Detroit Autorama March 4-6, 2022

[Frosty]

This weekend is the 69th annual Detroit Autorama, home of the oldest award in hot rodding, the Riddler Award and the Great 8! Chip Foose is expected to do a guest appearance on Friday as well. Lots of high dollar custom cars, It will be held at TCF Center (still Cobo Hall to us old timers). Admission is $25.

https://autorama.com/attend/detroit/

[JUSTA6]

19 minutes ago, Frosty said:

This weekend is the 69th annual Detroit Autorama, home of the oldest award in hot rodding, the Riddler Award and the Great 8! Chip Foose is expected to do a guest appearance on Friday as well. Lots of high dollar custom cars, It will be held at TCF Center (still Cobo Hall to us old timers). Admission is $25.

https://autorama.com/attend/detroit/

Would like to go but we have a nice WARM weekend to get started on the Sunbird motor and spend some time in the garage.  

[Frosty]

That's my goal for one of these days as well. I just got a new fiberglass aero spoiler for Black Beauty from Hawk's 3rd Gen to replace the cracking and spliting OEM vinyl rubber one. Also it will help let some warmer air into the garage. It's been staying around 30 degrees all winter thus far. Too damn cold to do much of anything (except squeegee water out).

[Ringo64]

Just make sure you don't bring a bat for Sting to sign  

[Frosty]

Okay boys and girls, time to admire expensive paint and chrome. Here is this year's Detroit Autorama!

Behold the one and the only Hirohata Merc! First time I've seen it at Autorama. It recently sold at Mecum at Kissimmee too for well over 7 figures.

Very cool 2-door Magum wagon (no they didn't make them that way)

Donk your Charger? Why not?

Let's go fishing for Marlin!

Got Jag?

There was a tribute to the 90the anniversary of the 32 Ford.

Ardun Hemi powered 32

Flathead V8 = old school cool

Chevy "W" motor powered

Olds Rocket V8 powered

Buick Nailhead powered

1000 HP Donk!!!

Dodge Lancer Royale

This tow truck is still owned by it's original family!

[JUSTA6]

Lookin pretty lean, every car getsa 20X20 space ???  Still some very cool Rides, thankz for sharing.

[64 kiwi boni]

thanks Frosty cool line up 👍

[Fitzy]

Imagine the dollar value of what is on display there - astounding quality.

How many cars did you purchase, Frosty?

[notallthere]

What no picture of the Orange creamsicle VW that was there?

 

[64 kiwi boni]

frosty, do you have any more pictures of the grey 63 wearing the 8 luggers ?

[Fitzy]

I KNEW you'd pick up on that car - I did too. 8 luggers on any car now stand out as 'instant Pontiac.'

Don't worry mate. That piece of crap of yours ain't going anywhere near this show and neither is mine!

[64 kiwi boni]

yip i know it too cause its not my scene mate!!

i don't build cars to look all pretty, i build them for my own pure enjoyment... no one else's 

always have and always will

[Frosty]

10 hours ago, 64 kiwi boni said:

frosty, do you have any more pictures of the grey 63 wearing the 8 luggers ?

Maybe......

I haven't gotten around to posting all the pictures of the Pontiacs or the Great 8 (finalists for the Ridler Award) or the rat rod section. I plan to post more of them shortly. I took over 500 pictures on Saturday.

Also construction on I-75 was so bad, that all 4 lanes north and sound bound were closed off between Square Lake Road (south of Pontiac) to I-696, I ended up taking an unplanned cruise down Woodward Avenue (M1) to and from the show. I parked at the GM RenCen, found out the Detroit People Mover wasn't running and ended up walking from the RenCen to Huntington Center (Cobo Hall for us old timers). So I cruise Woodward on Saturday as well.

Edited March 8, 2022 by Frosty

[JUSTA6]

7 hours ago, 64 kiwi boni said:

yip i know it too cause its not my scene mate!!

i don't build cars to look all pretty, i build them for my own pure enjoyment... no one else's 

always have and always will

 

Plenty of enjoyment in makin them "pretty" too.  Justa check out Lastindians garage.

[JUSTA6]

1 hour ago, Frosty said:

Maybe......

I haven't gotten around to posting all the pictures of the Pontiacs or the Great 8 (finalists for the Ridler Award) or the rat rod section. I plan to post more of them shortly. I took over 500 pictures on Saturday.

Also construction on I-75 was so bad, that all 4 lanes north and sound bound were closed off between Square Lake Road (south of Pontiac) to I-696, I ended up taking an unplanned cruise down Woodward Avenue (M1) to and from the show. I parked at the GM RenCen, found out the Detroit People Mover wasn't running and ended up walking from the RenCen to Huntington Center (Cobo Hall for us old timers). So I cruise Woodward on Saturday as well.

True Diehard to get down there N back in that mess.  Sorry about the people mover being down. That much extra walking would have been a game changer for me.  Last time I was on the people mover, was the last time you N I were down there for Autorama with the CRO group.  Good Times!

