Trucks at the Palace

The famous Oakland Roadster Show is now called the Grand National Roadster Show -- we're sure you've heard of its 55-year-long heritage. Over the past decade, what was the Oakland Roadster Show has gone through changes in ownership and locations, from the Oakland Coliseum, to its parking lot, to downtown San Francisco, to the Cow Palace, to San Mateo, and finally to the Pomona Fairgrounds this year. We have reported that the Grand National Roadster show will stay in Pomona for 2005 and the near future.

Several years ago, Rick Perry, long associated with Show Promotions and the late Donald Tognotti, reintroduced a hot rod and custom car show in the Oakland Coliseum. The area's car lovers warmly embraced the Oakland Rod, Custom, and Motorcycle Show. Last year, Perry announced this show would also move to the Cow Palace. With more than 300,000 square feet and a 10-year, dates-locked-in contract, the show will become the San Francisco Rod, Custom, and Motorcycle Show.

Perry and family have been deep in San Francisco Bay Area car shows for decades and were determined to continue the tradition of a Bay Area custom car show. Plus, the opportunity to keep a hot rod and custom car show alive for the next generation brings a good deal of satisfaction to Rick Perry and certain pleasure to Bay Area showgoers. The famous Oakland Roadster Show has evolved, as many business ventures do. But with Perry's show slogan, "You have to go to San Francisco to see Oakland," we can rest assured that the new show's future is in good hands.

The Cow Palace has been home to many major car shows in decades past, including the 50th Grand National Roadster show, and now thanks to Perry and family, and the tradition-aware management of the facilities, we're certain this show has found a good home and will go on for many years to come. With our visit to this inaugural event, we were very excited about the reestablishment of a permanent Bay Area location to showcase fantastic custom classic trucks. For the 2005 dates, check out www.rpprodinc.com, and start making plans now.

Doing their part to liven up the streets of Boring, Oregon, Alan and Pennie Shaw put the torch to the fenders of their '51 Chevy. An equally hot B&M blown small-block provides the go to backup the show.	Hey! Heat is Neat, would be a good slogan for the custom classic truck movement in this decade. Dave Brandt's '54 Ford F-100 has a nicely toasted look, applied by What It Is Body and Paint, right down the road from Dave in Pacifica.
We don't remember '34 Dodge pickups looking anywhere this sweet. Bill Osiakowski picked the perfect set of wheels and tires -- painted wires, beauty rings, and wide whites -- to make his San Jose-based classic, called Jessica Rabbit, hop and pop.	It's cool how Willys made pickups in 1941. In addition to the famous gasser coupe body-style, Dennis English now has the best of both worlds -- a flaming hot drag car and immaculate pickup to haul hiney around Novato, California.
We used to make cars and trucks appear wide like this with new car photos, a ruler, and a razor blade. Fremont's Angel Miranda did much the same thing to his '55 Chevy, but Angel probably used a Sawzall and plenty of blades.	From the rear, we can see a great deal of additional metal messaging beyond the sectioning. Look at Angel's truck and imagine a stock bed, tailgate, and fenders, not to mention the great taillights. We'd love to do a feature on it and go over all the changes.
%??%?picture this truck in a faded ugly green with the bed full of junk on its way to the dumps? It takes the imagination of folks like Jim and Kathy Sylvia from Antioch, California, to visualize a '35 Ford flatbed looking this good and then create it.	In great contrast to the Sylvia's '35, we have the '36 of Half Moon Bay's Ryan Whelen. Ryan dropped a Chevy LS1 engine and 4L60-E trans in to make his pickup haul. The shop, What It Is, also created this beauty.
From San Mateo, Dave and Linda Stevens wheeled to the show in this sharp, aqua '59 Chevy 4x4 pickup, a rare vehicle compared to today's very common Chevy 4x4s. Nice rig.	OK, here's one big and unusual truck. A '37 Dodge COE to fit both categories. But Don "Doc" Kinsfather's goes over the edge. Anybody want a hot dog? Step right up.
We hope you love a good mystery, because we have no idea what "Doc" started with, just that Getz Hot Rod Innovations in Hampshire, Illinois, equipped it with a Dodge 440, 727 TorqeFlite, and a Gear Vender OD. Just plain awesome.	The 100 MINT '56 Ford F-100 Pro Street show truck is a pleasure to see again this year. Mitch and Dina Stevens chose tasteful teal colors for their BDS-blown 350 Chevy-powered gem from coastal El Granada.
We thought you might enjoy a peek under the hood of Stevens' F-100 and see this Effie's engine compartment; it's stuffed with more horsepower than a P-38 Lightning.	Richard Riner, from Oakdale, owns this cute '58 Morris Minor woody turned delivery. Richard's Bad Minor woodie has the goods to defeat the neighborhood kids with a heavy foot, if they're crazy enough to challenge him.
Forget cute, this thing is a mini monster. There's an estimated 650 hp created by the 8-71 Weiand blower on the small-block Chevy. These small English cars originally came with an estimated 65 horses.	Atascadero's Butch Haisman tools around in this very straight '29 Ford closed-cab pickup. These popular street rod trucks look great in black, or yellow, or red, or orange, or green.
Steve Scott sneaked in set-up afternoon with his headers wide open, twisting more than a few necks. The Sacramento-based '48 Chevy is always popular with the spectators. Note the suicide doors.	Under the flip-forward frontend we find 514 ci of Hampton 6-71-blown, ground-shaking, awesome-looking and sounding, tire-shredding, neck-snapping Ford power. Yes, Ford. Can he do that?
From Castro Valley, California, comes Joe Sledge with his mellow yellow '62 Chevy Twuck. Running a '69 Chevy 396ci V-8, Turbo 400 trans, and Mustang II front end with air all around, this rig is a real tweat to see.	Perry included room for suede customs and Rat rods, where we found this '57 Chevy flamed suede Tri-Five hauler. The visor, spots, wheel covers with wide whites, and skirts give it the look.
One Lo Seventy Fo, built from the frame up by Justin Duncan, features a 350/350, full air ride over a 9/11 drop, and a 145 db stereo, plus, more flames. You may remember it was the CCT cover truck for December 2002.	Technically a car, this handbuilt '29 Ford woody tub could very easily be used to haul your gear as well as any truck, unless of course, it's raining.
How about this incredibly trick power-operated license plate on Bill Osiakowski's very cool '34 Dodge? Can you figure out what he's done here? Check out the feature in CCT's Mar. '04 issue.	OK, it's not a truck, but you could surely build a bed for it. It's a '32 Ford Mini Rod, and it's parked in front of Howdy Ledbetter's latest idea -- nostalgia buildings in miniature. Got grandkids? Check them out at www.minirods.com and www.hotrodhowdy.com Cool stuff.