la roadster show and swap meet

L.A. ROADSTER SHOW AND SWAP MEET
Wilwood Engineering attends a hot rod happening with a great brake parts display
Wilwood Engineering attends
for a car show and swap meet.
events all summer long and
Over the years this show
this year, for the first time, the
catered to roadsters, but it was
L.A. Roadster Show was on
opened up to other street rods
the list and the booth was
and specialty cars. The show
filled with enthusiasts looking
was moved to the Great Westat the new disc brake prodern Exhibition Center right off
ucts, and the brake related
the Interstate 5 Freeway for a
parts we offer. The enthusifew years but that center was
asts were asking questions
sold to a developer so the club
about improving their street Here’s a small portion of the roadsters that were had to move. The club moved
attending the show. This year there were 859
rods with some of the larger roadsters in the show not counting the L.A. the show to the Pomona Fairbrake systems that we are of- Roadster member’s cars. Adding them in would plex and that is where it is
fering and many had ques- push the total over 900 so it is safe to say that today. Over the years this event
tions about master cylinders this is the largest roadster display in the world. has become more than a car
and proportioning valves. This booth was well show, it is a hot rod happening and it features a
staffed with Miguel Jimenez, Jeff Baluyot and huge roadster display, a manufacturers area, a very
Chris Tibbet in attendance answering questions large swap meet and a specialty car parking area.
and talking about the benefits of Wilwood disc This year there were close to 900 roadsters in the
brakes and components.
display if you add in the Roadster club cars that
were in attendance. There were 2,500 of the coolest
Most hot rod and street rod enthusiasts are famil- and rarest closed street rods, muscle cars, street
iar with the L.A. Roadster show but maybe they machines, customs and pro touring cars in the predon’t know the club history. The club was formed ferred parking area. The swap meet area was also
in 1957 when Dick Scritchfield saw a need for a filled to capacity with old parts sales and our favorite
club to promote street roadsters in a positive way. part of the swap meet, the project cars. If you preIt was his idea to only allow finished roadsters in fer new parts to old parts the manufacturers area
the club and that meant that they had to be featured 200 vendors displaying their latest prodpainted and have interior upholstery. Today road- ucts for rods and street machines. Along with the
sters ’36 and older can be admitted in the club. vendors, there were also a variety of street rod
The club also allows roadster pickups, phaetons shops in attendance, as well as many well-known
and cabriolets as club cars. Over the first year the upholsterers. If you wanted to build a car you could
club grew in attendance as new members were buy a body, a frame and Wilwood brakes at the
found and they met the strict qualifications. In show, and then talk to one of the car builders and
1960 one of the club members suggested that the upholsterers to finish it off. The specialty car parking
L.A. Roadsters should hold a roadster car show area has also evolved over the years as a perfect
using the same standards for attendance and the place to sell a car and this year there were some reother members agreed that it would be a great ally nice cars for sale, some priced right and others
idea. Following the roadster club entrance guide- that were out of sight.
lines all roadsters, roadster pickups, phaetons and
cabriolets ’36 and older that were painted and up- The L.A. Roadster Show is more than just a local
holstered could attend. The first show was held in event because people and cars from many parts of
the Hollywood Bowl parking lot and by 1960 stan- the world attend. Some of the people and cars atdards it was a great show with 50 cars in atten- tending the show came from Florida, Massachudance. The roadster members noticed that many setts, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Ohio,
of the car show participants brought along a few Illinois, Texas, New Mexico, Utah, Kansas, Arizona,
parts to sell, so that’s where the idea got started Colorado, Oregon, Washington, and probably some
of the other states as well. International guests attended from Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, Australia, England, Sweden and Germany. If you have
never attended the L.A. Roadster show make
plans to attend next year.The L.A. Roadster Show
is held on Father’s Day weekend at the Pomona
Fairplex. In the pictures that follow we will give you
a hint at what you would see if you were there.
Wilwood had a complete brake display at the L.A. Roadster show and the sales and technical representatives
were busy talking to enthusiasts on Saturday and Sunday.
Miguel Jimenez, Jeff Baluyot and Chris Tibbet were talking
to the enthusiasts about the brakes and they were also
providing technical advice.
This ’29 Roadster was a standout when it was built and it
ages well because it is still a beautiful car. Dennis Varni has
had plenty of magazine coverage in Hot Rod and Rod &
Custom over the years, so you might recognize the car and
his name. Dennis is a member of the Bay Area Roadsters.
This traditional highboy roadster was running real magnesium kidney bean wheels, jet-black paint and a blown
Chrysler Hemi engine. Stab the throttle in this car and wild
things could start happening.
Yes ’32 Fords did come with fenders and they look really
nice when they are in place. This beautiful roadster retains
all of the genuine parts and it looks good with the custom
kidney bean wheels and the bright red paint. The nice Ford
belongs to Tom Schanppner, a member of the California
Roadsters.
This show was featuring ’35 and ’36 Fords so there were
many of them in attendance. One of the nicest ’36 Cabriolets in the show belonged to Fred and Diana White. They
belong to the San Luis Roadsters.
The Jokers car club came to the roadster show in full force
and one of the nice cars attending was this nostalgic roadster
pickup powered by an early Oldsmobile engine. The cool
roadster pickup belongs to Al Engel.
Al and Kate Van Der Woth’s ’32 Ford is a standout with
the nasty Chrysler hemi engine and the addition of a ’35
Ford front grille.
