thought

The 1930 Ford Model A Coupe will be competing in the Altered Street Coupe, Pre-1935 class. With 18 basic body modifications and eight major chassis mods, this old school hot rod was refabricated top to bottom. The 1932 original style rails were re-worked, pinched, sectioned and a higher kick-up over the rear was basic to the structure. It has hand made, cast-look cross members. The one-off machined wishbones hold it together underneath. Houdaille friction shocks are recessed into the frame with cast-look I-beam. It has a ’32 heavy dropped axle.

The interior has some basic design technique which may not be immediately noticeable. It uses a 3-D modeled cast-look. The machined transmission and driveshaft tunnel match the machined door and trim. It has a ’57 Olds themed dash all hand made to capture the original aesthetics and produced by Classic Instruments. Notice the one-off column mounted tach. The interior upholstery was done by the Recovery Room.

The wheels are a one-off design and made to look like Hallibrand style wheels. They are made for this vehicle by Evod.

The body and paint were done by Charley Hutton Color Studio.

Elegant 1933 Ford Renaissance Roadster Wins Ridler Award

Elegant 1933 Ford Renaissance Roadster

Buddy Jordan’s 1933 Ford Renaissance Roadster will take home the 2017 Ridler Award. The announcement was just made here at the Cobo Center in downtown Detroit, Michigan. The selection of an elegant high tech 1930’s street rod is a knod to the Detroit show’s roots in the street rodding hobby. Click the video window below:

Nancy and Buddy Jordan’s elegant 1933 Ford Renaissance Roadster made the cut Friday to be selected for the Great 8 here at the 2017 Detroit Autorama. No one could have known at that time that it would become a legend in its own time by winning the 2017 Ridler Award. It is a more modern looking build with everything beautifually hand built and fabricated. Everything on this car is a custom modification. The paint and bodywork are exquisite. The design was by Chris Ito and Steve Frisbie. The street rod was built at Steve’s Auto Restorations in Portland, Oregon where they hand built and CNC machined it from aluminum, steel sheet, tube and billet. Amazing effort.

View dozens of photos of the 1933 Ford Renaissance Roadster and the awards ceremony:

  • 2017 Detroit Autorama Ridler Award winner
    1933 Ford Renaissance Roadster wins 2017 Detroit Autorama Ridler Award

Steve’s Auto Restorations has long been a leader in steel and aluminum fabrication in the Pacific Northwest. The body was hand crafted from aluminum sheets. The frame was hand built from steel. The front suspension is an independent split tube axle with remote shocks, and rack and pinion steering with CNC machined tie rods. The rear suspension uses CNC machined A-arms, uprights and half shafts; remote shocks, and Mustang IRS third member.

The engine on the 1933 Ford Renaissance Roadster is a GM Performance Anniversary Edition 427 using an aluminum block and heads. The transmission is a GM 4L60 with smoothed case, CNC pan, and a CNC machined tapered aluminum driveshaft. The headlight buckets were hand formed, as was the custom shaped rear bumper. Front bumper was CNC machined.

The detail is incredible.

Phoenix Phantom 1929 Ford Pickup Makes Great 8

Phoenix Phantom 1929 Ford Pickup

His Phoenix Phantom 1929 Ford Pickup was one of the cars selected to the Great 8 on Friday here at the Cobo Center in downtown Detroit. So Dennis Portka of Hamburg, New York is a step closer to his dream today. The car he built with his own two hands will be a contender for the 2017 Ridler Award. Brian Fruzen of the Cars On Line car show team interviewed him when the Great 8 banner was placed in his display.

Dennis told us he spent 24 years putting the details together to complete his Phoenix Phantom 1929 Ford Pickup.  He figures it took 13,500 hours of work to put it together. All of the sheetmetal and bodywork were done by Dennis. He also did the Glasurit paint with basecoat and clearcoat. The upholstery was done by Joe McDonald at Z-Best, with pinstriping by Terry Buczak.

  • Phoenix Phantom 1929 Ford Pickup

It is almost unheard of these days that a custom car hobbyist working on his own could complete such a project without expensive shop work. And then for him to win a Great 8 award really is a complement to his efforts. We commend Dennis for his accomplishment.

