History Roth's Outlaw..... Too small to fit in???

I know originally the Roadster Show had a requirement that the cars ran and had to be driven in. Does anybody know when they started allowing no go showboats, and when they went back to requiring that the cars run and drive? It seems to me that my cousin took me a show at the Pan Pacific Auditorium, I think it was the Motorama, many years ago and I remember cars with no wiring or ignition wires on the engine.

 

@jamesgr81 You are mixing shows there.
The Roadster show always had the stipulation IIRC. Other shows in and out of the various Car Show groups would have different rules for a competing car and exhibition cars probably didn't 'require' anything.

 

I got to tour a guys auto collection once . He didn’t drive . His cars were complete but the engines were empty of parts . To him the cars were giant models .

 

In some show car case's,the no room for a real driver was a mistake,and others was left to small,as a way to have a look*. I did car shows with my own two drivers all around Florida state, mostly south east Fla., ,in the late 50s n early 60s. I had both ,28A Hotrod an a Full Custom J,would pick witch one to put in a show an drive the other,depending on what other cars were entered.
The for show only {not drivers*} were not in the Trophy hunt, except as part of display deal ahead of time ($$$...After there very first big showing. They were car fan draw,from mag. coverage.
Did not matter to me,if they drove or not,,I loved the art,,,my own cars had to drive,no way I had the $ to do any otherway at all...Was just a teenage kid,doing my own thing =Having a ball,plus selling some of my airbrushed WILDCAR T-Shirts at some shows..under my art name: "The Bat"

 

Hello,

It all depends on whether or not, you are 6 feet tall or not. The physical build of a person who plays sports, surfed almost daily for 44 years+/- and likes hot rods, one can see how something is going to fit well. This small structure roadster was not one of those things that we would call a daily driver… ha!

When we met the owner of a very nicely done T-bucket roadster, my wife and I were both impressed. But, there was no way I was going to fit behind the steering wheel the way it was set up. Yes, I was able to get in as it had a pop up wheel that lifted the wheel up and away from the short column. I did sit in the driver’s seat, but the driving position of knees up was not my style or comfortable. So, the owner took both of us for a ride and what a ride it was… YRMV

The first thing was to hang on while driving down the street. The owner had no qualms about stepping on the gas pedal on the open street and we, literally, “were flying over the road surface …” The driver had put on many miles going to hot rod events all over So Cal and he was fully comfortable driving the open T-Bucket roadster. I, on the other side of the seat, was hanging on for dear life and had my knees almost as high as the door top. It was not the most comfortable of places to ride on a city street.

Jnaki

But, the sound of the headers and motor rumbling along, the wind blasting my hair everywhere and the street buzzing by, what seemed like an arm’s length away all made the ride very hectic/ fun at the same time. It was not a roadster for a 200 mile round trip up or down the coastline, although, this roadster has been on such long rides, almost weekly for various events, over its lifetime.
Thanks, F...

Note:

It was an interesting day, as my wife liked the look, the stance and the sound of the motor of the roadster. But, she would not go for a ride around the block. She even sat inside as it was the first time in such a small roadster. It was not her thing as far as comfort and safety was concerned. She was comfortable inside of the 65 El Camino driving or as a p***enger on any long/short road trips we took during those 20 something days… “To each his own…”

 

Bubble tops are definitely form over function and (like a woman in 6" heels) were built primarily to look good. Even the ones that are "drivable" are limited to brief jaunts because of the lack of driver comfort.
To get the right 'look', many owners of traditional Rods and Customs were "Fashion Slaves" to their cars design. There were sacrifices to riding and driving comfort due to lowered suspension, chopped or open tops, no heat or A/C and you couldn't hear your music over the exhaust-but you looked good!
Aaron barely fit in the Atomic Punk, but it got plenty of ink and he and the car were invited to a party at the ******* Mansion! End goal met!

 

Yeah, I have some pics saved, but decided that they were not necessary to prove the point and Ryan didn't need that problem causing content.
Even the word "cl***ic" is censored if you aren't logged in.

 

X2!!

 

Ed Roth never built a show car! He was proud of the fact he didn't know how to work with steel sheet metal. He built true works of art that happened to be in the form of automobiles. If you want to see daily driver customs, go to a NSRA rod run.

 

As for bubble tops being solar ovens, I put an exhaust flow-thru fan on my Mysterion clone in case it was ever driven. It is totally drivable, I dreamed of seeing it go down the road, but I never drove it and am sure Stahl's museum has never either. They promised me if they ever wanted to have it driven they would call me to do the honors.
Squirrel cage exhaust fan behind the seat.

 

LMAO! My mind instantly red flagged any thoughts about posting pics knowing darn well they'd clog the ad filters and Ryan would catch heat! Sure as hell looked like a FUN party...

 

When it comes to any of Ed Roth’s cars they’re more show than go. The only exception I think is Tweety Pie .

 

I think this one goes
Dan

 

When I was a younger teen (probably the late 60s), our family made a few trips into a few different car, rod, and custom, car shows in Chicago. I remember being over taken by all the bright colors and strange shapes some of the cars had. Some I thought were really cool, some were down right ugly. As a family we probably made 4 or 5 of those 260 mile round trips, before mom and my older sister didn't think they were much fun any more, then we quit going to them.
Even back at that young age, I knew many of the cars at those big indoor shows were probably not driven, or at least not driven very much. As a young teen, I was not very big (that growth spurt came along a few years later), I remember thinking that I probably couldn't fit into a few of the cars at those shows, especially those on the model car display stages.
Just a few more old memories brought up by the current conversation I thought I should share.

