Grand National Roadster Show of the 70's

Gerald Richard Entered His Barry Mini T Dune Buggy In 1972, An Example Of How The Variety Of Vehicles Was Expanding As Starbird And Bagdasarian Worked To Fill The Huge Inner Sanctums Of The Oakland Alameda Coliseum.

Another Vehicle That Emulated Car Show Silliness Of The 1960s Was The Austin Mini Cooper Built By Larry Dunn. The Pooh’s Palace Featured A Teakwood Cab On An Austin Mini Cooper Chassis, A Plastic Dome Roof And A Red Fur Interior.

Jay Ohrberg And Bob Reisner Hit The Show Circuit With The Turnpike Hauler, A Wild Futuristic Show Tow Truck That Was Amazingly Fully Functional. It Was Later Repainted Red And Named The Red Foxx Wrecker. Word Has It That The Truck Now Resides In The Lobby Of A Large Trucking Company In The Midwest.

Pinstriper Herb Martinez, Known To A Small Contingent Of Bay Area Lead Foots As The Line Doctor, Built This 1962 VW Bug In 1975 To Advertise His New Custom Paint And Striping Shop. As Expected The Paint And Detail Work Was Outstanding. Herb Made His Own Fender Flares And Found The Nerf Bars At A Swap Meet. The Engine Displaced 1650cc And Was Liberally Chromed. Those Flames Were Inspired By Art Himsl And The Door Mural Idea Came From A Trans World Airlines Advertisement.

Bay Area Resident And Collector Dick DeVecchi Has One Of Every 1941 Chevrolet Passenger Car Model Available In 1941. This Special Deluxe Four Door Sedan Was One Of His First, And Has Been Seen On The Show Floor Numerous Times Since 1953, With Only Variances In Engines And Wheels/tires. My Favorite Was The Year Dick Showed It With A 6 71 GMC Blower Bolted To The Six Cylinder Chevy Six. The Car Was Last Shown In 2009 As Part Of The 60th Anniversary Of The Roadster Show.

Fred Whitcomb Entered His Restoration Of The Don Hentzell Model T Pickup First Shown In Oakland In 1954. Hentzell Owned The Western Wheel And Rim Service In Oakland, California. This Truck Was Used To Haul Wheels And Rims Around Town. The Roadster Pickup Was Fit With A 1953 Dodge Red Ram Engine, And Easy Turned 100mph At The Drags. The Engine Was Equipped With An Offenhauser Manifold And Quad Stromberg Carburetion. A 1939 Ford Transmission Was Installed, Along With 25 Tooth Lincoln Gears And A 10 Inch Ford Clutch Mounted On A Chopped Ford Flywheel. The Frame Originated From A 1932 Ford, While The T Body Sported 1929 Ford Model A Steel Fenders And Running Boards.

Ray Goulart’s 1950 Oldsmobile Was Restyled In Lead By Gene Winfield. The 401 Cubic Inch 1959 Buick Engine Had Dual Four Barrel Carburetors And Oldsmobile Floor Shift Transmission. It Was Last Seen At The 2005 Barrett Jackson Auction.

While Admiring The Workmanship, Many Diehard Rodders Considered Art Himsl’s Alien Roadster More Of A Dune Buggy Than A Traditional Street Rod Roadster. The Car Won The AMBR In 1969 Despite Some Controversy. After Seeing Creations Like This Through The 1960s, Like Bob Reisners Invader, Carl Caspers Ghost And Tex Smiths XR 6, The 1970s Wo4uld Usher In A Return Of The Roadsters Of The 1950s That Made The Earlier Years Of The Show So Great.

Mel Santos Took The 1923 Ford T Bucket Street Roadster Genre To The Next Level When He Stuffed A Chrysler Hemi With Six Carbs Between His Custom Chassis Rails. The Rearend Was A Fully Chromed Jaguar Unit And Brass Trim Pieces Were Abundant. I Saw Mel A Few Years Ago And He Still Owns The Car Exactly As Shown Here.

