Grand National Roadster Show of the 70's

https://www.hotrod.com/articles/history-grand-national-roadster-show/

George Ball Displayed His Semi Custom 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air In The 1973 Show. The 292 Chevy Engine Was Backed By A Four Speed Tranny. The Interior Was Pearl White Naugahyde. This Car Was Typical Of The Street Cruisers Of The Day, And Even Today Is Very Timeless In Its Execution. Meet You At Mel’s At 5?

Sacramento Metal Master Dave Miglietto Modified This 1967 Ford Thunderbird To Make It Almost Unrecognizable. Chopped, Flared, Molded, De Chromed; It Doesn’t Get Much Better. I Wonder What Henry Would Think?

GNRS Hall Of Famer Allen Taylor’s 1957 Buick Hardtop Was A Frequent Entry In The Roadster Show During The 1970s, As Well As A Reliable Street Runner. Body Mods Included Flared Wheel Wells, A Corvette Stingray Hood And Was Painted In Shades Of Candy Blue With Extensive Striping And Flames. Engine Was A 401 Buick.

The Chassis Had Many Chromed Components As Did The Chrysler Hemi Engine With Multiple Carbs.

John D’Agostino And Art Himsl Added Their Custom Touches To This 1972 Buick Riviera Before Setting It On Display In 1974. The Candy Red Paint Was Accented With Gold And Silver Panels, After The Body Was Devoided Of Chrome Trim And Emblems. The Headlights And Taillights Were Frenched. The Car Was A Very Tasteful Street Custom That Showed Equally Well

Jim Vasser’s 1914 Ford Model T Touring Won The AMBR In 1974. An Andy’s Instant T Chassis Was Modified By Denny Craig, Who Also Added A Super Bell Front Axle, A Jag Independent Rearend And Airheart Disc Brakes. Steve Archer Built The Fully Functional Fiberglass Four Door Body And Added Steel Fenders, Splash Aprons And Running Boards. The Trunk On The Back Is A 17 Gallon Gas Tank.

Bruce Olson Chopped And Channeled His 1932 Ford 5 Window Coupe, Then Stuffed A 392 Chrysler Hemi Under The Partial Hood. Bruce Bought The Coupe From The Original Owner In 1954 For $40. He Drove It Many Miles, Including Multiple Trips To Bonneville, Before His Untimely Passing In 1990. His Son Todd Is Now The Caretaker Of This Very Special Little Deuce Coupe.Bruce Olson Chopped And Channeled His 1932 Ford 5 Window Coupe, Then Stuffed A 392 Chrysler Hemi Under The Partial Hood. Bruce Bought The Coupe From The Original Owner In 1954 For $40. He Drove It Many Miles, Including Multiple Trips To Bonneville, Before His Untimely Passing In 1990. His Son Todd Is Now The Caretaker Of This Very Special Little Deuce Coupe.

Bill Mendoza’s 1928 Ford Phaeton Was Looking Good. Bill’s Red Ride Was And Is Still Street Driven Regularly; He Still Owns The Car. Powered By A Ford 289, The Car Features Full Chromed Jag Suspension. The Interior Is Brown Naugahyde. Red Lacquer Paint Is Accented With Gold Striping.

Bob Reed Wanted Some Rolling Advertisement For His Downey, California Butcher Shop, So He And Dan Woods Came Up With This 1909 Ford C Cab. The Bright Yellow Truck With Wire Wheels And Jag Suspension Drew More Than Its Share Of Attention. The Engine Was A 302 Ford. The Steel Fenders Were Handmade, The Interior Was Red Oak And The Upholstery Was Black Diamond Tufted Naugahyde.

The 1978 AMBR Winner Was Phil Cool’s 1932 Ford Roadster. Cool Took A Nice Deuce Roadster, Put A Dual Quad, GMC Blown Big Block Chevy In It, And 15 By 4.5 And 16 By 11 Inch Polished Halibrand Magnesium Wheels. Tires Were Goodyear Frontrunners Up Front And Monster Goodyear Slicks Out Back. The Engine Was Detailed With Moon Valve Covers And Breathers. Other Details Were Chrome Door Hinges, Chrome Split Wishbones Front And Back, And A Black Roadster Top.

The AMBR For 1973 Was This 1923 Ford T Roadster Entered By Chuck Corsello. The Fiberglass Ford Model T Body Was Channeled Over The Rectangular Framerail Then Painted In Candy Red With Multiple Colors Blended In. The Corvette Engine Sported A Rare Polished Rochester Fuel Injection Unit. The Jag Rearend And Most Everything Else On The Chassis Was Also Polished Or Chromed. This Win For Chuck’s T Signaled A Return To Street Driven Roadsters That Could Also Hold Their Own At A Major Rod Show.

Also Entered In The 1972 Show Was This Very Clean 1932 Ford Coupe Owned By Robert Folk. The Top Was Chopped Three Inches. The Blown 327 Chevrolet Engine Was Backed By A Four Speed Tranny Hooked To An Olds Rearend. Paint Was Yellow Lacquer.

