New York Hot Rod and Custom Show 1965

Oh, the “Show Rod” years… The date was November 18, 1965, and the place was the New York Coliseum. The indoor car show movement was fully into the kooky themed vehicles that lacked reasonable function or provided trend-setting design cues. The emphasis was to draw big crowds of the general public and wow them with far-out display stands and cars that were often life-sized wacky model kits, pushed beyond simply improving a car for performance or stylistic reasons. Don’t get me wrong, some great, milestone custom cars came out in this mid 60s era, and there were a few builders still carrying the traditional torch. It’s just that the whole indoor car show circuit had taken on a 3 ring circus vibe, and it didn’t get better in the near future.

You’ll recognize Roth’s Surfite, Barris’ Musters Mobile, and Casper’s Ghost (the wildest car ever to win AMBR at Oakland that same year) built by Carl Casper, who went on to create the Paddy Wagon, the Phone Booth T, the Popcorn Wagon and the Undertaker. By the end of the decade, the over the top Show Rods had pretty much ran their course, and the Street Rods, Resto Rods, and Muscle Cars were on their way into the arena.

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