 2010 'Ridler Award' winner - Tammy Ray and her 'Gold Digger' text and images by Diana Merrill Claussen, Dallas
To see her is not to know her, as Tammy Ray is not your typical Southern Belle. Actually, she is a self-proclaimed Gold Digger, and welcomes people to call her so. Tammy and her husband Tony, are the current owners of the Crisson Gold Mine, Dahlonega, GA., which was originally established in 1847 as part of the Georgia Gold Rush. The facility is now open to the public as a place visitors can pan for gold and take tours of the old mine.
Tammy grew up in a big family where there was only one boy and four girls, “My dad made us help him no matter where he needed it or what he needed done,” Tammy said. From cleaning chicken houses to gardening, “I was always his right-hand man and a typical daddy’s girl too.” She also inherited her love of mechanics from her father.
This love of things mechanical also led to Tammy showing a 1923 T Bucket at her local car shows and cruise-ins for ‘fun’. It took a friend to step in and advise her as to what she would have to do to be able to compete with the ‘big boys’. “So I decided to up the ante,” Tammy smiled. She not only upped it with time and money, she threw in some gold nuggets just to ensure she would have quite an original ride.
The Ray’s decided to use their gold for more than just jewelry when they bought a 1933 Ford Phaeton that Tammy had built during a project that took almost three years to complete. The body is a ‘Rat’s Glass’ fiberglass piece that started with just an engine and a chassis. From the undercarriage to the outside roof, Gold Digger is a completely customized car that even has seats that were tailored and shaped specifically for the golden-tressed owner. Tammy also used a few of their golden treasures as accents and trim on different areas of their automotive masterpiece. With all of this golden attention to detail, it only seemed natural that Tammy decided to name the gold color and nugget accented car “Gold Digger”. Even the paint on exterior of the custom ride is now a copyrighted golden pearl color  which Tammy and her painter will soon publicly sell as ‘Gold Digger Gold.’
Her hard work paid off, as Tammy was awarded the coveted ‘Ridler Award’ at the Detroit show. This made Tammy the first woman to ever win this highly esteemed International Show Car Association Award. “To win the Ridler is top of the line in the show car world. Best of the Best. I actually started crying when I first made it into the top eight contenders right before winning the Ridler,” she said.
Tammy later went on to win the Legend Cup at the Chicago World of Wheels show. To date; Tammy has won Best of Show in nine out of nine shows total. The Gold Digger has been deemed, “The number one hot rod in America.” To earn this title means the owner has to truly go ‘over the top’ by converting normal  everyday auto parts into their own work of hot rod art.
Here are just a few of the mechanical conversions Tammy made in order to achieve this feat. “I had Chip Foose design the wheels, and I custom designed the Extrudabody fuel injection while adding an LS 350 turbo transmission and a 427 engine,” Tammy exclaimed. The car also boasts a single lift-off Hartz Cloth roof and an all leather interior. Inside the Phaeton, Tammy also added a PPG Dakota Digital dash gauge, and many long golden nuggets as accents both inside and out. “There are two 1-ounce gold nuggets on the valve covers and two half ounce nuggets on the brake calipers.”
These accessory nuggets are more-so displayed like art than simple ‘extras”. Each piece of gold is centered inside a red  background that is highlighted and surrounded by engraved silver framing, like a picture would be. From every angle and degree, it is easy to see how the Gold Digger keeps winning everything she enters, especially in the ISCA shows which feature some of the most stringent judging to the extent that all vehicles are mandated to be white-glove ready without a fingerprint or speck of dust.
Tammy and Gold Digger’s most recent show was the Dallas AutoRama where Tammy professed “I won the best Rod award.” Local car enthusiast Mac Bernd confirmed Tammy left Texas with the ‘Dallas Diamond Award’, which is the highest award given at this prestigious show.
Tammy says she has the auto toys to compete with the ‘big boys’. “But now  the big boys have to be able to play in the sandbox with the girls and their hot rod toys,” she laughed.