This traditional black highboy roadster pickup belongs to
Fast Feldie and he should be fast since a Boss 429
Ford semi-hemi engine powers his roadster pickup.
When Dean Lowe was a kid he had a ’29 Roadster
pickup he drove on the street and he also drag raced the
car successfully in NHRA competition. We wonder if his
bright yellow, blown small-block powered ’29 roadster
pickup is faster than the original red one?
Ted Lewis’ ’32 Ford Highboy roadster was looking good
with the black paint and nice low stance. The Ford features independent front suspension and the roadster is
powered by a healthy early Chrysler Hemi engine.
Edsel Ford was always looking for interesting body
styles to add to the Model A Ford line so he introduced a
convertible sedan in 1931. This body style was expensive so only a few were purchased so this Model A body
style is very rare.
Denis DeVol came up with a unique color for his highboy roadster. The car is done in a very traditional style
and it rolls on Kidney Bean wheels.
Kookie, Kookie lend me your comb. Ron Fiore built a
Kookie car tribute that looks very similar to the original
Norm Grabowski roadster. Back in the old days, Norm
and his car were L.A. Roadster club members.
In 1960 the L.A. Roadsters held the first Roadster Show
and this car was in attendance and it still looks like it did
50 years ago. The poster in the front of the car chronicles the cars history.
The phaeton is the most rare body style built in 1936
and this one is a real beauty. The clean ’36 sits just right
and rolls on chrome wheels with whitewall tires. Rich
Christopher is the lucky owner.
Roy Brizio always has a display of beautiful cars at the
Roadster Show and he has recently finished and this
candy gold ’32 pickup that was done in a very traditional
early ‘60s style.
K.S. Pittman and John Mazmanian would love this ’40
Willys with its nose high stance and supercharged engine. This car was done in an early gasser style as a
tribute to the gas class drag racers of the ‘60s.
Here is an original B400 convertible sedan, which is
the most rare ’32 Ford built. They were too expensive
for buyers during the Great Depression.
Ford came out with the Ranchero in 1957 so in 1959
Chevy countered it with the El Camino. This road traveler looks great with the bright yellow paint and nice lowered stance.
Chevy’s hard charger for the early ‘60s was the 409ci
engine and this Impala is powered by the dual-quad
version that features 409 horsepower. This show is filled
with cars that were scarce when new.
We showed you the rarest ’32 that Ford built so here is
the runner up. There were only a few ’32 Sedan deliveries manufactured and here is a nice semi-restored
version that was driven to the show.
Here is a ‘60s surfers dream car, a ’47 Ford woody that
has been restored to perfection. Back in the ‘60s the
surfers liked them because they were cheap to buy and
they could hold plenty of surfboards. The ’40 Ford
sedan delivery in the background is another rare and
desirable car.
This Model A coupe was outstanding with the super low
stance, the mild top chop and the bright red paint. Wire
wheels aren’t used much now but they sure look good
on this Model A.
This ’40 Ford sedan was an eye catcher with the bright
red paint and the red wheels wrapped with white wall
tires. Here’s a hot rod that can hold the entire family in
comfort.
This ’55 Chevy two-door sedan looks right at home at
the Pomona Fairplex, the home of the NHRA Winter Nationals and the World Finals. This ’55 could be, or at
least was built to look like a ’60 style gas class racecar.
This ’40 Ford coupe was looking good with the nice low
stance, maroon paint and red wheels wrapped with
whitewall tires. The nice thing about ’40 Fords is they
ride and drive as well as they look.
This Comet looks like it’s race ready with the nose high
stance and wheel well headers. Again, this may be an
old racecar or it was built to look like one. If it was built to
look like one, the owner did a really good job.
Little GTO you’re really looking fine. This ’64 GTO was
restored to perfection and this is the one that started the
muscle car wars of the ‘60s. Thanks Jim Wangers and
John De Lorean for bucking the GM system.
This ’67 GTO hardtop is Bob’s Big Boy drive-in ready with
the car tray filled with a hamburger and Cokes. The Cragar wheels are perfect for the era.
The swap meet is always filled with good stuff like this
assortment of aluminum manifolds and valve covers.
This fellow had a couple of rare Chevy cross ram intake
manifolds if you were thinking about building an early
gasser style ’55 Chevy.
We really like the project cars that are for sale and
here’s a ’29 Model A sedan we would have loved to
bring home. This sedan was very straight, relatively rust
free and it was actually selling for a reasonable price in
today’s market.
This fellow had a good assortment of manifolds and carburetors, some rare wheels and a set of original Racemaster slicks from the early ‘60s.
Many of the cars that were for sale were too expensive
but this ’40 convertible was priced right. The body was
straight and it had all of the parts needed to build a really nice restored car or street rod.
After the drawing for a free roadster and the pewter mugs
were handed out, the roadsters were packed up and the
roadster owners were on their way home. Here is a string
of roadsters heading out of the fairground.
This nice Model T needed work but it was sitting on a
Jaguar equipped chassis. The body and fenders were
straight and all of the required parts were there. This
car was also selling for an affordable price.
The end.
Wilwood Engineering
4700 Calle Bolero
Camarillo, CA 93063
(805) 388-1188
www.wilwood.com
This fellow was selling a very straight ’32 Ford pickup
truck and all of the parts were there including the original headlights and front bumper. This truck could be restored or turned into a very nice street rod with a little
work.
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