AMBR – Timing Tower https://www.timingtower.com Hot Rod and Racing News Tue, 17 Sep 2024 03:04:44 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.26 32289303 THE 74th GRAND NATIONAL ROADSTER SHOW, FAIRPLEX IN POMONA, FEB. 2-4, 2024 https://www.timingtower.com/the-74th-grand-national-roadster-show-fairplex-in-pomona-feb-2-4-2024/ https://www.timingtower.com/the-74th-grand-national-roadster-show-fairplex-in-pomona-feb-2-4-2024/#respond Tue, 16 Jan 2024 04:43:12 +0000 http://www.timingtower.com/?p=9625 The 74th Grand National Roadster (GNRS) Show opened at noon Friday, Feb. 2, 2024 and the winners were announced on Sunday night.    AMERICA’S MOST BEAUTIFUL ROADSTER Beth Meyers’ 1932 Ford Phaeton took home the trophy for America’s Most Beautiful Roadster 2024.  The winning roadster was built by Roy Brizio Street Rods.   THE AL SLONAKER MEMORIAL AWARD WINNER David Rush’s 1959 Chevrolet Impala “Bespoke” is the winner of the Al Slonaker Memorial Award for 2024.  “Bespoke” was built by Steve Cook Creations and has a 518 ci LS3 engine built by Don Hardy.   Below are the contenders for America’s Most Beautiful Roadster and the Slonaker Memorial Award.  Following the photos of the contenders is compete coverage of the show. This year there were nine contenders for the title of America’s Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR)  – 8 Fords, 1 Chevrolet; 8 ’32’s and 1 ’34.  DUECES RULED THIS YEAR!  Four of this year’s contenders were owner-built – James Butler’s 1932 Ford; Bob Mansonen’s 1932 Ford; Ken Thurm’s 1932 Ford; and, Ramin Younessi’s 1934 Ford. This 1932 Ford Phaeton belongs to Ken Reister of Littleton, CO.   A 1932 Ford Phaeton belonging to Beth Meyers from Skippak, PA.   Mekenzie Murphy of Loveland, OH owns this 1932 Ford Roadster.   This 1932 Ford Roadster belongs to Bob Mansonen of Auburn, CA.   A 1934 Ford Roadster owned by Ramin Younessi from Fort Collins, CO.   A 1932 Ford Roadster owned by Ken Thurm of Orange, CA.   A 1932 Ford Roadster Pickup owned by Gary Holyoak of Cedar City, UT.   James Butler of Prescott, AZ owns this 1932 Ford Roadster.   Dale Short of Henderson, CO owns this 1932 Chevrolet Roadster.   The eleven contenders for the Al Slonaker Memorial Award are shown below. Clifford Mattis from Vacaville, CA owns this 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible.   This 1961 Ford Unibody Pickup is owned by John Lamb from Seneca, IL.   Ed Ganzinotti owns this 1956 Ford F-100 pickup.   Ryan Vicklund of Anderson, CA owns this 1967 Chevrolet C10 pickup.   Rod Pearce of Granite Bay, CA owns this 1957 Chevrolet convertible.   This 1972 Chevrolet C10 pickup is owned by Mark DeAtley from Phoenix, AZ.   Arno Aldhoch of Chatsworth, CA owns this 1968 Dodge Charger.   David Rush from Oklahoma City, OK owns this 1959 Chevrolet Impala.   This 1934 Pickup built by Pete and Jakes is owned by Bill Paul of Bucyrus, KS.   Ed Ganzinotti owns this 1969 Dodge Charger.   Steve Rajcic of LaHabra, CA owns this 1931 Ford Victoria.   It was partly sunny throughout the week-end and a number of cars showed up for the drive-in.     As usual there were some very interesting cars in The Suede Palace.     The GNRS was host to some long lost cars such as the Cop Shop Coupe, a 1934 Ford built by Tom Prufer, unseen for 15 years. The Uncertain T disappeared in the mid-70’s and stayed under cover for nearly 50 years.  It was originally built by Steve Scott and is now owned by Galpin’s Beau Boeckmann.  This car was displayed in it’s barn-find state before it is restored.   These two vehicles represent 50’s and 60’s style hot rods that graced the pages of magazines such as Rod and Custom.   Pete and Jake’s Hot Rod Parts brought the original California Kid ’34 Ford coupe built by Pete Chapouris and Jake’s original ’34 Ford Coupe built by Jim Jacobs. Both cars were built in the early ’70’s and were featured in Rod and Custom magazine. This year Pete and Jake’s celebrated it’s 50th year in business.   