In the six years this site has been operating the annual ‘spring’ car show that takes place at Mississauga’s International Center has changed hands, and names, three times. Performance World for many years the show changed to Megaspeed in 2012, and despite the organizers best efforts to match the bar set by PW they bit off more than they could chew.
Never a terrible show mind you, from an organization standpoint it was clear the Megaspeed staff never quite caught their stride. Known for their previous work with the Canadian Motorsports Expo the organization body that took the reins in 2015 employed a less is more approach to the entire event. It was shrunk down in size, and focus was put on showcasing first time shown, and quality cars, rather than simply bringing a cruise night crowd indoors.
The size-to-door price ratio may have been off in some people’s eyes, but in my opinion I’d rather spend more time looking at a few cars versus sifting through mediocrity in order to find something interesting.
Coverage today runs the gamut of sport compacts, modern muscle, custom trucks, and rat rods and gives those of you who skipped 2015’s event an indication of the direction it is headed.
Lead Kings
The Lead Kings sure do make their way around, of the classic car crews in the area I think they cover the most distance.
I’ve seen their cars in Detroit, Scugog, Hamilton, London, and right in my backyard at the International Center.
What’s a sled without a pin-up girl?This Edsel clipped Dodge is one of their more over the top builds, last saw this at the Jalopy Jam UpIf I’m not mistaken most of the Lead Kings cars are true drivers, and this one is spotted in the Hamilton Ontario area on the regular
As cliché as this might sound the older I get the more appealing a traditional hot rod build becomes……a few years ago I would have considered myself more a Street Rod guy but I’ve been convertedI’m going to assume ‘Cream Puff’ is what the Lead Kings call their younger members as this was an under 25 entry
Bagged, chopped, and some power under the hood (if there were a hood) this Ford is my kind of buildHopefully I’ll get to see this truck a bit more this summer as I’m trying to get out to a few more classic events…Bare Metal 1940 Roadking beside a ’51 Mercury M-300 on an Explorer frame with a ’66 Cougar interior
Tuners
The tuner community at large is a little miffed about the lack of a dedicated hall for tuners this year but personally I appreciate the cars being in a well-lit area not off the beaten path.
I also liked the fact that it wasn’t the normal barrage of noise tuner halls normally are. Too early in the year for that, my ears ain’t ready!
Team Mayzn brought this G out on surprisingly seldom used Concavo wheelsRyan recently picked up a Kaption Audio sponsorship so his car is a lot louder this yearPedro’s A3 is on air this year and I think pretty potent under the hood if I recall…Speaking of potent under the hood this Miata might look familiar to some of you from Truck And Tuner Expo coverage. It now sports an LS swap performed by Ultimate AutosportsThe unique marble paint is retained but a new wing and diffuser have been added to the mix to go with the additional powerOn the topic of power Dynamotorsports brought out a couple of their SuprasThis is north of 1000 hp if I am not mistakenBoost must hit like a monster…To be a fly on the wall of this conversationAnother crazy Dynamotorsports build is this second generation CelicaThe Flares and te37s suit this car perfect, and if you’re wondering why such a wide tire is necessary…… it’s because a 2UZ V8 now sits under the hood. It isn’t quite done yet but should be running this season
Old Dogs Have Their Day
No matter what they choose to call this show the main draw for me is variety and classic wise there was a bit of something for everyone. From prim and proper to driven hard and put away wet.
This ’27 T is Canada’s Oldest Most Original Hot Rod. Other than repairs it has been untouched since 1952, and some of those repairs were done at my friend Keith’s shop which I visited last yearIgnoring the crazy mannequin that just might give you nightmares, this ’37 Packard is pretty rad
Plate reads not so low, but it looks pretty low to me…
These two rat rods were full of detail you only find on these style of builds
Loved this vintage snowmobile, which looked like it could be run
Switching gears entirety from Rat Rods was Jeff Lutz Bel Air which does the quarter-mile in 6.845 at 212.13 MPHTom Bailey brought out his famous Camaro that runs a 6.52 quarterHe also brought out Slick Seconds which was also at Detroit AutoramaThis ’65 Mercury was the first gasser truck I’ve had the pleasure of seeing in person750HP 355 under hood, 5 speed Getrag, 8.8 4:10 gears I really hope I am somewhere in the vicinity when the wheelie bars get used!Tucci Hot Rods ’41 CaddyIt’s a ’41 with a 500hp Northstar engine, those wheels are 1/1 as wellBig Block, Nitrous fed, motorcycle. Aka a death trap
Sprayed Perfection
There were plenty of vehicles with stellar paint jobs at Motorama 2015, but they cars below blew me away. Truly rolling canvases for the painters.
