Grand National Roadster Show 2011

I’ve been struggling to get something posted since coming home from the 62^nd Grand National Roadster Show – but the flu has been keeping me down! I’m finally on the road to being better and I can’t wait to share with you all the excitement from GNRS 2011! I would also like to proudly announce that GNRS marked my GreaseGirl 2-year anniversary! It was a mere two years ago that I went a-scoutin’ for my first article… Why We Love Cars. It’s been a joy of a ride and I look forward to many more adventures to share with you all.

Back to the Roadster show… the first building I walked into (of course) was the Suede Palace. Some of us have a love for some of the more, how should I say it, lack-luster cars? Lacking they were NOT… there were some amazing pieces of work inside!

Grease Girl Diary: March Madness!

I know, I know…you’re all awaiting the promised Car Interior How-To articles! And they are coming!

Even thought I’ve been slacking on the homepage, I’ve definitely not just been kicking back over here at Grease Girl! I’ll let ya into a few of the things I’ve been up to…

Today Stude’s running better that she has in a long while….yeehaw!! That’s thanks to Art Carr and his fellas over at California Performance Transmission. It turns out that the TV cable wasn’t functioning correctly on my 700R4 transmission. Thank goodness no permanent damage was done in my year of driving it that way! With a couple of newly fitted brackets aligning everything properly, ol’ Stude’s got some of her power back!

Also happening in the garage, I’ve been tinkering away at the newest car in my care, my brother’s 1960 Falcon! I’ll be posting some pictures of this cutie up soon. She’s had a few little issues to be corrected but is now back on the road – and my weekly gas budget is taking a sigh of relief…a straight-6 engine has far more fuel economy than a 383!

Then of course there’s the social calander. My friend Becky Sue and I are gearing up to gather some SoCal grease-lovin’ ladies to form a new all-girls car club! We’re really excited about this and looking forward to having a crew of ladies that like to work together! If you know of anyone that might be interested, just send an email to greasegirlscarclub@gmail.com.

Lastly, this following story was too good to pass up! I’d heard some progress updates for Zachary Norman’s 1932 Ford Roadster, Platinum Bomb, and was looking forward to seeing it debut at the Grand National Roadster Show. I was expecting it to be cool – what with Troy Ladd of Hollywood Hot Rods with his hands in the project as well as Matt and Tom doing the paint over at Department of Customz. But I wasn’t prepared for all the details and obvious skill that went into making this roadster!

So while you’re waiting for me to get my butt into gear and publish more Car Interior How-To’s, get your imaginations goin’ by reading up on the Platinum Bomb!

A Roadster That Can Fly? Check out the Platinum Bomb!

“If the guy building a 1943 Lockheed airplane decided to build a hot rod, this might be what he’d build,” said Zachary Norman, owner and builder of Platinum Bomb. While he denies that it’s a theme car, there’s a definite unifying element to this 1932 Ford roadster. One quick glance will tell you it’s aviation. From the aluminum-looking paint job to the dash full of airplane gauges, this car is full of details that make it look like a hot rod that’s ready to fly!

2010 Grand National Roadster Show

This past weekend was spent in Pomona at the 61st Grand National Roadster Show, or GNRS for short. This is one of the most important car shows of the year, drawing big names in the auto industry. Along with about a dozen unbelievable cars competing for the coveted “America’s Most Beautiful Roadster” Award, there is also hundreds of other top-notch classics.

With all the talk going on about the AMBR winner at the Grand National Roadster Show, I wanted to take the opportunity to show you some of the other great award-winning cars on display. There must have been well over 100 awards given out during Sunday’s award ceremony! This is not including awards given out in the Suede Palace (those cars don’t run in competition with the others, it’s more of a low-shine exhibit if you know what I mean.)

To start with, this sweet 1952 Chevrolet Coupe won the George Barris Kustom D’Elegance Award. I dug it for it’s cool green paint by Gene Winfield as well as it’s cam shaft front grill.

why we love cars

Speaking of car shows, I couldn't resist posting this up. The cutest nephews ever - at Viva last April.

I confess. Before attending the 2009 National Roadster Show I didn’t quite ‘get’ car shows. But wait…don’t throw Pabst cans my way yet. As much as I’ve always liked cars and enjoy looking at them, shows seemed like a bunch of people just hanging out and drooling.

Well…the hubcaps have now fallen off my eyes. For the first time ever I actually talked to people *gasp*! It was so fun meeting others with some of the same interests as me. Chatting about our favorite subject and hearing their perspective on the hobby that we both love. I think I’m beginning to understand the lure of car shows. It’s not just an abundance of amazing cars to look at. It’s mostly the community of people that gather and become your friends. People aren’t just sitting around drinking beer (okay, so that happens too). They’re connecting, appreciating one another’s work, and seeing the unique innovations used.

As I talked with people – from casual observers to guys who’d been doing this professionally for decades – I decided it would be interesting to find out what drew them to cars and who they’d learned from. Here’s what I found…