Event Coverage D/FW Folks - Autorama!!

I'd be all over that raffle Tyler!

 

Finally gonna be a cool Rama again with much support from the promoter.

Good too see the turnout tonight! Gonna be blast this year for sure

Looks like Them are gonna so up the display for sure

The Winfield truck is a site to see in person. Pictures on the Hamb just dont do it justice

See yall tomorrow

Rusty

 

Just want to say THANK YOU to those who did show up! It's turning out very cool. Fortunately we found 3 guys at the last minute to fill the 4 empty spots left by Mike. Thanks to Nathan and T.J. from Hale's Speed Shop for steeping up, and I can't remember his name (Richard???) with the Frankenford COE is bringing it out tomorrow.

So far so good....



Poke fun all you want, but you know I look good






I snapped these quickly as they were pushing us out the door. I know there will be more from the rest of the weekend. I haven't seen anything there other than this little area. Gene Winfield was walking around!! That was cool.....and the shop truck is awesome. I can't wait to take a closer look at it.

Be back tomorrow!!!

 

Now that display is COOOOL!!!

 

Poke fun all you want, but you know I look good






looks like a h- mo in the back ground!

 

oh yea, i love that '64 galaxie. everybody should own one or three.

 

"THEM" display rocks, the car you need to check out is an old coupe dirt track car and he drove it to the show...kewl picture book with it... gotta check out Jamie Daddyo54's new tank on his bike....BADASS..pics will not do justice.

Thanks to Robert (31 MOFO) and Dennis (Senior Fried) for bringing me some grub from Ojeda's... See ya'll this weekend

 

Hey is that one a them vacuum cleaner powered superskate boards?And I'm stuck in England in the frickin' cold.Have fun you crazy kids.
Paul

 

haha! We weren't done setting up our display. I dropped my coupe off this morning and finished it out, and then rode the vacuum cart back to work!

 

Damn your coupe looks good sniffing the ground

 

Thanks Tony! You know it's low when the running board brackets are hitting things!!! I love it!

 

That display Flippin' sweet!!! When is everyone congregating there tonight and tomorrow?

 

The Torques have pinup girls there tomorrow from 1 pm on....

 

Woo hooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Thanks Dominic Hide for the photo of my car being pushed into its spot. It runs, it just didn't like the hot start.

 

Im wondering who to contact about the car for sale for 1,000,000,000 bucks.

 

Make me an offer..

 

Big Big thanks to Eric for getting me the six spaces for the Lucky13's! We were too busy scrambling with cars to really even think about a display... Thanks to all the guys who actually went through with putting their cars in the show (Brian), and the ones who didn't for helping the others out (Donald). A very very special thanks to Johnny Dynaglass aka Bump for finishing up where I left off. I owe you big time.

1 1/2 weeks ago...


Eric, the Them display is way cool!

 

That $1,000,000 car belongs to Joey, wanna buy it pm me.

 

I'll be back by noon tomorrow

 

Keep the pics coming. Looks like I'm homebound this weekend with a damned sinus infection that has turned in to an upper respritory infection. Sure hate to miss it. I may try to go tomorrow but it dont look good.

 

WOO HOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ITS Show Time!!!!

Rusty

 

Headin' out!

 

Cacklefest at 12pm, 3pm, and 7pm

Headin out Show time

Rusty

 

hey eric, if i bring the dallas morning news article, can i get your autograph?

 

Passion for hot rods still running hot, despite economy

By TERRY BOX / The Dallas Morning News
[email protected]

