I am not sure its a bias towards recent builds but it is definitely a bias towards recent build quality. If I showed up with a new build with stick welded suspension components and mismatched hub caps I would be surprised if I would even be accepted to compete. The reality is cars from back in the day were not built to the same standards as they are now and any expectation for them to win an award like the AMBR are just not realistic. I will add that I think it is awesome that Tom Bobowski didn't compromise on the authenticity of the restoration and change things to more modern standards to chase a trophy. The Dye car was by far my favorite entrant but I had no delusions that it was going to win. Sent from my SM-G950W using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I was there and I spent a lot of time taking in each of the cars, and have multiple pictures of each. It may be subjective, but IMO the Dye Roadster was on another level vs all of the other cars, for shear beauty it was unparalleled. Some of the other cars also had very nice aesthetics, beautiful paint, shiny bits, but they also tended to have corny features like rubber band tires, or exposed IFS, or other 1-800-hotrod_parts.com components. The Bruce Meyer owned Nickel Roadster had some nicely crafted parts, a cool Westlake engine, but the aesthetics just weren't there IMO. Very nice car, just not on the same level. The winning car had some very cool go fast features, but IMO the exterior changes subtracted from Henry's original classic Model A body lines. I realize these things are subjective, but the Dye Roadster was in a class by itself, I don't see how it didn't win. It was like a expensive and historic diamond necklace among a bunch of nice fashion jewelry, and the judges picked the fashion jewelry instead. Just my opinion, I'm sorry if that is trashing the winning car, it's not meant to. It's an obviously fantastic car, it just pales in comparison to the Dye Roadster. Here, take a look: Nothing wrong with the Martin car at all, just IMO it's not on the same level as the Dye roadster, and I think these pictures show what I'm talking about.
Eddie Dye car was awesome and got the award it deserved. Hard for a car built in the 50's to compete with some of the cars built today. Not having opening doors had to hurt it IMO. It sure was beautiful though and what a great job on the restoration. The judges had a hard job again this year. I really liked the Black 36 roadster with the Hemi but can't complain about the one they picked as the winner. It was done and displayed very nicely.
Congrats to Dave Martin and builder Scott Bonowski (& his team at Hot Rods & Hobbies in Signal Hill, CA) !!!
From our friends at : January 29, 2018 by @John D AMERICA’S MOST BEAUTIFUL ROADSTER WINNER – DAVID MARTIN’S 1931 MODEL A America’s Most Beautiful Roadster is hot rodding’s longest tenured major award. First presented in 1950 to Bill Niekamp’s blue track-nosed ’29 Ford Roadster, this trophy and tradition date back 68 years. The winner gets the “9-footer” – a brass loving cup which has stood the test of time. The AMBR winner gets his name added to the base of the trophy. Legends rest on that base. Add Santa Monica’s David Martin to the hot rod history books. Martin’s Cleveland Blue 1931 Ford Model A Roadster by Hot Rods and Hobbies took home all the marbles yesterday at the conclusion of the Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona, California. Martin’s roadster eclipsed the largest field in recent memory (15 cars total) and it beat out some major players including Dana Elrod’s 1936 Ford, Bruce Meyer’s “Nickel Roadster” and the historic Eddie Dye Roadster painstakingly restored to 1952 show trim by Circle City Hot Rods. The other 11 cars were more than worthy as well. A polished blend of So-Cal hot rod flare mixed with European sports car panache, Martin’s roadster is the best of both worlds. A two year build by Scott Bonowski and his team at Hot Rods and Hobbies, the body has been meticulously tweaked including a healthy dose of aluminum panels including the slightly sloped hood, hood sides, lakes-style tonneau cover and a full belly pan. The car has over 270 louvers. The cockpit is somewhere between a Jaguar and a Ferrari with racing bucket seats and a serious set of belts to keep Mark and his passengers snug on spirited drives. An exquisite blend of leather and other textures, it was stitched by Mark Lopez of Elegance Auto Interior (who also did the interior on last year’s winner – Bruce Wanta’s Mulholland Speedster). Redline Gaugeworks provided the sporty instruments. When this car hits the road later this spring (and it will indeed be driven), the plan is for Frank to drive it to New York. From there, it will be shipped to Italy, then on to