In the Winter of 1956 the original owner of this car, an old family friend, surprised his wife with a new ’56 Pontiac. It wasn’t too long afterwards that the Burbank police surprised HIM when they showed up at his door to confiscate it! Seems he’d bought a “hot” car!

The old friends needed another car right away and, since they only lived a couple of blocks from the local Chevy dealer, they went over to shop. In those days, if you remember, you ordered a car exactly as you wanted it and it was specially built. Well, every car on the lot was spoken for except one. Your’re looking at it! A 1957 Chevy Bel Air Sport Coupe.

This is exactly the way it appeared that day. Every major component is original. The odometer has never been touched, and indicates actual mileage,  49,000.

• Don Kent

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As a young kid, living in Los Angeles, I was always into cars.  I swore to myself I will someday own a Lamborghini Countach.  Well, I lied to myself.  I started collecting cars and it’s like Coke vs Pepsi and Ferrari won.  I love Ferrari’s then found a passion for Porsche, McLaren and Mercedes.  I don’t know how to turn wrench’s, adjust timing, align things, I know how to modify for looks and modify for speed, then pay to have it done.  I have done this with many super cars.

 Then, two years ago, I wanted something with substance, character, and power……. I wanted to build something where I can take it up any mountain, then drive it to any four star restaurant.  With that in mind, enters the 1970 uncut Bronco. 

 I searched for the perfect Bronco and found the 1970 in Long Beach.  Had no engine and no interior, but a pretty straight body/frame.  I bring this to my friend Fabian in Chatsworth and said, “I want an ICON Bronco, but I want my spin on it”.  With that said, Fabian started working on it and I picked out every piece and part of this bronco.  Not knowing this would be a 2 year complete frame off everything new restoration.  I knew we needed power, so, replaced the 6 Cylinder with a 500HP Coyote Crate engine.  I knew I wanted to beat this thing up, so we got Dana 44/60 Axles. Needed to stop, Brembo 6 piston fronts, 4 piston rear with 20’ HRE Wheels. Corvette Seats, full power, Diamond Stitched, LED Aircraft lighting, etc.

 After waiting 2 years for this, I couldn’t be happier.  Building an old classic car is difficult, takes time, but the payoff is way worth it.

Steve Garfield

As we close the books on this year’s Rods and Roses Car Show, we would like to express our gratitude to all the drivers, sponsors, attendees, volunteers and staff members who make this event the success it is. It takes a village to make it all happen. A really cool village!

Save the date for next year Saturday, July 2nd, 2016!

For photos of the event or to share your own CLICK HERE.

Not only is this the 18th year of Rods and Roses but Carpinteria is celebrating it’s 50th year as an incorporated city! As a tribute to that milestone, we will be featuring a few cars from 1965 during the show as well as in the parade which begins after the car show at 5pm.

In honor of the 50th anniversary, artist and Carpinterian ,John Wulbrandt has created the Golden Jubilee logo to signify 50 years of cityhood.

We were inspired by John and thought we would give the Rods and Roses logo an overhaul too! Thanks to Darrell at Rockwell printing, we are proud to unveil the 2015 edition of Rods & Roses!

We are also excited to share this year Rods & Roses will feature over 200 American classic, muscle and hot rod vehicles! Custom and speciality trophies as well as merchant plaques will be awarded throughout the day to outstanding entries. This year is sure to be the best yet! See you at the show!

Here is a little background on my 1966 mustang coupe car. It was originally my daughters stock little 6 cylinder. After appx. 10 years I have converted it to a 302 V8, 5 speed, 4 wheel disc brakes and a complete cosmetic makeover. 

I was born September 14, 1968 at the main Dodge Plant in Hamtramck Michigan and I am pretty much the same now as I was then. I’m powered by a 318cid V8 engine that leaves a drop of oil here and there. Mounted on my motor is a 2 barrel Carter carburetor. I’ve got a 3-speed automatic transmission that feeds into a 2.76 ratio rear axle. I am painted with Monotone Burgundy Metallic paint which I must admit has been touched up over the years. Inside, my seats are covered with luxurious white vinyl with the rest of the interior being red.   Most of the time when I go out I like to put my white convertible top down.

From Michigan I went to Northern California where I have lived most of my life. My new owners have just recently relocated me to sunny Southern California. Because I am a native Californian I still ordain my original black and yellow license plates.

I am looking forward to my first trip to Carpinteria and the Rods and Roses Car Show. My owners visit Carpinteria often because they enjoy the small town atmosphere along with the city amenities it offers. You can browse the small shops on Linden Street and grab a cheese burger for lunch at The Spot, then relax at the beach before eating chili fried rice sitting in a pagoda in the Siam Elephant Thai restaurant for dinner. If you need groceries and supplies for your campsite you can take a quick trip to the supermarket to pick up what you need, there is even an electric bus to tour the town in. My youngest owner who’s 5 loves riding her bike to the “Train Park” where she plays in the canoe, rides the dolphin, goes down the roller slide and crosses the bridge to look at the Eagles nest all with the occasional run to the fence to watch the trains go by. I am hoping to make Rods and Roses apart of that tradition.

