I'm sitting here enjoying a video of the 50th NSRA Nats , What a great looking event, wish I could've made it. My question to everyone is who the heck are these people that build those cars you see in the exhibition hall??? I've always thought I was okay when it came to working on my stuff but these people are so far ahead of me it's crazy. It's like I'm in kindergarten and they've already graduated from college. I can't believe the paint and bodywork on these cars , the interiors are over the top nice , not to mention the drive train. I go to shows / cruises every week and I know we all see great looking cars . But I'm talking about these cars you see in the Riddler or GNRS competition. Do they actually drive these cars? or are they just strictly for showing there work . Has anyone actually seen any of these cars not just from Louisville but any of the big shows actually on the road.?? Anyway talk about eye candy or hot rod jewelry I'm amazed.
In Columbus the cars in the awards area were amazing. The level of fit and finish under the hood was far beyond what was high end just a few years ago. Art. But some get driven after the show tour. Troy Trepanier build cars to be driven. The Roadster Shop sure does. I'm sure there are lots of others too.
I'm willing to bet most of them are trailer queens. I know some guys that have put serious money into making traditional rods (kind of ironic don't you think) they drive them to local events and some cruise ins, but anything else I think they get hauled.
At Louisville there were hundreds of trailers in the NSRA parking area as well as the hotels. That's a different part of rodding than where I participate. Phil
Did you say hundreds of trailers !! Wow , I'd like to think my car is okay, but I love driving it. But to each there own.
There's no doubt a bunch of cars there are trailered wherever they go. I don't personally know about the cars in the builders showcase. Some of them will be driven, some not. Then there are people like Dave Bethard, Rich Staph and a number of others that drove some the west cost. Dave's car is the gree '34 and Rich's is the gold '32.
The cars inside are all definitely trailer queens. Some of those are probably million dollar builds. That 57 Olds Fiesta wagon is off the charts.
I did not go but from photos I have seen, you have a mixture of drivers and trailer queens in the Exhibition Hall. Some such as the Pete and Jake Cars , Mcmullen 32, the Street Rodder Road Tour blue 34 with white stripes and a number of others have been driven across country numerous times. Not sure if any of them have done it lately though. I also know that some of the Ridler cars have been driven to shows since winning the award.
Mike & Jimmy Barillaro (Barillaro Speed Emporium) had Mike’s Deuce coupe in the builder’s showcase. They drive the hell out of everything they build.
An odd side note to the trailer thoughts I went to a national rodent rod event I was surprised at the number of trailers in the parking lot. I was under the impression that rodents were built as an anti-trailer queen way of life. Apparently many were so pathetically built they couldn’t drive them I have nothing against a rodent or low buck build. That’s what mine are
Thanks Jim. This is the first show we have ever trailered a hot rod to. It's a fresh build with 150 miles on it and we figured it was probably wiser to do so. My little Toyota Tacoma with our old used up Penske rental trailer sure did look funny parked in the sea of Rigs! The coupe will be driven to Shades and then to Jersey in October for TROG
On the quality of rides, Louisville has the largest numbers IMO. Many of the Pro Built high buck cars are trailered, usually for the first year, then driven some, again IMO from the few guys I know that have that type of car/$$$ involved. In defense of trailers I used to trailer my 29 HighBoy Roadster anything over 150 miles as it was not fun past that distance, I received some BS from "You Gotta Drive Em" guys, guess what, within a few years all of them had trailers following my lead. ( Just sold my enclosed trailer this week) I have drove my 32 and 51 Merc up to 350 miles one way and that's enough for me. I'm young at heart behind the wheel, but the fact is I'm old (now 71) we are the grey hair, no hair group, it's ALL BS beating up on trailer guys. A LOT of the Roadsters/ 32's, T's come in trailers, also when you see and hear a hard hitting blown car, do you think he drove that 500 miles. that's why you see so many trailers. I do drive my cars all over, doubtful the long haul will happen in my current HAMB car, I have OT cars, I have a couple that would work for power tour. Enjoy the big shows for what they are, FUN, WOW Factor, Divercity, Our Hobby is the Best.
I think that is pretty well universal at any event of any size now. Throw in the Pro built display cars, trophy whores who are afraid to get a road mark or dirt on the car in fear they might miss out on a trophy for it. Then add the "I can't put miles on it because it will ruin the resale value" bunch plus the "it's too valuable to risk driving on the road" brigade with the 50K car being towed behind a 70K dualie in a 20K trailer. Last but not Least we now have the rat rodders with their abortions that are not only not street legal but are not licensed or insured, The rusted version of the alcohol burning blown hemi rigs thumping around the fair grounds every hour on the hour in the 70's and then back to the trailer out back as they had no plates. In comparison this was the parking lot at Vintiques NW Nats last weekend with about 30 trailers taking up valuable parking space out in the parking lot. that was an event with 700 to 1000 cars.
all rides hauled on a trailer are not evil - but, very sad that many beautiful rides never hit the street - sometimes with very expensive paint jobs they could not be duplicated for small repairs - different strokes for different folks
I would rather see cars towed in on trailers than not see them at all. It's a high dollar segment of what we do. I don't own one and don't even wish to own one. There were also probably 10,000 cars that were there that people do drive. I enjoyed seeing both types, and consider myself very lucky to live within 10 miles of the event. Seems like a win/win situation for everyone.
...I can't relate to those high buck cars,...never will, they are neat to look at but a lot of em are impractical to actually drive; you can get ideas from them...on the other hand, I'm proud to build all my stuff from junkyard parts and used up donor cars, especially after I drive em for 10-15 years or more with virtually no problems,...I'm just as proud of them as those big buck guys are of theirs. ...but variety makes the world go around,...it's nice there are so many different tastes in the rodding world.
I could care less about money cars I don't look at them I never go to inside car shows I build my own cars and drive them like there your car
There is truth in your statement-however-I did notice that Bob Chapman's Black 35 Ford tudor that was on display in the builders showcase-(and is a 2019 Detroit Autorama 'Great 8' finalist for the coveted Ridler award)-was plated and had current license registration. It was the only one I noticed with tags. I know he didn't drive it there-but the car is ready to go from a legal standpoint-so I have to think there is an intent on Bob's part to drive it.
I do believe that some of these cars get driven AFTER they've been shown a while, probably 1 year. You just can't drive them and keep them pristinely clean, as they need to be for that level of display and competition. If you do drive them, you've got a heck of a lot of work to do to get them ready for the next show.