Automotive American – Classic Vintage & Modern
Tag: Car Show
The annual RetroFestival meant visiting Newbury Showground two weeks in a row.
As usual there was a good selection of American vehicles and many other attractions
On the vehicle front we’ll start with the Trucks
And some vans
And then a very special 1915 Pierce Arrow Truck that has a great story that you can see below and also here
Next up some 1950s
A Hudson pairing
Nice Plymouth Road Runner
Customs and early!
Jeeps
Best of the rest
This years WBCVC show has moved to the Newbury Showground after being at Newbury Racecourse last year.
Lots of room was allowed!
A reasonable amount of American cars at the show, plus lots of interest in the Sport Coupe, which was nice proving that the pre-war stuff is much more intriguing than some of the newer classics IMHO 😉
Having a sample copy invoice helped to pique interest
Nice weather which was a pleasant change in comparison to the recent monsoons.
Some of the highlights
Nice patina on tidy 1960 GMC 100, had a good chat with the owner
Probably the nicest Yank at the show was this 1955 Buick Roadmaster
Muscle cars from two of the Big Three
A number of Cobras
Best of the rest including the obligatory GT40 and DeLorean
With another winter mostly behind us, we can start to think about the classic car driving season beginning to blossom across the country. I’m already hearing from many of my cruising buddies who are scheduling weekend day-long cruises in my area. After all those wild winter and spring storms ravaged the middle and southern states, I’m sure that’s the case where you live as well. With a new car-show season about to begin, I wanted to share some of the various things I’ve been doing and considering in preparation for this year’s automotive activities.
PROMPT PARTS
I’ve had to order a few replacement parts for my ’65 GTO ragtop that I put off while it was in hibernation. Given the recent supply-chain issues we’ve all experienced, or at least heard about, I had concerns about getting the items I needed. I placed a small order on a Monday morning using one of the long-time Pontiac parts advertisers in this magazine and received it just two days later from the other side of the country. Now that’s what I call service! It sure made quick work of getting the old girl back into dependable driving and show condition.
SHAKE-DOWN RUNS
There is a drag strip about an hour’s drive from where I live, and several of us muscle heads usually make a trip there each spring to wring out any mechanical problems that might have surfaced during the winter months. We don’t go crazy for speed on these day trips, we just work the cars enough to make sure there are not any glaring problems that need to be addressed before regular use on the street during the good driving months. Plus, it gets the blood flowing through a lot of old veins that were relatively dormant during the winter. March typically brings good weather here in Southern California, so we like to take advantage of it after laying low during the winter. One of the guys works at an automotive repair facility and he borrows the shop’s flatbed auto carrier for this exercise, just in case someone breaks something critical — it’s happened in the past.
SHOP TIPS
In the August 2022 issue of this magazine, Jim Smart, an old magazine buddy of mine, wrote a good article about setting up a home workshop. He brought up many good convenience and safety ideas and items to make your home workshop look and function better. If you’re not a subscriber, order a back issue and take a few good tips from an old pro.
For 72 years now the Sacramento Autorama has highlighted some of the best automobiles the West Coast has to offer. Nestled in the capitol of California, and what many consider the Custom Car Capitol of the World, the Sacramento Autorama gathered the West’s bests with others from throughout the country and shined the spotlight on traditional Custom cars this past weekend.
The lineup of awards dedicated to these custom creations are in memory of some of the best customizers in the world. Guys like Bagdasarian, Barris, Balion, and Bertolucci. Rod Shows calls them the “Big B” Awards, for obvious reasons. All four of the Big B Awards are selected by family members of those who have passed. Here are the 2023 recipients:
Bagdasarian Memorial Worlds Most Beautiful Custom Award – Ray Poletti – 1940 Lincoln Zephyr
Sam Barris Memorial Award – Jesse Orozco – 1956 Chevy 210 Sedan
Joe “Candy Apple” Bailon Memorial Award – Mitch Kelly – 1957 Chevy Bel Air
Dick Bertolucci Memorial Award of Excelence – Cesar Ruiz – 1936 Ford Roadster
But the annual top honor award that customs vie for in Sacramento is the Custom D’Elegance title. This year the trophy went back to the east coast after being awarded to Cody Walls and his gold ’49 Buick that debuted at the Grand National Roadster Show earlier this year in the Slonaker competition. Cody’s Buick edged out a strong field of six beautiful, traditional customs.
