There are a lot of hot rod shops all around the country that build show cars for SEMA, but none of them grab attention quite like the Ringbrothers. Based in Spring Green, Wisconsin, Ringbrothers was founded by brothers Mike and Jim Ring.
They’ve made a name for themselves as world-class car builders, and I had the priviledge of checking out one of their creations at the 2013 SEMA Show in Las Vegas. This is their take on a 1964 Ford Fairlane 500, which they have nicknamed “Afterburner.”
When it comes to muscle cars, I have a soft spot for well-done pro-touring builds. This 1966 Chevelle from The Roadster Shop has not only been restored, it’s been improved to perform better than it did when new!
We’ve featured The Roadster Shop’s work in the past when we covered their gorgeous 1962 Corvette C1RS from Barrett-Jackson 2013. This car was featured in Super Chevy magazine in December 2007. I saw it at the Fountain Hills Concours in February 2014, wearing a set of Canadian plates.
As a seasoned attendee of SEMA, Barrett-Jackson and other car shows, I’ve spent a lot of time looking at resto-modded muscle cars. I can tell you that Mustangs, Camaros, Corvettes, Chevelles, Novas, GTOs, Chargers, and similar cars are by far the most popular models that people restore. At these events, a car like a first-generation Mercury Cougar would be a real stand-out for the sheer novelty of being something different that you haven’t seen a hundred times before.
This 1969 Mercury Cougar convertible scores points for originality and hits a home run for being an extremely well done build. Nicknamed the “Cool Cat,” it was built by Hot Rod Express out of Blue Springs, Missouri.
While walking around at Barrett-Jackson 2014, I spotted this ’65 Mustang Fastback nicknamed “Bad Apple.” Honestly, it looked so good I thought it was a Ringbrothers car at first glance. The shaved door handles and no side mirrors give it a really sleek, streamlined look. As it turns out, this car was actually built by Jim Green’s Performance Center in Monroe, WA.
On the one hand, this is a really nice build. The work that has gone into this car is first rate and I truly believe that it was a $200,000 build, as mentioned in the auction notes. On the other hand, this car exemplifies just how ridiculous the muscle car world has become.
I spotted this unique 1967 Ford Mustang at the DuPont Registry booth at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale 2013. DuPont Registry is a magazine where people advertise high-end and exotic cars for sale – sort of like an AutoTrader for millionaires.
This black stallion comes all the way from Beautiful British Columbia in Canada, where it was built by 360 Fabrication. This car has a lot going on with it – it’s half show car and half pro-touring car. The grille, wheels, and air ride are all show, but the rest of the car is all “go!”
When you get right down to it, a car is a machine that does work. It transports people and cargo from one location to another. For most people, a car is just another appliance which is no different from an alarm clock or a garbage disposal. It is a purpose-built machine that makes our lives easier in some way. You use it when you need to, fix or replace it when it breaks, and feel no special attachment to it.
From the beginning of the automobile era, cars were designed with functionality in mind. Early automobiles were simply boxes on a ladder frame with some wheels. Today, cars have evolved into sophisticated, computer-controlled machines – but I would argue that the majority of cars on the road are still more functional than beautiful.
The appearance of a car hasn’t changed much because it hasn’t needed to: a car doesn’t need to be beautiful to get us where we are going. While I can certainly appreciate the intrinsic beauty of something that is purely functional, I can also appreciate when things are both functional and beautiful.
This car, a customized 1962 Corvette roadster “C1RS” is one of the most aesthetically beautiful cars I have ever seen. This vehicle transcends the definition of a car or even a hot rod, it is a work of art.
