Traditional Hot Rods From The Suede Palace
As soon as we walked into the building, our attention was drawn to a Deuce highboy roadster with old-timey brownish green paint, split wishbones, a dropped and drilled I-beam axle, Halibrand-style rearend, piecrust skinny tires on 1940 Ford wheels, and a ton of miles on the odometer. There is only one place at the Grand National Roadster Show where we would see such a car—the Suede Palace, where all the cool traditional style hot rods hang out.
But wait! We weren’t in the Suede Palace. We were in the main exhibit building. And that 1932 roadster was Darryl Hollenbeck’s car, a competitor for the prestigious America’s Most Beautiful Roadster award, which it would win a few days later.
In 2006, the Grand National Roadster Show expanded into the LA Fairplex’s Building 10, rechristened it the Suede Palace, and invited in nostalgic ’40s, ’50s, and ’60s.influenced rods and customs. There wasn’t much to the Suede Palace that first year—a few primered (or “suede”) rods and that’s about it, but it was an effort to include traditional hot rods in the GNRS. Nobody expected it to be a big deal—or to affect the flavor of the whole show. The AMBR winner that year was Chip Foose’s smooth, sophisticated, high-tech, contemporary interpretation of a ’36 Ford.
In 2007, Alex “Axle” Idzardi increased his involvement with the Suede Palace, bringing in more cars, vendors, bands, and club-sponsored awards (with unique custom handbuilt trophies). The vision for the Suede Palace has never changed, but the quality of the vehicles and the attention they get has risen every year.
Has the success of the Suede Palace really had an influence on the AMBR competition at the Grand National Roadster Show? Who knows? But while you’re thinking about it, take a look at Hollenbeck’s winning roadster, then take a look at our gallery of rods from the 2016 Suede Palace, and decide for yourself.
The Suede Palace had a prime spot for George Gutierrez’ brandywine 1933 Ford coupe out of Long Beach. On Saturday, the Best In Show trophy was presented to this great hot rod, powered by a Weiand Flathead with dual 97 carbs. The interior is classic black tuck ‘n’ roll. The steelies wheels and dressed up with Merc caps.
Al Stone came from Bristol, Connecticut, to show his 1929 Ford roadster pickup—a great example of track T style. Al matched the ’29 Brookville body with a ’31 rear section. Seats are from a Triumph.
Coolness, like red paint, is all over this 1930 Ford Model A coupe. Owned by Joe LeCoupe of the Road Devils car club, The 4-banger-powered unchopped hot rod would look just as in place in the ‘40s as it did at the Suede Palace last week.
You could teach a custom painting class just using “Jerry Rigged,” this amazing 1954 Chevy from the Fresno area. Chopped, shaved, nosed, and decked, with a 350/350 engine/trans combo, this custom got that mazing paint from Jeff Gang wish at Shinbone Alley.
Marcus Edell has a knack for finding cars with history. This black 1956 Chevy was hot rodded in the late ’60s in Fremont, California, running a beefed up 283 with 327 fuelie heads. This was one of two Suede Palace entries Marcus brought to Pomona. Keep reading to see the Impala everyone’s talking about.
Here’s Marcus Edell’s 1959 Impala historic custom show car. It was originally built by Joe Roth in Wisconsin in the early ’60s, then resurrected a few years later. Today, with help from Jeff Spence at Kustoms By Spence, it is preserved in its early ’60s form.
We’re fans of sedans. An Edelbrock intake and triple 97s top the 334 Y-block engine in Tim and Kathy McMaster’s 1930 Ford Model A Tudor, from Visalia, California. The classic looking green tone is Kewanee Green
Nothing like Hemi power to propel a hot rod. Marco Barberis tied together a ’57 Dodge D500 Hemi, a Ford T5 transmission, and a Ford 8-inch rearend to move this Deuce highboy roadster down the road.
“Eskimo Pie” is the nickname give to this 1929 ford sport coupe, the property of Rick Perez of Long Beach. Chevy powered with finned Offenhauser valve covers, and three Stromberg carbs, side pipes, rear wheel well pleats, and a slew of other retro elements, Rick’s chocolate brown A is a trip into the past.
