Event Coverage Who won the roadster show???

It's very beautiful, for sure. But personally, I have very little interest in a car that will never be driven. It might see 50 miles being driven on and off of various trailers, but that's not really a car.
It's rolling artwork with beautiful amazing craftsmanship. I don't mean to take anything away from the owner or builders, but I just never understood the hype of a car that you'll never see driving the streets of California, or New England or Middle America.

There should be two awards... America's Most Beautiful Rolling Artwork (pronounced Am-Bra), and America's Most Beautiful Roadster. Make the roadster class complete a 150 mile journey before the show.

 

More of a Ridler contender than a GNRS car but still gorgeous. Congratulations to Troy and his crew, their body of work so far makes them more than deserving, and Troy is a good guy as well.
Looking forward to seeing it in person at Sacto.

 

Absolutely beautiful.

I do have mixed feelings about the car though- mostly because I don't know the details beyond the pics linked by denis4x4 above. Automobiles must be able to be driven (hence the "mobile" half of the word). That peaked chin looks like it'd fold under before it reached the end of the block. It probably has some type of air ride to lift it up. Or not. Maybe it'll be gently placed into a jewel box to be admired after a wee dram of Scotch and then the lid placed back on. Maybe the owner will post pics of him lurching out of the lot at Randy's Donuts.
Don't misunderstand- I love the car, I just struggle (always do) with cars that don't seem to be able to be driven. I grew up around very valuable cars and passionate car people. A car that can't drive down the street is a Very Expensive Pain in the Ass. I Love to Drive em.


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Edit- looks like I was slowly tapping away while Speedy beat me to it. At least I'm not the only one.

 

FYI, while I was looking at and photographing the car on Saturday the owner was standing there discussing the car with a small group of people. He claimed his plan while building the car was that it be fully functioning car because he planned on driving the wheels off of it.

One of the guys asked him about the cost and he just kind of laughed and said you can't put a price on it. The guy pushed for an answer, "come on, how much? $200k?" The guy just laughed again, "no, a lot more than that".

They had a video screen display you could look at with multiple screens showing pictures of the car as it was found (basically a pile of rusty parts, much like the projects you see here on the HAMB) and the building process. It was like a build thread, only just the pictures. The process of building that car was amazing. Take the most advanced build thread here on this site, and then magnify it several times, exponentially, and you'll get somewhere in the ball park of what was involved in this build. It truly is an amazing car, and the workmanship is top notch, the guys who built it are master craftsman.

I agree with others that note what a beautiful car it is, but question if this really was the right show for it. I can't fault it at all, in any way. But damn, I get just about as exited over a 27T on A rails with banger power and faded black road worn paint.

 

I'm sure it is well crafted and shiny, but it really does absolutely nothing for me.

 

I was personally rooting for that olds powered 32 RPU but Troy and crew really did a fine job on this car. Its very cool to hear the owner wants to drive it too!


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It's funny to read so many references in this thread that suggest the Packard didn't belong in this show. This is America's Most Beautiful Roadster, not America's Coolest Traditional Hot Rod. Of the other contenders at AMBR, I liked Rick Dore's 37 Ford, and I suspect that people might talk about it the same way as the Packard. It's a wildly customized, super-expensive build with a heavy focus on flowing body lines and perfect paint, and that is the type of car that wins the AMBR.

 

To me it is not a HOT ROD!
It was the best car in the judging
Would you have given it to the Model A roadster with chromed brake rods?

 

All the cars in contention were winners in their own right- but the real winner is the average builder who sees this level of craftsmanship and challenges himself and the rest of the industry to build a better car. In a way- we all win


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I watched the awards on live u-tube and Troy said took 15 years to build this car.......WOW

 

I watched this car being built over a 7 year period by some amazing craftsman at HHR. I too loved the car and thought it should have been at Pebble Beach in the Packard class. The owner seems to be a real class fellow and will drive it when done with the required show circuit of Rod Shows. Like most investments of this amount, care will be taken to make sure it stays nice. If damage occurs, I'm sure Troy can repair any flaws. The 36 roadster he entered last year was also a very high end build with more of a traditional flavor. He knows tradition but builds what the customer has in mind and pays for. For a young man, he has come along way in a short career. He is keeping traditional Hot Rods alive with this venture into the "Upper Crust" of rod building. Congratulations to Troy and his team.

 

In my opinion the Packard is certainly worthy of the AMBR title. It was stunningly beautiful. What a great bunch of contenders this year and I certainly appreciate what it took to build cars of this caliber.

As a side note, I went to GNRS with my wife. Now I should explain, my wife is not a car girl. She is a good sport about me messing with old cars but she doesn't really know much about old cars or hot rods/customs. On Sunday we went through the Suede Palace before we looked at the AMBR contenders. I explained to her a little about what the SP cars were about and even explained what the term "suede" was referring to, but not much else. I was too engaged in looking to talk very much. Later, as we were looking at the AMBR contenders my wife said "These cars are absolutely beautiful, but I think I there is something nice about the cars that are built by the average guy in his garage. Cars that regular guys build on a budget and are still proud to drive down the street." I have to say fellas, I was so proud of her and the fact that she came up with that on her own. She freakin' gets it! I had no idea!! Holy shit!

 

My guess is he is referring to the fact that it has been said by different people in numerous threads not just this thread.

