Scott Burgess

Hot show, hot rides: Tribute to personalized wheels features 1,000 custom rides

Start your engines.

The 57th annual festival of hot rods is ready to rumble into Cobo Center. Autorama begins Friday.

The North American International Auto Show may draw the big media, but nothing says "Detroit" more than the Murray's/O'Reilly's Autorama presented by Meguiars. This is the show by the people, and for the people in pursuit of happiness through horsepower.

"There's over 900 exhibits and there's cars from all over the U.S. and Canada at the show," said Bob Larivee Jr., Autorama's manager and CEO of Championship Auto Shows Inc.

More than 100,000 people attended Autorama last year, Larivee said, and organizers expect a similar turnout this year.

"People seem to be complaining about the economy, but this show is on par with going to the movies," he said of the show, which costs $18 for adults to attend.

There will be more than 1,000 vehicles on display, featuring some of the craziest hot rods ever to cruise along Woodward Avenue or anywhere else. From the chopped and channeled to the dumped and decked, the pure variety at Detroit's Autorama makes it the grand daddy of hot rod shows. Motor City couldn't be prouder.

Some vehicles will be like Sh-Boom Gone Wild -- also known as Sh-Boom II -- by Bob Fryz of Dearborn. Fryz, a car customizer, has made a name for himself along Woodward Avenue during the annual summer cruise where the original Sh-Boom spews fire out of its tailpipes. Sh-Boom II, a 1951 Ford coupe in white, pearl and kandy blue, premieres this year at Autorama.

"I've been coming to Autorama since 1963," Fryz said. "I love it. It's all about the cars and all the people I see there."

Other vehicles are more of a collective effort.

Students from Washtenaw Community College auto tech program will show off five vehicles, including a 1964 Chevrolet Impala SS convertible built for baseball legend Ken Griffey Jr. The group of 25 students, who have been taking classes in the Custom Cars and Concepts Department, have been working on a handful of vehicles for Autorama, said Gary Sobbry, who has overseen the project.

Other vehicles include a 2009 Ford F-150 Platinum Extang, a 2009 F-350 mated to a customized 50-foot trailer, a 1967 Ford Mustang "Eleanor" model that is part of the charity raffle by WCSX.

Top award worth $10,000

The Impala is one that could be contender for the top honor at the show: The Ridler Award presented to the best vehicle to be shown for the first time at Autorama. The winner receives $10,000 and a new GM Performance Parts engine. Motorcycles at the show will vie for the Grand Master Award for the best two-wheel motorcycle. The winner will take home $3,000.

The Ridler Award was one of the prizes legendary designer Chip Foose has won multiple times and helped him establish himself as a premiere hot rod designer. Foose will be on hand at the show Saturday to sign autographs from 1-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m.

But he's not just signing pictures. Foose will also debut his P32 Traditional Rod.

While the professionals like Foose may compete for the top honor, others have different goals.

Mary Dudek and Al Bergler will bring cars to downtown Detroit to honor loved ones.

Dudek's husband, Fred, died just after he finished his 1932 Ford Roadster. Mary Dudek, with the help of Fred Dudek's friends, will present the roadster and a 1940 Ford at Autorama as a tribute to their friend and her husband.

Bergler, who won the first Ridler Award, will present Larry Payne's 1929 Ford Sedan Delivery and vintage dragster at Autorama for his friend and former owner of Duggan's Irish Pub in Royal Oak.

Stars include screen legends

Vehicles to watch for include:

The Mach 5: Right from last year's movie, Speed Racer's premiere car. The legendary car, which was first seen in the campy cartoon, possesses a 1,000 horsepower and 1,000 pound-feet of torque engine. Other features include a bulletproof cockpit, tires that can add crampons to grip ice and saw blades that can come out of the front end, just in case you're about to hit a tree. Sure, the car is not real, but it's still real cool.

KITT comparison: Autorama will feature the original 1982 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am and the modern day Ford Shelby GT 500KR Mustang, which have both played the role of KITT in the television show "Knight Rider." The original KITT first appeared in 1982 while the modern day version premiered last year in a remake of the television series.

The Orbitron: Designed by Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, it will be featured at the show this year. The car went missing for 30 years and was recently discovered in Mexico and has since been restored.

If you have time, be sure to visit the Detroit Extreme Autorama in Michigan Hall downstairs. The exhibit features a number of modern day tuner cars as well as a number of traditional hot rods.

"It's going to be a great show with a lot of vehicles that have never been seen in Detroit before and never will be seen here again," Laravee said.

Scott Burgess is the auto critic for The Detroit News. He can be reached at (313) 223-3217 or sburgess@detnews.com.