I am 99% certain this is Gene Winfield paint jobBlue on brown is a combination I would have never pegged to work this well
Judging by the guitar pedals and mic shifter I’d wager we are looking at the vehicle of a music artistThe paint on this Mercury is so wild it almost hides a lot of the body work that has been done. Like the roof chop, shaved handles, and Caddy front endLace, windows, sections, flames, striped this paint job literally has every trick in the book
In my opinion the paint job of the entire show as found on this altered wheel base Dodge Comet owned and built by Glen Botting of the East London Timing AssociationAs far as I can tell (not being alive in the time period) this was a proper era correct build, straight axle, ladder frame, the whole nine
I’m told this won best gasser at Motorama a few weeks prior and there’s over 5k worth of material in the paint alone!
Hall One
The main hall of this show is typically the one that contains the most lavish, high dollar, well-rounded builds and this year was really no exception. Unfortunately starting from the exhibitor entrances and working my way forward sI didn’t have a lot of time in this hall.
Thankfully Drake came through and deliver a great selection.
Those of you reading for a while now already know I’m a fan of Elcos and this ’71 was meanA well worked over, and nicely detailed, big block Chevy gets this car truck movingRound the bend from the El Camino was this great looking Cafe RacerDon (who owned this ’50) came back this year with an entirely new build
Underneath the Cali sun styled body this is actually a performance truck with a 556 hp GM 6.1, T56 trans, and 12 Bolt rear end. Impressive build that I’m told will be driven hardWeaver Customs Camaro known as ‘Bad Company’It’s unique look is because it has been shortened 3 1/2 Inches over all while being widened 12″ in the rear and 8″ up frontThe roof has also been raked pretty significantly to achieve the ‘Speedster’ look they were after, visually it is a bit much for me but the work was impressive
Davey Terry’s ’39 International
Davey has been a reader of the site for years now and the last time his truck was at Performance World I somehow completely missed it. This year I made a point to check it out because based on what I had seen him post on instagram it looked really impressive.
In person it didn’t disappoint.
The international cab now sits on a custom frame with a Chevy front axle and Ford 9″ rear
The cab has also been chopped 3″ and channeled 6″
Finally a 305 sits between the rails
Taylor’d Customs
Taylor’d Customs brought three builds to this years show, with the recently finished Beetle and Montbomb being the ones that really caught people’s attention.
Hopefully this year I can get out and take some photos of the Montbomb because it really is an incredible build.
Shooting the beetle is just a given.
The custom widened steelies Blair build for this build fit perfectThat sticker will be avail bile for sale in the store real soon (shameless plug)Ash was a BIG fan of the Beetle, I think I may have a future air-cooled driver on my handsPositioned in the lobby the Montbomb served as the shows greeterHaving not been to the show in a few years I think a few people forgot how crazy of a build it isAttention to detail is everywhere in this car, right down to the name plate on the mirrored door sill
Mike Livia’s ’36 Pickup
Mike Livia’s Ford is a really awesome build that I think everyone is capable of appreciating, no matter what their niche of choice happens to be.
The motor is a flat head topped with Offenhauser heads, and a Offenhauser intakeTriple Stromberg Carbs ice the cake
Copper accenting runs throughout giving it a really classy/sinster look
The Motorama crew has already said they have a laundry list of things they want to improve for next year so hopefully this means bigger and better things for this much-needed show!
Knowing how small Miatas are, it’s amazing how small the LS looks in the engine bay!
Dat spoiler angle tho.
great photos-just one correction-the Comet was a Mercury product