Power, creativity and engineering on display with Hot Rods & Custom Cars
TORONTO, ONT. (Jan. 28, 2016) — A staple of 1950s and 1960s teen counter culture, the hot rod has never truly lost its allure.
A lot of hard work and pride goes into restoring the gentle curves of classic cars and trucks, and fine-tuning these low rider “whips” — and the finished product will amaze people at the Canadian International AutoShow.
The Hot Rods & Choppers, featuring Kreater, will showcase a diverse array of restored and revved up classics. George Tchor, owner of Kreater, will be bringing along a 1963 Lincoln feature car, as well as 10 custom built motorcycles — each piece built by hand — that range in value from $150,000 to $300,000. Over the course of the 10 days of the AutoShow, Kreater will be staging a custom bike build, with a plan to rev it up on the final day of the show.
Schooled as a mechanical engineer and with a background as a diesel mechanic, George found his true calling building motorcycles.
“Anything I can envision I can hand make, not only the physical talent to make it but also the mechanical knowledge to make it work properly,” he says. “At any spare moment there is always a new project revolving around in my head. It’s an addiction. I have more fun building than I do riding. I love it. I’ll be doing this for the rest of my life.”
Slated to be among the hot rods on display on the 700 level of the south building of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre are:
- 1954 Ford F-100
- 1925 Ford Model T Roadster Pickup hot rod
- 1949 Chevy Coupe
- 1929 Ford Tudor Hot Rod Project car
- 1930 Ford A Roadster Hot Rod
- 1955 Chevy Gasser
Many of the hot rods have been painstakingly built at Binbrook Speed & Custom, located just south of Hamilton, by garage owner Keith MacIntyre, who takes an old school, hands on approach to each project.
“This is the way these cars would have been chopped, lowered and modified back in the ’50s,” says Keith, who has been running his own custom shop for the past three years. “I’m not reinventing the wheel here, but I’m also not building something that comes out of a box. Every car is unique, every project is different.”
Keith is the owner of the 1925 Model T Roadster Pickup that is part of the display, which has been chopped, set on a boxed out and modified Model T chassis with drag slicks on the back, motorcycle tires up front (with no front brakes) and a 1952 303 Oldsmobile engine that is “far from stock.”
The space that will house the Hot Rods exhibit is being designed and built by TYPE-D Living, an interior design and build firm founded by Damon Snider that trends towards industrial inspirations.
In keeping with Damon’s style, the hot rod space will be rustic and industrial, incorporating rusty elements mixed with woods and metals.
“It is a real reflection of the gritty hot rods that we will be bringing in, juxtaposed with the flashy — but still with a hint of industrial — motorcycles from Kreater,” says Damon, who is the owner of the 1954 Ford F-100 pickup that will be part of the exhibit. “It is dude-approved décor that is also chick-friendly.”
Hot Rods & Choppers, which will be found on the 700 level in the South Building of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, will also feature live music on the final Saturday of the show, February 20th.
Please be sure to visit autoshow.ca for more information. Follow us on Twitter @autoshowcanada and join the conversation with the hashtag #YourMove. Like us on Facebook and check us out on Instagram. The Canadian International AutoShow will be held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre between February 12th and 21st.
About the Canadian International AutoShow
With more than 650,000 square feet of exhibits, displays and attractions at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, the Canadian International AutoShow is not only the largest automotive expo in Canada, it is also the country’s largest consumer show. Boasting more than 1,000 cars, trucks, SUVs, concept cars, exotics, classics, motorcycles and alternative energy vehicles, the AutoShow is a leader in lifestyle, technology and all things automotive. For more information or to buy tickets, please visit www.autoshow.ca.
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