 

GTP 1932 Ford Tudor Contends for Ridler Award

The GTP 1932 Ford Tudor built by Johnson’s Hot Rod Shop has made the Great 8 in Detroit this weekend. It was announced on Friday that the custom Deuce sedan had made the cut at the 2017 Detroit Autorama. It is now one of the top eight cars in line to be chosen as the 2017 Ridler Award winner here. The car was built for George Poteet of Memphis, Tennessee. Poteet is a long standing patron of the hot rod hobby. He is a former Ridler Award winner.

  • GTP 1932 Ford Tudor

The detail and aesthetics on this GTP 1932 Ford Tudor are exquisite. e.Black Design out of Portland, Oregon designed the car. (They were also the ones who designed the 1936 Packard, America’s Most Beautiful Roadster at the Grand National Roadster Show last month.) The car was initially rendered by known artist and designer Eric Brockmeyer. The engine was designed and built by Automotive Specialists Racing Engines in Concord, North Carolina. The transmission was built by Bowler Performance Transmissions of Lawrenceville, Illinois.

Immediately after hearing that a Pirelli Great 8 award standard had been put in their display, Johnson’s Hot Rod Shop put out this post on Facebook. Click here to see the post.  Alan Johnson is one of the premier builders who is well known for his expertise in build Deuce Ford customs. He will be one of the top builders on the panel for a discussion today starting at 1 PM at the Cobo Center. Johnson’s Hot Rod Shop is located in Gadsden, Alabama.

 

1941 Ford Pickup Called Gold Standard Great 8 Pick

A 1941 Ford Pickup called Gold Standard was selected to the Great 8 during Friday’s session of the 2017 Detroit Autorama here in downtown Detroit, Michigan. Anxious owner, Ed Sears of Annapolis, Maryland waited Friday morning when his classic custom pickup was chosen to compete for the legendary Ridler Award. Each of the top eight cars selected to the Great 8 will be a contender to win the vaunted Ridler Award here on Sunday evening.

  • 1941 Ford Pickup called Gold Standard

“The Gold Standard,” Sears’ nickname for his 1941 Ford Pickup, will be a contender for the 2017 Ridler Award as much for its aesthetics as it will be for its great build. It has a Flathead with a detailed Ford 8BA block updated with today’s high performance technology and three Stromberg 97 carburetors. It is bored and stroked, has a Winfield Performance cam and Navarro aluminum heads and manifold. It is ported, polished and relieved, and comes with a serpentine belt system. Quite an impressive engine.

Interestingly, the 1941 Ford Pickup called Gold Standard was built with an electrically operated hood, electric seats and electrical bed cover.

1954 Corvette GM Concept Tribute Competes For the 2017 Ridler Award

No surprise, a 1954 Corvette GM Concept Tribute car was picked to be a contender for the 2017 Ridler Award here at the 2017 Detroit Autorama yesterday. It was picked as one of the Great 8 award cars in the competition. The car is a completely refabricated custom tribute to the GM Concept Corvette promoted in the 1954 GM Motorama shows. Larry and Robbie Griffey are the owners from Powell, Tennessee. It was built by Larry Griffey’s Hot Rods & Restorations in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Beginning with a 1954 Corvette Roadster body, Larry Griffey and Chuck Powell did the original body and chassis modifications to create this custom design. They included a removable hardtop and roll-up windows just as GM had done in the 1954 concept car. These features were not actually available on a Corvette until 1956. The build also includes modern day technology, a lower hot rod stance and improved performance and handling. Its features will remind you of the actual Motorama concept car.

  • 1954 Corvette GM Concept Tribute

Some of the many body modifications to the 1954 Corvette GM Concept Tribute include: a tapered body drop with 2 1/2″ at the front, 1 1/2″ at the A pillar and 1″ at the rear. The body was widened 3″ in the rear and tapered to 1 3/4″ inch wider in the front. The cowl vent was removed and re-contoured to accept a 1956 Corvette windshield. The rear hatch was modified so as to accept a 1956 Corvette removable hardtop. Passenger compartment was reconfigured in real steel to make it safer. All fuel lines, brake lines and cables are hidden. A custom hood scoop was used to accomodate the supercharger. Remote latches were installed, and the doors were split and widened with steel structure to accomodate power windows.

