Grand National Roadster Show ‘23

About time, quarantine is over and we can play cars and attend indoor shows again. Meanwhile, ARP Racing Products has stepped up to sponsor both the America’s Most Beautiful Roadster Award (AMBR) and the Al Slonaker Memorial Award at the 73rd O’Reilly Auto Parts Grand National Roadster Show (GNRS). Each award comprises a substantial trophy and a cash prize of $12,500, as well as the prestige of winning what has become the world’s most signi cant custom car and hot rod show – the ‘Grandaddy of Them All.’

Of course, $12,500 is but a drop in the bucket of the guesstimated $1 million or more it takes to build a show-winning contender. Cost notwithstanding, there were nine entries up for the AMBR and 11 contenders for the Al Slonaker Award. That’s a cool $20-plus million for just 20 of the approximately 600 vehicles on display. To say it was a staggering show would be an understatement.

Right: Most controversial award (just kidding) went to artist/designer Coby Gewertz for his radical, wildly painted, sixties-race-car-inspired, stack-injected, Hemi-powered ’34 coupe built by Bill Ganahl’s South City Rod and Custom Shop

Below: A surprise for most people was this LS-powered ’41 Willys coupe built by Roy Brizio Street Rods for rock legend Eric Clapton. It sported a lot of ames but maybe needed bumpers or nerf bars or something

Above: One of the coolest pickup trucks in the vast show was built by the Kennedy Bros and nished by Brit Jay Dean for Mike Williams of Western New York. The truck is a tribute to one that Mike lusted after as a boy – period perfect

Above right: There’s a drive-in element to the Grand National Roadster Show that sees hundreds of enthusiasts drive their cars to the show grounds. This ’50 Chebby was owned by ‘Way Back’ Jack

Right: I’m partial to this style of Model T-based Modi ed Roadster. Although often athead powered, this one had a small-block Chevy behind its suicide front end. They’re snug but fun

Above left: Jack Chisenhall, founder of the Vintage Air Co, has been building this super low ‘The Champ’ Deuce Roadster for 10 years and was rewarded with this year’s America’s Most Beautiful Roadster Award

Above right: My pick for Best Roadster not entered for the America’ Most Beautiful Roadster Award was Larry Erickson’s svelte Bonneville Roadster. Erickson was a Ford and GM designer that penned both CadZZilla and the Aluma Coupe for Boyd Coddington

Above: A somewhat polarising hot rod was this monochrome Deuce Roadster belonging to Joe Kugel, of Kugel Kompenents suspension fame. Some people didn’t like the paint treatment but it was a tuf looking ride

Left: One of the toughest cars in the whole show was this ‘gangsta’ Deuce Phaeton built by the Veazie Bros, Evin and Justin, for Sonny Koneru. It’s powered by a classic 265ci Chevy V8 backed by a ’39 trans

Left: The infamous Jitney Jim ‘Jake’ Jacobs, once half of the famed Pete and Jake’s duo, has survived cancer by working on this ‘A-Bone’ ’28 Roadster. Power comes from a Riley ohv converted four banger

Below left: Best Appearing Flathead Engine Award, presented by H and H Flatheads, went to this Navarro-headed 59A tted with a staggered-height Tatters eld-Baron intake with four Stromberg 97s

Below: The epitome of the hot rod craft was exempli ed in Dan Webb’s hand-crafted belly tank built for Dan Davis. The hand-shaped, polished aluminum body was formed by Craig Ne , who also did the body work on Billy F Gibbons’ CadZZilla

Left: Paint still plays a huge part in the hot rod world and this example cleverly translated through the interior. Incidentally, a gallon of paint costs about $1400 in Los Angeles so the material alone for a job like this probably costs about $25,000

Below: My own barn- nd roadster comprises a ’27 T Roadster body on a Deuce chassis with 1940 athead V-8, column shift and juice brakes. The car was parked in Pasadena in 1958 and not moved until we found it