The theme of the GNRS this year was Street Machines Then and Now.   There were several buildings featuring a variety of unique cars and motorcycles such as the Renteria Bros. Pro-Mod dragster.       There were 20 Lincoln Zephyrs and they varied from completely stock to radically customised.  The red Zephyr below was brought to the GNRS by the Peterson Automotive Museum. As in past years, over 30 artists participated in the Pinstripers’ Gathering.  A Pinstripers’ Auction was held on Friday, Saturday and Sunday where the art created by these talented individuals went up for auction.  The proceeds from their work generated $56,000 for the charity Teen Challenge of Southern California.   Even though the forecasters threatened rain for the week-end, many people came to the Fairplex and were rewarded with a great show. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The Grand National Roadster Show (GNRS) will be held February 2-4, 2024 at the Fairplex in Pomona, CA.   The GNRS has announced the inductees into the Hall of Fame.  The photo below shows the 2023 Slonaker Award winner. HERE’S THE LATEST INFO ON THE UPCOMING GRAND NATIONAL ROADSTER SHOW.  timingtower.com WILL BE AT THE GNRS THROUGHOUT THE WEEK-END AND WILL HAVE FREQUENT UPDATES, INCLUDING PHOTOS OF AMERICA’S MOST BEAUTIFUL ROADSTER ON SUNDAY NIGHT. WHAT: Hundreds of the country’s finest hot rods, customs, lowriders, muscle cars, trucks and motorcycles will take center stage at the 74th annual O’Reilly Auto Parts Grand National Roadster Show, presented by Meguiar’s. More than 500 hot rods will fill the Fairplex buildings, while another 500-800 vehicles will join the event each day for the annual Grand Daddy Drive-In. The legendary show will be highlighted by the debut of dozens of incredible custom cars competing for two of the industry’s most coveted and competitive awards: America’s Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR) and the Al Slonaker Memorial Award. And you don’t want to miss the high-horsepower salute to “Street Machines: Then & Now” in the feature building.   WHEN: Feb. 2-4. The Grand National Roadster Show opens to the public Friday, Feb. 2, from noon-8 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 3, from 10 a.m.-8 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 4, from 10 a.m.-6 p.m.   WHERE: Pomona Fairplex, 1101 W McKinley Ave. Pomona, CA 91768   WHAT TO EXPECT: America’s Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR) Award Contenders: Nine roadsters will compete for one of the most coveted awards in hot-rodding history, […]

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]]> https://www.timingtower.com/the-74th-grand-national-roadster-show-fairplex-in-pomona-feb-2-4-2024/feed/ 0 9625 THE GRAND NATIONAL ROADSTER SHOW, Pomona, CA https://www.timingtower.com/the-grand-national-roadster-show-pomona-ca/ https://www.timingtower.com/the-grand-national-roadster-show-pomona-ca/#respond Fri, 24 Jan 2020 04:37:15 +0000 http://www.timingtower.com/?p=8174 THE GRAND NATIONAL ROADSTER SHOW, Pomona, CA   AMERICA’S MOST BEAUTIFUL ROADSTER 2020 A 1932 Ford Roadster owned by Monte Belsham! There were 10 contenders for the title of America’s Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR).  All of the contenders can be seen on Friday’s post (below).   THE SLONAKER AWARD 2020 As we explained below, this year, the Slonaker Award became a competition judged by a panel for best overall engineering, craftmanship and originality.  Ten cars vied to take home the Slonaker Award along with a check for $12,500.   All of the contenders for the Slonaker Award can be seen on Friday’s post (below). A 1936 Willys Model 77 owned Ron and Vicki Ernsberger!     The 71st Grand National Roadster Show, January 24-26 at the Fairplex in Pomona was full of cars, trucks, dragsters, vendors and spectators.     