It was sunny and warm in Sacramento on Valentine’s Day weekend and the perfect backdrop for the 65th Annual O’Reilly’s Autorama at the Cal Expo Fairgrounds. With over 500 cars in 12 buildings, the River City hosted the coolest jalopy jamboree on the planet for three days. Not only is it one of the most important car shows on the west coast, it continues to be the longest running indoor custom auto show in the world and aside from maybe Rick Dore and James Hetfield, everybody who’s anybody in the kustom kar hobby was there.

The event was held at the sprawling 350 acre Cal Expo, an unmolested late-sixties architectural gem that would make a perfect on-location shoot for a remake of the bell-bottom cult TV show “Space 1999.” It’s all elevated monorail tracks, space age cluster lights and soaring concrete towers. It’s rectilinear, post mid-century modern design perfectly complemented the rolling artwork that infiltrated its borders for three days. Some might think it’s dated; we love it and are frankly puzzled why it hasn’t been “updated” by the county or developers.

So without any further ado, here’s the scoop on all the standout rides that really caught our eye. Some of our picks matched the judges, some didn’t. Here are the cars that struck a chord with us and truly represent the state of the art in the kustom kar game.

T H E   K U S T O M S

John D’Augustino and builder Oz Welch debuted “Pantheon” at this year’s show. Based on a 1968 Buick Riviera, it was given the trademark Celebrity Kustoms treatment with shaved door handles, glassy metallic paint, bagged suspension, and signature D’Augustino wire wheels. The gentle chop of this old Rivi fastback really tested the skills of Welch but there is nary a line out of place. The deep water turquoise blue really hit the bullseye, too. Congrats to John D. and his seemingly endless parade of hits. Winner of the 2015 Autorama Most Beautiful Custom.

The Celebrity Kustoms invasion continues but this time via Italy. Europeans have a unique way of reconstituting American pop culture and here’s the most outrageous tribute to date. Feast your eyes on the impossibly smooth “Elvis III” 1959 Cadillac. With design help from D’Augustino, this Italian-built rolling love letter to Elvis Presley, Harley Earl, and American pop culture really wowed show goers. Aside from the carriage roof with T-tops, the mods were clever and look liked they could have rolled off a GM assembly line.

Be sure and check out the metal work that went into filling and smoothing the edges of the gigantic fins, the Venetian blown, clear glass taillights, perfect chop, and stance. The iridescent floral interior and faux abalone shell steering wheel were details that really raised the bar. We had a chance to talk with Italian Celebrity Kustom gurus Lorenzo Dox Dossena and Fra Attolico and they’re as cool as their Caddy. Congratulazioni, guys. Winner of the 2015 Autorama D’Elegance Award.

Many kustom delights lurk in the Cal Expo halls and sometimes you find a diamond displayed in an inconspicuous spot. Check out Bruce VanEtten’s 1959 Edsel Ranger two-door hardtop tucked away on a lower level, far away from the Celebrity Kustoms vortex. This has to be the most audacious paneled paint job on record. Think Larry Watson on acid and you get the drift.

Kudos to James Dean at Rebel Design. It took us multiple viewings to take in the amazing congregation of tiki heads, hibiscus flowers, and scallops. Not only that, the basics were covered with great stance, whitewalls and Supremes, and bell flower exhaust.

W H I T E   C O L L A R   R O D S

Up next is Dale Fode’s black, all-steel “1934.5″ Ford Roadster. Designed by Mark Willis and Bob Stewart over at Mark Willis Custom Painting, this pitch black ’34 was devastating in person. Dig the blown LS7, 4L60, Kugel suspension, and foot deep R-M paint. From the rake of the windshield to the smoothed and tucked rear bumper, the mods were subtle but added up to greatness. The custom wheels by Hulst were a cross between old school Halibrands and 1968 Ford T-Bird “mag” hubcaps and were the perfect finishing touch. WON BIG with Sam Barris Memorial Award, Dick Bertolucci Automotive Excellence Award, Steve’s Auto Restorations Mark of Excellence Award, 2015 Best Rod. Wow.

