While you’d hard-pressed to argue any of the finalists for the 2022 Ridler award was “subtle,” Rick and Patty Bird’s twin-turbocharged 1931 Chevrolet coupe – the trophy’s eventual winner – was probably the most radical of all of them.
The award, sponsored by Meguiar’s, is perhaps hot-rodding’s most prestigious, and is handed out every year at the Detroit Autorama custom-car exhibition, save for 2021, when the event was cancelled over COVID-19 concerns.
The first weekend of March this year saw the event’s triumphant return, in the form of a collection of roughly 500 hot rods, customs, and muscle cars. And that meant, too, the crowning of a new Don Ridler award-winner.
The Pennsylvania-based Birds had the coupe built by Pro Comp Custom, which did a number chopping the roof five inches, massaging the fenders to hug the 18- and 20-inch wheels mounted front and back, and crafting from scratch a wild new dashboard. The car rocks a vintage Chevy W-head engine machined to 509 cubic inches by Scott Shafiroff and hooked up to two 72-mm turbochargers that live right in the car’s face, reports Hemmings.
Rick and Patty Bird’s twin-turbocharged 1931 Chevrolet coupe, winner of the 2022 Ridler award Photo by Detroit Autorama on Facebook
Rick and Patty Bird’s twin-turbocharged 1931 Chevrolet coupe, winner of the 2022 Ridler award Photo by Detroit Autorama on Facebook
Rick and Patty Bird’s twin-turbocharged 1931 Chevrolet coupe, winner of the 2022 Ridler award Photo by Detroit Autorama on Facebook
Mark Brownfield’s 1970 Dodge Challenger, Chris Wright’s brand-new completely custom Devin Z concept, a 2022 Great 8 finalist at the Detroit Autorama Photo by Detroit Autorama on Facebook
Jim and Rhonda Sappenfield’s 6.2-litre LS-driven 1951 Studebaker pickup, Chris Wright’s brand-new completely custom Devin Z concept, a 2022 Great 8 finalist at the Detroit Autorama
Chris Wright’s brand-new completely custom Devin Z concept, a 2022 Great 8 finalist at the Detroit Autorama Photo by Detroit Autorama on Facebook
Glen See’s “Prohibition” 1936 Pontiac,Chris Wright’s brand-new completely custom Devin Z concept, a 2022 Great 8 finalist at the Detroit Autorama Photo by Detroit Autorama on Facebook
The Ridler trophy is handed out to an Autorama participant that has never before been shown in public. A team of elite judges use a variety of criteria – primarily build quality and attention to detail – to whittle down the applicants to an octet of finalists known as the BASF Great 8.
The other contenders besides the Birds’ car this year included Mark Brownfield’s 1970 Dodge Challenger, powered by a modern supercharged Hemi; Jim and Rhonda Sappenfield’s 6.2-litre LS-driven 1951 Studebaker pickup; Chris Wright’s brand-new completely custom Devin Z concept, also LS-driven; and Glen See’s “Prohibition” 1936 Pontiac.
The Detroit Autorama has been hosted by the Michigan Hot Rod Association (MHRA) since its start in 1953, when it was launched as a fundraiser for the construction of the state’s first drag strip. The Ridler trophy dates to 1964, and was so-named in memorial to one of the Autorama’s first promoters, Don Ridler.
Keyword: Wild 1931 Chevy takes top hot-rod trophy at 2022 Autorama