The Model T above is known as the Kookie Car.  It was originally built by Norm Grabowski and driven by Ed Burns in the early 1960’s TV show 77 Sunset Strip.   The feature building contained over 100 vintage drag racing vehicles, from the 50’s era to current cars.  This included short wheelbase “bare bones” rails to current 200 mph, nitro-burning funny cars and included many historic and iconic cars.   Drag racing protective gear has come a long way as evidenced by the difference between the 60’s era aluminized coat and pants and the modern fire suit.  Note the modern full-face helmet.  Drag Racing Then and Now was the theme for this year’s feature building.  The photos above show Rich Guasco’s AA/FA Pure Hell sitting next to Ron Hope’s AA/FA Rat Trap.    Seeing these two Fuel Altereds side-by-side again brings back memories of the days these two altereds sat together at the start line.   Fireups of nostalgia nitro dragsters occurred during the three days of the show.  The fireups were in memory of long time drag racer John Ewald.     Big Red, the world’s fastest 1969 Camaro was on display.  The car owned by Dan Gottlieb and driven by RJ Gottlieb has been setting records and winning races ever since it won the La Carrera road race in 1988.  The legendary Camaro has recorded a top speed of over 266 mph on a 1 1/2 mile course…incredible.  Big Red will continue to scorch the asphalt at a meet in New Mexico this February and continue competing in Vintage Road Races.   The 15th Annual Grand Daddy Drive –in was held on Saturday and Sunday.  More than 700 cars were seen between the buildings and around the show.  Drive-in cars are shown below.     There were a lot of interesting and unique cars in the various buildings.  Below are just a few. This Model T, known as Uncertain T, traveled to the show from New Zealand.   The LAPD Racing Team A/Gas Camaro, Tony Foti driver.   This 1958 Chevrolet Impala was brought to the show by Mackey’s Hot Rods of Huntington Beach, CA.   Hemi Under glass, now owned and driven by Mike Mantel.       “The Suede Palace” was filled with traditional Rods and Customs. The cars varied from rusty patina to shiny new paint.  This building also featured some 50’s and 60’s race cars.  Rockabilly bands played all weekend.     Over 30 artists came together for the Pinstriper’s Gathering.  Their creations were auctioned during the three-day course of the show to benefit Teen Challenge.  They set a goal of $100,000 to help those struggling with problems of addiction and self—destructive behaviors.   Plans for future Grand National Roadster Shows are underway.  Next year the feature building will invite VWs and other air-cooled cars. For the 2022 show the featured cars will be 1932 Fords.  The year 2024 will be the 75th anniversary of the Grand National Roadster Show and will feature a building filled with past Americas Most Beautiful Roadster award winners.     Friday 1/24/20 Grand National Roadster Show AMERICA’S MOST BEAUTIFUL ROADSTER CONTENDERS 2020 This is the 71st year of the Grand National Roadster Show.  The winner of the coveted title of America’s Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR) not only takes home a trophy but also a check for $12,500.  The 10 contenders to be the 2020 AMBR are shown below. Tom Fifth’s 1932 Roadster Gary DeVine’s 1932 Ford Roadster Pick Up Ken Katashino’s 1932 Ford Roadster Walter Sigsby’s 1915 Ford Roadster Brandi Laird’s 1934 Ford Roadster Gary Mower’s 1932 Ford Roadster Dustin Smith’s 1927 Ford Roadster Monte Belsham’s 1932 Ford Roadster   Mike Dwight’s 1932 Ford Roadster     John Ivy’s 1927 Ford Roadster AL SLONAKER MEMORIAL AWARD 2020 CONTENDERS Al Slonaker founded the Grand National Roadster Show.   In past years one car or truck was selected to receive the Slonaker Award.  The criteria for the winning car or truck, was that it not be an AMBR contender.  