2010 Detroit Autorama: Hot rods, customs, and Ridler contenders oh my!
Story by: Megan Boyd
Pictures by: Doug Nykanen
Vote for your favorite in the poll below… then check out the 2010 Ridler Award Winner – Story Here
Help Choose the 2011 Ridler Award Winner Here
The 2010 Detroit Autorama is off to a hot start in the frigid city of Detroit. The 58th Annual event has once again gathered the best of the best to debut, show, and share their hot rods and customs ranging from the mild to the wild. Make sure to vote for your favorite below.
The competition for the prestigious Ridler Award is heating up having drawn contenders from all across the nation, including 2 cars from Washington state. The Great 8 finalists for the award include the usual Fords and Chevys as well as two unique makes this year– Packard and Dodge. In addition to the variety of makes there has also been a cross selection of body styles chosen– a roadster, 2 coupes, a Victoria, a touring phaeton, a two door sedan, and a pick up truck–which could make history as being the very first pick up to win the Ridler Award. (To learn more about the Ridler Award, click here)
The Great 8 (sponsored by Pirelli Tire) in contention for the Ridler Award are as follows (in no particular order):
– 1932 Ford roadster Timeless owned by Rich, Paige, and Hoochie Udell of Swan Lake, Montana. The seafoam green metallic deuce was built by John Watts of Cincinnati, Ohio and is powered 1957 Chrysler 300C V8.
– 1934 Ford 3 window coupe Kraken owned by Scott and Jan Burton of Draper, Illinois. The black and olive coupe was built by Smitty’s Automotive in Tiffin, Ohio. The coupe is powered by a 547 Hemi with Hilborn Injection.
– 1937 Chevy Master Deluxe 2Extremz owned and built by Sue and Bill Keck of Dubuque, Iowa. The two-door Chevy sedan is powered by a ‘Fast Burn’ ZZ4 producing 385 hp.
– 1934 Ford 3 window coupe owned by Jim and Dana Linton of Woodway, Washington. The blue-flamed coupe was built by Hot Rod Fabrication of Auburn, WA and is powered by a 426ci Hemi.
– 1933 Ford Victoria owned by Bob and Jean Walrich of South Lyon, Michigan. The black Vicky was built by Terry Wayne.
– 1933 Ford Phaeton Gold Digger owned by Tammy Ray of Dahlonega, Georgia. The, you guessed it, gold colored touring car was built by T&T Customs.
– 1934 Packard Boat Tail Coupe Myth owned by Francis J. Roxas of Hinsdale, Illinois. The two-toned copper and brown coupe is powered by a Packard V12 modified to over 500ci.
– 1933 Dodge Pick Up Ramrod owned by Steve Frisbee. The dark purple candy pick up was built by Steve’s Auto Restoration of Portland, Oregon and is powered by an all Mopar drivetrain.
Stay tuned to for the Ridler Award winner! – Update:
And the 2010 Ridler Award Winner is…
Which one would you choose? Vote here:
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very cool coverage……=] thanks!!
Why would someone build a car that has one of the most beautiful grills of all time, and then replace that grill with a piece of crap that look like it was made for a furnace ductwork vent. That so called 34 packard grill is an insult to a real designer. If the designer of this crap had actualy designed a decent grill the car may have been worthy of the Riddler,
That’s pretty harsh Tom. Are you a “real designer”? If so, let’s see how you would have done it.
Who is the winner already??? I have been wondering for some time now! I like Kragen and Gold Digger.
I’m no designer but anybody could have designed a grill that would have looked better than that. Sorry but thaht is how I feel, to me the grill should be the focal point of the front of a classic car and that one takes away from a otherwise nice designed car, in fact I think it distractsfrom the overall look.
TIMELESS SO SHOULD HAVE WON!!!!! IT WAS ALL OVER FAVIORTISIM. THE GUY WHO WON HAS BEEN TRYIN FOR LIKE 8 YEARS AND HAS NEVER WON IT. THEY JUS FELT BAD AND JUS GAV IT TO HIM!!
Ridler is ’33 Ford Phaeton called “Gold Digger”
has the winner been announced?
See the comment right below. The 1933 Ford Phaeton called, “Gold Digger” is the 2010 Ridler Award winner.