Life led Tammy to a Gold Mine, which in turn has led to the creation of the award winning Gold Digger, so it is easy to see why Tammy Ray does not mind being called a ‘Gold Digger’…
 text Michael A. Marrs, images Michael A. Marrs and Harold Arceneaux
The Holiday Season provides an opportunity for spending time with the family in a month long celebration that includes plenty of food, family fun, and a little football to make it through the down time. If you are lucky enough to be  in or near Houston, there is also the long standing tradition of the largest and longest running indoor automotive show in the U.S., having started 50 years ago and grown along with the City. The event has gone thru growth spurts that took it from the old Houston Coliseum, where the outer corridors were filled with custom cars. The early days were also the beginning of a long standing partnership with the local Hot Rod Clubs that supported and contributed to building such a successful event over the years. As the event continued to grow, the late ‘60s found the  AutoRama moving into the old Albert Thomas Convention Center. There were even a few years at the Houston Astrohall along the way, which was part of the 8th Wonder of the World complex built around the Houston Astrodome. The current home for the annual event is the  refurbished George R. Brown Convention Center located in the downtown area, which is also conveniently located near Minute Maid Park, which happens to be the home of the Houston Astros Baseball Team.
For the 51st year, the annual Houston O’Reilly Auto Parts AutoRama event helped the City celebrate the Holiday Season with the decorated downtown area providing the backdrop. The George R. Brown Center event featured custom cars, custom trucks, hot rod displays, custom  motorcycles, and plenty of automotive exhibits. Also on display at the event was the Goodguys Hot Rod of the Year, a beautiful 1928 Ford, as well as the radically purple concept car named the “Scythe” from the Galpin Auto Sports team that could be found setup right inside the front door. The ‘AutoRama OL SKOOL RODZ ‘ display was presented by the Outcasts Car Club, which had over 100 cars on display to show the ‘ol skool styles form the ‘50s and ‘60s. The 51st event also featured a ‘Snake Pit’, where some of the best  vintage Shelby Cobras and Mustangs were on display. Entries like the 1965 Shelby GT350 that is car number 24 of 25 built, or the 1966 Shelby Factory Drag race car that is one of four built, and one of three survivors gave spectators a view into the history behind these special cars.
Along with the great variety of vendors on hand that presented the latest in tires, wheels, power building technology, there were several suspension builders that even had full size displays to show their design and fabrication skills. On one end of the building, there was the annual swap meet that was full of parts, where some of those hard to find items might be found.
It was a full weekend at the Houston AutoRama, with activities planned to keep the entire family  entertained at this Holiday event. The AutoRama Action Arena provided plenty of high-energy action throughout the weekend. On Friday and Saturday there were burn-off competitions that created enough smoke that a passerby on the 59 South elevated called the fire department…twice in the same day! The action area also provided an area for the Streetbike Freestlye Shows that have some pretty impressive two wheeled mayhem during the four days. For the vintage race car fan, the popular “Cacklefest” featured several nitro-burning dragsters all fired up, including past record holders with local history that made the event even more special.
This year, the auto auction was replaced with a ‘Car Corral’ area where potential sellers and buyers could take their time and look at a wide variety of vehicles being offered for sale. There was a gorgeous red 1957 Nomad being offered up, as well as several GTO vehicles, Corvettes, Mustangs, and plenty of custom trucks.
 There were also numerous celebrity appearances during the weekend, such as Alex Debogorski from ‘Ice Road Truckers’, who had a big rig on display. Over on the celebrity stage, Jenni “JWOWW” Farley from the TV series Jersey Shore was in the house on Saturday, as well Debby Ryan who plays “Bailey” from the Suite Life of Zack & Cody to help keep the younger fans entertained. Other notables that could be found at the event include pin-up girl Heidi Van  Horne and the Houston Roller Derby Girls.
