The 29th Annual A.H.A. Knott's Berry Farm Show - Why Knott's!

Knott's A.H.A. Show is a rite of spring for kit car/replica fans across the land. Some manufacturers travel from as far away as the East Coast to be a part of the festivities. From KIT CAR's perspective, it's the second outdoor event of the new show season. Our enthusiasm shifts into overdrive when we get our first peek of what the various manufacturers are exhibiting, in addition to the new replicars that are premiered at the Knott's show.

This spring there weren't as many cars as in 2007, but there were more manufacturers. We enjoyed meeting some car builders/owners who are new to the hobby. Visiting with all the exhibiting manufacturers kept us entertained and sometimes distracted us from taking more photos.

One of the company's that's trying to break into the U.S. market is Custom Automotive Restyling of Queensland, Australia. Founded by automotive artist Misha Lebedev, the firm manufactures a custom re-body kit for the '90-97 Mazda Miata MX-5 that's called the AMX07. KIT CAR was first to announce the AMX07, with styling similar to an Aston Martin Vanquish (KC November '06). Custom Automotive Restyling had intended to exhibit the AMX07 at the show, but the car didn't clear U.S. Customs until the Tuesday following the event. No worries. We'll provide some more photos and information soon.

A man named Miller showed up with his lime-green Meyers Manxter.

Most of the larger replica firms had impressive displays for a kit car-hungry audience. Shell Valley showed several Cobras and a few Ford Model A roadster replicas. Superformance, a no-show in '07, exhibited two GT40s, an Mk I and Mk II, a Superformance Type 65 Coupe, and a handful of Mk III roadsters that had "show special" price tags. Down from Salinas, California, Lesher Motorsports exhibited its Daytona Coupe, which appeared every bit as fast as the six original examples from Shelby American. Porsche replica and kit car industry icon Tom McBurnie and his company Thunder Ranch won enough trophies at '08 Knott's to fill his El Cajon, California, shop to overflowing.

Speaking of abundance, numerous A.H.A. Knott's awards were presented to ecstatic participants. We don't have room to list all the winners. Event photos would be too small if we did. However, we'll acknowledge the top winners here.

If you missed Knott's A.H.A. '08, your kit car enthusiasm hasn't shifted into overdrive yet. Check out all these great cars, and it will. We'll put even more photos on www.kitcarmag.com, so check it out. Also, be sure to be a part of next year's Knott's. The 30th Annual should be a real humdinger!

Knott's 2008 Show Awards

Best of ShowKevin Wright, black/silver 500K Marlene
Best Paint Dirck McBurnie, red '34 Roadster
Best Interior David Ehret, red Meyers Manx SR
Best Engine Tom McBurnie, Thunder Ranch 550A Spyder
Spectator Choice James Edwards, blue/orange FFR Daytona Coupe
President's Award Harry Craycroft, blue Porsche Spyder
Vice President's Award Harold Severson, white roadster
Secretary's Award Dan Barbee, red Dino 246 GT
Treasurer Award Mark Frederick, blue/white Corvette Grand Sport
Membership Director Award Carl Tate, red Ferrari BB512
Past Presidents' Award Will Miles, yellow Cord
Ladies' Choice Ron Biggerstaff, red Ford street rod
Hard Luck Award Misha Lebedev, Custom Automotive Restyling
Longest Distance Driven Dan Barbee, red Dino 246 GT
Longest Distance Traveled Misha Lebedev, Custom Automotive Restyling
Kit Car magazine Editor's Award James Edwards, blue/orange FFR Daytona Coupe
Newsletter Editor Award Steve Chadwick, Thunder Ranch Cheetah
Extreme Handcrafted Award Ron Padua and Tom McBurnie, Thunder Ranch Phantom 356 Speedster
Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) Award Thunder Ranch, Tom McBurnie

