Great 8 contender

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.

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.

1956 Plymouth Custom Convertible

The sign in the show display says it is a rare combination of modern age technology with 1950’s Golden Age design and spirit. It is the 1956 Plymouth Custom Convertible brought to the 2015 Detroit Autorama by Gil and Janet Losi　of Murrieta, California. It was entered in the Radical Custom Convertible category.

Our Cars On Line.com Facebook fans voted for this car as their choice for the Ridler Award for 2015. It received 598 “Likes” as our Facebook followers showed they disagreed with the Detroit Autorama judges. Sorry, Chip.

The ’56 Belvedere is built on a custom chassis with a late model 6.1L Hemi engine.　Look at the photos and you’ll see Curtis/Foose wheels, Axalta paint, Advanced Plating custom chrome and a Gabe Lopez interior. The build was completed by　Steve Cook Creations.　This 1956 Plymouth Custom Convertible was notified it has been judged to be qualified to compete for the Ridler Award and has been included in the exclusive Great 8. That is a heady place to be for any custom car.

At Steve Cook’s shop they build customs the way they have been built for decades. Steve told us that he always tries to keep the essential lines of the original classic intact. In this case, there is no doubt that you are looking at a ’56 Belvedere. But every body panel is reworked not only to make it better than factory stock but to create an art form of the original. You’ll notice there are no panel gaps in the body, every panel and rocker fits seamlessly and straight.

The paint was a special blend done by Cook. He told us how he mixed three candy colors and two pearls, but we don’t want to　repeat his method here because he said it was not done the way they teach it in paint school. In fact, he said it was kind of a mistake. He does things by eye. Suffice it to say it is a one-off color that will never be duplicated. But the result is amazing.

The wheels were made by Mike Curtis and have the center cap design from the original Belvedere. These wheels are gorgeous and one-off.

Be sure to lick on the photos below to view a larger version:

Click here to link back to the 2015 Detroit Autorama news feed.

1965 Dodge Dart SL Street Touring

Great 8 Contender for the Ridler Award …

Willie and Charlotte Maise were on their way over to the Cobo Center Friday morning to see their 1965 Dodge Dart SL Street Touring car at the 2015 Detroit Autorama. Their pride and joy, a 1965 Dodge Dart which they call the “Dart SL ” was to be shown to the public for the first time, and their anticipation was high. This car started out to be Willie’s driver, but when he took it to Big Oak Garage, the crew there came up with some good ideas so Willie’s driver turned into a full on show car. Every panel was reworked. The roof was lowered a bit toward the windshield and the body was totally reworked. The finely crafted custom includes 110 body modifications, 42 one-off machined parts and countless hand-made sheet metal pieces. But the lines of the car and enough of the look of the car were saved so that you can very definitely tell it is a ’65 Dodge Dart. The fit and finish on this car are perfect.

The Dart SL has a 392 Supercharged Gen 2 Hemi motor which is the heart of the car. It sits in a perfect clean engine compartment where all of the wires and plumbing are hidden, even the radiator was built in under a special valance.

When Big Oak Garage designed in the the suspension they used a special belly pan type cover that is tied into the rear suspension and they used a torque arm type suspension in the rear. (See photo.) An air vent was used below the headlights on the front valance to bring air through a duct in the fender to the front brakes. (See headlight photo.) You can also see that the front headlights are LED.

In the photos you’ll notice the one-off Schott wheels labeled SL65’s. Willie was told by Schott that they will be selling this design sometime in the future, and they will call them SL65’s in honor of this build.

The custom interior is so fully detailed it takes a while to take in all the subtleties. The interior was done by M&M Hot Rod Interiors.

Big Oak Garage did the paintwork in-house. The D-BASF color is called Green With Envy.

Willie and Charlotte soon found out that their car had been selected as one of the Great 8 contenders for the 2015 Ridler Award. Willie said, “It’s still all just sinking in.”