Other classic cars
- Thread starter James Vette
- Start date
CaptainK
CCCUK Member
Alas it was destroyed many moons ago now, after a drunk lorry driver went down the dual carriageway the wrong way and went for the "head on bonus*" with my 205.
* Reference to the game "Carmageddon" where you get bonus points for driving head on straight into the front of another car.
HJG
CCCUK Member
Blimey, how did you survive that in a 205 ?!
CaptainK
CCCUK Member
Good brakes on my side to get the speed down (306 GTi-6 brakes to go with the GTi6 engine it also had), combined with a lot of luck. The 205 wasn't amazingly pretty afterwards and also caught fire a bit I believe too. Mostly just shock from me, and temporary neck whiplash issues, but long term my right hand wrist is a bit dodgy now as it got twisted around the steering wheel. This amuses people when I say I have a dodgy right wrist that feels permanently like it has repetitive strain injury......
Turns out the lorry driver was very drunk because he just lost his job. After ramming me he kept going down the dually to try and get more people. Alas, I encountered him on a corner with no easy avoiding option. After that it was all just a straight line for miles, including a 3 lane stretch. So thankfully everyone else managed to avoid him. The Police eventually caught him as he turned off going up the "on ramp" slipway (aka still going the wrong way). He was "done" in court and chucked in jail.
James Vette
CCCUK Member
teamzr1
Supporting vendor
The winners of the 2022 Ridler Award are owners Rick and Patty Bird of Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, for their radically customized 1931 Chevrolet Independence coupe: the “Sho Bird.”
Rick and his brother own the trucking company their father started, R.W. Bird Trucking in Pleasant Gap, Pennsylvania.
For a first-time Autorama competitor to win the Ridler is quite an accomplishment.
Bird said that canceling the 2021 Detroit Autorama because of the pandemic gave him another year to get the car “just right.” Getting things just right included a 5-inch chop to the roof and matching the trunk lid to the roof’s profile, and channeling the floor over the frame to lower the body. Pro Comp hand shaped the grille, hood, hood scoop, fenders, running boards, side scoops for the rear mounted radiator, windshield frame, and taillight panel.
The frame was also hand fabricated, while Advanced Custom Chrome of Erie, Pennsylvania, was responsible for chrome plating. The car has a custom cantilevered front suspension that manages to combine a 1930s era solid front axle with a modern pushrod coilover shock absorber setup. Mickey Thompson tires are mounted on custom wheels by Billet Specialties.
All in all, the Sho Bird is a stunning car, built to an exceedingly high standard. The interior is fully custom, with a custom dash with a bespoke Classic Instruments instrument panel. The dash flows into a custom console. Above is an additional roof mounted console. Door panels and seats are also custom.
Rick Bird didn’t expect to be a Great 8 finalist. When I spoke to him on Friday, he couldn’t stop grinning. By Sunday evening, when they were presented with the Ridler Award, he and Patty were walking on air.
Judges for the Ridler Award pick eight finalists on the Friday morning of the show, before it opens to the public. The Ridler finalists are called the Great 8, sponsored by BASF coatings.
This year’s Great 8 seemed to me to diverge from previous years with what I think are more inspired choices. No ’69 Camaros or ’57 Chevys, just one traditional Ford roadster, a Chevy coupe from the same era, three orphan brands, Studebaker, Pontiac, and Oldsmobile, a couple of Mopars, and a very cool scratch-built homage to the 1950s Devin sports cars.
Competitors typically spend a half million dollars or more, and devote years, to see their dreams made real in metal, fabric, and composites. There are rules, of course.
No matter how wild the customizations may be (and some cars are actually built completely from scratch, rather than customized versions of production vehicles) Autorama is a car show at its heart; vehicles have to be functional enough to be driven under their own power onto the show floor. Hoods are up to expose the engines.
Build quality is as high as you’d expect at a major concours like Pebble Beach or Amelia Island, perhaps even more so as concours cars are restorations to existing templates, while the Ridler competitors are very often making entirely new things.
While the “Sho Bird” Chevy won the ultimate prize of $10,000 (not to mention eternal glory), there were plenty of other glamorous and inventive creations at Autorama 2022.
Rick and his brother own the trucking company their father started, R.W. Bird Trucking in Pleasant Gap, Pennsylvania.
