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2017 Ridler Award

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.

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.

 

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.

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