2016 Grand National Roadster Show
By
The 67th year of the Grand National Roadster Show (GNRS) has come and gone and what a contradiction, in terms of feelings, that fans of the event hold for this epic car show. It is both large in scope and yet one feels the warmth of individual effort. John Buck, the owner and promoter of the show, extends an invitation to nearly everyone. It is electric, ecletic and yet simple. It is a beauty pageant of cars and the car culture without being presumptuous. There are hidden gems within this show that are breath-taking and magnificent. The enthusiasm of the spectators and participants draws people from all over the world. It is neither the biggest car show nor the flashiest, but it is the oldest and one of the most respected hot rod, custom and roadster shows found anywhere in the world.
The interesting thing about the GNRS is that wherever you look there are booths, sponsors and people who look familiar and whom you have most likely have seen from prior shows. Just ordinary people who will willingly strike up a good natured conversation and in a moment or two you will find similarities between their lives and yours. It is a degree of separation that is amazingly short. One such man was Tony Baron, who lives in Woodland Hills and is the owner of Baron’s Automotive Service and Tattersfield Racing Equipment. His father, Frank Baron, owned the business and was partners with the iconic Bob Tattersfield who raced the dry lakes in the 1930’s. The old business was located on Highland and Venice near Hollywood and 8th Street in Los Angeles. Tony grew up working with his father and his booth, though small, was dripping with early California racing history. Also in building 4 were the eager employees of Hot Rods & Hobbies setting up their large display of four cars and hot rod equipment.
Another sponsor of the GNRS was the LA Roadsters; a club formed six decades ago to promote roadsters and includes show promoter John Buck among its members. My father knew Buck when he was working for the Los Angeles County Fairplex and gave him encouragement to purchase the GNRS and follow his lifelong dreams in the hot rod culture. John Buck enlarged the car show and invited many groups within the hot rodding community to participate. The original GNRS began existence a year after the famed SCTA Hot Rod Exposition at the Armory in Los Angeles. Al and Mary Slonaker founded the GNRS in Oakland, California and for years it was the show of shows for hot rods, roadsters and customs. Over the years the show languished and eventually moved to Los Angeles. John Buck purchased the GNRS and the Sacramento Autorama car show and gave it new life and a new direction. Today the GNRS is bigger and better than it ever was.
I met a young couple from France who spoke little English and I spoke no French, but we got along famously, with the car culture and terms our only means of understanding. They were delighted to attend the GNRS and looked forward to seeing the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum as well. In Building 5 I met Penny Pichette who still runs the West Coast Kustoms car show in Paso Robles. This building had a nice selection of custom cars. In Building 6 I met Dick and Beverly Martin, old and dear friends. Dick is a writer and has published many of his stories and biographies in popular hot rod magazines. Dick also has produced outstanding reunions honoring famous hot rodders including Tom Medley and Ak Miller. Larry and Charleen Schuss invited me to see their restored 1915 Ford Model-T Center Door Sedan. A show sponsor, Hop Up Magazine, was a show stopper. Many old fans of the small-sized magazine raved about its reintroduction after a hiatus of twenty years. The Suede Palace housed a younger crowd who were into the retro scene, or what they call the Traditional Style of Hot Rodding. They use little or no chrome; prefer the primered and natural look of the old street cruising genre. It is very popular today and yet it can be just as expensive to achieve that “comfortable, used old look.” Pinky Lee, Kent Reppert and Brookville Bodies were some of the vendors and sponsors. Kent has an art style that is 1950’s comic book style; the haggard wolf or scroungy animal that leers at the audience.
Building 7 had a smorgasbord of vehicles including customs, hot rods, trucks, pick-ups, muscle and race cars. Junior Johnson’s #3 stock car was originally owned by Mickey Thompson and is now owned by Tom McIntyre, who I often see at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. Tom is a well-known car collector. The stocker had a 427 c.i. powerplant and ran in the 1962 Daytona NASCAR race. Building 8 had a nice collection of VW’s, a small car with a big heart and loved by many fans. I spoke to Frank Casares, who showed me his beautifully restored yellow painted VW. “We are part of the California Chapter of the VW club, which has chapters all over the world,” Frank told me. I’m sure that Burly Burlile and the 36 Horsepower Challenge was somewhere nearby. He is the secretary of this VW racing club that holds special racing events for VW’s cars around the United States and overseas. Near the VW cars were many outstanding Woodie Station Wagons. Setting up a display of 12 custom cars was the Lifestyle car club which has been around since 1974. I spoke to Cesar Aguirre and Eddie Gonzalez who told me that they have 80 members in and around the East Los Angeles area and they take their custom cars to shows in Las Vegas, San Diego, Santa Barbara and elsewhere. Cesar and Eddie explained that there is a great variety among custom car fans and they enjoy going to a wide-ranging style of car shows.