As this is the largest show of this kind, it is fitting that this is also the end of the AutoRama competition season, where all of the regional qualifiers are entered into the championship judging for all categories, which means the best of the best are on hand. From here, the New Year brings in a new competition season, with expectations that the 52nd Houston AutoRama will be even bigger and better. For more information on this event or any of the AutoRama events, visit www.autorama.com.
 text and images by Michael A. Marrs
Once upon a time, in a land far far away, during a time when muscle cars roamed the land, every factory built a version of street warriors to compete in the competitive arena called ‘Saturday Nite Lights’. There were wild things like the Boss Mustangs running free, SS Camaros roaming from red light to red light, and monster Super Bees flying everywhere, with Roadrunners that seemed to be lightening fast to name a few. Each and every brand built a strong following for their products, creating loyalist that were more than willing to argue the merits of their beloved model. However, the one factory that is often thought of as the most  representative of the Muscle Car Era has to be the Chrysler Camp. With the dueling brands of Plymouth and Dodge feeding off each other, the Mopar connection was born and raised in automotive history. Offering up an example of the legendary Mopar Magic is a matching numbers 1969 Dodge Charger R/T owned by Mike and Karen Schrader.
Like many projects, just getting the Charger home on a trailer was the beginning of a long story for the Schrader’s. During the next 7-years, the owners would go through the process of doing the detailed research required to understand how the car came equipped from the factory so that it could be restored back to those factory specs. Who were each of the previous owners, and where had the car been since it rolled out of the factory.  One of the major resources used by the Schrader family was the Dodge Charger Registry, an organization whose primary objective is to help those that choose to keep this model of automobile history alive. The Dodge Charger Registry has been useful in helping to interpret the VIN for the first time restorers, as well as providing valuable information about the Charger product line. The also organize events for the enjoyment of Charger owners who like to share stories about their restoration efforts, and show off some of the fruits of their labor.
Starting on the bodywork for the ‘69, several layers of old paint were removed before a full assessment could be completed, and while the very time consuming body work was underway, it also seemed to be a good time to have the engine work done. Out came the original ‘383’ engine – the block was bored .60-over and a new factory Purple Cam shaft was installed to give the bi g engine a little extra factory bump. The ‘727’ transmission was gone through at the same time to keep everything fresh, for when the Charger was finally ready to hit the streets. With the body straight, the new factory specified paint applied, the R/T Stripe was finally wrapped around the rear quarter. But instead of the normal R/T emblem residing in the middle of the Stripe, there now resides a Chrysler “Pentastar” on the quarter panel, where it looks like it could belong as a true factory offering.
The interior had also been stripped during the bodywork phase, to remove all of the years  of street wear and tear, which can be good and bad. There was evidence that there had been a fire under the dash, so using the factory specs from the research, a new wiring harness was installed to correct earlier efforts at fixing the fire damage. With the seats recovered, the carpet replaced, and a new replacement vinyl top, the project seemed just about complete. Just about…
For over a year after the Charger was capable of running the streets, it had to creep around on a mish mash of wheels that included a set of wire wheel covers from a 1985 New Yorker of all things. Finally, a set of American Racing wheels and BF Goodrich T/A tires were found on E-Bay, and with the final choice delivered, the Charger hit the streets in true Mopar style.
The Schrader family are the proud owners of this particular Charger, and very capable of  laying out the history all the way back to the factory. One thing Mike is particularly fascinated with was pointed out to him at one of the many car shows that the Charger has entered. It seems that on the rear section, between the taillights, near the key opening for the trunk, there is a blank space on Mike’s car. It is the place where the rear R/T emblem should be mounted. A Charger purist had pointed out that Mike did not replace the emblem as part of the restoration, so Mike immediately went about doing just that, but soon realized that there were no holes in the metal, inside or out. This is an indication that there never was an emblem installed at the factory – just one more reason that the Schrader family is proud owners of a special example of some of the “Mopar Magic.”
 text and images by Michael A. Marrs
Whether it is a custom built hot rod, a high school dream-come-true muscle car, or even a simple truck project, it is always nice to see someone that can keep their new project in the garage, waiting on the next paycheck to get the latest and greatest hardware. Or maybe it is just time well spent waiting on the next custom car or truck show to kick off a road trip in a personal version of what a cool ride should be.
While that idea is great, for most of hot rodders, that is just not the way it is, especially for the younger truck builders who are just getting started. There are bills to pay in addition to building the project, so it has to do double duty as a daily driver. And it is just a fact of livi’n that building on a driver simply takes longer. For Jesse Chapa of San Antonio, Texas, that is just the situation on his Dodge regular cab when he rolled out of the new car dealership in 2003.
