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No
matter where they hold it, it will always be known as the Oakland Roadster
Show, or the Grandaddy of all Roadster shows, and for good reason; car
for car, the quality of craftsmanship is without equal. Witness row
after row of cars so perfectly designed and executed that they appear as
if that model car always came like that. Take a close look at the
"Ford" script embossed on the interior of the '33 Ford panel delivery,
or the torsion bar suspension of the '32 with the Northstar motor and water-cooled
side pipes. The folks designing these cars are not only master craftspeople,
they are practical engineers who have the enviable job of getting to build
what they imagine.
Although
we love out Lotuses, it wasn't difficult to round up a group of GGLCers
to attend this year's show held at the San Mateo County Expo Center.
My Suburban provided shuttle service from the Carney home to the show,
a short trip during which it became apparent that the Sub definitely needed
new shocks. Once inside the show however we were like kids in the
proverbial candy store as we "ohh'd" & "wow'd" our way around the displays.
By
about the third row I noticed a strange transformation beginning to take
place as we became conditioned to seeing perfect car after perfect car.
Cars that if you saw on the street (which ironically you never would as
very few of the true "show cars" are driven at all), would instantly draw
a crowd, do not warrant a second glance now. We were becoming jaded
with perfection, now looking for something a little more creative to capture
our attention.
I
also started to pick out a few new themes; gone are yesterday's obnoxious
graphics, monochrome and Easter-egg pastel paint jobs, now replaced by
"ghost" flames and custom-blended metallics.
Also
popular are the "repro" rods, those vintage-appearing cars that are actually
built using all new parts. These have become so desireable that one company
has started reproducing the 1932 Ford Roadster body in steel, and they
cannot keep up with the demand !
What
is really in though, is an attention to details. It seems that people
are spending more time on the little things; the checkerboard underside
of the yellow '32 Tudor, the flames in the carpet of the black roadster.
Unfortunately billet seems
to still be popular, even though it has been commoditized in the usually
unique realm of car building. You can buy billet mirrors, brake calipers,
even valve covers, and judging by the number I saw, the billet companies
must doing a booming business. I personally think it looks completely
out of place on a 30 or 40s era car, but it does let everyone know that
you are an individual, just like all the other billet-heads.
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