 

There seems to be a pattern with big guys building small cars, my pal Alex built this trackster about 15 years ago, Alex p***ed away during covid but he towered over the car and actually drove it a lot. HRP

 

I went to a Rod & Custom show in Rock Island IL shortly after I got my drivers license (1972 ish) with a couple of friends. I had the experience of meeting the real Ed Roth there. He had a booth set up pedaling his wares. I bought a $10 black and white poster, then paid another $10 to have him sign it. It may have been a better experience if I would have been a raging fan, he played it up for them. I was just a guy that stood in line to buy a poster, then stood in a different line to pay him to sign the poster. He sort of smiled as he handed me the signed poster, but he was really waiting for the next raging fan to be the next person in the line.
All I can say is I met the real Ed Roth, and I have a black and white poster personally signed by him. I think its buried in a closet here, someplace...

 

He didn't build Tweedy Pie. A guy in LA built it and sold it to Ed. Ed added a few chrome pieces and pinstriped it.

 

Yeah, his most famous 60's show creations weren't built for driving, but he did build drivers.
Tweedy Pie was updated by him, but he drove it.
His Honda 600 was just a daily.

He rode a number of his bikes.
The Globe Hopper was purpose built for traveling, but also small and flashy.


It's a shame, I looked for a complete list of his creations. The Roth page, wiki and others still have gaps. Even kustomrama is missing a lot.
https://kustomrama.com/wiki/Ed_"Big_Daddy"_Roth

 

For myself not really knowing nothing of these cars other than seeing models of some of them as a kid, it’s really interesting to learn of some of the history. The 60s were definitely a time when design was very forward thinking, and influenced heavily by the space age. Not really aware either of the current state of concept/show cars, but hoping they’re just as imaginative.

 

@Ziggster this ought to keep you going for a while.
https://kustomrama.com/wiki/1960s

https://www.carnut.com/show/show60.html

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/bring-back-the-60s-wacky-show-rodz.1218811/

 

Agreed, and have the book!
I'd guess it's photo rights and some limiting due to preference or scope.

 

according to Google AI all of Arlen Ness's bike were "ridable":

Ridable, but Challenging: Arlen Ness aimed for all his bikes to be ridable

geometries and stretched designs created unique, difficult handling, sometimes described as feeling like a "tiller".

While they could be driven, some of the most extreme, specialized show builds were primarily designed for display or limited riding

 

I'd say 'ridable' somewhere between the Batpod and the Dodge Tomahawk.
"professional driver, closed course, please do not attempt."
Also, please do not use AI as a fact finder.

 

wow!

 

I sure don’t blame you. Such treatment for a minor infraction wow. Had I been an official I would’ve been so awe struck by seeing a Roth creation driving around I’m not sure what I would’ve done. I understand being asked to leave… the globe hopper doesn’t fit the venue. Whoopty ****.
Dan

 

Don't feel special. Ed got thrown out of car shows too, usually because of 'shoddy engineering'. An example of what got him thrown out when building the Mysterion. Note that he turned the grease boot around backwards and didn't use lock washers on the rod ends in the front axle of the car. Many details like this got him banned often.

I have 3 long videos that Ed shot with a camera on a tripod (or probably a work table!!) while building the Asphalt Angle V8 tricycle, the LA Zoom which I think he never finished before he died, and of the Globe Hopper. Watching the videos is mesmerizing. Ed truly never did use a measuring tape. For the Asphalt Angel, he set the engine on a couple milk crates, then eyeballed the pipe frame around it, cutting and welding 'till it 'looked ok', held the front fork up to the emerging frame guessing at angles, then free-formed a couple plates to weld to the frame to mount it, then piled his plaster soaked 'spitwads' (wads of newspaper dipped in plaster) to build up the body mold. He piled the wads 'til it was close then used a little trowel to smooth the monolith over with wall plaster which hardens in days, not in minutes like plaster of Paris does, mixed with vermiculite which is mica crystals that make the plaster much easier to 'machine' when hardened. He formed the final shape with a cheese grater and hand saw. No templates or tape measure in sight. Once close, he painted it with house paint then slathered on a couple coats of resin and fibergl*** matt to make the body. Once the resin set, he knocked the plaster out from inside the 'gl*** and had his body. Then he ground down the outside of the body shell and sanded and Bondoed it 'til it was paintable. He deviated from this formula on the LA Zoom where he used epoxy resin and carbon fiber instead of fibergl***.
His building methos were amazing. He worked in what appears to be 1-car garage, mixed the plaster and plastic resins by hand in 5-gallon buckets, and the fanciest tool he used was a jigsaw. He literally painted the bodies in his driveway! VERY understanding neighbors.

Some of Ed's helpers busting the plaster out of the Outlaw body.

Gl***ing the Bandit.

This famous photo isn't a humorous staged shot. It is Ed at work!


This is a joke shot. Ed was proud that he didn't need to use a measuring stick!

 

My point was how in the hell can an MSRA member in charge of security for their event not know who Ed Roth was? and why the Hell did he feel the need to call me every dirty name in the book when I knew full well that I had to leave.
Working at a venue like BRTFs and not knowing who Roth is sacrilegious, the dummy probably never head of the Barris brothers either. He should’ve been removed lol
Dan