Switzerland for a hill climb before being returned stateside for a shot at Goodguys 2018 Hot Rod of the Year – a driving competition held Mother's Day weekend in Nashville, Tennessee. Speed is the name of the game with this roadster. An all-aluminum stack-injected 540hp Brodix small block Chevy by Ed Pink Racing Engines thunders through twisty side pipes which are routed through the frame before exiting the rear of the roadster. No mufflers here! The chassis is a work of art with plated and polished hot rod essentials including a drilled and dropped axle. The wheels are exclusive to this car resembling something off a 50s era Indy Car. Cut by EVOD, they were shot peened for added texture. Yellow MR (Martin Racing) logos occupy the center of the knock offs matching the mustard yellow beltline stripe. It’s the first AMBR win for both Martin and builder Scott Bonowski. For Martin, the win is extra special as he’s a member of the prestigious L.A. Roadsters car club who have held the Father’s Day run here in Pomona for over five decades. Next up for the racy roadster is a stop at the Sacramento AutoRama February 16-18 at Cal Expo. A visit to the Goodguys Del Mar Nationals April 6-8 will follow before its cross country boogie to New York. Congratulations from all of us at Fuel Curve on the big win David!
That video changes everything, I'm very happy the car won, don't know if the judges knew it was a runner or in fact if that matters. First ever GNRS winner was a runner so I'm glad the tradition is continuing. Thanks for the photos! Bob
The winner is awesome, looks built to go. Is the scrub line on the Dye 'resto' ridiculous? Is it bagged? lol.
I liked the Dale Boesch built 36 best...and I really don't like 36s ....It was a tough competition ...the winner wasn't even in my Top 5.....but then the actual winner is definitely an awesomely built car (coulda picked a better colour for the side stripe tho IMO )
It's not that hard to figure out when you look at it objectively as a high end show car and not with nostalgia as a super cool hot rod. Just from your pictures the mismatched hub caps and steering wheel colour that doesn't match anything else on the car are probably reason alone that it didn't win but when you then look at the fact that things like the welds on the front spring perch were done 60 years ago and not perfect TIG welds and the pulleys on the engine were left rough cast it's not hard to realize that although this car is supremely cool it does not measure up to what is expected of builds in 2018 competing for awards like the AMBR. You might not like that fact but it doesn't change the reality of what these types of awards are about.
Really. The name of the award is Americas Most BEAUTIFUL Roadster. Not Americas Most Techologically Advanced Roadster. Not Americas Most Perfectly Tig Welded Roadster. Trying to make an award like this totally objective is absurd, there has to be an element of subjectiveness involved. Saying the mismatched hub caps or steering wheel color is somehow less pleasing is a subjective analysis. I can see why not many people have commented on the topic, nobody wants to have a ridiculous discussion like this, and I should have realized that and kept my comments to myself. If you can look at those 2 cars side by side, and say you think the Martin car is more beautiful than the Dye car, God bless you. Beauty after all is in the eye of the beholder.
This same argument has been being had on this board since it's inception at some point people will realize that what HAMB members want this award to be is NOT what it is and maybe they will stop being shocked or upset every single year when the reality is confirmed over and over again. The only thing ridiculous about the discussion is the fact that people can't wrap their head around what the AMBR really is.
nice seeing a car built to that standard being used for the original purpose of hot rodding zoom zoom
Another good illustration of why people aren't discussing it, nobody wants to get into this kind of discussion. Have a good day dude.
Very well put. The Dye roadster is a sweet looking ride, but even 60 years ago, it would be hard to look past the flaws. At a high end show like AMBR, "how it was done back then" doesn't really go over too well and it shouldn't.
Thanks for posting that video! My favorite was Dana Elrods 36 roadster. But viewing this video allows you to see that the guy drove the car and raced it! After all isn't that what having a roadster is all about!
easy fix send in highly trained and tested HAMB commandos to infiltrate all major car shows to pick the real winners (insert Mission Impossible theme music) all contested results will be handled by a drag race for pink slips
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