Even for a daily driver, it did not take long before the changes started taking place. Up front on the Dodge, Jesse tackled some custom work on the front suspension by relocating the control arms and spring towers a full 8-inchs higher by using DJM Suspension Components so that the front wheels remain vertically “straight” when the big Dodge is lay’n frame. For the air ride suspension, a pair of SLAM Specialties air bags were  installed to provide the up and down, with the air supply coming from a pair of compressors that are mounted near the rear of the truck, under the bed. To get the rear suspension setup to work as well as the front modifications, the first thing was to get the frame notched 8.5-inchs, which would allow the factory rear end plenty of room to roam while getting the wheels fully tucked under the factory sheet metal. To complete the air suspension setup included installing another set of SLAM Specialties air bags, as well as a four-link setup that utilizes the re-mounted factory shocks. With the suspension modifications setup to tuck the tires and wheels on all four corners, it was time to get a new set of 22s. It wasn’t long before a new set of four 22 x 10 Centerline wheels were on hand, wrapped in Toyo Tires that measure 265/40-22 to provide plenty of rubber meet’n the road.
Of course no low down Dodge can have factory stock sheet metal, a nd with the Dodge having such a distinctive front end from the factory, first up was a new Chassis Tech 2.5-inch cowl induction hood. This made the addition of a new Billet Grille an easy choice to add a performance look on the big front end. Next came shaving the door handles and installing new side mirrors that smoothed the bodylines down the sides of the Dodge. Across the rear of the truck, a Sir Michaels’ roll pan was molded to finish giving the bed of the truck a smoother look before the final paint was applied.
The choice of paint is always in interesting process, as it is such a reflection of the owners’ personality. Jessie wanted something very specific, so with the help of the crew at “No Coast Customs” of Carson City, Nevada, the coloration of the Dodge started with a PP&G Silver Orion base color, followed by the House of Kolors Candy Tangerine layer across the top half of the truck. To create the high detail finished look, a Stardust Blue stripe surrounds the truck for some color separation, and a Cobalt Blue pinstripe is the finishing touch to the paint work. As with any really detailed build, all the colors roll into the door jams for a totally finished project. 
The interior of the Dodge also received upgrades such as the audio system that was installed by ‘Exotic Car Audio’ of Carson City, Nevada, to fill the regular cab with plenty of road tunes. The core of the system starts with an Alpine head unit for complete user control. For power, there are three Alpine amps mounted behind the seats that provide 1005-watts of total power to the Alpine Type X speakers mounted in the Dodge. There is also a pair of ‘Alpine 10s’ mounted in the custom-built center console, along with a pair of Alpine ‘6s’ to form the basis of the system. Then there is an additional set of 6-inch Alpine speakers mounted in the doors, along with a pair of 4.5-inch speakers that are mounted in the dash. The chopped down seats were rebuilt by ABC Upholstery of San Antonio, Texas, using gray leather that has black leather inserts to go along with what is left of the factory interior designs.
The power to push this low down Dodge comes from a 4.7L V8 with factory numbers that show 240-horse power and 300 ft-lbs. of torque coming off the assembly line. With the addition of a K&N air filter to improve airflow, as well as a Flowmaster 2.5-inch exhaust setup to improve  getting rid of those nasty spent gases, and a JET Stage I Performance Module to bring the power plant a more efficient level, it is easy to see 350+horsepower under the massive Dodge hood – and run it does.
Every day this low rolling Dodge provides some cool transportation for owner Jesse Chapa, as he continues to build his drag’n Dodge…
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and money, she threw in some gold nuggets just to ensure she would have quite an original ride.
which Tammy and her painter will soon publicly sell as ‘Gold Digger Gold.’ 
everyday auto parts into their own work of hot rod art.
background that is highlighted and surrounded by engraved silver framing, like a picture would be. From every angle and degree, it is easy to see how the Gold Digger keeps winning everything she enters, especially in the ISCA shows which feature some of the most stringent judging to the extent that all vehicles are mandated to be white-glove ready without a fingerprint or speck of dust.
the big boys have to be able to play in the sandbox with the girls and their hot rod toys,” she laughed. 