I met a young man from Finland who was so eager to take back to his homeland as much history that he could that he recorded several people at the show including John Buck and me. Toshi Akatsuka led a contingent of hot rodders from Japan and even though there was a language barrier we had no trouble communicating by means of our common hot rod heritage. Randy and his son Sean Lorentzen were busy photographing and interviewing car builders and owners for their own free-lancing business. I see Randy often at car shows and it is encouraging to see the next generation of young hot rodders come up the ranks. Also at the show were Anna Marco and Mike Basso representing Ol’ Skool Rodz and Car Kulture Deluxe Magazines. Anna is a member of the Society of Land Speed Racing Historians and a contributor to our newsletter, which is located on www.landspeedracing.com and www.hotrodhotline.com. David Steele and Jim Miller manned the American Hot Rod Foundation booth and their website is at www.ahrf.com. Andreanna Ditton was at the show in the Hot Rod Hot Line booth.
One of the more popular events at the GNRS is the Pin-Up contest presented by Mitzi & Company. Mitzi Valenzuela recreated the sexy pin-up craze in Southern California by harkening back to the 1940’s and ‘50’s Betty Page style of boudoir and car culture photography. Mitzi is an exceptional photographer who works well with both men and women. She sponsors this annual GNRS pin-up contest and other contests around the country. Mitzi has this unique personality that allows her to get close to her models and to inspire them to create that exotic and erotic cheesecake posing made famous by Betty Grable, Marilyn Monroe and other Hollywood starlets of the ‘40’s and ‘50’s. I’ve watched Mitzi work and she is a dynamo of energy, forcing her slim figure into the strangest positions as she tries to capture a young beauty in the back seat of a car or in her studio. She provides the cars, background, props and clothing for many of her models and her calendars are extremely popular. There are few photographers as hard-working or as talented as Mitzi.
Last year’s winner was Jenny Dame, a petite brunette with a soft Latin look so popular in the Traditional Hot Rodding culture. Jenny is this year’s hostess and she will announce twelve sultry contestants and give the audience a summary of each models attributes. The contestants train under Mitzi & Company and also buy their own nostalgic apparel and make-up. These ladies come as close to the 1940’s and ‘50’s styles as possible and even affect the mannerisms and charms of those old days. The contestants in the 2016 GNRS Pin-Up contest are; Amanda Rose, Anna Pretty In Pink, Bella Mari, Christini Martini, Haylee Holiday, Jazie Doll, K Von Spun, Millie Michelle, Rosa De Fuego, Ruby Star, Vikki Fahrenheit, and Zelda. While the names are racy the young ladies are your everyday students, housewives, office workers and normal women who just happen to find modeling a fun and often profitable part of their lives. Last year I interviewed Miranda Barrie and I hope to bring you a story on Jenny Dame soon. For sheer fun and a bit of the flamboyant past be sure to see next year’s GNRS Pin-Up contest. This year’s GNRS Pin-Up Queen was K Von Spun.
The pinstripers reunion has been a mainstay at the GNRS for years. Some forty or more pinstripers from all over the country participate in the show at their own expense and they will pinstripe any object for a donation which goes to a charity. They also hold several auctions of their artwork and that money is also donated to charity. I spoke with Karen Knapp, a pinstriper and airbrusher of forty years from Chesterfield, Michigan and her husband Marshall Knapp, who has been pinstriping for thirty years. “I learned pinstriping from my wife, Karen,” said Marshall. “We also donate our time to raise money for charities at the Right Coast Nationals in Syracuse, New York and the Detroit Autorama,” he told me. Janet and Richard Westlake came from Hallsville, Missouri where they are pinstripers. “My husband, Richard, is also the auctioneer for the pinstriper’s auctions and this year the charity that was chosen is a local California group called Everyone Free,” Janet added. Steve Heller is a pinstriper from Woodstock, New York and has made a living as a pinstriper for forty years. Howie Nisgor is a pinstriper from Poughkeepsie, New York, one that I have met at previous GNRS pinstriper’s reunions. In a thick East Coast accent he told me how glad he was able to be here and help promote the art of pinstriping. Also at the reunion were local favorites Jimmy C, Jeff Styles and Tom Kelley.
Gone Racin’ is at [email protected].
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