Sunday 15 April 2012

The Detroit Motor Show

Some interesting vehicles at this show.
If you're into custom cars, for sure you'll love these.
A few snaps from this year's Detroit Autorama:

'30 coupe; one of the dramatic vehicles parked up front to catch everyone's attention
as they walk in.

The Detroit Motor Show

"Rocket ship" T-bird

The Detroit Motor Show

George Barris was brought in by the promoters with a few of his historic cars.

The Detroit Motor Show

"Boondocker" Datsun pickup. Hey, it's all for the entertainment!

The Detroit Motor Show

1933 Ford

The Detroit Motor Show

Chip Foose "P-32" roadster, using a Lincoln Zephyr engine. Very nicely detailed, typical of Foose,
but the exhaust outlets on the engine side panels are phony because the Zephyr V12 had only 4 exhaust ports on each side;
end ports serviced one cylinder each but the siamesed middle ports serviced 2 cylinders each, just like Ford V8s.

The Detroit Motor Show

The promoters brought along a few "historic" rods; these are from the '60s.

The Detroit Motor Show

Tube frame chassis is blue. Suspension is by air over shock (you can see the air bladder at the top of the shocks).
Common hot-rod signature elements: supercharger on top of engine, topped by injector and enormous air scoop at/above windshield.

The Detroit Motor Show

A very nice, clean, '32 roadster with a '33 in the background.

The Detroit Motor Show

Henry J. station wagon I'm not sure if they made any or if this guy created one from a sedan.. Typical of the "tail dragger" genre.

The Detroit Motor Show

BMW Isetta with an engine swap.

The Detroit Motor Show

Classic Cadillac, inspired by Big Daddy Roth.

The Detroit Motor Show

Oldsmobile with full "jack" treatment.

The Detroit Motor Show

'37 Ford.

The Detroit Motor Show

T-roadster with classic midget racer grille.

The Detroit Motor Show

Art Deco "Decoliner" Lincoln Zephyr with styling cues like a Delahaye is designed to allow the similarly styled motorcycle to be swallowed in the back.

The Detroit Motor Show

The Detroit Motor Show

Very nice, clean, 1951 Mercury custom. I later learned the two women (behind the car in this view) in car-hop uniforms and platform pumps are twins.

The Detroit Motor Show

Replica of Barney Oldfield's Miller "golden submarine" race car, but a bit smaller scale and narrower.

The Detroit Motor Show

A '32; one of many very nice local cars brought by their owners.

The Detroit Motor Show

Ridler award-winning Willys (for best rod shown for first time in Detroit ).. Builder being interviewed for Meguiar's Cary Crazy TV.
One of the secrets of TV production: interviewer has back of shirt clothes-pinned so front fit will look best for TV.

The Detroit Motor Show

Cadillac that had enormous body length. Looked like a stock body shell, but nicely customized and painted 2-tone yellow.

The Detroit Motor Show

Buick Skylark concept car, brought from a museum in Flint , Michigan .

The Detroit Motor Show

Modern Cadillac-based roadster designed by Wayne Cherry, past head of GM styling.

The Detroit Motor Show

1956 Chrysler 300B, lowered with big wheels.

The Detroit Motor Show

"Rat Rods" are in the basement. This is unusually well finished for the "rat" category, with a Jaguar engine, Ford T woody body, antique lights and fan, etc.

The Detroit Motor Show

"Rat bike" with Triumph engine.

The Detroit Motor Show

The air scoop on this one is perfect. Rat rods are made with great imagination.

The Detroit Motor Show

Rat roadster with nice, but smaller, air scoops and period-perfect ('50s) whitewalls.

The Detroit Motor Show

V-12 Lincoln Zephyr power. This was in the "rat" category, but very nicely done.

The Detroit Motor Show

Nice taillight treatment ('56 Buick?) on this rat 4-door. Even the rope stanchions are nicely done.
A little difficult to see the big vertical exhaust stack up front in this view, but it's wired with a spark plug near the top of the tube,
presumably to ignite flames shooting high into the night sky.

The Detroit Motor Show

A few of the trophies.

The Detroit Motor Show

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