67th Annual Detroit Autorama - March 1-3, 2019

[Frosty]

The 67th annual Detroit Autorama will be held March 1-3, 2019 at Detroit's Cobo Hall. The Detroit Autorama is the home of the prestigious Ridler Award, the most coveted trophy in hot rodding.

Celebrity appearances include Tony Stewart, Dave Kindig, a Q & A session with the cast of Counting Cars, and on Sunday the Hanson Brothers from the movie "Slapshot" (The Hanson Brothers)!!!! Legendary Michigan car build Carl Casper will also be there.

There is also going to be a Smokey and the Bandit Tribute

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

 

[Frosty]

Autorama starts tomorrow - anyone going?

[indymanjoe]

nowhere to do burnouts....I'm out. 

 

[Frosty]

Well perhaps you can re-create Smokey and the BAndit bridge leap instead, you know the one that the Detroit City Council forbid because the Trans Am was going to have an accurate old Georgia license plate on it.

Edited March 1, 2019 by Frosty

[killerspeed101]

Just got home from it, It was a great show, Glad i finally was able to make it to it!

[Ringo64]

Glad to hear it! But where are the pics? 😛 

[Frosty]

Ridler Great 8 Contenders

This Cadillac was also this year's Ridler Award winner.

 

Some cool Pontiacs - Although the number of Pontiac at this years show was disappointing.

 

Here is the most perfectly restored '65 GTO on the planet - it's Scott Tieman's own GTO. It was his parent's car. He started restoring it back in 1998 and he finished it in 2015 and unveiled it at the 2015 GTOAA convention.

 

Smokey and the Bandit Tribute Area

 

Burt Reynolds owned this Trans Am - it was not a movie car.

 

I thought I'd get in on the action while I was there. So from left-right: Junior, Buford, Snowman, and Bandit. All we are missing is Fred and Frog!!!

Edited March 4, 2019 by Frosty

[Frosty]

Here are some more cool cars.....

 

2018 Drag Week Winner - Tom Bailey's Camaro

Looks like another company is now making the Challenger Daytona kits - GE are you listening?????

 

Former Flint Michigan native and legendary car builder Carl Casper was suppose to be at the show - however he was taken to the hospital on Saturday. He was suffering from the flu. Sadly I didn't get to meet him but I remember building a lot of his models and going to his car shows back at the old Flint IMA Auditorium with my dad and brother. I ended up buying an autographed copy of his book.

Old nostalgia race cars.

A supercharged Ford SOHC engine! You don't see those everyday!

She's real fine my 409. She a real fine 409!

 

Way cool old-school style supercharged Olds Rocket V8 with side-draft carbs!

 

Old dragster with a straight-six Blue Flame Six!

 

I think this was the old car at the show - a 1919 Briggs & Stratton

Horny Mike from Counting Cars was there.

 

[Frosty]

..and some more.

 

This is Sapphire. A Cadillac-powered hot rod. It's also a driver - it's been drive over 6500 miles since it was completed. I love the winged hub caps.

 

A 2009 Challenger made to look like a Plymouth 'Cuda. I love how well it's done.

This is the Chrysler Imperial that Chrysler never made but should have. It belongs to my friend Murray Phaff.

 

Local legend Bob Fryz owns all the Sh-Booms including these first two shown here. He also owns a flame throwing Ford pick up and he's working on a '58 Oldsmobile.

 

[Frosty]

I saved my personal favorite for last. This is a Pontiac-powered OHC-6 beast. This brings back memories of my childhood. I built the model kit. I owned the Hot Wheels too. It is simply known as:

THE RED BARON

[Ringo64]

1 hour ago, Frosty said:

One of the weirdest interiors I've seen  

 

Amazing overload of pics but love it! Thanks for sharing. Great photos of you and the Bandit boys 😛 

[Frosty]

Thanks Ringo. I couldn't resist being with Junior, Buford and Bo! After all, what would Bandit be with the Snowman (and Fred) ??????

The Detroit Autorama is an overload of cars. Believe me, I didn't take all the pictures of all the cars that were there!!!! There were lots of Fords, Mopars, and Chevies I didn't photograph. There was even a motorcycle TROG (The Race of Gentlemen) exhibit.

Tony Stewart was there too. So was Dave Kindig, but I didn't stick around to see him. The line was long and deep for autographs. Besides I already have Tony's autograph on a 1:24 scale Home Depot Pontiac Grand Prix. I got that when he came to visit us at the Powertrain HQ building back in the early 2000s.

Edited March 4, 2019 by Frosty

[Frosty]

Now I parked at the Beaubian parking lot - next to the GM Ren Cen (HQ) building. This meant I had to walk through the GM building to get to the Detroit PeopleMover (above ground subway) to get to Cobo Hall). This gave me the chance to walk through the basement, as known as, GM's Wintergarten. It is a circular display area of GM's current product offerings. Sometimes the rotating display has some unique vehicles on it. This year was no exception.

All these vehicles are from GM's Heritage Collection.

Firebird II - GM's turbine powered and first autonomous vehicle

 

Electrovair II - an all-electric Corvair

 

1956 Buick Roadmaster

 

A very rare Pontiac V8-powered 1956 GMC Suburban Pick-Up. This was GMC's answer to the Chevy Apache! It is also the only time the Suburban name was used as both a SUV and a pick-up.

Edited March 4, 2019 by Frosty

[Frosty]

This building (green roof), across the street from the GM Ren Cen, was made famous in a song.

Anyone know what August 1976 song made this building famous or rather infamous?

[JUSTA6]

Awesome shots as always buddy. Thank you for sharing.  Your eye for details is amazing.

[notallthere]

I almost had to argue over the Acadian with a Pontiac "expert"  at the show who stated they never made it.  I just shut my mouth because it the and and would have been to may syllables for him.

[Frosty]

3 minutes ago, notallthere said:

I almost had to argue over the Acadian with a Pontiac "expert"  at the show who stated they never made it.  I just shut my mouth because it the and and would have been to may syllables for him.

Sadly I know the type bud.

[JUSTA6]

4 hours ago, Frosty said:

This building (green roof), across the street from the GM Ren Cen, was made famous in a song.

Anyone know what August 1976 song made this building famous or rather infamous?

Is that Mariners Church???   Edmond Fitz related??  Justa guessin.

[Frosty]

21 hours ago, Frosty said:

This building (green roof), across the street from the GM Ren Cen, was made famous in a song.

Anyone know what August 1976 song made this building famous or rather infamous?

JUSTA is correct. This is Mariner's Church of Detroit. It was made famous in Gordon Lightfoot's August 1976 release of his single, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. The sinking of the Fitz occurred on November 10, 1975. In the song, the church is recalled by the lyrics:

In a musty old hall in Detroit they prayed,
In the maritime sailors' cathedral
The church bell chimed till it rang twenty-nine times
For each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald

Since the release of the song, Lightfoot has revised the lyrics slightly. A parishioner once complained to Gordon that the church was not musty after Lightfoot performed the song at the church at the tenth anniversary of the sinking, so now "rustic" is used instead. Also, given the new theories of why she sank (rogue waves) so quickly and without warning the line:

"At 7 p.m. a main hatchway caved in, he said, 'Fellas, it's been good to know ya'"

Was changed to

"At 7 p.m., it grew dark, it was then he said, 'Fellas it's been good to know ya.""