Grandfather’s ’36 Ford wins top honors at Sacramento Autorama

Grandson gifted the car at age 11 after it was submerged in a flood
By
Larry Edsall
-
February 19, 2020
This 1936 Ford customized first by his grandfather, and then finished by Jeff Boone, won Custom d'Elegance honors | Sacramento Autorama photosJeff Boone was 11 years old when his grandfather gifted him a 1936 Ford. That was in 1973. This past weekend, the car won Custom d’Elegance honors at the Sacramento Autorama at the Cal Expo Fairgrounds.

The show, which has been running for 70 years, gives its top honors, the Custom d’Elegance award, to the best “chopped, channeled and sectioned” vehicle from 1935-1948 “that embodies the true spirit of a classic custom,” event organizers said.

Boone’s winning ’36 Ford was purchased originally, in 1941, by his grandfather, who began modifying the car to promote his used-car dealerships.

“After being submerged in a flood, the car sat unused until it was gifted to Boone in 1973,” show organizers noted.

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Though only age 11, Boone began collecting parts and over the years rebuilt and further customized the car, which made its official show debut at the Sacramento Autorama.

The car has a 221cid Ford engine and ’39 Ford 3-speed transmission. The roof has been chopped 3 inches, door corners rounded, B-pillars slanted and numerous other custom touches applied.

“For the Sacramento Autorama’s 70th anniversary, we gathered some of the greatest customs of all time,” John Buck, owner of Rod Shows and producer of the Sacramento Autorama, was quoted in the show news release. “Each of the cars here represented the pinnacle of their respective categories – the best of the hobby.”
RELATED: 'Car People' ruin another car showKing of Kustoms winnerOther top award winners at the show included Glenn Black’s 1949 Mercury as King of Kustoms and H.A. Bagdasarian’s 1948 Chevrolet Fleetline as “World’s Most Beautiful Custom.”
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Larry Edsall
A former daily newspaper sports editor, Larry Edsall spent a dozen years as an editor at AutoWeek magazine before making the transition to writing for the Web and becoming the author of more than 15 books. In addition to being Editorial Director at ClassicCars.com,

Larry has written for The New York Times, writes a weekly automotive feature for The Detroit News and is an adjunct honors professor at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.