Each year legendary auto upholsterer Sid Chavers selects his favorite interior at the show and presents the prestigious award to the trim shop responsible for the work. This year Sid chose a 1960 Buick X60 Invicta Custom with a stunning cockpit trimmed by the two-man crew at Starline Hot Rod Interiors.
This interior theme honors the Impala heritage while giving it a custom twist. Tracy Weaver and his team at Recovery Room Interiors stitched off-white leather over custom seats and side panels in a clean ’60s style, complete with tan suede inserts and Impala-style trim buttons. There’s plenty of one-off custom-machined trim by Atomic Machine and Fiber Forged augmenting the upholstery work, including a custom aluminum bezel for the Dakota Digital instruments.
Inside, the Nomad shines just as bright, boasting a fully custom interior from Salt Lake-based J.S. Custom Interiors. Features of the interior include a custom dash built by G3 Rods, inset with Dakota Digital gauges; a Billet Specialties steering wheel is attached to an ididit steering column, and custom Corbeau seats are wrapped in Deep Blood Red leather with custom emblems and stitching. The interior was designed by Eric Brockmeyer and produced by J.S. Custom Interiors.
The most repeated rule in street rodding is that there aren't any rules in street rodding. Whether that's true or not, there are definitely a few "general principles" that have been proven over time. Technical rules help prevent mechanical failures. Design rules help prevent empty trophy cases. A rule obeyed by most rodders, from backyard hobbyists to pro builders, involves teamwork.
This heavily modified Chevy was put together by the team at Johnny’s Auto Trim and Rod Shop in Alamosa, Colorado, for Greg Hrehovcsik. Every panel of this Chevy has been heavily massaged. A custom top panel joins the rest of the body, which was channeled over the frame rails and sectioned. Sectioning, for those who don’t know, is removing material from the side of a car to make it lower -- obviously that means reworking every piece of sheetmetal.
There are many ways to install a rear window. This is the way we do it. We find this the best and easiest way to get the alignment perfect, and ease of installation.
We weren't but a few words into our interview with David Farmer regarding his Brizio-built 1932 three-window coupe when he mentioned he didn't consider himself a car guy and then went onto tell about his early days in California's Central Valley wrenching at a gas station, hot rodding jalopies, and dirt track racing in Merced.
We walk you through the typical Boptop installation here. Please call us with any questions you may have.
The Grand national roadster Show started in 1950 and is the longest running indoor car show in the world, and the AMBR (Americas Most Beautiful Roadster) award, a towering eight foot tall trophy, is considered the ultimate recognition for a roadster-style hot rod. Each year a field of outstanding cars—built by the elites of the custom car world—competed for the prestigious award.
Sid Chavers is a legend in the craft of auto upholstery and throughout the hot rod scene.
Operating out of Santa Clara, California, Sid has designed and influenced award-winning interiors for collectors across the world, published a series of DVDs teaching rookies the ins and outs of our craft, and even invented the highly acclaimed "Bop Top."
But it's his latest project that may have the most profound impact on our industry.