 

This show covered the a wide range of styles all lovingly presented by all involved. The Packard had as much right to be there as any and it is a roadster.
To me our Hotrods and Customs are a dream in reality. Eye Candy you can get in turn the key and go.
Whether we admit it or not looks matter. The Packard was a high end dream built around a high end car back in the day.
I especially liked seeing the Firestones under the fenders. Packards are classy machines. Lots of respecting the past in that car. Special stuff that the owner and builder collaborated on respecting era. It was wild and won. This type of car is out of my league but I appreciate and congratulate its being chosen. I was surprised a little that Fred picked the winner...Tough choices for sure.
As a show the people involved know wow factor helps determine the winner. They all wowed and only one can win.
Congrats to all involved...I wasn't there but enjoyed the coverage. Hamb front seats again...

 

WOW , first year i have followed this show with some detail.
After reading this thread and others I think i will go set in the office and look at my "belly button" because i think it really is different than all the rest .....

 

Kinda like opinions...thanks for starting the thread it was well distributed.

 

I can assure you, the Packard will be driven.

As stated above this car will be driven. We build all our cars to be able to be driven, and this car is no exception. It is also a show car, and I think that people can sometimes get confused about what that means. Of course it won't end up to be his daily, but to build a car that cannot be driven is ridiculous, but so is comparing a car that is built to the level required for an award like the AMBR, and one that get driven for fun, and taken to local shows and/or cruise nights. They are different animals. Obviously I mean no offense to either type of car, I'm just saying it's apples to oranges. But in any case, we had just about the best customer you could have for as project like this. Simply put, he is a car enthusiast. He loves all types of cars, and part of his love is driving them.
While I understand where the stigma comes from on a car like this, it is unfair to automatically assume that the car will not be driven.

We thought that this type of car would be more appreciated at GNRS then it would be at Ridler.

You can see my response to speedy. The car does have an adjustable suspension. It has quarter elliptical springs on all four corners, mounted on pivots that are controlled by linear actuators that are hidden inside the car. This was done for multiple reasons. A few of them being the we can adjust the height of the vehicle without a change in spring rate like you get with bags, while not sacrificing the vintage and mechanical look of the suspension a car of this era needs.

He absolutely will.

I think you are right. They are all winners. It is not easy to build a car at this level. Every single one of those guys who had a hand in any of these cars should be very proud.
But there is this idea that us guys who work in shops aren't average guys. We all are. The difference comes when those average guys work their asses off and make no compromises. And I don't mean that for just our shop, I mean all these cars. There is no magic here, it's want. If you want it, you can build a car that can compete for an award like the AMBR. It's not equipment/tools either. It's want. I absolutely respect the guys that build cars at home for an award like this. It takes balls, because people think you can't compete with the shops. But those guys want it, and they make it happen, just like all the guys in the shops do.
It is not my intention to be rude or anything, but that idea irks me. I truly believe that anyone can do this, but you have to work hard at it, and that comes down to how much you want it.

I didn't hear Troy at that point, but that is not accurate. My bet is that he said he's been waiting 15 years for this award, but the build was a 6 year build from conception to completion.

 

I'm sorry, but I disagree with this - and I was one of the contenders this year. Did the most expensive car win this year? Probably, I don't know what everyone paid. Did the most expensive car win last year? I don't think so. In 2015? Nope. But if you think about that really shouldn't come as a shock even if they did, after all it takes a lot of work and dedication to compete at this level. I did my car pretty much myself, at home in my garage, and I can tell you this is no day at the beach.

No where in the rules does it say it has to be a Hot Rod .....

You misunderstood - It took 6 years to build this car. but Troy has been wanting this for 15, at least. LOL

 

It's always interesting to see what AMBR contenders show up each year and this one was as interesting as last . I've been going to this for several years and the last few years there hasn't been a clear cut choice and the winner has usually been a surprise to most . Quite a contrast from this years winner to the last years winner . Congrats to all who put forth the effort to compete .

 

I regret reading this thread...

Insert Facepalm.... most beautiful car won. THE END!
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Me too ! A pretty divided discussion .........dont really know why but this one bothered me !

 

Some good pics of the winner here as well:
http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2017/01/bruce-wantas-36-packard-contender-for.html

 

I was there for the first time, all the contenders were first rate cars. We all have out favorites and our likes and dislikes. I found my favorite something I never gave much consideration before. (Blue RPU) What the owner does with it and the reason he built/bought it is his thing.
Thanks to all the builders and owners and show staff that make it happen.
Hope to see you another year.


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Thanks cretin. I'd like to congratulate you're involvement with this win/car. It is a masterpiece. My Dad was a Pierce Arrow restorer, his best friend preferred Packards. Either would be simultaneously horrified and blown away. The friends favorite Packard is a '38 phaeton. It's currently torn done for his 3rd restoration on it (he's put over 200,000 miles since he first did the car). It warms my heart to hear that it will get real road time. Not being sarcastic, please don't misread this, I'd love to see pics of it out and about.

Thanks for the inside info / insight----


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There was new award this year:
Debuting in 2017 was the Pete Chapouris Memorial Award, presented to the builder that best honored the style and customs of traditional hot rodding, and the inaugural award was presented to Matt Gordon for Time Merchant, his 1932 Ford roadster pickup.

Was this the car in post #57?

 

I remember when the "Invader" won. Lots of what the hell, that's not a HotRod comments back then too. I like both cars but I'm Old School Traditional at heart as are a lot on this forum.

 

Yes