Going Down – Basement Best at 2012 Detroit Autorama
2012 Detroit Autorama – Basement’s Best Hot Rods
Bottom floor, everyone out!
In the far corners of the grand Cobo Center convention hall, escalators carried you down… Down to an area where mortgage size dollars were spent on… mortgages! It’s a place where hot rodders and their buddy who could weld hooked up with a dude from work who knew a painter then banded together to make a custom car they could all be proud of. Then Friday night, or Tuesday or whenever they’d terrorize the streets and strips. They’re loud, rough and built with the true spirit of, “My Ride is Me”.
Down the escalator, a birdseye view of the basement turned into a closeup of the “Voodoo Hellion” and the Voodoo Kings car club. In the trophy area, I saw a, “Best Car Club” trophy, so the area clubs bring out their best and put in the extra effort on the setup too… I got tired of seeing thin white rope-like barriers. Dig the custom machined pieces here.
Next door was the Brothers Custom display. Why this nasty black coupe (shiny paint and all) with a supremely detailed flathead wasn’t upstairs, I have no idea. I think the “Brothers” fit in downstairs and they could show their un-painted 49 Ford shoebox. (Click to see any picture full size)
Look closely at 49, you’ll see a display of models painted with Sherwin-Williams Planet Colors. The Brother Custom Facebook page has a way for you to vote for your favorite color for the low slung custom.
Another bunch of my favorites belonged to hot rod artists hanging out or selling some of their work. You couldn’t get past this slick, flat gold Rivi owned by Aaron Kirby.
Next to the Rivi was NotStock Photography’s custom Chevy van. Stunned by how cool and creative the van, and the photos John had for sale were, I didn’t manage to get a shot of the whole van… but you can see the roof and the interior. What better way to showcase your work? And… the van has been to all but a few states. Look for feature stories on Aaron and John’s art soon.
The next group of faves is always tops on my list… the race cars and gassers:
The blown altered was in a perfect place for photos and had a sinister looking model A next to it. What would a cacklefest sound like in a cement floored basement? Then the mighty Econoline pickup, the “Ford Freeway Flyer” and the warn and raced-altered wheelbase 1964 Comet gasser called “Armageddon” give you some idea of the cool race gear downstairs.
Finally, here’s the revised Model A hot rod of Voodoo Larry:
I shot up the six-pack of carbs, louvered deck and 1939 Dodge high clearance wheels for a feature story. That’s coming soon too. (I plan on not sleeping to get all this done)
The rest? Enjoy here in this gallery. If I shot your hot rod or custom, please give me a shout in a comment below.
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the blue ’46 Ford is a guy in our club! Good to meet you in Detroit!
Hey I’m the owner of the white hot rod, #6 picture
Right on John! I’ll add your name to the pic. Which one is you? The Econoline? How’d you like the show?
That’s an awesome write up. Nice pics. That’s my hammered 50 buick.
Thank you Ryan. It’s great you and John have found the story. Sorry I didn’t get a chance to say hi and learn about the car. John from Torque Fest seemed like he knew you and said you’d run your Buick on the dirt at his show, right?
Thanks for the great pics and the classy subject matter.
Hey Pikesan, glad you could make it to the D for one of the greatest shows on earth. Great pics. The white Econoline belongs to my good freinds daughter. She’s 18 and they are building it together and will drag race it when it’s finished. It won the best Traditional Truck award. Wish I had seen you at the show, I lived in Tempe a few years ago and was a regular at the Pavillions (flat black 63 Falcon wagon)…
Hey Jerry, you have a Falcon wagon? So do I! It’s on the home page. Can you you help me get in touch with the daughter? Sounds like it’d be a great story of why, “My Ride is Me”. Not many 18 year old girls want an Econoline pickup! email at moc.emsiedirymnull@nasekip
All the real HOT RODS were downstairs in the basement at Detroit 2012 Autorama, the cool place to be and hang out.
It’s awesome that there’s a 18 yr girl into old cars like this, My car is the ’31 roadster pick-up in picture #6 in the big block of cars and i built it when i was 17(im 18 now) but its cool that younger people are getting interested in building these machines.
Hey John, you’ve got the gold wire wheels, right? Cool ride my man! I’m looking for guys like you to help make sure hot rodding stays alive! I’ll email you so I can send you some MyRideisMe.com stickers. Thanks for letting me know who’s who in these photos.
Awesome work buddy!
Thanks Nick. Means alot coming from you. I still hate shooting indoors and have alot to learn. Any pro’s out there, shoot me some tips.
I’ve got the blue 46 sedan, thanks for the pic, as always we had a blast for the weekend. Makin memories Wayne