It had been over 600 days since my last indoor car event.
Truthfully, it’d been that long since I’d attended any sort of indoor gathering. The feeling of doing something fairly regularly, then stopping cold turkey was odd, to say the least. I felt like half a Speedhunter; hunkered in my office relegated to mostly writing while waiting for the storm to pass over. But thankfully, the pause button is no longer depressed in Ontario and it’s finally time to get back to business.
With 50 years in its wake, Motorama is one of the longest-running events in the province. The last two years withstanding, it has always been hosted during the second week of March.
In 2022, it was postponed until late April due to frustrating moving goalposts related to Covid regulations.
I feel for the event the organisers; shifting an event is never an easy thing. Usually, the closer an indoor show gets to summer weather here in Canada, the less inclined people are included to commit to a three-day-long stationary outing.
But, with such a long drought between events, builders were more than ready to get back into the swing of things and showcase what they’ve been chipping away at for the past two years.
I’m not privy to numbers, but hosting the event later in the year may have actually helped draw more cars from certain demographics – particularly those that drive the cars they show.
A spring show usually doesn’t have to deal with salt or snow-covered roads – just a little rain. Thankfully cars are not made of sugar.
Plenty of builds looked absolutely ready for the cruising season ahead while others still need a bit of spit shine. This wild Harley-Davidson-powered Corvair trike had recently been dragged from hiding, waiting for a triumphant return to roadworthy knick.
I’m a sucker for any survivors and this bike made it quite remarkable.
No Two Halls The Same
With a show like Motorama you never really know what might be in the next aisle over.
Of course, I’ve said this all before, but I am saying it again to reaffirm that Motorama is still one of the most diverse shows to take place in Ontario.
Boasting four halls this year the show was a lot to cover, especially for someone coming off the bench after two years. Figuring out which direction to go with the coverage has caused a mildly concerning amount of smoke to pour from my ears.
But fret not, I have a plan to follow this post up with at least one more that touches on a few of my favourite builds.
I also need to provide a proper look at ‘Mayhem’, Motorama’s backroom dedicated specifically to hot rod kulture.
Oh, and there were a few low riders present too that deserve at least a little look.
Tank Life
However, before I draw this post to a close I suppose I should address the elephant in the header.
Unmissable from basically anywhere in the central hall was the ‘Sherminator’ – a 1980 GMC Sierra Grande perched upon a Madill Yarder chassis. Madill is a company that used Sherman tank components to build their tractor chassis, so while this build is perhaps more logging equipment than it is a tank, it’s more tank than it is a truck.
It is all operable from the cab due to some very ingenious engineering by the previous owner who used it as a workhorse for many years. Somewhere in that Mad Max-looking contraption is a 4-71T diesel motor backed by a custom 36-speed semi-automatic transmission.
The tank belongs to Filthy Rich of Deboss Garage, and Rich also brought his recently-refreshed and Caterpillar-powered Kenworth K100 truck. If you want to make a unique statement at a show, this is one way to do it.
There’s more to come from Motorama 2022, so stay tuned. It feels great to be back!
Dave Thomas
Instagram: stanceiseverythingcom
Keyword: Back With A Bang: Toronto’s Motorama Expo