A Typical High Quality NorCal Street Rod Was This Beautiful 1932 Ford Entered In The 1974 Show By Les Owen. A Dark Green Body, Contrasting Striping, Black Fenders And Zenith Wire Wheels Complete The Package.

GNRS 1971. One Of Only Three Cars To Win The AMBR Award Twice Was The 1923 Ford Model “T” Roadster Of Lonnie Gilbertson Of Portland, OR. The Car Featured A 327 Chevy Updated With Moon Intake Manifold And Four Weber 48 IDA Carbs, Gilbertson Fabricated Set Of Headers That Terminate Just In Front Of The Rear Wheels. The Handmade Rectangular Tube Frame Had A PSI Dropped Tube Front Axle On Transverse Leaf Springs And Homemade Hubs And Discs, And A ’66 Jaguar XK E Rear Set Up. The Car Won The AMBR Again In 1975 With A Totally Different Paint Scheme And Zenith Wire Wheels.

GNRS 1970. Andy Brizio Turned Dragmaster Co.’s Slow Selling T Bucket Kit Into The Red Hot Instant T, Ultimately Making “instant” Street Rodders Out Of Hundreds Of Enthusiasts From 1966 To 1980. His Personal Roadster, The Second Car Constructed From Dragmaster’s Parts, Evolved Into America’s Most Beautiful Roadster In 1970. Cub Barnett Built The Blown Small Block Chevrolet Engine While Art Himsl Did His Magic With His Spray Gun. After Winning The AMBR, Andy Drove The T Roadster 2,000 Miles To The NSRA Street Rod Nationals.

GNRS 1970. The Prize For Having The Most Entries In The Roadster Show Over The Years Goes To Retired California Aerospace Engineer Tom Prufer. Over The Years Tom Has Entered Some 30 Cars. They Ranged From Super Clean, Highly Detailed Street Roadsters To Coupes And Dragsters. He Is A Member Of The Hall Of Fame And One Of Street Rodding’s True Good Guys.

GNRS 1971. Phil Kendrick Named His Chopped 1932 Ford Sedan Super Prune. This Pearl Yellow Beauty Featured Many Chromed Components On The Engine And Chassis. The Car Is Now Owned By Rock Icon Jeff Beck.

GNRS 1971. The Excesses In Show Car Design Reared Their Heads When Bill Reisner Came Up With The Twin Engine Sex Machine. Two Chrysler Hemi Engines, Four Blowers And A Ton Of Chrome, Plus Many Yards Of Red Velvet And Six Tires. Anything To Attract A Crowd, Right?

GNRS1972. The Roadster Show Was Not Always About Totally Chromed Roadsters And Far Out Custom Cars. Typical Of Many Street Driven Topless Rods Was The Dragmaster Chassied 1923 Ford Model T Roadster Of GNRS Hall Of Famer Rudy Perez. A Very Nice And Practical 1970’s Hot Rod.

29 Grand National Roadster Show Customs SRM082 GNRS 1963. Darryl Starbird’s Entry In The Tournament Of Fame Was This Double Bubble Topped Hand Built Three Wheeler, Built For The Monogram Model Company. The Engine Was From A Volkswagen Spyder With Multiple Carbs. All Of The Controls Were Electronic. Starbird Lost The Tournament Competition To Bill Cushenberry’s Silhouette. 30 Grand National Roadster Show Customs SRM083 GNRS 1969. Joe Wilhelm Built This All Metal Custom Street Roadster, Named The Wild Dream, For John Hernandez And Won The AMBR Award In 1969. The Body Was One Piece Aluminum From The Firewall Back And The Engine Was A Fuel Injected Corvette 283. Hernandez Recently Sold The Car To Jeff Cimoli, After Owning It For Almost 50 Years. 31 Grand National