Event Coverage AMBR 2024 winner

I don't like the look of chrome hinges, but they won't chip.

 

All I can say is the number of contenders this year was less than previous years.

 

Now we need to start a thread titled:
“Are high end show cars in decline ”

 

That’s funny right there

 

“Why are young people not participating in the old car hobby”

a 22 year old shows up with an AMBR contender:
“It’s pink!!!!”

 

Now you’re on a roll…

 

Ya know, Anthony, you've got it covered both ways. & even the show-car angle. Maybe in 50 yrs, that "find" too, will be hyped.
Marcus...

 

I'll take that bet . . . I know for a fact that Beth Myers plans to DRIVE her (Brizio built) 2024 AMBR

. . . as will 19-year-old Mekenzie Murphy (owner of the "Grease Monkey Princess" AMBR Contender):

video by John @NotStockPhoto Jackson​

 

Beers then mate. And I can develop quite a thirst.

 

I don’t mind the Phaeton except for the Moon tank...

 

those "i gotta have one of those tanks like tom m had" look like a big zit on the otherwisw most perfect nose to me. i'm ok with them on real hotrod that are set up to race though. show up at the nostalgia drags with a model a or 32 set up to race running one that is fully functional and it's cool.

 

When is AMBR going to be about the average guy building his own car in his own garage? Anyone can cut a check, but how many can actually build a car and compete? It sure would be nice to see a small independent guy show up and compete just to show everyone else you don't need big money to compete just passion.

 

[QUOTE="When is AMBR going to be about the average guy building his own car in his own garage? Anyone can cut a check, but how many can actually build a car and compete? It sure would be nice to see a small independent guy show up and compete just to show everyone else you don't need big money to compete just passion.[/QUOTE]
Answer: We don’t celebrate “average”. We celebrate excellence. And BTW, there have been little guys that have made a splash at GNRS. Just a few years ago, can’t recall the builder’s name, a fender less 28/9 RPU, black, definitely not high$. Did not win but was a contender.

 

The Hollenbeck roadster of a couple years ago was basically home built. Granted he is a master painter, and he had help from some other heavy hitters (Cory Taulbert for one). But it wasn’t built with a check written to a shop.

 

That’s some seriously funny s#&@ right there. Some of the most expensive talent in the game builds a ‘home built’ hot rod…..

ps: met the couple and had a good look at the roadster when they drove it up to Deuce Days a few years back. Car was amazing and the couple were even nicer.

 

My take on this AMBR thing is pretty simple. The talent, time, and money that goes into most of these cars is incredible. The passion level is off the charts and it’s great to see these works of art (even if just in pics, as I don’t attend in person).
Very few, and I mean VERY few, stroke my pelt, but I can appreciate the cars for what they are. Pure works of art, and art is subjective, right?
All I hope is that the owners are as proud of their rides after the winner is announced as they were before. Maybe, just maybe, they will get a chance to put some miles on them (and not just on and off the trailer). I love to drive my builds and I hope the owners get a chance to enjoy that feeling of blasting around town, down the back roads, over the odd mountain, etc. especially in a roadster. Then and only then will they turn their art projects into hot rods.

 

Now we're arguing about chromed vs. painted hinges. Great...

 

I think there should be a big prestigious award for home built cars. Nothing against pro-built, but even in other sports the professionals do not compete against the non-professionals. Maybe you’re allowed to farm out the interior but that’s it.

AMBHBR. Americas most beautiful home built rod.

 

https://good-guys.com/awards/homebuilt

 

And the Hollenbecks drove their AMBR winner to the Lone Star Roundup in 2015, 8 months before winning AMBR the following January 2016. So the AMBR rule of "first time showing" doesn't include outdoor shows?

 

Cory also built a roadster, drove it to California and competed in the ambr

 

I’m aware of homebuilt heaven but it doesn’t have the prestige of an AMBR level award.

 

Sure it does.
But no one pays thousands of dollars for a ticket to watch me kick a ball in my yard like they do the professionals

m not bothered by that

 

Best use of a Moon tank ; a hi-boy roadster from Canada - had one mounted on the frame horns, had the bottom cut out and it concealed the battery-- cables were disguised as fuel lines



isn't Hollenbeck Roy Brizio's brother-n-law ?

 

JF Launier is a bigger name since he won the Ridler, but he built his AMBR contender last year as cheaply as possible to try to encourage others to do the same. Guess what, nobody liked the colour of his car either...

 

Agree the sport started as Home built. Then the guy that works on cars said I can fix that and make it better for a few $. Then paint went from brush to vacuums cleaner spray guns, next guy said I can paint it with this new candy paint for a few $.
It will never end, people have money to spend to be the fastest runner.
We build everything ourselves, suspension, engine, paint, wiring.
When at a Goodguys show they ask for pictures of you building the car, good start. Guy next to us said he couldn’t paint so he took it to a shop and painted it. Another had interior done “ But that’s it” I did all the assembly.
I try and do better on each build, looking at what pros do and I try better. But I DRIVE them.

 

If you asked the guys who win it, I bet they'd disagree.

 

AMBR started with home built jobs, same as the NHRA. Money ups the anti until the small time guy can't compete.
I do love to see the "pinnacle" on display though.

 

Ron, I was thinking about this yesterday and I came up with this, because like it or not, the AMBR contenders spend enormous amounts of money with the pro builders to build these cars. The exception this year was Jim's black full fendered Deuce roadster, with about $75,000 spent to build it. It was an anomaly, but if you look at every contender, there was something for everyone, a variety of styles and builds.

My idea would be this:

1. Create a "America's Most Beautiful Home Built Roadster" competition.
2. Require that all work be done by the owner, with exceptions for paint and upholstery. Allow commercially available off the shelf chassis and suspension to be used if desired.
3. Require that the Judges Build Book show every step of construction, augmented by time stamped social media posts of the actual build.
4. Award for innovation, ingenuity, quality of the build, and a traditional stance and the overall look. Judging would be done by judges with a long history in traditional hot rods (50%) and the people attending the show (50%).
5. To streamline the peoples choice votes, print a unique QR Code for each GNRS ticket that would allow the holder of the ticket to vote with his phone one time for the car of his choice. The technology is available, but I don't know the cost to implement it, but a sponsor could help with this.

Maybe my idea is nuts, stupid, not possible because of human nature to cheat, or whatever, but I would love to see all the talented backyard builders given a chance to see what they can do. Money controls so much in this country these days, I would love to give the average guy the opportunity to shine.

If you have a better idea or an improvement to this one, put it out there. The overwhelming success of the Suede Palace shows the power of the people is ready to be tapped even more, and John Buck is a smart and savvy promoter to harness it. If this develops into something workable, I would love to suggest it to him. His team does an amazing job with the GNRS and I know how much work they put into this, so this would add more work to there already huge workload. This show gets better every year thanks to their efforts.

 

I understand the sentiment but don’t think there needs to be a parallel AMBR award just for those of us with shallower pockets. We can enter our car in a judged show and compete for awards. If the car is good enough it can compete at the top level. If it isn’t, lowering the bar is not the right move.