{"id":30563,"date":"2023-02-24T10:43:12","date_gmt":"2023-02-24T14:43:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=30563"},"modified":"2023-02-27T11:51:14","modified_gmt":"2023-02-27T15:51:14","slug":"autorama-kiwis-rat-fink-black-ghost-and-hot-rods-galore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2023\/02\/autorama-kiwis-rat-fink-black-ghost-and-hot-rods-galore","title":{"rendered":"Autorama: Kiwis, Rat Fink, Black Ghost, and hot rods galore"},"content":{"rendered":"

ny that built Army Jeeps during World War II \u2014 Willys pre-war coupes were popular dragsters for their light weight and affordable sticker price) barely got completed in time to make this weekend\u2019s show. \u201cMy friends thought I was crazy,\u201d he smiles. \u201cBut it was always my dream to enter a car in the Ridler.\u201d<\/p>\n

Celebrating its 70th year, Meguiar’s Detroit Autorama Presented by O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts has brought Haliday, 15 more Ridler entries, the Batmobile, Black Ghost, Rat Fink, Flavor Flav and The Fonz under one roof Friday through Sunday. All told, the mega-show has stuffed the convention center with more than 800 insane, slammed, chopped, channeled, dumped, and decked cars and motorcycles.<\/p>\n

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The show debuted in 1953 at the University of Detroit Field House as a fundraiser for the Motor City\u00a0Dragway. Over the years, it moved to the Michigan State Fairgrounds and then the Detroit Artillery Armory before taking up permanent residence at the convention center in 1961.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are thrilled to be celebrating the 70th Anniversary of\u00a0Detroit\u00a0Autorama\u00a0this year,”\u00a0said Autorama President Peter Toundas, whose Championship Auto Shows Inc. produces the three-day extravaganza. “Detroit’s\u00a0Autorama\u00a0was the\u00a0first and most-revered hot rod show in the country. It\u00a0attracts national attention and spotlights the important historic role Detroit has played in the world of custom cars.”<\/p>\n

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The Ridler is hot rodding\u2019s Oscar and has been awarded for\u00a060\u00a0years to the most outstanding new custom car (though never to a Kiwi). The field will be pared to the\u00a0BASF Great 8 over the weekend, with the winner taking home\u00a0the coveted trophy, $10,000 and Ridler jacket. The bauble honors Don Ridler, an early Autorama promotor.<\/p>\n

Last year\u2019s winner was a \u201931 Chevrolet coupe \u2014 nicknamed ShoBir \u2014 that was screwed together by Pennsylvania-based Pro Comp Customs and built from a $300 car shell into a chopped, twin-turbocharged, 8.3-liter V-8 beauty.<\/p>\n

But you don\u2019t have to spend mega-bucks on a Ridler entry to win a prize. Summit Racing Equipment Show Car Series will award trophies to other custom builds in numerous classes. Like the 4100 Pre-1935 Alternate Street Class that Milford\u2019s Jim Moule has entered with his 1930 Ford Model A.<\/p>\n

\u201cA friend of mine found it in the Upper Peninsula with a tree growing through it, said Moule. \u201cI put $18,000 into it and rebuilt it with Firebird fenders, rear taillights from an \u201987 Cadillac, a 350-cube Chevy V-8, and my own hand-crafted wood interior.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Still fresh after 70 years, Autorama continues to innovate with new and outrageous displays that attract over 100,000 people to the three-day event. Other headliners for 2023\u2019s mod-palooza include an homage to everyone\u2019s favorite T-shirt hot rods, the Rat Fink cars. Five of legendary custom designer Ed “Big Daddy” Roth most iconic Rat Finks will be on display, restored by Galpin Motors in Los Angeles: Mysterion, Orbitron, Tweedy Pie, Fink Surfboard and Big Daddy\u2019s unique Honda Civic.<\/p>\n

The long-lost Obitron was rediscovered by Galpin after someone spotted it outside a Mexican brothel where it was being used as a dumpster. You can\u2019t make this stuff up.<\/p>\n

The famous Black Ghost makes an appearance. The black 1970s Dodge Challenger became legend in Detroit for showing up for street races, blowing away everything on the lot, then disappearing into the night. Turned out it was driven by a cop, Godfrey Qualls, whose son Gregory still exhibits the car.<\/p>\n

Check out some of George \u201cThe King of the Kustomizers\u201d Barris’s Hollywood collaborations, including the \u201860s Batmobile of TV fame. The show also celebrates the Alexander Brothers, local builders whose futuristic customs (including a 1965 Ridler winner) gained international recognition. Exclusive to the 70th anniversary show is a Sunday sneak preview of \u201cDetroit, The City of Hot Rods and Muscle Cars,\u201d a new documentary from Emmy-winning filmmaker Keith Famie.<\/p>\n

But wait, there\u2019s more.<\/p>\n

Complimenting the chromed cars will be a coiffed celebrity lineup led by Henry Winkler reprising his role as The Fonz from TV\u2019s \u201cHappy Days.\u201d Hip-hop star Flavor Flav will be in the house Saturday following the Friday appearance of Dave Kindig from TV’s \u201cBitchin’ Rides.\u201d<\/p>\n

Additional car exhibits include: Cavalcade of Customs, a 10-car exhibit of specially-invited\u00a0customs; a re-creation of Connie Kalitta’s\u00a01964 “Bounty Hunter\u201d dragster which won the 2023\u00a0Preservation Award; and some 200 car-body pinstripers\u00a0will do demonstrations, with all proceeds going to Leader Dogs for the Blind. In Huntington\u2019s basement will be the 18th<\/sup> annual \u201cAutorama Extreme\u201d \u2014 a show within a show featuring regular sets from rockabilly bands \u2014 which brings 200 1950s-inspired customs, rods and bikes.<\/p>\n

Admission for Autorama is $25 for adults and $10 for kids 6-12 years. Children under 5 are free.<\/p>\n

Autorama schedule<\/h2>\n

Friday, Feb. 24, Noon-10 p.m.<\/p>\n

Saturday, Feb. 25, 9 a.m.-10 p.m.<\/p>\n

Sunday, Feb. 26, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.<\/p>\n

Celebrity appearance schedule<\/strong><\/p>\n

Friday through Sunday: Henry Winkler, “The Fonz” from Happy Days<\/p>\n

Friday: Dave Kindig, “Bitchin’ Rides” TV show, 6-9 p.m.<\/p>\n

Saturday: Flavor Flav, 5-8 p.m.<\/p>\n

Film screening<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sunday at 1 p.m: \u201cDetroit, The City of Hot Rods and Muscle Cars.\u201d The film will be introduced by \u201cCounting Cars\u201d TV host Danny Koker.<\/p>\n

Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ny that built Army Jeeps during World War II \u2014 Willys pre-war coupes were popular dragsters for their light weight and affordable sticker price) barely got completed in time to make this weekend\u2019s show. \u201cMy friends thought I was crazy,\u201d he smiles. \u201cBut it was always my dream to enter a car in the Ridler.\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30563"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30563"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30563\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30564,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30563\/revisions\/30564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}