For Mercury fans, ink guru Rod Struven showed his fantastic, Garage Ink 1940 Merc Coupe. Although slammed and chopped to within an inch of it’s life, it was the picture of taste and restraint. No flames or doo-dads, just acres of voluptuous sheet metal massaged to minty green perfection. The stock caps and rings, bias ply wide whites, and dual spots was all the jewelry needed, nothing more. Won 2015 West Coast Kustoms Outstanding Nostalgia Award.

Last but not least, we really loved Greg Clouse’s “Steampunk.” Designed by Chris Miranda at West Coast Auto Craft it took a long time to soak up all the fantastic details, materials and execution. From the 510ci Ford motor with custom stack injection to the copper accents on the wheels and body, it’ll make you reconsider that nothing new can be done on a Ford roadster canvas.

B L U E   C O L L A R   R O D S

Over in the Suede Pavilion, (Autorama speak for an area for rat rod/outlaw cars,) Jim Ramirez showed off his scrappy little 1936 Ford truck. Not really a rat rod or a rich guy’s plaything, it straddled both worlds and killed with blown Nailhead power, stacks, and open headers. The channeled body sat just right on steelies and whitewalls and big finned brakes. The white and metallic green vinyl interior and finished bed were nice touches as well.

Alongside Ramirez’s ’36 was Bill Shimers’s 1930 Ford Tudor Sedan and the two delivered a brutal one-two punch as you joined the party at the Suede Pavilion. With a tri-power, Nailhead mill and trumpet headers, it looked great in snowy white with matching black and white cross hatch interior. With the back seat ditched, stretch out and slide the gigantic Hartz cloth sunroof open, cue up the music and head out to the highway.

Bringing up the rear and earning the dubious distinction of “Rattiest Rat” goes to this THING with bullet holes, Hemi power, and a wheelchair access pass dangling from the rear view mirror. With most of the big kahuna customs and rods costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, it’s easy to forget that you don’t have to be a millionaire to join the fun.

Made in the shade with a collection of junk yard parts, you could floor it out of the fairgrounds, park it anywhere and your only worries would be annoying your neighbors when you came rumbling home at night.

M U S C L E C A R S

In a sea of Tri-5 Chevys, Camaros, and ’32 Fords, we thought it might be time to clear the palette. We’re suckers for orphans and oddballs and this little purple Gremlin X was a hidden gem parked at the “Drive In” outside. One owner since new, it sparkled in AMC purple with white stripes. The little 301ci V-8 looked slightly warmed up and the mags were a nice finishing touch. This lightweight, chopped down Hornet probably has some stink as the V8 doesn’t have much weight to move off the line. You can almost hear “Freebird” wafting out of the interior.

Not all muscle was built in the Sixties and this little ’56 Olds 88 really knocked us out. Running a 600 HP 455ci big-block, Fatman frame, Wilwood brakes and one off Foose wheels, it combined timeless GM styling and resto touches very nicely. We like that all the factory trim and emblems were retained. The two-tone Crest toothpaste blue green was a refreshingly different color combo.

Saving the best for last, check out this 1941 Lincoln Continental Cabriolet owned by Marshall and Nancy Kraus. Instead of another small-block Chevy, this old sled is packing a warmed over 292ci Flathead V12 and T5 5-speed tranny, its got IRS, a Morrison front clip with IFS, four wheel disc brakes, and rack and pinion steering.

We’re big Full Circle Restoration fans and Tom Van Steyn and Jeff Gargiulo’s attention to detail and impeccable craftsmanship are evident everywhere you look. The kicker here was the absolutely, friggin’ fantastic V12, polished to perfection and dripping with satin jewelry. A shout out to H & H Flatheads for this stunning work of art.

Kudos to Rod Shows Inc for another great production! Check out all the winners here. We’ll plan to see you again next year!