My SEMA trip was a whirlwind one-day affair this year - I've never tried to do it in such a short time before and it's not recommended.
Scott's write-up on the homepage a few days ago whetted my appetite for the newest AEV offering so I made sure to swing by and check it out. As is usually the case with AEV, their Dodge is clean, tasteful, and well-executed - which may sound odd for a vehicle on 40" tires. But it's all well-synthesized together. I must've missed the memo that the 2500/3500 series of trucks now have 4 link/panhard bar rear ends (I knew the 1500s did) so I was a little surprised when I peeked under the rear end and saw that. Shocks are Bilstein 5160s - I'm sure the extra oil volume is appreciated when those shocks are asked to critically damp all that unsprung weight on rough surfaces. The winch bumper and the flares are probably the most notable design features on the truck. On a tangential note, I noticed the JK Hemi conversion next to the Dodge now has an OEM-style enclosed air filter on it rather than the previous open-element filter - bravo.
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My friend Rory Ward (and fellow vintage off road racer) has been busy restoring Mickey Thompson's Challenger IV car and he's made remarkable progress on it as of late. Rory has spent a lot of time figuring out exactly how this thing was built since he bought it in pieces a few years ago. It's not a runner yet but it's getting close.
Part of what makes SEMA special is the human element - not just new, shiny parts. I've been fortunate over the years to meet some special people at the show - often motorsports legends or favorite authors of mine. And this year was no different. This afternoon it was Peter Brock and John Morton. Brock is a true renaissance man: designer (started at GM at age 18), engineer, writer, and photographer. He seemingly can do anything and do it well. I had met and chatted with Peter before so it was nice to see him again today. I was familiar with Morton's exploits in Brock's 510 Datsuns in the early '70s and today I bought his book to learn more about his years with Shelby American. Thankfully, I don't drink coffee so my coffee table is often cluttered with great books by great people like these two guys. They have more in their rearview mirrors than in their windshields so I think it's important to enjoy every moment we can with them.
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And of course I had to look at all the early Broncos - seven (including one body) that I counted - the most ever in one show that I'm aware of. I'm always drawn to nice uncut trucks and this year we also had the first Stroppe tribute truck. Folks have been doing Shelby clones and tributes for years and a Baja Bronco wanna-be was inevitable. The blue uncut truck is deceptive: it has a custom tube frame, coil rear suspension and I'm told a modern 5.0 Mustang DOHC engine under the hood.
A lot more photos to share as time allows. I apologize for the quality (or lack thereof). My photos are a mish-mash of iPhone and happy Snappy photos and I don't consider them "images" in the sense that Scott and many others here produce for us.
Todd Z.
