To me the car looks like it is a plastic model. Something is missing. As a lot of have pointed out the car was built to garner points. No soul, just plastic. Not even fibre glass.
I didn't realize that the Scott you were talking about is the guy who parks in the swapmeet at the Primer Nats every year,with his latest project. Someone made a comment about his voice then I knew it was him. I took him for someone with totally different tastes. If I had a shop,I wouldn't even admit to building that thing. I don't think a traditional car will ever have a chance of winning. Most traditional cars are built with the hard to find parts and a certain style in mind(40's,50's,Bonneville,Westergard,or vintage drag car. I'd rather have an award from my peers,than a trophy from a bunch of judges with clipboards. Primer Nats,Round-up,Billetproof,Paso,Mooneyes,are much more fun than an indoor show. GNRS has more in common with a dog show than a Hotrod show! At least at a dog show,the dogs have to walk around in a circle! Correct me if i'm wrong,but the Foose car that won two years ago cost over a million,I heard. I think Dan Collins Modified would have looked better on that Roulette wheel,LOL!!!
I 2nd that Bob. That "so-called" award winner looks like one of Coddington's high buck clients cars straight out of his shop. Nothing traditional at all on it which leaves a taste-less taste in my mouth. KNUX!
I agree with a few of you about Dores car being outstanding, but if it's a typical Dore car it's total crap underneath. He sure gets the part you see right though. Some of his "customs" of the past are nothing but rust and grease on the bottom, which I would be ok with if the things got driven regularly.
It's a seat thing....The 2007 car's seat looked like a "Ho" and the 2008 seats look like they came from a Backhoe!
I think it fits! If you look at the history of most of those show cars, they are outlandish and barely road worthy. How would you like to drive that thing 2000 mile to the next rod run with those seats. you would have to have your chiropractor meet you there.
Hated the wheels- hated the display. Now- fit & finish (which is probably what judges were looking at) was off the chart. Like someone else said here- I did like the grille. My AMBR pick would have been something else. Driveability doesn't count in this show but style should. I really don't mind a trailered car as long as my jaw drops when I see it. A few of you have the price on these cars a little short. Last year's cars in the running all had over 1m build costs. Most if not all of these cars are all hand fabricated aluminum bodies by Marcel Delay- except maybe this year. There was one car there that had a build price of over 3m! Not my cup of tea most times but I can appreciate the effort, fit & finish. IMO- the winner (Rudy Necoechea's 32) would have looked alot better & different w/ a more traditional wheel (like Eric Vaughan's) a full interior & no top. I do have pics of the car w/o the top & boy- it does look better! I was there w/my car- registered inside. Guess what? They overbooked the show by 15% & had no place for my car. So- in the end- they were nice enough to give me 2 day tickets for the drive-in. How understanding of them. So- I did what I do best. I power parked. All day Saturday- all I heard was "Why isn't your car inside?" Or "How the hell did you score that spot?" I just rolled my eyes. Then after I parked- 2 officials came over & said I had to move. My response? The keys are in my pocket. If you think you have the balls- get the keys & move it yourself. I guess they thought it best to leave it alone. My 32 was pretty hard to miss. Parked right in the middle of the intersection. That's the suede palace behind my car (diagonally). Fuckin' politics. It's shiny & has mirrors but there's 15,000 miles on that odometer!
This car makes me sad. No soul, no forethought or direction of build. Thank you so much Mr. Harms Way for the lonely dark sideshot showing the ungracefull lines. I find it unrecogniseable as a 32 Ford except for maybe the grill. Pure plastic fantastic without the thrill of a novelty toy. Very evident this car was built to please judges and no one else. But the proof in this here pudding will be this time next year at the Barret Jackson. We will see if anyone is willing to fork over a quarter of it's build cost to own it.
It sucks - all it is a mixture of all the fads going around for the last two or three years. I guy with more money than style.
I entered in the Sacramento Autorama (same John Buck owner as GNRS) and John Buck called me and asked me if I would want to compete against Rick Dore, John D', Zocchi, Oz, and Lucky 7 for "America's Most Beautiful Custom Award". Of course I said yes. If anything to show people the Budget Traditional Style Kustom and Display. I see most of the big guys with the EXACT same display every year. Some use the same exotic white rocks and some use the same black carpet and low profile white wood display. I'm not sure why, but you will be able to tell the difference from mine. I will DRIVE my Caddy from San Jose to Sacramento (rain or shine ), and pull my entire display from my trunk, the display that I designed and made myself. As most of you know I have learned a lot from when I was sporting the 20"s (for sale cheap). All of this and I don't have a chance against the shop built cars but I want to show that there are still people building Budget Traditional Kustoms. KIRK - San Jose would be a perfect place for the first Indoor Traditional Show. Brian
I decided to judge the AMBR myself, but I divided it into 3 subcategories. The car I thought fit the intent of the AMBR most closely; zooty design and fine craftsmanship (never mind the wheels): The car that incorporated cool old shit the best, especially because of the Riley heads: The car I would most like to drive home: The first two of these were contenders in the AMBR class, by the way.
They say it's called "Undisputed" on their website. Maybe it should've been called "Trump's Hair", just cause it cost a lot, doesn't mean it looks good.
There were three cars that could have won and the worst of the three won. The other entries were there to be there. If the car is on carpet and the underside is not viewable, your not contending. I will not bag on the winner but when did it become OK to have a flat sheet of steel for a roof? How many beers do you need to consume for that to look good, at best? Car also makes me regret not buying stock in the bondo trade. The name of the car says it all.
I'm still reeling from the fact that its not red. ahhhh...industry stroke-fest! good thing awards like these are for people who actually need validation.
That Car doesn't really mean anything to me. It has absolutely nothing to do with the sort of Cars I have devoted my life to... What does amaze me is that a car with big ugly IFS Brackets can even be in the running for any kind of award. When I first saw pics of LJB's 3W, that was the ONLY thing I didnt like about it. Now, some 30 years later, that hickup should have been solved. But its not... They are still being built that way. Amazing.....
There has always been ugly AMBR winners( the Emperior for one) but this years winner really raises the bar. A hot rod does slip through every once in a while like Phil Cool's '32 high boy from around '78. Just for giggles, compare the two.
Metalshapes, I was just describing the same thing to a coworker. Why the mass? Maybe the plasma cutter won't cut an arc? Such a danty grill overwhelmed by the "mass".
Ryan is right. They take these 70 year old cars and smooth them out and modernize them so much to try to turn them into modern concept-like cars that they strip the old car soul out of the thing.
note that lil johns car is under power in the above photo something I doubt we will see from the other car in contention. i'm not disappointed in the results, its obvious who bought the trophy this year..
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