I had a really close look at the Howerton Roadster while on an afternoon tour at the so-cal shop a while back. The detail and execution is the finest I have ever seen. It looks as precise as something from NASA or perhaps a formula one racer. I think it is well deserved.
congrats to the winners!! the Indy Speedster is definitely a masterpiece. Well done to all involved esp Mr Howerton. there really is something timeless about a track roadster. gota say that Sylvester III and Brizio/Gloy car are also right up there IMO What a nail biter tho,so good to see so many honest to god HOTRODS competing.
The Good, It's a very nice Roadster and I give all credit and due respect to all involved. The Bad, The wheel choice. The Ugly, The color of the exhaust system. Picky, picky I know. On the other hand it's hard to find something wrong with the Brizio roadster! Your thoughts? And before you ask it, no I could not build anything that nice in my lifetime but it's fun to critique it. JMO
Congratulations to the winner, I think it had all the features it takes to win the GNRS, totally custom built. When did the last GNRS winner have an I beam or tube front axle, and body that wasn't custom built?
This year's field of AMBR contenders is the best overall group of hot rods that I've seen in recent years. Any one of the cars (with maybe one exception if I'm being honest) could have taken home the trophy, and would have deserved it. It appears the new judging process has made a change for the better in the award. I really like the Lindig/ Howerton Roadster. I've studied it at length several times now, and the craftsmanship in the car is second to none. With that said, the paint scheme bothers me. I think that seeing the car in bare metal for so long makes it difficult for me to like the scallop and numbers. I don't want to take anything away from the work that went into the car...it's exquisite. But the paint scheme seems like an afterthought to me. Of course this is just my opinion, and I've been wrong before. Congratulations to Bill Lindig, Jackie Howerton, and So-Cal Speedshop!
Prefered the Gloy/Brizio roadster (and I'm usually not a channeled car fan.) didn't like the choice of color or finish on the body of the "Howerton" roadster, but what the hell do I know...
Yuppers I like everything about the car except the silver looking nose and number panels. Now the poor car is probably stuck with them simply because someone would cry if the owner decided to change the color. It really looks great in the drawing that they showed with the car though. Maybe when Rodders Journal gets it in the studio and does their soft light photography of it and we don't see the florescent lights reflected in the nose it will look different to us.
I was lucky enough to get in for a good look at the AMBR cars early before the crowds on Saturday, and the Howerton was an amazing piece of craftmanship. With that said, after walking all the contenders, I sat down on a bench looking at Sylvester III, and just stared and smiled for about 10 minutes. IMHO - America's most BEAUTIFUL roadster.
I have been watching eagerly since the 50th GNRS and fell in love with the car while Jackie and I crawled around on our hands and knees on the main floor while he gave me a personal tour of the car from top to bottom. I think the best part is that Jackie built the car for himself and not to win any award at any show. Great article in Rodder's Journal a few issues back. The intricate and delicate small details are incredible. It is too bad that it had to be painted at all!
Great to see this car win. My first memory of this car was in the Howerton shop on Gasoline alley. It was nothing more than a sketch on the wall, and a drive line on a chassis table with allot of line scribed on the chassis table. Great to see it come full circle.
I envy you guys that have seen it in person, tough choice this year with all those great cars. Best selection of cars I've seen in a long time. Congrats to everyone for a great show.
Congrats to all involved in the the Howerton Indy Special. A beautiful car for sure very deserving. I still hate the numbers they detract from the beautiful lines I do like the polished nose. Less is more. K.I.S.S.
Love the style of the winner but the number on the doors just looks wrong to me, obviously not to the judges though. Too me they look silly and detract from the roadster even if the theme is a "racer". However what do I know.
Great to see such a cool car as a deserving winner. Although I will say that the Sylvester three illustrates perfectly why, to me, the late 50s and very early 60s were the golden age of hot rods and customs. If there were more like it I'd be a lot more into hot rods than I am. Paul
Well no surprise to me - they choose a "winning" number to put on the side of the car - #3 - Dale Earnhart RIP. And the car has some Indy connections too!
Wow, given all the shit that has taken home the trophy in recent years past, how can any HAMBer complain about this car winning? We whine about them not listening to traditional hot rodders and then this car takes the trophy and we whine about the paint. Personally, I love the paint. I love the polished parts contrasting with the paint. It looks like an aircraft.
I had it going down to between this one and Brizzio's car! Nice change from all the 'over-the'top' winners. (Not that they weren't 'beautiful', just that these fit my taste!) Loks like it was a rad show! Maybe one day.......
First, that's why Al Gore invented the Internet, so people could complain and other people could tell the complainers to shut up. Second, I don't really see many people here complaining that it won, just sharing their opinion about what they like and don't like and what they would have done instead; which is the second main reason Al Gore invented the Internet. Despite the number of posts I've seen over the years where people have said "Oh that car's perfect," there are no cars perfect to all people. That's why hot rodders and customizers exist in the first place. If we all thought the same cars were perfect, we'd all be driving the same car. Think how boring that would be.
The Jalopy Journal