New for 2023 was the ARP West Coast Challenge competition which awarded $12,500 and a trophy to the Grand Champion, $6,500 to the runner up, and $3,500 to the third-place finisher. To qualify for the West Coast Challenge, vehicle owners needed to attend three of the four following events: Grand National Roadster Show, Portland Roadster Show, Spokane Speed and Custom Show, and the Sacramento Autorama. In Sacramento the judges did their final deliberating and awarded Jeff Hess’ “OldsSled” ’56 Oldsmobile as the inaugural West Coast Challenge winner – yet another major award for OldsSled after debuting at the 2020 Detroit Autorama, and later that year being crowned Goodguys Custom of the Year.
Read on
Attended the annual show at Popham, always a good one and it’s the first time I’ve managed to take the Sport Coupe as circumstances always conspired against in the past
As you can see in the photo we came upon a couple of Austin Sevens, and due to the horrible Model A gearing we were constantly in between 2/3 gears for a few miles!
Ended up parked next to a nice GT40 🙂
The weather wasn’t the best a little cold with intermittent showers.
Despite this the show field was pretty full with a good varied selection of vehicles. As always here at Automotive American we feature vehicles from the other side of the pond or connected in some way.
Pretty good selection of Model T/A/B based stuff, including John Cochran’s very original Tudor sporting his recently added trunk and rack.
The standout car of the day for me was the 1931 movie used Willys Knight 87. This is a really stunning vehicle!
Very clean DeLorean attracted the usual attention.
Interesting 1990 Crown Victoria LTD Police Car, really tidy and complete example. Nice to see a 90s Crown Vic, not many in the UK.
Some of the rest from the show field
Finishing off with a couple of vintage planes that arrived on the day. These I believe are Pietenpol Air Campers
Fabulous weather for the Brooklands Easter Classic Car Gathering. As always a good turn out from across the pond amongst the normal large turnout.
The sun always makes everything great, more folks turn out, the mood is better and the vehicles look superb! Brooklands of course is a fantastic venue with the historic banked track and the aviation displays as an excellent backdrop with masses of space.
My favourite car of the show was the 1935 Terraplane
A beautiful example of 1930s style
The Terraplane was a car brand and model built by the Hudson Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, between 1932 and 1938. In its maiden year, the car was branded as the Essex-Terraplane; in 1934 the car became simply the Terraplane. They were inexpensive, yet powerful vehicles that were used in both town and country. The Terraplane name was used for both cars and trucks.
More information here at Wikipedia
Took a trip over to the well known auctioneers Richard Edmonds at Chippenham for a cars and coffee/breakfast event.
Nice turn out of cars and is usual those from the other side of the pond are featured here.
Stunning 1938 Packard One Twenty Convertible
Followed by another convertible, this time a 1916 Hudson
And for good measure a well used but clearly loved Model A Tudor
Something more modern a 2002 Ford F150 Lightning
Also some nice Petrolania
Looking forward to the next auction which is in October
Check here for information
Took another trip to Newbury but not the racecourse as per the West Berkshire Classic Car Show. This time the venue was the Newbury Showground for the annual RetroFestival. The festival is more than a car show with lots of stalls, music and other activities to keep visitors busy. The attendance seemed a little down not really surprising due to the uncomfortable heatwave conditions and possibly the rise in fuel prices and the current increased cost of living. Nonetheless it was a really enjoyable even as always, with lots of American vehicles on display as you can see.
Starting with the Trucks
Next comes the Mustangs
Selection of Hot Mopars
Some of the big stuff!
The Boys in the Band
Really nice vintage Chevy
Rods and Bikes
Best of the rest