Classic Roadsters originally created the 500K Marlene, which replicates the 500K Mercedes Benz convertibles of the mid-1930s. Keith Wright, the owner of this 500K Marlene, had Earth's End Motorsports in Bend, Oregon, transform his kit car into a low-down street rod.	Everyone appreciated Harry Craycroft's '56 Fibersteel Porsche 550 Spyder replica. Automotive Legends of Malibu, California, built the Spyder.	The manufacturer of this '37 Cord replica was a company called Samco. Will Miles owns the car.
Owner Mike Koken exhibited his racy red Alpha GTO.	At the Smeding Performance crate engine booth, both Chevy and Ford performance engines were on display. Spectators milled around the mills both days and asked questions of the Smeding employees.	Mr. Leigh's flamed '29 Ford Shell Valley roadster was a big hit at the show, especially for Bow Tie fans.
The Stuttgart Spyder display had a finished 550 Spyder, a Spyder body, and a powdercoated tubular chassis on display for Porsche replica enthusiasts to inspect and admire.	Before they went out of business, Timeless Replicas produced '63 Corvette Grand Sport replicas. Mark Frederick found a TR kit and built one for himself. He filled the engine bay with an LS7 mill.	Mr. Dobbins' orange-over-blue RCR40 Mk I replica is almost finished. We look forward to seeing it on the road.
Kirk Blair's 2008 World Class Motorsports Ultralite S2K was a big hit among the many Lotus Super 7 replica aficionados at the show.	Superformance had an immense display of Cobra roadsters, Daytona Coupes, and GT40s.	Tom McBurnie and Ron Padua shared the AHA Extreme Award for the Thunder Ranch Phantom Speedster that Tom and Ron designed together. Ron is actually the customer of this Phantom Speedster, in addition to being the car's co-designer. Congratulations, Tom and Ron!
For fans of replica GTOs, Juan Carlos Cruz had his fly yellow Velo Rossa Spyder on display.	We featured a '34 Mercedes 500K replica, created and manufactured by Heritage Automotive, in Posen, Illinois, and owned by Steve Bales, a couple years ago. The roadster looks and sounds as great as it did when we first photographed it.	Many kind folks signed up for subscriptions to KIT CAR. Thank you for your patronage!
Several original Meyers Manx dune buggies made the party. Mr. Szwajko owns the red '68 Manx in the foreground.	The AHA Show KIT CAR Editor's Choice award went to James Edwards for his Factory Five Racing Type 65 coupe. Congratulations, James!	The sign and the photo say it all: Bill Deneff owns a nicely restored '61 Devin D roadster.
Given rising fuel prices, a 2005 Grinnal Scorpion 3 could cure anyone's commuting woes. Mr. Huszar's ride looks like it's as fun to drive as it is easy on petrol.	There were several nice roadsters on exhibit that attracted many visitors at the Backdraft Racing display. That's Backdraft employee and nice guy Bill Putnam walking this way and smiling at the camera.	Someone with the last name of Salmon owns a pretty nifty '69 Manx SR. The SR portion of the name stands for Stuart Reed, the then-young designer who graduated from world-famous Art Center in Pasadena, California, and turned down a job with GM to work with Bruce Meyers, originator of the Meyers Manx dune buggies.
Seth Wallack's '56 Intermeccanica Speedster replica always appears ready to take on the twisties.	After Tim and Deb Booth built their Shell Valley 427SC Cobra replica, they called it Vurple. Is that a combination of venom and purple? No, it's painted House of Kolor Pavo Purple and Violet. Making Vurple, we guess?	A Southern California resident had Backdraft Racing personally deliver his white over Indigo Blue roadster at the Knott's show. He'll be installing the engine and trans soon!
	Here's Factory Five Racing's customer celebration gathering in Huntington Beach on Saturday. KIT CAR made it to Surf City to talk with FFR's Dave Smith, Jim Schenk, and Mark Weber. By all accounts, FFR's customers and the company enjoyed the festivities. Several FFR owners and employees also made it to the Knott's Show, which made both events more enjoyable.