[Frosty]

Between walking from the Beaubien parking lot, through the RenCen (Tower 400) to Tower 100 (Marriott street lobby), walking up Jefferson to Cobo (and back) and then spent 5 or 6 hours walking around (without sitting down or eating), my legs and hip was on fire!  I finally sat down with some friends manning the St, Ignace car show booth for 20 minutes before heading back to the truck. 

[Frosty]

More photos.....

Behold, GM's largest crate motor yet, the new ZZ632 BBC! Only a few bucks under $30k and it's yours!

 

Ridler Finalists - the Great 8

'51 Studebaker Pickup

First Pontiac I've ever seen in the Great 8 - a '38 Pontiac called PROhibition

70 Challenger called Kryptonite

1950 Oldsmobile

1970 Cuda

1933 Ford Coupe

1937 Cadillac

The Zingers

A guy standing next to me actually asked me, "how do you drive them?"  I said, "you don't!" Oh rolling art! Duh!

[64 kiwi boni]

bloody well done rolling art too !!!

[64 kiwi boni]

oh come on mr Chevrolet! this engine is cool but no way near the level of fca !! pack a super charger under that intake, with cooling from the air con system and pack lots of super cold air into each pot and THEN you have a crate engine with cubes !!AND torque !!!

Go next level and build it to run on hydrogen ! with its own water to hydrogen processor and we can keep the ice !! and we can all do the big finger to the powers  charging us so much for gas!

if flowers and plants can make hydrogen why cant we ?

Edited March 9, 2022 by 64 kiwi boni

[Fitzy]

22 hours ago, 64 kiwi boni said:

yip i know it too cause its not my scene mate!!

i don't build cars to look all pretty, i build them for my own pure enjoyment... no one else's 

always have and always will

I'm with you - I have never had a decent paint job done and I like the battle scarred, well travelled look.

[Frosty]

More photos.....

This set of 55, 56, and 57 is all owned by the same guy from Florida!

Only H-body at the show.

This hot rod was called the Gold Brick

The Olds 442 is owned by John Kryto - co-owner of Inline Tube in nearby Shelby Township

Autorama also features a pinstripper's panel jam AND charity auction

Service dogs in training

Edited March 9, 2022 by Frosty

[KiwiStarChief]

Thanks for posting all the images; that was great viewing. Some truly beautiful cars, but also some not so nice in my opinion. It amazes me how somebody can turn something great to look at when it came out of the factory, into something absolutely hideous like the 55 F100 and 50's Chevy pickup customs. I guess somebody must have liked them!

[64 kiwi boni]

I do like the chevs  from florida !! great use of the great big space in front of the radiator support panel for air in take and over flow bottle

that will be something i will be keeping in mind!!!

i dont like the power brake unit, there is way cleaner looking units that would keep with the clean theme, 

But over all super impressive, trick hinges,smoothed fire wall, concealed air con unit, custom Ls cover lots of chrome!!! certainly a bit of me!!! 

[Fitzy]

Frosty, you have done a stellar job on those pics - a great effort and we all thank you. The level of workmanship & commitment evident amongst those vehicles is something I could never aspire to. Sure, some of the mods are not to everyone's taste (I agree wholeheartedly with KiwiStarChief on this one) but what cannot be denied is the flawless work. Thanks so much for going to fhe effort to taking & posting all those photos.

I dunno about you, but I 'got bacon' right now. I reckon I could shame y'all and actually finish one of Tony's heart attack burgers. It's a challenge I relish attempting when Kiwi and I get over there. 

[Frosty]

I welcome the opportunity to let you eat the heart attack special and photograph the event for the paramedics and the medical examiner (proof for the coroner that it was indeed a suicide by bacon).

I still have a few more photos to share with you boys. I took almost 500 photos on Saturday....I was rather amazed at the total myself once I downloaded them off my camera..

I agree with KiwiStarChief, not everyone's taste will agree with you, for sure. For example, I am not a huge fan of the donk culture, but I respect it because it is a form of hot rodding. Just not my cup of tea. Some rat rods also are just rolling junk piles bolted and welded together while others are well thought out. I think George Carlin once said, "if you nail two things together that have never been nailed together before, some schmuck will buy it from you! Hey I'll give you $5.00 for that!" I think he was right in the long term - you may mot like what someone has done but someone else most likely will.

One more thing I should mention, I am not certain why (since I didn't ask), this year was the first year that Gene Winfield was NOT at Autorama, nor was he chopping the top of some soon to be cool car. Every year for the decade at least Gene Winfield, legendary custom car builder, has been at the Detroit Autorama, working with a local college or tech school students chopping a top! I suspect COVID played a part why Gene was not here this year. I remember having breakfast with Gene back in 2002 in Illinois at the Rockin' Rods on Route 66 show.