2017 Detroit Autorama Ridler Award Tribute

Ridler Award Winner at 2017 Detroit Autorama
Buddy Jordan here at the 2017 Detroit Autorama fresh from the awards ceremony where his 1933 Ford Renaissance Roadster won America’s most coveted trophy, the Ridler Award.

 

2017 Detroit Autorama Ridler Award

DETROIT, MI, February 26 — Buddy Jordan was bubbling with enthusiasm here at the 2017 Detroit Autorama Ridler Award ceremony as his 1933 Ford Renaissance Roadster won the most coveted award in the custom car hobby. The automotive media is swarming Buddy and his Ridler Award winning Renaissance Roadster to get the first photos.

  • 2017 Detroit Autorama Ridler Award winner
    1933 Ford Renaissance Roadster wins 2017 Detroit Autorama Ridler Award

Nancy & Buddy Jordan’s 1933 Ford Renaissance Roadster is a beautifully hand fabricated street rod. Designed by Chris Ito and Steve Frisbie, the build was done by Steve’s Auto Restorations of Portland, Oregon.  Follow this link to find out all about the custom mods and see more photos.

The Autorama is in its 65th year, and is one of the most talked about custom car events in the world. Some of the best custom car builders are here in downtown Detroit this weekend to compete for the Ridler Award.

The Michigan Hot Rod Association narrowed the field of Ridler Award contenders to eight on Friday. Countless hours have been put into the Great 8 vehicles by some of the industry’s best builders. Winner or not, all of these cars are an accomplishment deserving of their place here at the 2017 Detroit Autorama.

 

1954 Custom Corvette
Larry & Robbie Griffey’s 1954 Corvette GM Concept Tribute built by Larry Griffey’s Hot Rods & Restorations in Knoxville, TN. Read all about it and view more photos here.

 

1941 Ford Pickup
Ed Sears’ 1941 Ford Pickup “The Gold Standard” made the cut for the Great 8. Click here to see more photos and info.

 

1932 Ford Sedan
George Poteet’s GTP 1932 Ford Tudor was built by Johnson’s Hot Rod Shop in Gadsden, Alabama. Find out more by clicking thru to more photos and info.

 

1929 Ford
The Phoenix Phantom 1929 Ford Pickup took Dennis Portka 24 years to build. Now it is contending for the Ridler Award. Find out more by following this link to more photos and info.

 

1949 C-10 Pickup
Robby Collvins’ 1949 C-10 Pickup from Mt Vernon, Texas has all the elements of a Ridler Award winner. Click here to see more photos and a video interview.

 

1930 Ford Coupe
Ted Hubbard’s 1930 Ford Coupe built by CAL  Autumotive Creations. Old school is still cool. See more photos at this link.

 

1966 Corvette
Dennis Johnson & Scott Roth’s 1966 Corvette Split Ray is a true fan favorite. Find out more when you follow this link to its photo page.

 

The 2017 Detroit Autorama is where custom car builders come to display their work and contend for the most sought-after trophy of them all: the Ridler Award. But the Ridler Award is only one aspect of the 2017 Detroit Autorama. Over 1,000 cars were on display at the Cobo Center in downtown Detroit during this year’s event. Here are some of the cars we saw here:

  • 1933 Art Deco Ford Roadster owned by Al Kammerer, Bloomfield Hills, MI

Cars On Line.com was onhand this weekend to cover all the action live for our readers. The Detroit Autorama is honoring its 65th Anniversary by celebrating the past. Among the show cars are some past Ridler Award winners. See the stunners from shows past in the slide show below:

  • 1935 Chevy Master Sedan
    Chip Foose built 1935 Chevy Master Sedan. It won the Ridler Award in 2002.

The Detroit Autorama has been running annually for 65 years and is the feature event of the Michigan Hot Rod Association. Sponsors for this year’s event include Meguiars and O’Reilly’s Auto Parts.

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