Most controversial non-Great 8 car had to be the Jeep. That thing was flawless…
I would have liked to see Ram Rod win but Gold Digger was a good choice I still think the Packard could have won if not for that grill, maybe the judges thought like me, I guess maybe I shouldn’t have been so hard on the Packard because I am no designer but I do know what my gut tells me about what I see. When I was at the Autorama yesterday and walked up in front of the Packard the first thing I saw was the grill and the first thing I said to a friend with me was O my god somebody sure screwed up a nice car and he agreed. I have long thought that the old 30s & 40s Packards had some of the most beautiful grills of all time and I felt this grill was a injustice to the car. Maybe tomorow I will try to write a short piece about what the rest of the show was like.
Being a Studebaker driver, I’m happy to see that a Packard was in the running (plus it has a V12, nifty!) But I’m gonna have to kinda agree with Tom, not only is it just the grill though. The lines of that car have so much potential – I would love to see them maximized – and I don’t think this one is doin it.
About the Packard…. I attended the show on Sat. and got real excided about the car as I approached it for the first time from behind. The rear and side profiles are spot on, but the other person’s comments about the front are right. And yes I am a designer. It is not just the grille that is the problem, the leading edge of the fenders have no flow. Basically the front looks like one of those ugly VW kit cars that was supposed to look like a 1930’s Mercedes roadster. But even if the front flowed as well as the back it still would not have won. Due to the build quaility. It was just not to the level of Ridler. If Troy Trepanier had built it ,it would have been one of the all time great designs and builds. No, he didn’t pay me to say that the mans work speaks for itself, (i.e. FIRSTLOVE, PASSION, NOTOURIOS.) It will take some doing for any future Ridler winner to ever surpass the ART that is FIRSTLOVE’s chassis. The car should have been displayed upside down.
I vote for the car that was driven into the show. That is the car that should win a “car” show. If none of them are driven they should be in an “art” show. so if any of those cars have ever been fired up they deserve the win, If not please get rid of these 8 chrome & leather statues and get me 8 cars that run to vote for. OK my rant is over and I feel much better. now if I could find the scratch these guys spent on their custom made chromium-aluminated genuine accessory shift knob, I could buy some titanium valves to try and get the roadster over 234 on the salt this year.
Timeless should of won it hands down most of all the other cars was built by a body shop not single handedly by a person. Timeless had the potential for the Riddler and If it was me they should of won. Not Gold Digger. that cars name fits the standards. I give Rich And Paige props because there car look phenomenal. TOM has no idea in the car judging business.
Dallas: In order for a car to compete for the Ridler, it needs to pass a spot check which includes starting the car and basically showing that it can move under its own power in both directions, and steer.
I can understand where you’re coming from on the whole “car” issue in terms of driving them, but I think it’s important to understand that these are purpose-built cars… to win an indoor car show. I’m sure there are many people who would question people’s desire to drive fast in a straight line in the same way – “why would he build a car to do THAT?”
It seemed to me you were penelized by building a car to drive. My dad’s car is the red ’37 Ford Club Coupe that was right next to the Vicky in front. I think he had 2 strikes against him. It wasn’t all chrome chassis, and he built it himself. Regardless we had a blast at the show and at least he won his class and best display.
This was a great show this year, I don’t know if there were less cars this year or I just walked faster because I made the whole show in less time, regardless over all it was very enjoyable for me because there was a lot of old drag cars I rembered from the 60s when I was a drag racer myself, one car that realy brought back memories because it was at the first Autorama I attended in 1967 was the original Bat Mobile, it was there completley restored. Other memory reminders were some of the old muscle cars that I used to race against on Woodward Ave. during the time I lived in Pontiac Mich. before running on real drag strips, I guess you could say I was a bad boy back then, but at least it is fun to remember, anyhow back to the present and the Autorama, I like almost anything that has wheels on it and that is what I like about the Autorama, it has something for everybody, young or old, guys like me are bringing back memories and kids or young people are just makeing their memories in the future. So if you have never been to the Autorama you should try to make it at least once, if you love cars there will something there to get your heart pumping, maybe I will see you there next year. Happy motoring Tom
Hey Todd you are on the right track , if you & your dad had fun building the car , and have fun driveing it, in my book that is better than any dam trophy. Congrats & enjoy your time together. Tom
The show was amazing and all 8 of the greats looked spectacular. I was upset with the judges outcome but have nothing but good to say about Tammy Ray’s “gold digger.” Congrats to her and the crew at T&T. Also thank you to everyone who is giving compliments to Rich and Paige (and hoochie) Udell’s “Timeless.” John Watts built that car and painted and assembled it with the help of a select few other young guns in an ammount of time and conditions where most others would never stand a chance of even making it into the great 8. That man deserves nothing but the utmost recpect. Lastly to his 2 right hand men Jesse and John Nick, you 2 are nothing short of amazing and have my utmost recpect also. Great jobs guys and i hope everyone else on here thinks so also. Hope to see more out of you 3 and the rest of your 4 man crew.
