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History of the (Grand) National Roadster Show

Just by the look on all of those hot rod faces out there, I can foresee some snoozing in the ranks at the mention of history, any history. Well, don’t worry. This is history that you will enjoy, at least I hope so. Rather than examining the heroes of the Crusades, or the Battle of The Bulge or the American Civil War, I going to give you some insight into a few hot rod heroes, those folks that you may have read about in ‘the little books’, one of which you may have had hidden in that World History book during an eleventh grade history class. This is the story of the folks that started what is now the Grand National Roadster Show, the longest continuously running hot rod show in the country, and maybe the world. The year is 1948. The scene is Northern California, specifically a then-rural area south of Oakland. The boys were coming home from World War II and had money in their pockets. The Oakland Speedway had been hosting dirt track racing since 1931, and was known as the home of the ‘Roaring Roadsters’.

The ‘Roaring Roadsters’ Coming Out Of Turn 2 at Oakland Speedway. The East End Of The Speedway Faced The Hillcrest Knolls, and East 14th Street Near 159th Avenue In San Leandro. Eric Rickman

NorCal street rodder, drag racer and good guy Rudy Perez remembers he and his Dad going there in 1946, “Names like Bignotti, Foyt, Gotelli, Sweikert and Vukovich were regular competitors. My Dad and Jack Hagemann, Sr., were charter members of the Pacific Racing Association, which eventually became part of the Bay Cities Roadster Racing Association.”

Some of these roadsters not only raced but were also driven on the streets of the East Bay. Clubs like the Oakland Roadsters, the East Bay Roadsters and the still-active Satan’s Angels would be seen cruising East 14th Street, a pre-freeway main artery between downtown Oakland and the small suburbs of Hayward and Fremont in the south bay. Gathering spots included the Circle Drive-In and Gordon’s Drive-In.

A View Down The Mail Aisle Of The 1953 National Roadster Show. This Is By far The Best Early Image Yet, Showing The Interior Of The Exposition Building And Many Of The Cars In Detail. Jack Chinn

The Brand New Oakland Exposition Building As Seen In 1931 Just Prior To Completion. With Its Large Doors At Each End And Big Windows For Ventilation, Its Rafters Were A Haven For Local Birds That Left ‘Presents’ For The Car Show Entrants. It looks Like Construction Workers Drove Cars That Might Later Have Been Turned Into Roadsters.

Enter one Galand ‘Al’ Slonaker, an advertising and public relations guy working at the time as a publicist for the City of Oakland school system. Al had experience promoting local flower and garden shows, as well also dabbling as a promotor of events at the Oakland Speedway. Al and his wife Mary were planning a new car show at the Oakland Exposition Building, showcasing new imported models for the Oakland Motorcar Dealers Association. His thoughts revolved around those previously-mentioned soldier boys, hoping to attract some of them to the new, sporty models.

A Scene From Al And Mary Slonaker’s 1949 International Auto Show, Showcasing The New Models From Overseas. A Not-Visible Corner Of This Building Is Where It All Began. Frank Livingston Collection

Al and Mary had heard that many of the young folks were fans of the ‘Roaring Roadsters’ at Oakland Speedway, but did not have the means or the guts, for that matter, to go racing. Hence the emergence of the street rod roadster, an early low budget street cruiser. There was enough early iron around that if you wanted a roadster, no problem. If you wanted performance and had a few extra bucks, there was an emerging market place of parts that made the early Ford flathead motors come alive.

So how did Al and Mary find these street rod roadsters? Picture a cool fall Saturday afternoon at the Circle Drive-In. A non-descript American sedan rolls up. Al and Mary get out, him in a suit and her in a three-quarter length fur coat. “We are having a new car show at the Oakland Exposition Building next month and would like to have some roadsters to display”. Of course the guys and gals said sure. One of these guys was Donald Bell.

