History Ever See The AMBR Winner from 1957? No?

Geographically challenged much?

 

It's nicer than the roadster I have.

 

I'd take that over the ugly ass cars that came out of Detroit in '58, T-Bird yuk, Edsel, Full size Ford, just about anything from Detroit except maybe the Corvette but even that was a lot uglier than the '57 I was 10 yrs. old then and cried when the T-Bird came out.

 

Thats what I'm sayin.

 

Yeah, how ugly . . . Whatever.

 

Some people may misconstrue my original post. In context to the other winners of the AMBR in the 1950s it is easily the ugliest, I don't hate it but understand why it has been forgotten by the masses. I think it is really cool Jerry still owns it.

1950 Bill Niekamp




1951 Rico Squaglia


1952 Bud Crackborn


1953 Dick Williams


1954 Frank Rose




1955 Blackie Gejeian tied Ray Anderegg
Blackie Gejeian




Ray Anderegg




1956 Ed Bosio


1957 Jerry Woodward


1958 Richard Peters Ala Kart


1959 Richard Peters Ala Kart

 

"The producers of the detective series “77 Sunset Strip” wanted to feature the winning car in their new show, set to debut on ABC the following year."

I wonder what the historical impact on hot rod design (including the t-bucket craze) would have been had Jerry accepted the above offer? We would have seen Edd Byrnes hop into this car every week instead of Norm Grabowski's "Kookie's T".

​

 

I remember that car very well and still have one of my little books with black and white pictures of it that I poured over as a 12 year old kid. It might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I kinda like it. Would I build a clone of it? No, but you have to remember that in the 50's hot rodders were not afraid to take chances and experiment with radical changes in cars to make them different. Instead of building a car to a certain set of "rules" hot rodders (and customizers too) were looking for ways to stand out from the crowd. When we look at some of the customizing done in that era, and are truthful, we would wonder what the builder was thinking.

I think what the judges liked was the fact the Thunder Rod was different and from the looks of it the workmanship was very good for 1957. I have to say that I still like the car today as much as I did 55 years ago, and if the owner still has it and ever brought it out I would be one of the guys standing around it. You have to respect it for what it was and is.

Don

 

How many AMBR owners still have the car they won with?

 

I was trying to find something that I really liked about that car... I was going to say I really liked the dash (always loved the 40 Ford dashes in hotrods), but he went and put a radio sticking out of the top, so that's out.
It looks like three separate holes for the stacks coming through the hood. I do like that!
That car is tough on the eyes...

 

Maybe 50 years ago hot rod builders didn't have the wide range of magazines or especially the 'net to have someone to copy from, or to tell them what was "traditional" so they missed the black primer and red wheels thing. Shame.

 

I've never seen Jim Vasser's '27? that won one year. He is Jimmy Vassers Dad.

 

Not my taste, but it was somebody's, and at least a few judges. Congrats on the win.

 

I kinda like it. Looks better than the '58 and '59 Ala Kart pics just posted. That thing looks like something Liberace would drive.

 

Beautiful, all of 'em. Wish I could have been there to see them in their glory.

 

The car is what it is, like it or not. It is part of our history and,therefore, part of the influence on how things are now.

It's not the style of car I like to build, but I remember seeing it on the March '57 Rod and Custom cover, reading the article inside and thinking it was a pretty neat car.

I liked it then and like now, especially knowing it still exists and has been preserved by the same owner....Not an easy task, if you think about it.

After reading all the comments regarding the ugliness of the car and the idiocy of the judges all I can think of is how is this car any worse and the judging any less flawed than anytime during the last 15-20 years of AMBR winners.

I look at this roadster now and think that if the sheet metal was covered with flat paint and/or rust, no upholstery on bomber seats or lawn chairs, straight headers, filthy White Walls and no caps/rings on the wheels...and no roll bar, It would fit right in here.

 

The above, for me, is what today's kids think is traditional. But what you see in the photos of the '57 AMBR winner is traditional, period correct etc. Can someone tell me how the rust and filth and general shitty condition of some cars came to be accepted as "traditional"?

 

Most of you guys forget that in 1957, perhaps the 'judges' of that show were in their 30's or 40's...and in the ensuing years since then, the show's judges have prolly changed many times...when a "new" judge is added to the mix, his influence might change older judge's minds...add another in the next few years, and more influence changes criteria.

Had all those judges stayed in place over the last 55 years (and not quit, retired or died), then perhaps today's AMBR winners would look totally different.

R-

 

It would be like $7245.00 in todays money

 

In its original form it has a sort of raw appeal...sort of halfway between east coast roadster and a T-bucket. East coast, by the way, runs up to the last row of mountains in California, where west coast roadsters start...
Everything added to the original build took it downhill into the world of the '60's, when judging started to be based on counting the number of mods.
The reason I see it as an oddity in AMBR though is that it looked like a very successful home build by someone who started with a smashed roadster and not much money. AMBR cars were always at a higher end sort of position even before the custom show world attitudes got to them...

 

What has been seen cannot be un-seen.

 

Will do for sure, but I might be dead before I get a chance to follow any of the coveted well worn formulas.

I think I am already a lost cause when it comes to that as my one main project, which is already taking me forever, is a 1-ton Studebaker truck with a blown hemi. I keep looking for the easy recipe to follow so I can finish it to everyone's approval but can't seem to find it, even with the wonderful world of the interpipes. Let me know if you have one. If I had one, I might be able to finish this thing before I kick it.

 

aes·thet·ic or es·thet·ic <OBJECT style="WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(255,255,255); TEXT-INDENT: 0px; MARGIN: 1px; LETTER-SPACING: normal; FONT: 13px Arial; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); WORD-SPACING: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px" codeBase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,0,0" classid=clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000 width=13 height=21>
























<embed src="http://img.tfd.com/m/sound.swf" flashvars="sound_src=http://img.tfd.com/hm/mp3/E0220700.mp3" menu="false" width="13" height="21" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></OBJECT> (s-thtk)</P>adj.1. Relating to the philosophy or theories of aesthetics.
2. Of or concerning the appreciation of beauty or good taste: the aesthetic faculties.
3. Characterized by a heightened sensitivity to beauty.
4. Artistic: The play was an aesthetic success.
5. Informal Conforming to accepted notions of good taste.

n.1. A guiding principle in matters of artistic beauty and taste; artistic sensibility: "a generous Age of Aquarius aesthetic that said that everything was art" (William Wilson).
2. An underlying principle, a set of principles, or a view often manifested by outward appearances or style of behavior: "What troubled him was the squalor of [the colonel's]aesthetic" (Lewis H. Lapham).

 

Sort of have a sport car look to it - MGTC or Morgan. I wander what the competition looked like?

 

...and he was only 24 years old at the time

 

Any kid in 1957 would have loved to have this car to drive to high school. Americas most beautiful roadster is another story. There have been a bunch of Ridler winners that weren't so cool.

 

Here's a neat update on Jerry and that roadster...and all you guys that WEREN'T there and spewing the insults, shake the sand out of your vaginas.

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=18980681&title=81-year-old-car-genius-re-opens-museum-of-lifes-work

 

Go easy on the guy. He built the car before "traditional roadster" had been defined. How was he to know that quads aren't traditional. Cut him a bit of slack. He was young and didn't know any better.

 

Quad headlights in 57 were not traditional ,they were cutting edge not even on new cars yet. Just the sort of thing you need to win car shows.