Stocks may drop and sales might crash – but not on the floor of the Dallas Autorama.
The doom and gloom in the real world have barely touched guys like Eric Anderson of Garland, who are still spending thousands on their beloved old hot rods – one of the types of cars on display today and Sunday at the Autorama at Dallas Market Center.
The nation's caustic economy has dulled the sheen of the specialty car business, but it hasn't stripped the paint off yet. Hard-core enthusiasts such as Anderson – whose striking old-school '31 Ford is one of about 300 vehicles at Autorama – motor on.
In fact, Anderson recently bought a rough '32 Ford and intends to build it into another hot rod over the next four or five years. He has no plans to sell his '31.
"I know what's going on in the economy," said Anderson, 25, who works at Sachse Rod Shop. "But I can afford to do this now. I try to save when I can. But as long as I have a job, I'll keep spending on these cars."
Hot-rodders and muscle-car maniacs tend to be largely middle-class and often lack the deep pockets of serious European car collectors. But they are proving to be more resilient in a terrible economy than many had expected.
Nobody tracks the hot-rod industry as a whole, and some small hot-rod and muscle-car shops have had to lay off employees or accept routine repair work. But most say they're still doing the custom jobs they prefer. Moreover, enthusiasts are still calling, the shops say – an encouraging sign.
"What we have found over and over again is when things get bad in the economy, people have a tendency to scale back on the ancillary things," said Steve Davis, president of Barrett-Jackson Auction Co. in Scottsdale, Ariz., one of the largest and highest-profile auto auctions in the world. "But they stick with their passion – whether that's a '32 Ford or a '57 Bel Air or a '63 split-window Corvette."
Some enthusiasts may even be moving money out of stocks and bonds and into cars, said Davis, a veteran of the business.
"What I'm seeing is when my 401(k) has shrunk by 40 percent, that '65 Mustang convertible is an asset that doesn't drop in value every time someone on Wall Street sneezes," he said.
The passion is "still very much alive," said Tom Williams, producer of the Dallas Autorama and a vice president of Championship Auto Shows Inc.
"Are people going to postpone getting new wheels or polished engine pieces? Maybe," Williams said. "But if you talk to builders across the country, they're still busy."

House vs. car

At Quantum Performance in Farmers Branch, for instance, which works on new and vintage Shelby Mustangs as well as other high-performance "American iron," only one customer has struggled to pay his bill. Quantum builds Shelby Super Snakes, modified versions of GT 500 Mustangs that typically get about $30,000 worth of performance enhancements – on top of the $45,000 cost of the car.
"The gentleman works in the oil-field business in Odessa and ran into some difficulties while we were completing the work on his car," said Kenny Northrum, president and managing partner of Quantum Performance.
"He decided to sell his house to be able to pick up his car."
Although the volume of high-dollar jobs has slowed, Quantum is on pace to reach its goal of 120 Super Snake conversions this year, Northrum said.
"I think some customers are saying: 'What the hell? I've got a job now and I may not be able to do it in three or four months,' " he said.
In Fort Worth, Kustom Classics is finishing a fabulous '34 Ford hot rod and has several other lucrative jobs pending.
But over the last several months, the shop has been forced to lay off three of its seven employees, and it's doing collision repairs "to help with the highs and lows," said business co-owner Bobby Mikus.
"We're in survival mode," he said. "But I get calls once a week from people testing the waters, talking about some project they want to do."

6-figure projects

Likewise, the phone still rings at HCC Performance in Dallas – "just on a smaller scale," said owner Tim Mason.
"Our customers with projects in the six-figure range are more bothered by the economy than those with $5,000 or $10,000 jobs," he said. "People wanting the smaller work may already have $50,000 or $60,000 in their cars, and another $5,000 doesn't seem so bad. But when you are starting from cold, do you want to lay out $100,000 for what is a pure luxury?"
HCC, which specializes in muscle cars but has also completed several elaborate restorations, hasn't had to lay off any of its four full-time or two part-time employees. But, like other specialty shops, it is taking in routine repair work to supplement its income.
"We've got stuff lined up for a while, but I'm looking every day," Mason said.
Maybe enthusiasts are just heeding the "spend, spend" philosophy that some economists promote, said Glenn Martini, vice president and partner at Quantum Performance.
"It's like every other recession we've been through," he said. "People will have to put their fears aside and spend their way out of it."

 

Who is this Eric Anderson you speak of ??!!

 

I'd rather sign your boob, but sure

 

Eric Anderson spending Thousands of Dollars.

What yo been buying buddy?

Rusty