2025 Detroit Autorama Ridler Award “Great 8” Finalists

Every year since 1964, hot-rod builders from all over North America have travelled to Michigan to pursue “the Nobel Prize of hot-rodding,” the Don Ridler Memorial Award, at the Detroit Autorama. Any participant in the three-day event is eligible, as long as the vehicle is operable and has never appeared at any other show. The winner is chosen from a group of finalists known as The Great 8.

The 72nd annual Detroit Autorama kicked off today with the announcement of the “Great 8” finalists for the Ridler Award, arguably the most prestigious prize in the world of custom cars. Here are the finalists from 2025. We’ll be covering the Ridler winner after it has been announced at the award banquet on Sunday.

1957 Chevy Bel Air Convertible Roadster

Owned by David Bradwell of Tappen, British Columbia, this 1957 Chevy Bel Air rethinks the most famous of Tri-Fives as a two-seat roadster. All design, modification, and fabrication work was done by the owner, including making all the trim as well as the front and rear bumper. The interior features stainless steel trim as well as a console with beautiful birdseye maple woodwork and a flat-screen monitor, along with multi-adjustable power seats. The Chevy has a hybrid frame, with the back being modified from an original ’57 and the rest a space frame made of square tubing, plus a C4 Corvette crossmember. The original’s rear leaf springs have been replaced with coilovers, which are also fitted up front. The exhaust system is coated with ceramic, the gas tank is stainless steel, and Bradwell hid all the brake and fuel lines. The ’57 Roadster is powered by the Lotus-designed quad-cam LT5 engine out of a C4 Corvette ZR-1 feeding power to a six-speed ZF manual transmission.

1963 Corvette Coupe

Serio, a brilliant metallic orange 1963 Corvette coupe, is owned by Dan Patrone of Youngstown, Ohio. It was built by Bruce Harvey’s Pro Comp Customs of Pittsburgh, PA, which built the 2022 Ridler winner, ShoBird. Powered by a 434-cubic inch overhead-cam engine (we believe it to be based on the LT5), Serio has a hand-built, custom chassis, with a full racing roll cage and airbag suspension. The dashboard, console, and door panels were hand-made and upholstered with leather. The floor, rocker panels, and engine compartment are all aluminum. The bumpers were molded into the body and the fenders and scoops were all custom-made.

1970 Chevrolet Monte Carlo

With a stunning, bright white body, a black carbon fiber roof, a red interior, and inset gold colored bumpers, the pro touring 1970 Chevrolet Monte Carlo displayed by John Ayers, of Campbellville, Ontario appears to be an homage to the special “Hurst” edition cars sold in the 1960s and 1970s. One of three Canadian Great Eight finalists, it is powered by a 454-cubic inch big-block Chevy V-8 with custom carbon fiber valve covers. The body features flush, flip-out door handles and faired-in side exhausts that give it a very tidy and buttoned-up look. The owners don’t have plans to take it drag racing, but with the chassis “back halved” to accommodate wide racing slicks, and a safety red ignition cutoff switch mounted to the rear valance, it certainly looks ready for the task.

1949 Pontiac Chieftan

Danny Asher of Lansing, Kansas has been working on his deep black 1949 Pontiac Chieftan called “Nightmare” for 24 years, and with the help of Samson Designs it made the Great Eight. Samson was responsible for the look of the Indian Head logo that’s all over the car. Based on the lighted Indian Head hood ornament sported by Pontiacs in the 1930s, it can be seen on the CNC-machined hubcaps, in tiny scale on the wheel hub dust cap, and in jumbo size on the interior kick panels. As for the original lighted hood ornament, it has been mounted at the front of the console. The body features dozens of cuts and reshapings. It’s been chopped, channeled, decked, sectioned, and frenched. Asher himself fabricated the metal roof liner. Power is supplied by an LSA V-8 and is fed through a 6L90 six-speed automatic transmission. It has a boxed and smoothed chassis, a Mustang II front suspension, a four-link Ride Tech rear suspension, and Wilwood brake discs and calipers.

1955 Chevrolet Nomad

At first glance, the modifications Southern Comfort Customs & Interior made to the front end of the 1955 Chevrolet Nomad station wagon belonging to Tom and Chrity Bresnahan and their son Josh, of Pekin, Illinois, made me think that it was based on a Checker Marathon. But then I noticed the distinctive Nomad roofline. Painted in a medium gray and titled “Gray Madder,” the wagon is powered by a 6.2-liter LS3 V-8 with a custom billet-milled oil pan, transmission pan, and air cleaner housing. It sits on a custom Art Morrison chassis with hydraulic suspension and Wilwood brakes. The exterior trim and front grille were also billet machined, as were the custom 18×8 and 20×12 polished aluminum wheels. Custom taillight lenses light up with the word Nomad.

1963 Chevrolet Corvette

One of two split-windows to make the final cut, Dave and Rhonda Ralph’s burgundy ’63 Corvette coupe is understated like a classic man’s suit. It presents as a modern take on the classic ’63, from its large, spin-off “turbine” wheels styled after the original, to the dual-arched dashboard that waterfalls into the console, to the teakwood-rimmed, flat-bottom steering wheel.

1937 Chevrolet Pickup

As you can see from the photos, the judges this year seem to prefer vehicles painted towards the red end of the spectrum. One of those is Ontario resident John Farrow’s 1937 Chevrolet pickup truck that he calls “’37 502 SS.” As you might surmise, that name means that it’s powered by a 502-cubic inch GM crate V-8 with Holley fuel injection. Lowdown Hot Rods was responsible for the build, which includes a custom chassis with a nine-inch Ford differential, four-link rear suspension, Heidts front end, coil-over springs and shocks, and Wilwood brakes. The wire wheels are by Dayton, and Lowdown fabricated the custom stainless steel exhaust system. The exterior features an attention-grabbing hand-shaped grille with polished stainless bars, hood, and side panels. Also hand-fabbed are the front and rear fenders, the running boards, roll pan, extended cab, and the bed’s tonneau cover, which sits over floor planks made of spalted maple. The interior was hand fabricated by Lowdown, with leather upholstery by Auto Interiors by John.

1933 Ford Pickup Roadster

Even before the judges put out its Great Eight banner, my eye was drawn to the flawless metallic raspberry paint on Joseph McKeen’s ’33 Ford pickup roadster. If I had to pick one word to describe it, that would be clean, or maybe elegant. The rest of the car is in shades of gray, including the V-8 engine with tall velocity stacks and the custom wheels inspired by classic five-spoke Torq Thrust rims.

Each of these builds is stunning in its own right. My personal favorite is the Monte Carlo—if you were a judge, which would you choose? Cruise the gallery below and let us know in the comments.