This year, the Slonaker Award will become a competition judged by a panel for best overall engineering, craftmanship and originality.  Ten cars are vying to take home the Slonaker Award along with a check for $12,500.  The Slonaker Award is one of the most coveted trophies for non-roadsters.  The 10 contenders are pictured below. Will Sanders’ 1968 Camaro Lane Folliott’s 1956 Chevrolet 210 Wes Dokter’s 1956 Chevrolet Pick Up Bill Strunk’s 1950 Jaguar Mark V Richard Hammer’s 1965 Pontiac Acadian   Joe Scheck’s 1957 Lincoln Mark II   Bob Cummings’ 1955 Ford 2 Door Wagon Kent Matranga’s 1971 Plymouth Baracuda Ron Ernsberger’s 1936 Willys Pick Up Ralph Holguin’s 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air Check back here throughout the week-end to see some of the other fine cars at the show.   Sunday evening we’ll post the winner of the AMBR 2020 and the Slonaker Award 2020 winner.  Monday evening we’ll post a complete article with photos of the show. Below is the 2019 AMBR winner.  

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]]> https://www.timingtower.com/the-grand-national-roadster-show-pomona-ca/feed/ 0 8174 70TH GRAND NATIONAL ROADSTER SHOW, POMONA, CA – JAN. 25-27, 2019 https://www.timingtower.com/70th-grand-national-roadster-show-pomona-ca-2019/ https://www.timingtower.com/70th-grand-national-roadster-show-pomona-ca-2019/#respond Sat, 26 Jan 2019 06:16:32 +0000 http://www.timingtower.com/?p=7623   THIS 1936 FORD IS AMERICA’S MOST BEAUTIFUL ROADSTER 2019 – CONGRATULATIONS TO OWNER GEORGE POTEET AND BUILDER PINKEES ROD SHOP.     This year 14 cars entered the contest seeking to take home the title of America’s Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR).     This 1929 Ford Roadster took home the AMBR trophy at the first ever Grand National Roadster Show in 1950. Since 1950 there have been 68 additional AMBR winners.  Seven of those 68 former winners were on display this week-end. This year the show featured the Ford Model A to celebrate its 90th anniversary.   There were 109 Model A’s showing off in the feature building.  Below are just a few, including Jack Chrisman’s 1929 Model A Sedan with it’s beautifully restored Von Dutch-striped radiator shell insert.  This car was a competitive drag racer in the mid-fifties and is currently owned by Jack’s daughter, Lana Chrisman.   There were some really innovative buses at the show this year.    The bus in the photo just below is reminiscent of the dome car on passenger railway cars. This Volkswagen bus was manufactured in 1957 and sectioned in 1959.   The Suede Palace always offers some unique cars. This year the charity of choice was Drive Toward a Cure which supports and raises awareness for Parkinson’s Disease.  The proceeds from the pinstriper’s auction were donated to this charity.  There were many pinstripers on hand creating some unique art to be auctioned off including one self-portrait.   The original Mustang driven by Steve McQueen in the movie Bullitt was on display.  A BRM Chronograpahes timepiece was hand painted by Nicolas Hunziker and a paint fragment from the Bullitt Mustang was included in the watch.  Raffle tickets for this watch were sold and the winning ticket was drawn Sunday.  The proceeds from the raffle will go to benefit the Michael J. Fox Foundation which supports finding a cure for Parkinson’s disease. Although there were not as many motorcycles this year as in the past, the ones that were on display were nice. Below are some of the great cars in various buildings throughout the show: There were also cars outside: The 1932 coupe below was made into a hot rod many decades ago and was found in a bricked-up garage in Southern California in it’s original state.  The license plate is from 1956.  This car is featured in the January 2019 issue of Hot Rod Magazine.   As always the Grand National Roadster Show is one of the best.  

