SEMA Report?...

[dangeroustoy]

O.K., it is time to spill the beans... All of you lucky CHR members who got to go to SEMA are going to have to give us a report on all the goodies you saw?... What do you think are the most innovative things?...

Dave Brisco

[Bob Parmenter]

First things first. Got to meet Dan J. face to face, and he is, as his posts would imply, a true southern gentleman. But then you already knew that Dave. He insisted on going against my expressed wishes on Tuesday evening, for which there will be appropriate retribution some day, but was very enjoyable company. His wife Lucia is a perfect compliment to him.

As for the show, just imagine the world's biggest toy chest, then quintuple it! It is spread through several HUGE halls and entails a LOT of walking.

Just a few highlights. Ford is making a large effort to woo hot rodders. They had two display areas, one modest size effort outdoors, and a much larger one indoors. Out in the lot they had an array of crate engines, one of which was mounted in an Alloway chassis. Inside they had the Doane Spencer roadster, Edsel Ford's '34 "Speedster", Eric Clapton's Brizio built full fendered '32 roadster, a slammed and Halibrand wheeled '57 'Bird, a modular motored '65 2+2, and George Poteet's '32 hiboy 5 window. I probably forgot a couple, but suffice to say, they were SCREAMING hot rod. Ford also had the 2005 Mustang GT show car on a rotating platform...........................the hired model is superfluous. One (or should I say 2) of the more intriguing Fords on display were modular V8 Focus ZX2's, one supercharged, one naturally aspirated. These are not the Kugel 5.0 swap cars, but mod motors. No glitz or glamour under the hood, I think they were going for the "factory" look. The Lightening boys have had to go back to the drawing board though because the Dodge Boys are rolling out their 500hp, Viper powered pickemup.

In the GM booth there wasn't much I felt was exciting, maybe I'm not their target audience. Got to see the new GTO that was discussed in an earlier thread. Let's just say they could have done better. Mechanically it's intriguing, but styling wise it's way average. They did have three vehicles that were modified by SoCal Speedshop tucked in the corner of their booth. A Bonneville modified Saturn, an S10 size GMC pickup, and a modern day version of the SoCal belly tank 'liner. All three done in the traditional SoCal paint scheme.

Got to see the Moon fuel injection parts that are modeled after the Stromberg 97 carbs...............very clean!! They also previewed an electronic shift "linkage" system that will eliminate the need for cables or mechanical linkage. Dan had to keep wiping his chin both days he was there as I made sure I pointed out every cool looking stack type injection system on the floor. He also kept eyeing several '32 three window coupes on display, I think there's a clue there.

While there is a lot of Muscle Car/Street Rod/Sports Car equipment there, the preponderance of "stuff" is "tuner" oriented, followed by truck/SUV. A person can only take so much carbon fiber/stainless fartcan/neon light/flourescent colored everything/spoiler wing/ground effect/mega stereo/yada yada. And there must be somewhere around 62 million variations on 22-26" custom hoops, half of which must be required by law to have the rotating center spokes designed to induce vertigo. As for paint trends, it looks like a strong lean toward "satin" finish, particularly in the pewter or titanium tones for the ricers. And those rat rod guys thought they had a lock on suede!

Even though the ricer stuff isn't my gig, it's fun to keep up on what's "hot". Just based on the (not inexpensive) amount of floor space, it is undeniably a very strong market.

[dangeroustoy]

Hummm, sounds like Dan is Jones'n for a Lil Deuce Coupe!!!

I am suprised that after seeing the Doane Spencer 32, he was eyeing a Roadster!!! I have also not seen the Clapton 32, (got any pics)... Is this the car is was rumored to have been building last winter?...

Dave Brisco

[Dan J]

Walking through the display areas of SEMA with Bob was a real treat. Bob’s keen eye for detail and knowledge of almost all of the products helped make the trip feel more like a tour than a show. There is certainly nothing like seeing so much automotive related merchandise in one place. As Bob stated, there were some knockout cars on display... with assembly and finishes done to perfection. Dave, the Eric Clapton car didn’t look to be Brizio’s best work, but it’s still a mighty good looking car, as you would expect.

Ford’s support for the rodding market was strong, and maybe the price on some of their product will start to fall into line with GM’s stuff. The new Mustang really looks nice... it sure makes GM look bad with the GTO.

The satin/flat paint finish showed up on many more display cars than I would have expected, there were a lot of really large wheels (26” and up!!!) to choose from, also tons of new wheel styles available, and the electronic stuff is everywhere as you would expect. There was a directional window screening product that would go from totally transparent to opaque depending upon the viewing angle you were to the surface. Computer generated car graphics, and at least a gazillion other “accessory” gizmos were on display.

I think the Moon electrical shift device will be one of those “new product of the year” items you see in the magazines. It eliminates the need for cables or linkage, and has the benefit of manual shift or being programmed for specific RPM shift points. This thing should retail for under $500.

All I can say about the SEMA show is that "you gotta see it to believe it".

Streets, you probably won’t admit it, but I believe that you would have enjoyed it too. If nothing else, your critique of a lot of the products would have made mine and Bob’s sound real dull. Try to make the trip next year, and I’ll buy you an adult beverage or two.

Dan J

[Bob Parmenter]

Here ya go Dave, and I'll send up a shot of the interior. As Dan mentioned, the fit and finish was not the best. Very un-Brizio like.

Went back today and helped a friend make some tape for his vintage vehicle TV show. Got interviews with the Kirkham Brothers who manufacture an aluminum Cobra replica, Jack Trepanier, father of Troy, about the '67 Mustang 2+2 for ebay, and Pete Chapouris from SoCal. Good day to close out the show.

[Bob Parmenter]

And an interior shot.

[Dave Severson]

Thanks for the SEMA update guys, went to it once about 10 years ago, and should go again sometime.

[Bob Parmenter]

Just what Vegas needs..................ANOTHER bus load of geezers!!

[JPLandes]

Yall just have to watch out for the new electronics cause they have been known to cause pacer maker problems

[JPLandes]

LOL

No but I did mess up one time trying to see if my chevelle was getting spark. Let me tell you a shop rag holding a spark plug wire does not serve as insulator. My buddy that was cracking over the motor thought it was funny and gave it a couple of more cranks just for good measure.

[dangeroustoy]

Thanks for the picture and description guys... I'm not too sure about the baby blue?... Wish I could have made the trip this year, but sound like there might be some plans in the making for next year, maybe I will have more free time then...

Dave Brisco

[fmj]

I knew I forgot to do something before I left for the show. I should have posted something here an maybe would have got to meet some of you. I agree with everyone when they say ya gotta go, if just once. Spent some time at the paint booths, as it interesting to see what someone that has talent can do. The House of Kolors had some awsome panels with air brush graphics that were three "D". A friend of mine had his 49' Packard there and it was the first time I saw it complete. I also went to see Steve Metz's 41' Willys, as I am partial to Willys. He's always fun to talk to when we see each other. Fun to go to the engine builders booths. Learned some interesting stuff on Optima Batteries that I never knew. Didn't know that red, blue and yellow top batteries come in both cranking and deep cell. Ya can tell by the lower sections, dark gray being cranking and lite color (white) being deep cell. I know, I should have asked questions before. I was amazed at how many plastic window tinting companies there were. It must have been the SEMA flavor of the month. Couldn't say there was one thing that stood out for the year, but there was a lot to look at and wife and I definetely had fun. Even won some money.