Ryan submitted a new blog post: The Hot Rod & Motor Sports Show Continue reading the Original Blog Post
How cool it would have been to attend that show. I grew up in the LA area and would have been 10 at the time. I couldn’t find where it was held. Do you know? Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Everything they did from a design perspective seems way ahead of the time to me... This cover is a great example. If you would have just shown this to me without context, I would have guessed it was printed in the late 1970s or early 80s. The font is Futura... and they used it exclusively, but in multiple weights... super disciplined. Plus, the all caps headline and the all lower-case side panel. It's fantastically graphic for 1953. Quick edit: Futura has been around since the 20's... It's one of my favorite fonts actually... But it was pretty exclusive to Germany until the 1960's or so. In fact, the first big use that I can think of is... NASA... They used it on the moon landing plaque... because of it's "modern" vibe...
In door car shows were amazing an I loved every one I went too,and was in many of them, with my own 2 cars/28A rod an a full custom J. Most indoor shows were 2 to 4 days with live bands plus! I grew up in Coconut Grove only 12 blocks away from Dinner Key*< that was an old PanAm Sea Plan base with a giant hanger=After for indoor shows of all types. In 1954 GM Motorama,and they came back again too! There had been car shows at Dinner Key before,but that was super grand scale!!!plus! There were big car shows there at least two times a year,an other shows like "The Home Show" every year tell the early 80s. 1959 was first year I had my 28A hot rod in Dinner key,then in 60 I put my full custom "J"in. Sure I did other shows all around Florida,but close to home was extra cool! Could drop off my car an ride home on my bike. The show in 1960;
It's funny... I'd rather go to Ikea on a Sunday afternoon than go to an indoor car show. They just aren't my thing... But man, old pictures from 50's/60's era indoor car shows? I love them so much...
Type of show you like,may have to do with what you grew up with? The indoor shows ,mostly over 2 plus days was a car party the hole time. The guys I met, became good buddy's in many cases. I did one of my many "Way Back Story's" for HAMB about a show we did in Sebring Florida on Sebring 12hr race Weekend.< that may wish you were there.enjoy: Was post #6,in this thread; https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...-you-hot-rod-or-custom.1200460/#post-13677703
I think a lot of it has to do with my social anxiety. I need cars to buffer my environment. And with modern indoor car shows, the cars always sort of felt like a dressing more than the main dish to me. And the main dish was socializing - something I'm poorly equipped to do. It's different with some outdoor car shows and certainly activity based shows like races and what not... because I feel like I can escape if I have too... I don't really run off or anything, but I feel like I have that option or something? I'm all sorts of socially fucked.
A little over a year ago, Dean Lowe and I arrived at the Grand National Roadster Show a bit early, nobody was around, and we simply walked through an unmanned gate ... as we were strolling through the grounds, I decided to pull on an exterior door to the main, featured (drag racing) building. It was open. We spent the next hour or so completely alone with some of the most iconic cars to ever make a 1320' pass. I was ready to call it a day without ever seeing another human.
Dude... I did that at the Roadster Show one year too... Only, it was like 3am and I had to dodge security and cut a chain... I will tell that story some day.
I have hit out of State indoor shows more than our local one these last 10 years or so. Something about road tripping to see HAMB friends you normally only see in the summer. One year it was hanging with Tuck, Titus and Kerry at the indoor show in the Twin Cities, another year it was an surprise indoor swapmeet with Titus and got to see Moriarity, who game me a gift!
I've just never been much on the props and mirrors. I did like the giant model boxes that a few guys did back in the early 2000's.
- never have been, even though one is not too far from me - thought it was just for geeks - but, it was started in 1943, so it is traditional - never know who will show up at indoor shows, especially older ones - have met Ed Roth, Tommy Ivo and more at them
I don't know about some of you guys...some of my fondest hot rod memories are those "Indoor Shows" I kinda feel sorry for those who missed that era (50s to early 70s) of indoor car shows. This was long before Rod Runs and every weekend outdoor car shows. These indoor Autoramas/Motoramas were the ONLY place to see more than a couple of rods/customs at the same time. My parents were great, and I got to go to quite a few of them...and as a car crazy kid, those indoor shows were magical. Chrome, metalflake, candy colors, angel hair, mirrors...the air was electric and the experience was always a visual overload. Those cars seemed so much bigger than life...especially compared to the little black & white pictures in the magazines. It was pure adolescence heaven.
OK, the Hot Rod & Motor Sports shows was a continuation of the 1948-49 Hot Rod Exposition hence the 6th annual show in 1953. I have the 1950, '51 & '52 programs. I don't have any info where the Caddy ended up. Have you seen all the LIFE photos from the show that year? I think this show faded out when Petersen started the Motorama.
This reminds me of a year when my brother, Scotty and I attended the annual World of Wheels car show in Omaha. Big Daddy Roth was set up in a booth selling T-shirts, plastic mini-rat finks for your key ring etc etc. We wandered over and looked at some of his stuff and Scotty asked BDR; "What new custom car are you working on now?" Roth puts his arm around Scotty and pulls him close and says..."Dirty Doug is sitting close to the door of my quanset hut, guarding it with a loaded machine gun so nobody can get in and see it." Poor Scotty was a little shook that Roth's employee would shoot anybody. Never forgot it.
One of the things I notice in the pics of old shows is how nice the people are dressed.... check out this thread https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/vintage-hot-rod-shows-picture-thread.285678/
You know, that is the one time of the year I pull out my wool car club coat and put on a nice pendleton . It just seems fitting. Sadly our local Civic center jacked up the rates on the Club that puts on our show (Counts of the Cobblestone) and we won't have a show this year. I was looking forward to taking my bride to her first indoor show.
Went to my first ever car show at fifteen, the Portland Roadster Show, 1969, just after moving to the big city, thought I had died and gone to heaven. By the way, I went to IKEA once, the worst Swedish meatballs I ever ate!
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