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]]> https://www.timingtower.com/70th-grand-national-roadster-show-pomona-ca-2019/feed/ 0 7623 The GRAND NATIONAL ROADSTER SHOW, January 29-31, 2016 Pomona, CA https://www.timingtower.com/the-grand-national-roadster-show-3/ https://www.timingtower.com/the-grand-national-roadster-show-3/#respond Sat, 30 Jan 2016 07:13:54 +0000 http://www.timingtower.com/?p=5310 The 67th Grand National Roadster Show is over and AMERICA’S MOST BEAUTIFUL ROADSTER AND AMERICA’S MOST BEAUTIFUL MOTORCYCLE HAVE BEEN NAMED. AMERICA’S MOST BEAUTIFUL ROADSTER   Darryl and Terri Hollenbeck from Concord, California are the owners of America’s Most Beautiful Roadster – a 1932 Ford roadster.  The car was built by Dan Webb, Cory Taulbert, and Darryl Hollenbeck; it has a Brookville body and the body work was done by Vintage Color Studio;  engine is by Edelbrock.  The interior and top were done by Sid Chavers and the color was custom mixed PPG Envirobase by Darryl Hollenbeck; Sherm’s Plating and Advance Plating did the chrome.  Final assemby was by Bill Ganhal, South City Rod & Custom and Jack Stratton. AMERICA’S MOST BEAUTIFUL MOTORCYCLE   Andrew Ursich from Long Beach, CA is the winner with his 2015 Urisch Knucklehead, Stardust. This year there were 13 roadsters competing to become America’s Most Beautiful Roadster.  The contenders were:   There were three motorcycles competing for the AMBM trophy. There was a lot more going on at the 67th Grand National Roadster Show than just the AMBR and AMBM contenders.  The buildings surrounding the hub of the Fairplex were full.  Building 4 with the AMBR cars and vendors, the Suede Palace with rat rods and customs, Building 7 with hot rods and muscle cars, Building 9 with SCTA’s Quest for Speed exhibit, Building 6 with customs, and more.  The show ran for three days and it took all three to see it all.  The Grand Daddy drive-in on Saturday saw more than 500 cars fill every available space between and around all the buildings. The original Batmobile built by George Barris was on display. The SCTA filled Building 9 with the old and the new lakes cars.  These cars all had one purpose – to go fast.  Purchasing one of Dave Fetherston’s books at this exhibit offered the opportunity to join the Save the Salt campaign.    There has been racing at Bonneville for more than 100 years, but recently both mining and weather have led to the deterioration of the salt to such an extent that now the future of Bonneville racing is in question. As in past years, dozens of pinstripers from across the nation joined in the Pinstripers Reunion where they donated their time and their talent to create art which was auctioned off on both Saturday and Sunday.  The proceeds of this charity auction will be donated to Pomona-based “Everyone Free” which works to prevent human trafficking. And, of course, about 350 cars filled the buildings, including retro builds – wild customs – monochromatic muscle car – Rare and restored – a beach cruiser?? – trucks – at the drive-in  –   another drive-in hot rods – motorcycles – vintage gassers – pedal cars – and a lot more – Keeping all these cars looking their best for three days is no easy job. This Merc’ came from Tokyo, Japan and exemplifies the saying “nothing beats black when its done right” – but it still needs to be shined regularly. The 2016 inductees into the Hall of Fame were Luc De Ley, Mickey Minsl, Oz Welch and Steve Stanford.  The 2016 Builder of the Year was Squeeg’s Kustoms  of Chandler, Arizona. The 67th Grand National Roadster Show came to an end after the awards ceremony on Sunday.  We’re looking forward to No. 68 – the 14th to be held at the Pomona Fairplex in Pomona, CA. There are more photos of the show posted on our SmugMug site.

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