Hotrods On The Tarmac
Hotrods On The Tarmac
Hot Rods On the Tarmac, Held at the prestigious Lyon Air Museum located at Wayne Airport, this event was remarkable. Immerse yourself in the awe-inspiring sight of over 100 of the finest hotrods and customs, predominantly from the SoCal hotrod scene. These are no mere trailer queens but true drivers. Many of these incredible rides can also be seen at racing at events like RPM Nationals and at the prestigious Grand National Roadster Show.
In front of the hanger was an incredible lineup of customs. With hotrods filling the rest of the event area with a few awesome trucks, the vehicles from the late 20s and 30s with some 40s sprinkled in. SoCal represented nicely with its rich history of hotrods and customs at the Lyon Air Museum for the Hotrods On The Tarmac event.
The Hotrods on the Tarmac event fit in perfectly with the War Surplus On Wheels "WW-2's influence on Hot Rodding" exhibit that the Museum is featuring right now thru Labor Day weekend. The exhibition had a fantastic display of Belly Tank racers curated by Bobby Green of Old Crow Speed Shop. The War Surplus On Wheels exhibit had the most Belly Tankers I've seen in one place at any event.
Some of the Belly Tankers are historical, like Bill Burke's "Burple" Belly Tanker; in 1949, it set a speed record of 164.83. The Belly Tanker was constructed from a Lockheed P-38 external fuel tank. The P-38 was a twin-engine Fighter used during WW-2.
Another favorite was Fred Lobello's Ladybug Belly Tank racer, built in the forties and had a top speed of 144; it has a smaller body from a Corsair Fighter external fuel tank.
Along with a Belly Tanker that sat since it last raced in 1950 were Belly Tankers that were inspired and built in the era of the early Belly Tank racers.
Picking out a favorite part of the event would be difficult. The Belly Tankers were very interesting; hats off to the hot rodders that first decided to build one of these. It's rather remarkable that they can fit a v8 engine and still have room for the driver in one of these airplane gas tanks. You can still see these cars racing at events like El Mirage Land Speed Races on the El Mirage dry lake bed.
The hotrods and customs were diverse and perfect for this show. Also, there was a fantastic display of WW-2 aircraft, motorcycles, and personal memorabilia from those that served during WW-2. The atmosphere was remarkable; the participants and spectators will be talking about this one for a while.
Click on photo to open in full screen
The War Surplus On Wheels "WW-2's influence on Hot Rodding" exhibit displayed throughout the summer thru Labor Day Weekend at the Lyon Air Museum it's fun to check out. The hotrods and the War Surplus On Wheels exhibit were fantastic. However, Hotrods on the Tarmac is not the only car-related event at the Museum; check out their website for other events throughout the year.
Click on photo to open in full screen
Recent post on Old Custom Cars
Featured post
El Mirage Land Speed races
It’s all about speed.
How fast is driving a car 200 mph, 250, or even 300 plus mph? Of course, we all know that it is super fast, but it's hard to realize what those speeds are really like until we see these cars in person. Check it out