For a first-time Autorama competitor to win the Ridler is quite an accomplishment.
Bird said that canceling the 2021 Detroit Autorama because of the pandemic gave him another year to get the car “just right.” Getting things just right included a 5-inch chop to the roof and matching the trunk lid to the roof’s profile, and channeling the floor over the frame to lower the body. Pro Comp hand shaped the grille, hood, hood scoop, fenders, running boards, side scoops for the rear mounted radiator, windshield frame, and taillight panel.
The frame was also hand fabricated, while Advanced Custom Chrome of Erie, Pennsylvania, was responsible for chrome plating. The car has a custom cantilevered front suspension that manages to combine a 1930s era solid front axle with a modern pushrod coilover shock absorber setup. Mickey Thompson tires are mounted on custom wheels by Billet Specialties.
All in all, the Sho Bird is a stunning car, built to an exceedingly high standard. The interior is fully custom, with a custom dash with a bespoke Classic Instruments instrument panel. The dash flows into a custom console. Above is an additional roof mounted console. Door panels and seats are also custom.
Rick Bird didn’t expect to be a Great 8 finalist. When I spoke to him on Friday, he couldn’t stop grinning. By Sunday evening, when they were presented with the Ridler Award, he and Patty were walking on air.
Judges for the Ridler Award pick eight finalists on the Friday morning of the show, before it opens to the public. The Ridler finalists are called the Great 8, sponsored by BASF coatings.
This year’s Great 8 seemed to me to diverge from previous years with what I think are more inspired choices. No ’69 Camaros or ’57 Chevys, just one traditional Ford roadster, a Chevy coupe from the same era, three orphan brands, Studebaker, Pontiac, and Oldsmobile, a couple of Mopars, and a very cool scratch-built homage to the 1950s Devin sports cars.
Competitors typically spend a half million dollars or more, and devote years, to see their dreams made real in metal, fabric, and composites. There are rules, of course.
No matter how wild the customizations may be (and some cars are actually built completely from scratch, rather than customized versions of production vehicles) Autorama is a car show at its heart; vehicles have to be functional enough to be driven under their own power onto the show floor. Hoods are up to expose the engines.
Build quality is as high as you’d expect at a major concours like Pebble Beach or Amelia Island, perhaps even more so as concours cars are restorations to existing templates, while the Ridler competitors are very often making entirely new things.
While the “Sho Bird” Chevy won the ultimate prize of $10,000 (not to mention eternal glory), there were plenty of other glamorous and inventive creations at Autorama 2022.
James Vette
CCCUK Member
James Vette
CCCUK Member
Nassau65
CCCUK Member
I also like the full bumper models, the chrome bumper on the early 70-73 cars is nice and thin, very elegant. The 74 redesign with the slanted front had much larger bumpers in stainless steel. Both car styles are true classics now, they were cheap throwaway cars back in the day, seen the prices of them in the US nowadays. $$$$$
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Nassau65
CCCUK Member
As the corvette throughout its history has always been expensive compared to the majority of sporty type cars in the US it has mainly been looked after and number’s surviving are high. Things like Camaro, firebirds and the like after a few years were throwaway cars and their numbers decreased a hell of a lot.
Nowadays not so many survive hence the high prices. Who would have thought Trans Am’s would be $50k +++
Don’t even go the Chrysler corp route, once a few years old they were worthless to the majority of people.
Nowadays not so many survive hence the high prices. Who would have thought Trans Am’s would be $50k +++
Don’t even go the Chrysler corp route, once a few years old they were worthless to the majority of people.
GCorvette
CCCUK Member
They were the first car I fell for aged 7, watching them race was something I've never forgotten.
Nassau65
CCCUK Member
A friend had a very nice 71-73 ( can’t remember the exact year, getting older I’m afraid) in 1978 , I wanted it but he wouldn’t sell it at that time. Then he suddenly sold it for nothing, I was so annoyed. It was dark green poly, had a 396ci motor. Nice car. Never saw it again after he got rid of it.
Nassau65
CCCUK Member
Over riders were a option which many northern state buyers opted for. It was quite common to bump park in places like New York, Boston , and the like. Helped protect from parking damage. Easily removed by the next buyer if he/she didn’t like them. They did save a lot of body damage tho.