Sema 2010

[Bob Parmenter]

Happy to say that this year the crowds appear to be larger than last year, and many more booths displaying "stuff". Last year there were too many empty booths and sectioned off areas of empty space for my likeing. These vendors must be having a spurt of optimism despite reports of business being off for many.

My buddy Randy has already posted up some pics, and hopefully others will add whatever they've taken to the thread: http://public.fotki.com/SRCruzzin/2010/sema-las-vegas/ If you're interested in other related events, on the left of the page there is a link to the pictures he took at the SoCal Speed Shop, Las Vegas open house last Sunday.

Kenny D, Mike (Robot), Ken Thurm, Pat (Stu Cool) and I all got together to swap lies and critique the hardware. Looking at Pat's comments elsewhere it looks like he scored a nice welding outfit.

I continue to be amazed at the reproduction of old bodies. New this year that I saw were a '65/6 Mustang convertible, and an early '70s Challenger body from Dynacorn. Bob Drake had many of the panels of his '40 Ford coupe loosely assembled to show his progress. And some outfit I've not heard of before had major components of a '32 Ford 5 window coupe on display (you can see these last two in the picture file linked above).

Anyone else who was there should add on to the narrative as each of us focus on different things.

[Whiplash23T]

Well yes Uncle Bob, it would of been extremely difficult to remain focused on the cars. What is your thoughts on what appears to be a new trend of over size rims with just a strip of rubber that is supposed to be a tyre??? Amazing show as normal and sadly the sales manager I replaced got to go to a SEMA show but I wasn't as lucky. Thank you for photographing and posting the photos.

[rspears]

Bob,
Thanks for posting the link to the photos! I was surprised at how many FFR 33's were at the show - growing on me, but I still like Henry's version better.

[Dave Severson]

Thanks for the link Bob, some really fine pics in there. The Drake car is looking good, how was the quality in person??

[Stu Cool]

Well yes Uncle Bob, it would of been extremely difficult to remain focused on the cars. What is your thoughts on what appears to be a new trend of over size rims with just a strip of rubber that is supposed to be a tyre??? Amazing show as normal and sadly the sales manager I replaced got to go to a SEMA show but I wasn't as lucky. Thank you for photographing and posting the photos.

Yesterday I was somewhat overwhelmed so did not take many pictures. Goling back in today and will pull the camera out more often. As for the rims and tyres, we did have a lengthy discussion on the lack of spinner wheels at the show, finally Ken Thurm admitted to have purchased them all, possibly to rid the world of this phenomena, or corner the market!

As I was leaving the show I saw this absolutely stunning '54 Cadillac Model 62 custom. I love unusual stuff and this certainly fits the bill. It's powered by a Northstar 32 valve motor.

[Bob Parmenter]

The Drake car is looking good, how was the quality in person??

I'll have to be a bit vague on that Dave. Individually the components look pretty decent, but of course the real test is how well they will fit/flow once the body is assembled, and the way they've got the pieces floating near each other doesn't allow you to see that (which may be why they did it that way?). They had a somewhat confusing sign in front of it announcing a body "kit" would be available the early part of next year for $14500. Of course we're talking about "Backorder Bob Drake", so I'd guess that's going to slide. I say the sign was confusing because after referring to it as a "kit" it goes on to describe what sounds like a fully assembled body shell. So does having the fenders, hood, grille, etc separate constitute a "kit" nomenclature? Unsure. And didn't bother to ask, figure it will all come out in a serious announcement when it's really ready. Quite an endeavor though!

As an example of the notion of separate pieces looking good until hung to gether, the Dynacorn Mustang convertible showed what can happen. If you recall the cove that goes down the side starting at the back of the front fender, through the door, and ending at the front portion of the quarter panel, those lines have to flow evenly to look right. Well, the driver side door top line is a full 1/4" lower than the corresponding line on the quarter, when the bottom line aligns with the quarter and the door gap is fairly decent. Now, to be fair, this is an early production piece, but if it's made from production tooling they've got a relatively big modification ahead. There are lots of nits to pick on this kind of thing, especially if a buyer is expecting a body that's ready to go to paint prep right out of the box. That is an unrealistic expectation no matter who makes the body (even an original), but still, they should get it as close as possible to start with.

So time will tell whether Drake will have the commitment to put out a good product. No matter what he does there will always be some complainers (valid or otherwise), but it seems that $14500 is comparatively cheap when you look at a Brookville '32 3w coupe or a SAR '33/4 3w coupe.

[Dave Severson]

Thanks Bob. Sounds about the same as most. I've done some work on the Dynacorn stuff, not a Mustang yet but a Chevelle and a Camaro. As you said, many of the lines just aren't quite right and take some massaging.. But given my choice of pingin' and dingin' vs. a rusted out hulk......