Just for the record, Terry Wayne DID NOT build the 1933 Vickiey….he is not even close to being a builder. Without help from the other fellas – Bob(the owner)Randy, Gorge, Don, not sure who else but there is no way he bulit that car himslef.
Bling is Back ! Thanks to the Riddler entries for bringing a taste of “old school” hot rodding back.
I “was” at the Ridler along with my whole family (for 5 days), if you enjoy cars save up and go, it’s good family time!!. All the “Great 8” vehicles along with several others were as the term states “Great” but even better was the fact that all the owners and builders were very personal. We went to support the Keck family (good friends) from Dubuque, IA., both this year and when they entered their 41 Willy’s Truck in 2004, both great 8 vehicles. If you want to talk about a garage build their 37 Chevy is the vehicle you need to be discussing, my son and I even helped on it a little, during hunting season we slept in the room next to it. No bad considering we live south of the Mason Dixon Line and they live in IA. Any way the show was great fun and all the builders and owners were super!! Congrats to Tammy Ray on the beautiful car!!
I’m the 37 chevy owners’ son, and I was also in Detroit rooting for the 37 chevy. I have to admit, I loved the Gold Digger… incredible car! In terms of the couple from Iowa, dad did a lot of work on the car himself and mom also assisted with all kinds of tasks. Mom isn’t a designer but knows what she likes in her street rod and was instrumental in the direction of the design. Many of the guys who worked on this street rod are local to the Dubuque land area and surrounding cities. Great job to all the guys who lent their expertise in creating an awesome final product. There were many nights guys were working in dad’s basement bringing that gem to completion! A great tribute to hard work and dedication and putting ones own blood and sweat into their dream. No telling how many bandaids dad went through on this project. Good job mom and dad for staying with it, and making the Great 8 for a second time in 7 years. Your friends and family are proud of those accomplishments. In terms of the field of 8… what great cars…I loved them all… Great job to Tammy and her crew for being selected the winner… the car is a beauty.
Thanks for that insight Dave! Get’n the family and friends together for a project is what it’s all about!
After seeing all of the Ridler cars, I believe that the grille on the Packard is as perfect a fit as it can be. It has the influence of the era when this type of car was originally designed. No matter who designed the grille, someone would not like it! This car is, as is the Dodge, hand-built from METAL! I believe that the Gold Digger is fibreglass……MUCH easier to work with than hand-formed metal. I’m not saying that the Gold Digger shouldn’t have won the award, as the judges do what they have to do, and it won….congratulations to the owner!
The designs on the Packard, and the Dodge, are exceptional from all angles….and using the Packard engine is a plus! Unfortunately, at ANY large car show, you’ll find cars that a lot of people find fault with the winner….and the judging. I’ve been around car shows, and built many cars, for over 55 years, and personally, I enjoy the work that goes into all the contestants for the bigger awards…not always agreeing with the winning picks, but always appreciating the workmanship in all the cars!
Wow Those pictures are Awesome Keep up the Great work.These cars are Nice.
hey trae its jon watts. Thanks for the comment. There was alot of really nice cars there this year. Maybe we’ll have better luck with the next build.
thanks again, Jon
Just want to toss in my 2 cents worth.
All the Great 8 are noteworthy. But they don’t fit my personal (late 50’s) idea of
“hot rod” that I picked up by reading the “little mags” and by passing the 13/16″- deep-socket-on-a short-extension to my more involved friends.
I spent my working life in design (architecture) . To me it seems that the hot rod world is commited to a formalistic circular march. We’re seeing the same thing
over and over and over, although done a bit better than the last time. Where are the big, fresh, break-out IDEAS? Ridler cars are often “perfect”, but almost always stale.