Bottom: Another ’27, this time a coupe, is owned by Tim Dempsey who travelled all the way to California from Des Plaines, Illinois – and that’s a long drive in such a radically chopped coupe

Right: Another drive-in was this stunning bagged n’ chopped ’39 Mercury Eight coupe with beautiful matte burgundy paint

Left: Stromberg’s Clive Prew discusses the six BIG97s atop Troy Ladd’s Hollywood Hot Rods’ coupe. Built by Troy in about 21 days, the street driven drag car had some carb issues until Troy installed the ‘real’ Strombergs

Below left: Brit Mick Jenkins had his own in-progress, bare-metal Deuce Roadster on display. Car is powered by a Hilborn stack-injected 454ci big-block Chevy in true eighties’ style

Below: More stunningly straight paintwork could be found on Habib Chababi’s ’67 Chevelle Malibu, built by Steve Strope’s Pure Vision Design with body and paint by Brit Mick Jenkins at Mick’s Paint

Above: Built in about 21 days, on the one day a week he takes o at his Hollywood Hot Rods shop, Troy Ladd’s chopped ’31 coupe pulls wheelies and runs 8s at the Irwindale Dragstrip with a big blown 392 Hemi

Right: My pick for the most outstanding car in the show went to Luc de Lay’s beautiful, hand-crafted, LS-powered one-o roadster. The craftsmanship left observers speechless

Below: Scary but this is what three generations of Custom Car sta ers look like today. Eighties editor Tony Thacker (left) anked by fellow journalists Clive Prew of Stromberg and Greg Emmerson of iDAgency

Left: Father of Roy Brizio, Andy ‘The Rod Father’ Brizio was one of the founders of the modern hot rod movement with his ‘Andy’s Instant T.’ Restored by his family and friends, it won the Bruce Meyer Preservation Award

Above: Winner of the Al Slonaker Memorial Award was George and Angela Eliacostas’ ‘X-60’ 1960 Buick Invicta Custom, built by Andy Leach’s Cal Auto Creations. The car was stunning but the engine looked like a Samsonite display

Right: As these two young fashionistas showed, not everybody wears the seemingly regulated hot rod garb – and that’s a good thing as they certainly brightened up the show

Left: Bobby Green, proprietor of the Old Crow Speed Shop as well as a few LA bars, displayed his tribute to the Babe Stapp ’33 Roadster that raced at Mines Field (now LAX) and other venues in pre-WWII Los Angeles

While it’s not a race meeting per se, Flame and Thunder is a major event in the Santa Pod calendar and a must-do meet for many. This rework spectacular is billed as an action packed day for the whole family – and it doesn’t disappoint.

The on-track programme featured cars and bikes from numerous drag racing classes, along with an impressive gathering of jet-propelled vehicles. O track action included drift cars, monster trucks, sky diving and even people

Words: Dave Biggadyke

Pics: Julian Hunt dressed as characters from Toy Story, but we’ll leave that one right there.

Heavy overnight rain delayed the opening of the track and the ground crew put in a massive e ort to get things rolling as soon as possible. When things did get running, some impressive times were recorded – including a number of PBs for bike and four-wheeled racers alike. A stunning rework display wrapped up the show, with many racers stopping over for the RWYB on Sunday.

Here’s a look at just some of what happened.

The wackiest

Some of the more, err, unusual quarter milers included Danny Key in (on?) his drag definitely in

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Jet drag

Flame shooting Jet Car passes were put in by Martin Hill in both Fireforce 5 and Fireforce 3, Julian Webb in Split Second and Roger Goring in Firestorm. The quickest and fastest passes were run by Fireforce 5 with a 5.5323 / 181.39 and Split Second with a 6.8421 / 228.94

It’s fair to say that dragsters were thin on the ground. Allan Schofield was there in his Pro ET machine however, and ran a best of 9.3169 / 151.05

8.55 at 117mph