Rosemary Accosta, wife of current GNRS Hall of Fame member Bob Accosta and Al Slonaker’s ‘girl Friday’ from 1955 to 1972, remembers Al talking about that day. “We didn’t know roadsters from roller skates; we just told the guys to bring the cars that they were most proud of.” The following February the Exposition Building at 10th and Fallon Streets in Oakland was filled with the latest models of many import brands, as well as a small group of ‘hot rods’. But wait. Al was aware of much of the bad press that ‘hot rods’ were getting in those post-war years, in various media outlets like Life Magazine. His solution; the group was billed as ‘roadsters’, not hot rods.

The crowds of people that saw Al and Mary Slonakers’ International Auto Show that February in 1949 spent as much time looking at the roadsters as the new sporty cars. Rosemary recalls, “Mary saw the impression that the roadsters made on the crowd, and on Al. She knew that Al was a visionary and always thinking of new projects. Thus was born the idea for the first National Roadster Show.”

Al, being the consummate showman and innovator, decided that, in order to attract the finest roadsters from the West Coast, he needed to order a trophy that no one would forget. Hence the birth of the now-famous nine foot trophy. Rudy Perez remembers Don Bell’s story about the day that he and Ken Fuhrman picked up the trophy, “Al forgot to tell me that the trophy was 11 feet tall! Granat Brothers Trophy Company in San Francisco built the trophy in their basement and was worried that if the base wasn’t big enough for the huge brass ‘loving cup’ on top, it might fall over. Granat then removed part of the base, cutting the height to 8 ½ feet. Even then the damn thing would not fit in my truck, so the trophy company had to break it down into pieces.”

Since Al had ordered a 9 foot tall trophy, he figured that no one would miss 6 inches in the height. From 1950 through 1961, the person that won the big trophy had to take it home with them, to display it or whatever. The base of the trophy is built in steps, and each winner has a brass plaque signifying the year that they won. In 1962, a smaller version of the trophy was given to the winner to take home.

The Famous Nine-Foot Trophy Awarded To America’s Most Beautiful Roadster. The Car Owner Gets A Plaque On The Tiered Base And A Slightly Smaller Version Of The Trophy To Take Home. James Handy

Now let’s fast forward to January 1950. Al and Mary had spent a good part of the previous year getting to know the who-is-who in the roadster/hot rod world. Al invited Dean Batchelor and Alex Xydias to bring their SoCal Streamliner. Also in attendance was the 1927 Ford Roadster of Gene Winfield ( a car that he still owns), Harold Casaurang’s 1923 Ford roadster, Gordon Vann’s 1917 Dodge roadster and the roadster of Bill Carash. A young George Barris even brought two of his latest customs, and Stu Hilborn brought his lakester. The first National Roadster Show was a reality, opening in the Oakland Exposition Building on January 19, 1950 for a four day run.

The crowds came, to the tune of over 27,000, and were impressed with what they saw. During the previous year Al had become acquainted with a young man who had just help start a new magazine in Los Angeles. Al asked this young man to come and help judge the entries. Enter one Wally Parks, the then editor of Hot Rod Magazine and later the founding father of the National Hot Rod Association, a.k.a. NHRA. Also in attendance were Robert Petersen, the founder of Hot Rod Magazine, Bob Lindsey, Tom Medley, the first official employee of Petersen Publishing Company, author Griff Borgeson and Motor Trend’s Walt Waron.

At the 1950 show, Al and Mary managed to get a partial sponsor in Standard Oil of California. They needed stanchions to rope off the cars, and someone suggested new blue and white Standard Oil 55 gallon drums filled part way with water. Standard Oil also presented each show entrant with a special box containing 4 quarts of their finest motor oil.

The Niekamp Roadster That Won The Big Trophy At The 1950 National Roadster Show In Oakland. The Car Is Now In The Petersen Museum Collection.

The first person to be awarded the nine foot trophy and judged as the America’s Most Beautiful Roadster was Bill Niekamp from Long Beach, California. His baby blue 1929 Ford had a track roadster nose and full belly pan made by Whitey Clayton, and a 1942 Mercury flathead motor with Evans heads. Another major award dubbed the Most Beautiful Custom Roadster went to Vincent Gardner’s 1947 Studebaker. Three trophies were given in each class, as well as a few special awards.