Danny Eichstedt Named His 1915 Ford T Roadster Leg Show. Features Included A Radically Modified Ford Model T Roadster Body Painted Candy Red, A 327 Chevrolet Backed By A 4 Speed Tranny And Liberal Chrome And Brass Plating. The Interior Was Done In Gray Mohair.

Lonnie Gilbertson Rolled Into The Roadster Show From Portland, Oregon, With His Very Red 1923 Ford Model T Roadster. The Car Featured A 327 Chevy Updated With Moon Intake Manifold And Four Weber 48 IDA Carbs. Gilbertson Fabricated A Set Of Headers That Terminated Just In Front Of The Rear Wheels. A ’66 Jaguar XKE Contributed The Rearend Set Up. Lonnie Credited His Brother Gary, With Putting In Many, Many Hours On This Car, The 22nd Car To Carry The Title Of The Worlds Most Beautiful Roadster.

Richard Graves 1926 Ford Touring Featured A 289 Ford Cobra Engine And Jaguar Independent Suspension. The Paint Was Black Lacquer Accented With A Brown Leather Interior And Liberal Amounts Of Chrome.

Russ Meeks Of Portland, Oregon, Took An Otherwise Docile 1930 Ford Model A Roadster And Sat It On An Oldsmobile Toronado Drivetrain For Owner John Corno. Handmade Four Wheel Independent Suspension Was Added To The Custom Chassis. The Wire Wheels Were Full Custom. The Paint Was Candy Burnt Sugar With Candy Maroon Fenders. This Car Won The AMBR In 1972.

Another Sacramento Car In The 1972 Show Was This 1923 Ford Model T Touring Shown By Al And Jodie Lindstrom. Power Came From A 289 Ford. The Running Boards And Many Chassis Components Were Chromed. That Red Button Tufted Upholstery Really Stood Out Against The Pearl White Paint.

The Second Touring Car Built From An Andy’s Instant T Kit Was Entered By Bob Epperson. Bob Worked At Steve Archer’s Fiberglass Works And Built The Body, Fenders And The Blower Scoop In His Spare Time. The Craftsmanship And Detailing Was Impressive As The Car Finished A Close Second For The AMBR, And Hence Won The Hot Rod D’Elegance Award, To The John Corno/Russ Meeks Rear Engine Model A. Bob Still Owns The Car And Has Plans To Restore It.

The Very Well Traveled Ron Courtney X 51 Ford Coupe Was Owned In 1974 By John Corno Of Portland. Begun In 1954, Courtney Sectioned The Car 5 Inches, Added Rear Fins And Radiused Wheel Wells And A Radical Frontend Treatment. Corno Found The Car In The Early 1970s, In A Sad State Of Repair. He Restored It For The 1974 Roadster Show. Bob Page Bought The Car In 1986 And Restored It A Second Time. Page’s Widow Rene Still Owns The Car And It Is For Sale.

This 1940 Ford Sedan Originally Built By Dave Cunningham Of San Francisco. Two Trips To Barris Custom In The 1950s Resulted In A 10 Inch Body Channel, Raised Fenders And Aluminum Wheel Well Cutaways. The Car Then Disappeared Until Bill Roach Found It In 1971. Roach Restored It To The Level You See Here, Then Sold It To Pete Ernani, Who In Turn Sold It To Dick Falk. Its Last Known Location Was Somewhere In SoCal After Being Sold At Barrett Jackson In 2005.

Another Roadster Show Entry From Tom Prufer Was This Track Inspired 1923 Ford T Roadster. Pete Ogden, Rod Powell And Andy Southard, Jr. Made Major Contributions To This Rod & Custom Magazine Project Car, One Of 26 Cars Tom Has Entered In The Roadster Show Since 1958. Power Came From A Mercury Capri V 6 Engine.

Dick Falk Entered The 1974 Roadster Show With The Restored Dick Williams 1927 Ford T Roadster That Won The AMBR In 1953. The Color Is A Deep Maroon. In 1975 The Car Was Painted Again In Candy Red By Dick Falk. The Last Known Whereabouts Of The Car Was In The Blackie Gejeian Collection In Fresno.

Considered By Some As The Vehicle That Started The Parade Of Silly Show Vehicles Was Dan Woods Milk Truck, Built In 1965 By A Teenage Dan In His Home Garage, With Inspiration From A Model Kit. A Sweepstakes Win At His First Show Got Him A Job Working For Big Daddy Ed Roth. The Truck Was Restored By Dave Shuten And Is Now In The Galpin Auto Collection.

Another Fine Example Of The Return Of The Street Custom Was This Chopped 1950 Mercury Coupe Built By Rod Powell And Butch Hurley, And Owned By Curly Tremayne. The Car And Its Near Perfect Top Chop Was The Subject Of An Extensive Rod & Custom Magazine Article. The Mercury Was Recently Restored By Brandon Glymph For New Owner Frank Morawski.

Bob Reisner’s Invader Twin Engine Roadster Was Both An Outlandish Show Car And A Two Time AMBR Winner In 1967 And 1968. And The Car Is Fully Functional.