Editor’s note: Names are given where they were legible in the photos. This year’s Autorama was well-attended—as usual—with a fine mix of modded and custom cars and trucks, and some quite interesting and clever vendors of car-related crafts.
We can start with this hot Plymouth GTX 440 six-pack, with custom wheels and but a generally stock look otherwise:
Here’s Brandon and Traci Oliver’s 1959 Rambler Rebel Super 8 station wagon, with a 2015 SRT Scat Pack engine and transmission, full custom suspension with torque arm rear, custom interior and audio, Detroit Steel wheels, Wilwood brakes, and Borla muffler on a custom exhaust, all done by Star Customs of Kent City, Michigan.
Speaking of AMC, here’s light 1967 Rambler with what appears to be a Mopar small-block.
While we’re looking at AMCs, here’s a Gremlin X and another view of the ’Cuda on its far side:
Bob Fryz’ 1958 Chrysler New Yorker, named “Golden Sunrise,” has had its hardtop chopped, its doors, hood, and trunk shaved, and its fenders extended; it uses 1972 Olds headlights. Art Himsel painted it using a color from House of Kolors (Kandy Gold and Pearl White). The engine is a 392 Hemi. It was built by Gene Winfield.
The Li’l Red Express Truck is one of the few muscle trucks of the 1970s, outfitted with the hottest engine Chrysler had, a performance 360 with parts borrowed from the by-then-discontinued 340.
Brian McNamara’s 1975 Jeep Gladiator looks like it had LED lights retrofitted, along with some other modifications. The logo on the side is from Gearhead Homes, which apparently sells or big garages.
This heavily modified 1973 (possibly 1974) Road Runner leans into the somewhat odd look of that generation with new headlight pods, a new grille, and many other changes from stock—the engine is quite different from the relatively tame small-blocks of the original.
Do we need to identify a Charger?
This beautiful 1940s car has been updated with a five-speed manual transmission, courtesy of Russell’s Automotive. The adapter lets owners put a five-speed manual overdrive transmission from the Mustang, S10, or Camaro/Firebird into a 1933-59 Mopar.
The words on the side of this hot Super Bee, and one glimpse of that orange air cleaner holder, tell it all.
Dave knows all about Imperials... this is one from the days when they were pretty much unchallenged.
Here’s something you don’t see every day: a Chrysler Industrial Hemi engine, the original series of Hemis (from before they were called Hemis!).
This is the hot rod it’s in...
Finally, we round off our Mopar collection with a quite nice Super Bee; the headlights appear to be custom but the body looks stock.
Evel Knievel inspired many, many people to dream of doing crazy stunts—this is one of this cars, preserved rather than restored.
Evel Knievel flew one of the three custom-designed, steam-powered Skycycle X-2s over Snake River Canyon, in Idaho, in 1974; a design flaw caused the parachute to deploy just as it came in for a landing, and it dragged him back to the other side of the canyon. The first two X-2s were used for test flights. This appears to be the second of three made, and was used for a test flight. It is owned by the Knievel estate.
On the General’s side, the Cadillac convertible from the Barbie movie was present and quite pink—
Maybe the valve cover guys should have talked to the wire routing guys and made their name a little smaller?
Here’s Side Chick, a big Buick.
1949 Chevy...
BSA was well represented
This 2018 Harley Street Glide Special was turned into Litebright. Owned by Will Harrison of Warren, it was built by Eastside Customs with paint by Vic Crane at Liquid Steel using Prismatic Powders paints.
Both leg and motor powered bikes were on display.
These spark plug models are pretty impressive, and draw from Mopar, Ford, and GM alike.
Now that's a paint job.
Gene Winfield’s Jade Idol also has a stunning paint job, it looks more like a rendering than a real car in this photo but it is most definitely real.
The Dragon Master is quite customized and looks incredibly fast—there’s the engine amidships.
Want models? Autorama is the place to go! As one retired executive engineer said, “I’d like to have the real thing, but I just don’t have the money for hundreds of cars, and my garage is already full.”
They have slot cars, too. Many people don’t know this, but Pete Hagenbuch, head of engine tuning at Chrysler during the muscle car era, had quite the reputation as a slot car builder—he rewound the motors himself. Pete was mentioned by name in at least one book on slot car racing.
This gear and wrench table is supported by not one, but three, cams... the price is apparently not $1,500.
Here’s a detail view.
The food concessions were doing quite well. The show still attracts hordes of people—Autorama is alive and well.
Cam lamps are not all that new, but this one went much further than most...
Autorama is a unique traveling show, combining the most inventive aspects of car fans, with both professionals and amateurs; what’s more, the show travels. Detroit’s wrapped up for the year, but Chicago and Omaha start on March 7, with more dates in Salt Lake City, Winnipeg, Indianapolis, Calgary, and Cincinatti; and next year, there will be more Autoramas in more cities. But what could top an Autorama in the Motor City?
See the show page - save it for next year!
Dave Van Buren is a retired Chrysler, DaimlerChrysler, Chrysler Group, and Fiat Chrysler employee who has a great deal of expertise in vintage Mopars and how they were made.