The 1951 National Roadster Show Saw The Emergence Of Multiple Car Club Displays Like This One From The Ramblers Of San Francisco. Frank Livingston Collection

The years from 1951 to 1957 saw many changes at the National Roadster Show. Slonaker started a new award called the Custom D’Elegance, since custom cars and lead sleds were becoming a large and important part of the show. He also created new classes for street roadsters, sedans, coupes, customs, lakes racers, speedway cars, antiques and sports cars. In 1953, Slonaker started the People’s Choice award which gave the spectators input in determining trophy winners.

One somewhat controversial myth regarding the National Roadster Show involved the use of the name, ‘Oakland Roadster Show’. The show was never officially called the ‘Oakland Roadster Show’, except in some print media. Many long time attendees and participants often referred to the show as just, ‘Oakland’. I guess that they thought that the National Roadster Show title was just a little too generic. The media picked up on this and championed the ‘Oakland Roadster Show’ moniker. Many a magazine coverage used that title in their annual coverage of the show. One of the best books on the history of the show, authored by Andy Southard, Jr. and Dain Gingerelli, is titled, ‘The Oakland Roadster Show – 50 Years Of Rods And Customs’.

The infamous and late Blackie Gejeian was the subject of a second well-traveled true story about the 1953 show. Blackie was part of the Fresno, California, contingent and mostly credited with setting the standard for future show displays. You see, Blackie was extremely proud of the fact that his ’26 Ford T roadster had a fully chromed frame and suspension. The problem was that no one could see most of that bright work when the car was sitting on the ground. So Blackie decided, to Al Slonaker’s dismay, to drain the engine fluids and tip the car on its side periodically during the show. This grew very tiring. One morning Slonaker showed up to open the show, and all everyone was talking about was the large mirror under Blackie’s car. When Slonaker discovered that the large mirror in the nearby Ladies restroom was missing, Blackie was in even more trouble. After that, mirrors under the cars and more elaborate displays became the norm.

After the Niekamp car won the AMBR in 1950 the track roadster theme became even more popular. The show was expanded to six days and opened on February 20, 1951. Rico Squalglia won the big trophy in 1951 with his 1923 Ford track roadster. Thanks to folks like John Mumford and Roy Brizio the track roadster is still in vogue, keeping alive those early memories from Oakland Speedway.

Rico Squaglia And His AMBR-Winning 1923 Ford Track-Nosed Roadster. The Car Still Exists Today In Northern California, Having Gone Through Multiple Owners And A Complete Restoration. Frank Livingston Collection.

The 1950’s were good to Al and Mary Slonaker, and the new National Roadster Show. Entries came from all over the Western states to compete for the big trophy. The show was opened up to race cars, customs and street rod coupes and sedans. The Slonakers enlisted help from local clubs and police departments, all in an effort to show the public that young men and women that owned and drove modified vehicles, a.k.a. hot rod roadsters, were responsible hard working adults. My first Roadster Show was in 1962 and my memories over the past 55 years cannot be replaced. I hope that this beginning chapter and future chapters will be as memorable to you as writing them will be for me. Enjoy.

Stay tuned for our next installment: a trip through the 1960’s and 1970’s, complete with wild customs, angel hair and psychedelic paint jobs.

