The Long Beach Legend

One of the most recent creations from Hollywood Hot Rods graced the front cover of our July California Car Cover catalog cover. Troy Ladd and the crew at HHR put together a beautiful 1936 Ford Roadster dubbed the "Long Beach Legend." The idea and style for this build was inspired by Southern California's hot rod history. We thank Troy Ladd and vehicle owner, Jeff Romig, for providing us information on this unique build.

In 1930 Ford Motor Co. opened a plant in Long Beach, Ca to build Model A Fords. Unfortunately, the Great Depression would soon hit and force the plant to close until 1935. When the plant reopened it began production of Fords and Lincoln's luxury K Series automobiles. The rumor is that a small group of employees met to discuss how the Ford roadster's design could be improved by taking styling cues from Lincoln. At the same time, the all new Lincoln Zephyr had been developed and designed in Detroit. Its modern design influenced the group of workers at Ford's Long Beach plant and they began to develop better sketches and more ideas of how to improve the Ford roadster.

Unfortunately, Ford Motor Co. removed the roadster from its vehicle lineup in 1937 and the employees' ideas were never realized until now. Whether the stories are true or just a myth, it is all part of the allure of the Long Beach Legend and what could have been. 

The Long Beach Legend is owned by Jeff Romig. The crew at Hollywood Hot Rods built this custom roadster based off an Eric Black design. The vehicle takes much inspiration from Lincoln automobiles. It features taillights, hub caps, dashboard and steering wheel from late 1930's Zephyr vehicles.

Under the hood is a 1940 Lincoln 292 V-12 engine built by H&H flatheads. Hollywood Hot Rods built a custom set of headers and exhaust for the roadster.

 
The 1936 Ford roadster is finished in a Porsche Stone Grey paint with dark olive powdered coated wheels. The exterior features reshaped front fenders that were also moved forward. The running boards were extended and both the front grille and windshield were raked. 

The vehicle has custom leather interior by Julio's upholstery.  Thank you to Troy Ladd and everyone at Hollywood Hot Rods for assisting us with our catalog photo shoot.

49th Annual LA Roadsters Show 2013 Photos

Father's Day weekend meant the annual LA Roadsters Show was back for its 49th year. California Car Cover has been a vendor at the show as long as I can remember. My brother and I have spent Father's Day at the show with our dad since we were little kids and the tradition continues to this day.

Our dad, Jim, is a member of the LA Roadsters Car Club so while he is helping people park or coordinating booth spaces at the show, Jimmy and I spent time in the California Car Cover booth with our coworkers. Here are some photos from Sunday at the show.

Hot Rods using California Car Covers in the Brizio Street Rods & Meguiar's booths

Plenty of roadsters being kept clean overnight with a California Car Cover.

One of my favorite part about getting to the LA Roadsters Show early on Sunday morning is seeing all of the classics under California Car Covers. We really appreciate all of the vendors and customers who use our covers to keep their vehicles clean. These are just a few photos of the car being covered at the show, plus cars in the booths of Brizio Street Rods, Meguiar's and Johnson's Hot Rod Shop.

 The LA Roadsters Show is the place to be each year if you are a fan of the 1932-36 Ford. There are many other roadsters on the property, but by far the most popular is the 1932. Whether you prefer a full-fendered or a hi-boy model, there is always a lot of them here.

A few classics in the Image Street Rod booth

Inside the main building there were plenty of additional vendors and specialty vehicles on display.

Our Sales Crew on Sunday

 There were a few military vehicles on display, plus many army officers on hand doing demonstrations at the show. The LA Roadsters Club made a large donation to a veterans program at the show.

Another beautiful car built by our friends at Brizio Street Rods

 The show attracted a large crowd of people to the Pomona Fairplex on Sunday.

In addition to the large roadster show, there is always a large car show outside the venue. Only roadsters are allowed inside the main gates, but 100's of other classics are outside the facility adjacent to the swap meet. There were a lot of cars on display and up for sale over the weekend.

Fully restored auto hauler

Clean 1950 Chevy

The annual swap meet brings in a big crowd every year. The big actions happens on Saturday, but there were still plenty of parts and accessories to shop for on Sunday.

Row after row of roadsters on display

Not sure how much horsepower this has, but it must be a lot

At the end of the show, the classics all lined up and left the Fairplex. Thanks again to everyone at the LA Roadsters for putting on another fantastic show. California Car Cover will be back next year for the 50th.

Follow California Car Cover on Instagram? Here are a few pics from our Instagram feed over the weekend.

Come back next week for event coverage from the Back to the 50's Car Show in St. Paul, Minnesota.