WA Hot Rod Show 2007
Or... The Rumbler goes all show car!
Finally, after all these years I entered my car in a car show. Sure, I've been to plenty of show 'n' shines with the car, and been to a bunch of shows all over the country as a spectator, but I had never actually entered a car in a 'proper' car show.
I had plenty of excuses not to. First off, it was because the car was never really finished to a level where I would have been happy to display it. When I first rebuilt it, I didn't have carpet in it for a couple of years, and by the time I did get carpet, there was already a bit of rust showing and even a few battle scars. These things happen when you drive them!
After the car's second rebuild in late-2005, the outside of the car was looking better than ever and after a bit of a freshen up mid-year, the engine detail was pretty good as well. Once again the interior was letting the car down, so this year (2007) I finally bit the bullet, entered the car, then went to visit a motor trimmer.
The order called for new carpet, some repairs to the front seat, and a new parcel shelf. After initially telling Sue that it would be "around $1500," I walked out of there $1100 poorer, but a very happy man. The car had never been so nice to sit in, and all it needed now was a good buff and polish and she would be looking a million bucks! Thanks to Sam at Vulcan Panel & Paint, the two-year-old paint came up looking a treat and I even had some people during the show asking if I had had the car repainted.
That's enough talking about it, here's some pics. With captions of course!
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Well, what do you know! That looks like a genuine, bona fide show car! In actual fact it's just my old Rambler with a good spit and polish. |
Here's a shot of the engine after its pressure-pack rebuild. The paint was starting to look a bit ordinary in spots, so I gave it a good scrub and then hit with some more go-fast red paint. I also decided to satin finish the rocker covers. Much easier to look after now and suits the overall theme of the car. |
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Here's a shot from the rear. If you look close you can see my attempt at pinstriping on the boot. |
Here's that flash trim I was telling you about. It took the better part of a week to get the carpet and seat sorted out, then a day before the show I redid the door cards myself. I reckon it turned out pretty nice. You can also see the Lokar hand brake I mounted on the floor. The factory unit is located under the dash, but there isn't enough room with the brake booster I run, plus these look nicer. |
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Here's a shot with the door shut. When I had the motor out I also pulled the front sheet metal to repaint behind the grille, so when it went back on I tried to line up the panels a bit better. It's still not perfect, but not too bad for what it is. I also had a bit of a brag board made up. Big thanks to Lloyd at Signmasters for that! |
| And here's me with my favourite little man. |  |
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Who needs a puppy? |
| Here's the 'brag board' I had made up for the show. It was printed directly on to vinyl and then stuck on to a bent piece of perspex. Very simple and easy to transport. |  |
I also made up a separate signboard that explained to people the origin of Rambler (very briefly) and the differences between the engines and why they were quite often confused with Chrysler or Ford engines.
I also added a bit of history on my car from when my grandfather picked it up brand new to when I got hold of it as a no-clue 19-year-old. I guess I couldn't have been too clueless, as I've still got the car and I haven't stuffed it up completely. It's quite a large document (579KB) so I've put a link below so as not to slow down the loading of this page.