Acknowledgements: Thank you to the following folks for their input into this story: Rudy Perez, Bob and Rosemary Accosta, Rik Hoving at Custom Car Photo Archive, Andy Southard, Jr, Dain Gingerelli, Bo Bertilsson, Frank Livingston, Sondre and Olav at Kustomrama.com

Another Very Nice Club Display, This Time From The Hayward Head Hunters From Hayward, California. This photo is From The 1956 Show. Frank Livingston Collection

The custom 1950 Chevrolet Convertible Of Ted Leventhal Was Part Of The Swanx Club Display At The 1955 National Roadster Show. The Swanx Club Was Responsible For Helping Al And Mary Get Other Local car Clubs Involved In The Roadster Show. Hot Rod Magazine

Ken Fuhrman’s 1932 Ford Roadster Won The Nine-Foot Trophy In 1956. The Frame Was Fully Chromed And The Engine Was A Bored And Stroked 1946 Mercury V-8. James Handy

A Typical Entrant In The Street Roadster Class At The 1956 National Roadster Show Was This 1926 Ford On A 1932 Frame, Built by Rudy Perez, Sr. Under The Jack Hagemann Hood Was A 284 Cubic Inch Flathead With A Three Carb Offy Intake, Offy 8.5 To 1 Heads And A Vertex Magneto. The Color Was Ford Truck Goldenrod Yellow. The Car Was Sold At The Show And Totaled In An Accident In 1957.

The 1936 Ford Phaeton Owned And Restyled By Tommy “The Greek” Hrones Of Oakland, California. Tommy Restyled The Car In 1937. In 1952, Tommy’s Phaeton Was Shown At The National Roadster Show In Oakland, By Then Tommy Had Removed The Running Boards, Added A DuVall Windshield, Shaved The Door Handles, Added Fender Skirts And Bobbed The Trailing Edge Of The Front Fenders.

Blackie Gejeian Gets Ready To Drive Into The 1953 Roadster Show in Oakland. Frank Livingston Collection

Bill Montero Of San Jose Entered Two Roadsters in 1954, One Of Which Was This 1932 Ford. The Car, Called ‘The Hula Girl’, Was Chopped And Channeled With Full Fenders. The Engine Was A 296 Cubic Inch Mercury With Triple Carbs. Andy Southard Photo

Tom Hocker Of Oakland Showed His 1940 Ford Coupe In 1953 In The Custom Coupe Class. The Engine Was A Bored And Stroked Mercury Flathead. The Body Had Shaved Emblems And Door Handles, Pontiac Bumpers And Frenched Lights. Frank Livingston Collection

Current GNRS Hall Of Fame Member And Satan’s Angels Club Member Frank Livingston Started Showing Chevy Fleetline Custom Sedans Back In 1955. This 1949 Model Featured Many Mild Custom Touches Including Frenched Lights, Pontiac Bumpers And Kaiser Taillights. Frank Livingston Collection

At The 1953 National Roadster Show, Young Hayward, California Customizer Joe Bailon Accepts His Class Award For His Highly-Modified 1941 Chevrolet Called ‘Miss Elegance’. The Car Had Everyone Talking About Its Fully-Chromed And Fully-Instrumented Dashboard. Frank Livingston Collection

And Here Is That Famous Joe Bailon Chromed 1941 Chevrolet Dash. It Is Rumored That The Bailon Family Still Owns The Dash. Joe Passed Away In 2016. Frank Livingston Collection

Ron Dunn’s 1950 Ford Coupe Built By Valley Custom Won The Best Custom Award At The 1953 National Roadster Show. The Car Was Sectioned 5 Inches And Had Most Of The Exterior Trim Removed. The Car Still Exists Today. Frank Livingston Collection

America’s Most Beautiful Roadster Of 1954 Was Owned By Frank Rose Of Oakland. His 1927 Ford Had A Custom Tube Frame and Aluminum Body Panels Made By Jack Hagemann. All Suspension Pieces Were Chrome Plated. Pinstriping Was Done By Tommy The Greek. Frank Livingston Collection

Red Jones Accepts His Dragster Class First Place Trophy From 1954 Roadster Show Manager Mary Slonaker. Jones’ Dragster Had A Best Quarter Mile Speed Of 126.62 In 1953. Frank Livingston Collection

Bob Travers Of Oakland Accepts His Award At The 1954 Roadster Show For His Yellow Mild Custom 1950 Ford Convertible. The Interior Was Done In Black And White. Body Mods Included Frenched Lights, Mild Trim Removal, Louvered Fender Skirts And A Pontiac Grille. Frank Livingston Collection

