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 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.
One 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!
Set 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.
We 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.
If 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!
