from Rodder’s Journal
Over the weekend, the Pomona Fairplex was hot rod heaven. From the buildings to the midways, everywhere you looked were cars, cars and more cars. There were big dollar show rods and homebuilt creations, record-setting drag cars and one-off customs. Topless, pre-1937 machines without roll-up windows competed for the coveted America’s Most Beautiful Roadster title, while a host of traditional rods overran the Suede Palace. This year’s show didn’t hold back—and we were right there in the middle of it all.
Throughout the weekend, we walked more than 12 miles in our effort to capture the sights and sounds of the 71st Grand National Roadster Show. We heard flatheads gargle, big blocks rumble, and hot rodders young and old obsess over details. Chrome glistened, Metalflake glimmered and spectators from far and wide floated around the Fairplex in an automotive-induced euphoria. We caught up with old friends, met new ones and shot photos—a whole lot of photos. Hundreds of them, to be exact.
Since we don’t have to worry about cramming too many photos into a small space, we decided to run an expanded gallery of GNRS coverage on our website. There you’ll find images of our favorite rods, customs and competition machines that we came across during our Southern California trip.
Before you jump into the pictorial, we would like to say a quick word about our next issue. TRJ #83 will be heading your way shortly, and now is the perfect time to give you a glimpse at the covers. On one, we have Lucky Burton’s Model A that he built for Bonneville. It’s been chopped, channeled and streamlined in every way possible, yet it’s as traditional as they come with flathead power.
The other cover features a vintage photo of Steve Scott’s “The Uncertain-T.” We dig into its strange saga, share rare and unseen snapshots of the original, and showcase the tribute built by Martin Bennett of New Zealand (which was on display at this year’s GNRS).
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who followed along for our Instagram and Facebook coverage over the weekend. For those who missed it, you can check it out here and here.
That’s all for now. We’re already counting down the days until next year’s Roadster Show.
CLICK HERE FOR 100+ MORE GNRS PHOTOS
Cheers!
Your Friends at The Rodder’s Journal