This Is The 1949 Ford Club Coupe Owned By Ray Duckworth. Shown In 1953 The Car Was Sectioned 3 ½ Inches, The Top Chopped 2 Inches And The Front Fenders Extended 6 Inches. The Headlights And Taillights Were Frenched. The Engine Was An Oldsmobile 88 With Two Four Barrel Carbs. Frank Livingston Collection

Dick DeVecchi’s 1941 Chevy Fleetline Looks Stock, Until You Look Under The Hood. The Six Cylinder 1953 GMC 6-Cylinder Engine Is Full Race, And Sports A GMC 6-71 Blower. Dick Still Owns The Car; It Was last Exhibited At The 2009 Roadster Show In Pomona, As Part Of The 60th Anniversary Display. Frank Livingston Collection

The 1951 America’s Most Beautiful Roadster Winner Showed Up Again In 1954, This Time Owned By August Correia, Jr. The Car Appeared At The Roadster Show Again In 2009, Restored By Carter Fisher After It Was Found In A Barn In California’s Central Valley. Frank Livingston Collection

Blackie Gejeian shared the America’s Most Beautiful Roadster Award in 1955 With Ray Anderegg. The Fenders Have Been Removed For The Show. All Of The Suspension Components And The Full Frame Were Chrome Plated. Frank Livingston Collection

The Two AMBR Winners In 1955, Blackie Gejeian and Ray Anderegg, Are Shown Flanking The 9 Foot Trophy. The AMBR Award Was Only Shared Between Two Cars Twice, 1955 And In 1968, When Bob Reisner’s ‘Invader’ and Joe Wilhelm’s ‘Wild Dream’ Tied For The Award. Frank Livingston Collection

Ray Duckworth And His Wife Accept A Class Award in 1953, For His Sectioned 1949 Ford Club Coupe. Frank Livingston Collection

In 1955 Ten-Year-Old John Douglas Smith Entered His Micro-Midget Racer In The Roadster Show. The Slonakers Were Constantly Looking For New Exhibits To Attract More Families To The Show. Frank Livingston Collection

In 1955 Al Slonaker Presented A Special Award To San Francisco’s Al Williams For His Alfa Romeo Ghia Speciale, A Futuristic Bat Wing Coupe Concept Car Built By Ghia In Turin, Italy. One Of Three Built From 1954 To 1956, Williams’ Coupe Is Now Owned By Bob White Of Scottsdale, Arizona, And Is Being Restored. Frank Livingston Collection

An Entry In The Rod Street Coupe Class Was This 1932 Ford Coupe Of John Kreutzer. The Front Portion Of The Body Was Sectioned 3 Inches. The Engine Was A Full Race 221 Cubic Inch From A 1942 Ford With A Two-Pot Eddie Meyer Manifold. Frank Livingston Collection

A Class Winner In The Sports Rod Category Was The Road Racer Of Ak Miller And Doug Harrison. Frank Livingston Collection

This Entry In The Full Custom Convertible Class Was The 1949 Ford Owned By Donald Carroll Of The U.S. Navy. The Paint Was 1953 Buick Maroon And The Top Was Chopped 4 Inches. The Headlights And Taillights Were Frenched. Frank Livingston Collection

This Belly Tank Lakester Was Entered In The 1953 Roadster Show By Emmett Cull, A Member Of The Clutch Busters Club Of Oakland. The Chevrolet Engine Had A Spaulding Ignition And A 5-Carb Manifold. Frank Livingston Collection

A Class Winner In The Modified Rod Roadster Class in 1953 Was The 1932 Ford Of Fred Smith And Paul Leuschner. The Ford V-8 Engine Propelled The Car To A Record 13.77 Seconds In The Quarter Mile Drag. The Award Presenter Is Show Manager Mary Slonaker. Frank Livingston Collection