I acquired my beauty from a private collection in Michigan. The owner shipped the car to a friend in Pacoima, California to sell it knowing that convertibles bring a higher price in southern California. At first I was skeptical, the car coming from Michigan as I was worried about rust. Upon inspection this one had zero rust as the original owners were elderly and did not drive in the winter.

The car was about 80% done correctly. The paint and bright work were perfect.  Unknown  to me the engine needed a complete overhaul as well as the brakes. The work was done as well as replacing the vinyl seats with leather as that is the way the car originally came.  The carpet was also replaced as it came with Oldsmobile 88 carpeting instead of 98.  The 98 was a longer car and hence, the 88 carpeting was short.  I also replaced the interior firewall and the dash which really complemented the interior and of course the car as a whole. 

There were also a lot of other things done, to numerous to note.

The car is special to me as it brings back the days of my teenage years and the year I got my driver’s license.  It was also a time when I could sand on a street corner and identify all of the cars passing.

Although I have had some really nice classic cars and have a couple on my bucket list, this one is a keeper for a while

I’ve been working on cars since I was 13 years old. It started with helping my older brother work on his 1966 Mustang. I fell in love with the car and when I graduated, he gifted me the car as a graduation present. That set the fire in me to continue working on cars. After working at several auto shops in Carpinteria, I opened up my own hot rod shop called, Steve’s Rods N Customs. I had it for a couple of years before closing the doors due to poor economy and the fun of building had gone away.

I relit that fire and started building cars for myself in my garage and have been doing so for over 25 years now. During that time I’ve had at least 20 cars and have built several cars for friends. Although my full time job is in construction as a General Contractor, I enjoying building cars for personal use.

This is my 18^th year participating in Rods and Roses. The first car I entered was a red and white 2-door coupe 1955 Belair hot rod that I built. The following year I had built a 1956 Chevrolet Belair 2-door coupe which was beautifully painted by local painter Albert Bustillos. I entered that car for a couple of years then got into a 1940 ford coupe that I restored into a hot rod.

After a couple years I sold the car at the Rods and Roses show and moved onto a 1939 ford coupe from a man in Colorado that I built from ground up. The car was completely turned it into a show car and car won many trophies at several shows. The next car I restored and showed was a 1963 Chevrolet Nova SS convertible. That car was so clean and perfect that someone bought it on the spot at the Rods and Roses Car Show. The funny thing is the car wasn’t currently for sale. The guy who bought it told me his wife fell in love with the car and had to have it – he wasn’t leaving with out the car. That was a good day for me and I was paid top dollar for the car.

The next car I built for the show was a 1956 Ford pick up truck that did well and was awarded 2 merchant trophies. I traded the truck for a 1959 Chevrolet Impala Wagon that was all restored and entered the following year at the show. Following that was a 1950 Mercury I had been building for a couple of years. The car did very well and trophies were awarded. After a couple years I sold the car to a guy in Texas. At the time I was building another Mercury so wasn’t too bummed out about selling the car.

Over the next couple years I had several different cars in the show; 1967 Chevy Nova SS and a Prostreet 1955 Chevrolet Belair. After selling those cars I’ve been concentrating mainly on building 1949 -1950 Mercurys which I have entered into Rods and Roses for the past 12 years. I’ve started a car club called Carp Cruisers and we now have a number of cars entered in the show every year.

Look forward to seeing you all at the show in June!

I’m Ron Lawrence, and along with my brother Bill, will be attending the Rods and Roses Show for about the sixth time. I’m from the LA area and attend each year with a group of four or five fellow car guys.  Brother Bill has come down from the Bay Area the last couple of years to join us, as a passenger in my car.

We were introduced to hot rods about the time we were in elementary  school, in the late 50’s, by our father, and it stuck.  Dad built his first rod, a Model T Ford, when he was about 14 years old.

Bill had a few cars and then purchased his first hot rod just out of high school.  It was a ’56 Chevy Bel Air Hardtop with a small block and a 3-speed on the floor.  Not to be outdone, I also purchased a ’56 Chevy shortly after I graduated high school in 1970.  Mine was a 210 and also ran a small block and a 3-speed.  We’ve both owned various rods, sports cars, and classics over the years.  We slowed down a bit during the child rearing years, but we’re back in the hobby with both feet now.

For the show this year I’ll be bringing my ’55 Chevy 210, 2-door wagon.  It sits on an Art Morrison chassis, and I’m running a small block, and a Tremec 5-speed, and Vintage Air.  This will be the first year that Bill is bringing a car down from up north.  He’ll be in his recently acquired 1964 Pontiac GTO.  The car is running a 389 and a 4-speed.  The GTO has had a full restoration and sports a stock red exterior with black interior.  Because we’re both traveling a long way, we’re hoping to get into Carpinteria on Thursday or Friday and make a weekend of it in one of our favorite towns.

On show day we’ll be in our usual location at the corner of Linden and Carpinteria Avenue, spots number 1-6.