GRAND NATIONAL ROADSTER SHOW
Boris fulfils a lifelong dream in California surrounded by some of the finest hot rods in the world
THE Grand National Roadster Show, the granddaddy of them all, has been on my bucket list ever since I discovered Us-based hot rod magazines as a teenager. And finally, during my 50th trip around the sun, I found myself at the Pomona Fairplex in Southern California checking out some of the sweetest cars I had ever laid eyes on. This was my kind of show, full of hot rods and customs, with a smattering of restored muscle cars and a few street machines scattered around for good measure. But by and large, the vast majority of the cars were traditionally styled – in other words, very tastefully done.
The big drawcard for this event has always been the competition to crown America’s Most Beautiful Roadster, an award that has been handed out since 1950 when the Model A roadster of Bill Niekamp was judged the best in the land. It was a real buzz to see this very same car – beautifully restored and probably looking better today than it did back in 1950 – as you walked into the hall where all the 2018 contenders were on display.
All up, there were 15 roadsters vying for the AMBR trophy – a nine-foot-high behemoth of wood and gold-plated tin that grows ever larger as names keep getting added – but one car stood out, a classmate, if you will, of the Niekamp roadster. It was always going to be a big ask for a car originally built in 1951 to compete with the best builders of the 21st century, but the Eddie Dye roadster, now owned by Jim Bobowski and beautifully restored by Circle City Hot Rods, sure gave it a redhot go. It was definitely a crowd favourite and it would have been an amazing achievement for it to have won, but it wasn’t to be.
Picking a winner from so many high-quality cars is an unenviable job, especially when you take into consideration the very subjective nature of choosing the most beautiful car. After all, we all know that ‘beauty is in the eye of the beer holder’. Thankfully, there weren’t any ugly cars amongst the contenders this year and the ’31 roadster of Dave Martin was
THERE’S SO MUCH TO SEE, WITH EVERY CAR A STANDOUT AND NOT A SINGLE SHITBOX IN SIGHT
WITH A 500HP SBC SCREWED TOGETHER BY ED PINK RACING ENGINES, THE MARTIN SPECIAL HAS PLENTY OF GO TO BACK UP THE SHOW
deemed the best of a very good bunch. With a 500hp SBC screwed together by Ed Pink Racing Engines, this hot rod had plenty of go to back up the show. In the past the car has raced in the Nevada Silver State Classic, averaging over 100mph for the hour-long race.
Other standouts for me were the ’36 Ford of Dana Elrod, a sinister black beast sporting an injected 392 Hemi and slammed hard thanks to Ridetech airbags. While it wasn’t exactly setting any new styling trends, Scott Helliesen’s ’32 Ford was a gorgeous tribute to the Bob Mcgee roadster, while the ice blue ’32 of Gordon Custer Leland Jr was another beautifully detailed traditionally styled car.
That was the other thing that struck me, the fact that the overwhelming majority of cars competing were based around 50s and 60s styling cues. For my tastes that works just fine; after all, good styling is timeless and that’s why it’s still a popular choice so many years later. You do have to wonder, though, whether it’s progressing the hobby when people are simply revisiting styles and techniques that have been done countless times before. One thing is certain: The quality of the workmanship has progressed, and we definitely don’t want a return to the days when cars were built solely to score points at car shows.
One thing I wasn’t quite prepared for was the sheer number of vehicles on display. It wasn’t until I arrived on Sunday morning that I realised I’d completely missed two pavilions – easy to do when there are seven of the suckers full of cars! There I was thinking I could have a cruisy day revisiting stuff I’d checked out the day before and making sure I didn’t miss anything; instead, I’m checking out an entire hall full of restored muscle cars, and right next to that, another one full of customs and wildly painted lowriders. I spent so long checking out the multicoloured and multilayered paintjobs and trying to get my head around how much time and effort goes into masking, that I ran out of time to check out any of the cars that were on display outside the halls!
If you ever get the chance to go to the Grand National Roadster Show, try and get there for all three days. The show starts Friday lunchtime, runs until 8 pm Friday and Saturday, and wraps up at 6pm on Sunday. I skipped the Friday and wished I had a little more time to check everything out. There’s so much to see, with every car a standout and not a single shitbox in sight. The only problem you’re going to have is sorting through the hundreds of photos you had to take, because trust me, everything you walk past is worth taking a photo of.
Southern California really is the birthplace, epicentre and hotbed of the hot rod and custom scene, and the Grand National Roadster Show is the event that brings them all together.
I REALISED I’D COMPLETELY MISSED TWO PAVILIONS – EASY TO DO WHEN THERE ARE SEVEN OF THE SUCKERS FULL OF CARS!