Oakland’s Donald Bell Accepts His Class Award For His Chopped 1934 Ford Coupe. The Paint Was Baby Blue, The Front End Was Chromed And The Engine Was A 286 Cubic Inch Mercury Flathead With Three Carbs. Frank Livingston Collection

This Very Nice 1949 Mercury Was Entered In The 1953 Show By Bill Chatham. The Grille Was From A 1946 Lincoln And The Taillights Were 1950 Buick. The Car Ran 120 MPH At Bonneville In 1952 With A 1946 Mercury V-8. The Color Was Maroon. Does Anyone Know Who Did The Chop And Bodywork? Frank Livingston Collection

George Barris Brought The ‘Kopper Kart’ Custom Pickup To The 1958 Roadster Show. The Heavily-Modified 1955 Chevrolet Pickup Was Built By George As An Advertisement For The Barris Custom Shop. It Was Last Seen In Many Pieces In An Ohio Field. Andy Southard Photo

Frank Livingston And Joe Bailon Shared The Custom D’Elegance Award At The 1957 National Roadster Show. Frank Livingston Collection

Blackie Gejeian Accepts A Class Award At The 1953 National Roadster Show. He Would Later Tear The Car Apart And Bring It back To Oakland In 1955, Sharing The America’s Most Beautiful Roadster Award With Ray Anderegg. Frank Livingston Collection

Ted Lundquist Brought His Heavily Modified 1951 Kaiser Sedan To The 1953 Roadster Show, and Won The “Most Popular Car” Award. The Front End Used Cadillac Grille And Bumper Items; The Taillights Were 1952 Lincoln. Ted Was A Member Of The Swanx Of Oakland And The Owner Of Lundquist Coach Craft Of San Francisco. Frank Livingston Collection.

The Year Of This Photo Is Unknown But This Is Probably Close To What The Show Floor Looked Like At The International Auto Show In 1949, Where The First Group Of Roadsters Were Shown In Oakland. Frank Livingston Collection

The Chrisman Brothers Iconic Number 25 Dragster Was Shown At The Roadster Show in 1955. This Was A Modified Dirt Track Racer. Art Chrisman Had The Honor Of Making The First Run At The N.H.R.A. Great Bend Nationals In Kansas In 1955 In This Car.

Dick Williams Accepts His Award For America’s Most Beautiful Roadster of 1953. Of Note Is The Very Basic Construction Of The Nine-Foot Trophy; Compare It To The Latest Version In The Photo On The Red Carpet Above. Frank Livingston Collection

Dick Williams Is Justifiably Proud Of His Roadster After Winning The AMBR Award In 1953. Frank Livingston Collection

This Channeled Rod Street Roadster Was Entered In The 1953 Show By Mary Jane Edwardson. The Body Was Channeled 10 Inches And The Frame Dropped 6 Inches. The Balanced 1941 Mercury Engine Ran Stromberg Carbs. The Top Is A One-Piece Carson-Style Unit. Frank Livingston Collection

Donald Bell Is Seen Here Getting His Chopped 1934 Ford Coupe Ready To Move Into The Oakland Exposition Building For The 1953 National Roadster Show. Frank Livingston Collection

Dave Gayner Entered His 1936 Ford Roadster In The Sports Roadster Class At The 1953 National Roadster Show. The Engine Was A 1953 Dodge V8 Sending Power Through A Ford Transmission To A 1948 Mercury/Columbia Rear Axle. Frank Livingston Collection

Another Entry In The 1953 Rod Street Roadster Class Was This 1927 Ford On 1932 Rails Owned By Roger Hugo. The Engine Had Triple Carbs And Was Ported, Relieved And Balanced. The Car Ran 109 Miles Per Hour At The Drags. Frank Livingston Collection

Romeo Palamides Accepts His Dragster Class Award At The 1955 Show. The Engine Was A 304 Cubic Inch DeSoto. The Car Weighed 1500 Pounds. Romeo Would Later Go On, With Tom Griffith, To Found American Racing Equipment, One Of The Largest Makers Of Specialty Wheels In The World. Frank Livingston Collection

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