I suppose some will expect these bodies to come out Concours Correct....don't see that happening. The initial investment to put out one of these metal bodies has to be huge, then to have to start all over to change the lines??? Doubt it, at least not anytime soon or until the company would recoup some of their initial investment.

To call them a "kit" is probably inaccurate, surprised that Backorder Bob would even use the word.... maybe a note on the brochure saying "some assembly required"???? The Chevelle I did took a lot of fixturing, trimming, and adjusting to get it close enough to even start assembling things and ready for body work, I'd say in the neighborhood of 60+ hours... and that was just the metal work, owner took the body elsewhere for the final body work and paint.... Some of the body mount positions were as much as .750" off when comparing measurements from the body to an original frame, and the frame had been on the rack and all dimensions verified... Hopefully not too many people will jump into one of these and order up a body thinking it will arrive perfect!!!

Kind of like the 'glass bodies I suppose, in time I guess some company will come out with the steel bodies that are built right, but like the 'glass cars, expect to pay a premium for the product!!! I have given a lot of thought to one of the Dynacorn Mustangs, but if and when I get one I will get the pieces and put them together myself rather then the complete unit. Labor intensive, sure, but IMO it's a lot easier to adjust the fitment of the pieces before they're welded together to make a complete body....

[robot]

Here is Uncle Bob lusting for a new set of wheels for his Model A roadster:

[Bob Parmenter]

The things I have to do to humor some people........

[Stu Cool]

Headed back to the hotel about 3:30 today to rest my aching feet and legs. Took more pictures today and linked them in my Flickr account:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9729183...7625313898286/

Some of the pictures are of cars I liked and others of products I thought were cool. Some things I noticed, GM may want to reconsider doing away with Pontiac as I saw no less than 5 different companies marketing body kits to make new Camaros look like vintage Firebirds. And speaking of the new Camaros, you could not swing a dead cat around without hitting one of them, they were also very popular and were named the "Car of the Show" There were also several body kits to give them a more retro RS appearance. Ford F150 was named the truck. GM Performance is making a big push on their E ROD motors to do smog legal conversions into just about anything for the street. And some of them are pretty wicked, with the top of the line being the 556 HP supercharged motor from the CTS-V. They also have a 7 liter 505 hp version, 430 hp LS3 and a 5.3 315 hp. This may be the way things will be for street machines in the future.

I think I had the most fun today looking at all the tools and shop equipment. Man what a lot of really neat stuff that I want but don't need! Tomorrow is the Opinion Leaders forum where a bunch of us "consumers and enthusiasts" get to offer our thoughts on new products. I'll report on that after it's done.

Pat

PS Oh yeah, I got Gene Winfields autograph. There were two gorgeous 59 Caddys there that he painted but I could not get decent pictures because they are so long and the throngs of people around them.

[Dave Severson]

Thanks for the pics Pat! Some really nice cars there...and a lot of Camaro's too!They do look better as a Pontiac! You mentioned the E-Rod engines, any price info floating around out there?

Oh yeah, did you get your welder??

[Stu Cool]

I did not ask about pricing, the reps were fairly busy. Doing a web search shows some dealers selling the LS3 package as cheap as $7500. That should include the electric throttle and pedal and the evaporative emissions canister for the fuel tank and the computer system. Not a bad deal for a 430 hp motor that will get 25+ mpg in a typical hot rod.

Yes, I did buy a Lincoln 180C, got an excellent deal and the threw in a welding shirt, gloves and an auto dark helmet. It should show up at my house next week, free shipping.

Pat

[Stu Cool]

Home from SEMA and I tell you my dogs were barking by the end of the day. Spent Friday walking around the show with Jay aka 37 Caddy. We were part of SEMA's Opinion Leader program and helped evaluate new products and posted about them on social media. Some of the products I liked are in my Flickr page here with descriptions.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9729183...7625199147279/.

I also added more photos the my link up above. One of the things both Jay and I noticed is a lot of this stuff is expensive! I thought one cool thing was the kits from several companies for keyless ignition and entry. Just have a fob in your pocket and push a button to start your car. Painless and Flaming River are ones I saw with it, but for the frugal (cheap) minded a $30 ignition lock might still be the way to go.

So that's another item checked on my Bucket List. Maybe Barrett-Jackson or Bonneville will be next.

Pat

[Dave Severson]

Thanks Pat! And thanks for taking the time to do the opinion program! Quite sure you were an excellent representative for the rest of us, appreciate you taking the extra time and spending the extra bucks to participate.