Jalopyrama 2017, traditional hot rods, fuel curve

Jalopyrama Hot Rod Show Motates to Maryland

If you have ever wanted to relive that vintage 50s-60s indoor car show experience the Jalopyrama Hot Rod Show is the event to attend. And judging by the pictures and post-event buzz, Jalopyrama 2017 was the best yet. The brainchild of Mike Szuba, Jalopyrama is a collective effort with organizational help coming from the Rusty Nuts Hot Rod Group. Better yet – show proceeds go to The William E. Kahlert Regional Cancer Center at Carroll County Hospital and The ARC of Carroll County.

Jalopyrama 2017, traditional hot rods, fuel curve

Jalopyrama 2017, traditional hot rods, fuel curveJalopyrama 2017, traditional hot rods, fuel curveJalopyrama is just plain cool and the vibe here is incredible. To start, it’s housed in the Carroll County Agricultural Center in Westminster, MD. With its tall roof line, exposed beams and barn style roof-vent windows, it just has that vintage feel to set the stage for such an event. Add a special selection of hot rods and customs bathed in traditional attire and you get the feeling your back to that era or at least a new Millennium take on how that era looked and felt in terms of hot rods and customs.

Jalopyrama 2017, traditional hot rods, fuel curveJalopyrama 2017, traditional hot rods, fuel curveOne of our favorite pastimes is seeing cars in motion, so our day was off to a great start with the Friday morning reliability run before the attendees were allowed to set up in the agricultural center. We took a nice leisurely cruise though the country side, passing local farms along the way with a stop at a restored railway station. The visuals were stunning!

Jalopyrama 2017, traditional hot rods, fuel curveJalopyrama 2017, traditional hot rods, fuel curve

Jalopyrama 2017, traditional hot rods, fuel curveSet up and layout of such an event takes some time but we took advantage of the moment to talk to other attendees, hearing some great back stories and colorful adventures tied to the past of these fantastic cars. One such car is owned by Eli English. It’s a little Model A roadster that most people pass by, not giving it much thought. It’s cool, sits way low, flathead set way back into the passenger compartment and very rough around the edges. Then we found out it was built in the late 40s, by a 13-year-old. Other than some drivetrain changes, it’s pretty much the same today. It’s a driver too, seeing as we followed it on the Friday morning cruise. How about a channeled 34 coupe what has been the same since the early 50s? Not to mention Rob Ida brought Gene Winfield’s blown Ardun powered 32 roadster. And our friend Ray Bartlett of Maryland’s Hot Rod Garage brought cars as did early Ford and 50s custom owners from around the eastern seaboard.

Jalopyrama 2017, traditional hot rods, fuel curveJalopyrama 2017, traditional hot rods, fuel curveWe also found every type of power plant represented here, from Y-blocks to Nailheads, Flatheads to Hemi’s. One Deuce even had an early Chevy ll 4-banger under the hood.

Jalopyrama 2017, traditional hot rods, fuel curve

The swap meet also had plenty of vintage speed parts and memorabilia, making sure we wouldn’t walk away empty handed.

Jalopyrama 2017, traditional hot rods, fuel curveIf you’re into traditional hot rods and customs, put the Jalopyrama on your list and take heart in knowing that you’re not only having a good time with hot rod friends, you’re helping fight and treat cancer patients.

Photos courtesy of the author and Coby Gewertz

Jalopyrama Photo Extra!

Born and raised in the racing-rich confines of Charlotte, North Carolina, Robert McCarter is a lifelong car nut. His life revolves around it. Best of all, he is self-taught in all of his disciplines. Creative photography came first. Automotive concept design came soon after. He also possesses old world hot rod craftsman abilities reflected in his hi-level upholstery work. Evenings and weekends are solely dedicated to driving, tuning and tweaking his homebuilt ’32 Ford roadster or his pristine ’66 Nova. His deuce roadster has traversed the country on numerous coast-to-coast hair-blowing boogies. He now adds story-teller to his repertoire with his editorial work reflected her on our pages.