Blackie had such a passion for Hot Rodding and all things Automotive. You have to admire his enthusiasm. He put on an Annual Car Show at Selland Arena in Fresno for years. We used to go to Famoso Drag Strip for the “Winter Warmup”. That was the weekend before Pomona. $15 admission included a pit pass. They stopped doing that, but still have the Nostalgia Drags. Rest In Peace Blackie. You are missed.
I had read about Blackie for most of my life, being the car enthusiast that I am, so it was great to hear him talk with such passion about his beloved hot rods. These cars. and Blackie himself of course, are indeed hot rod royalty!
Blackie is a legendary bad ass car builder , one of a kind , never to be seen again. These post war builders are the essence of cool we were lucky to have them.
What a collection, hats off to Blackie for being such a fine caretaker of these Classics, and still driving them, I could listen to that sound all day long, thanks Dennis.
Just WOW. What an amazing episode. One of my favorites for sure. And I don't even care about custom roadsters that much !!! RIP Blackie, and thank you for being such an amazing caretaker of these historic and beautiful Rods.
Blackie was a legend, I'm proud I got to know him and spend time with him and listen to his Crazy Story's about the good ole days . RIP Blackie and Charlie ! The cars were put up for sale by the family and all sold about a few years ago.
WOW seeing classic's like these is a once in a life time treat BUT DRIVING THEM Dennis you are ONE VERY LUCKY MAN. Thank you so much for showing us these classics and reminding people that Blackie is the KING OF STREET ROD BUILDERS. GOD BLESS Rick
RIP Blackie Gejeian. I Always loved that little black Model T. Nice to see Dan Woods get some love, too- His fibreglass cars like the Milk Truck and Ice Truck are some of the wildest, most original show-rods out there. Love those late 60's/70s Art Himsl paint jobs, too- Everyone else does flames, or pinstriping, or maybe skulls, but that clean, art deco look was truly unique.
Back in the 70s my dads friend and club mate went to the USA and met Dan Woods .He bought a brand new T body like that one in the video with the high back and sectioned tub. When he returned they had a very professional mould flopped off it ,and made, i think only 2 or 3 bodies for themselves. Dad sold the T chassis and components before completing it. We lost him in 2021 but I still have that never used bucket amongst all my stuff. It's emotional to see one there. Cheers from Australia.
Nice to see the new upload! Dennis has so many great shows and finds all the best cars! OG Post-war veterans were just bored and built these creations. He looks like one of my uncles - super enthusiastic! 🏁
In 63 , Douggie had a 32 ford with a 440 buick eng. 2 4brl carbs ... never lost a race ... minimum bet was $100 ... nothing less .... those days were fun as hell !!
So sad that many legendary old school hot rodders are dying. I loved some of the custom vans Barris did for the movie The Van. I often also wonder what happened to the van from Corvette Summer. I hope his family preserves these cars for generations to come.
Wow Dennis, you've been sitting on this gem for years! I love it, i've met the great Blackie several times at Bakersfield , SEMA show and Hot August Nights and every time he's been very friendly and talkative. I wish i'd known when I saw him last that it'd be the final time.
@@MyClassicCarTV Me too. I thought the Fresno Autorama, where he picked the cars to invite to show, was way better than the oakland roadster show (now in LA of course). Plus he used to chat away to anyone including me. Lovely guy.
i've been to Darryl Starbird's car hall of fame Museum, pure inspiration this show too, have everything to build a 27 T-Bucket, fiberglass tub made in 1965, 1955 Corvette 265 v8 with manual tranny, and a 80s corvette rear-end. i like how the floor, heel pocket, and seats were done in the shish kabob. thanks Dennis, Pure works of art all of them
Absolutely fantastic, each one of those a rolling sculpture of perfection. If Michelangelo was into cars. I don’t care how much money you have, you could never build anything quite like these again, it would just be a cheap copy. I would buy a album of just the sounds these cars make. Also is that the biggest grin on Dennis’s face or what? I bet he couldn’t stop smiling for a week after this episode.
I'm not a huge fan of highly custom cars, but you have to love the craftmanship it takes to build these cars basically from the frame up. A lot of the builders learned their skills in the military or in trade schools and are slowing dying off. It's great to see videos like this that help get young people interested in the hobby. Blackie Gejeian has to be in his eighties in this video, but he looks like he's 60.
American car culture is exemplary I am always amazed at that the DIY car culture in US the ingenuity that is applied in building exclusively unique cars that are piece of art.
Just loved seeing these master prices so awesome to see and hear them when I was about 8 years old I started building models of these cars and I had about 150 cars and I remember big daddy Ed Roth I also contacted the cards with the cool car pictures I had the big 1 6 tenth black and gold trim big T bucket I would go mow a laun for 3 or 4 dallars go to the store and buy a model and some more paints I learned to paint candy and matelic paint with a brush with out brush marks I put spark plug wires on and battery cables thay were flales but my dad sent me to his sister witch was my ants for the summer july and augest wen I came home every one of my cars were gone and he forbid me to ever bring a model in the house or have one in my possession I hated him for it now I built real cars for my self and I have 11 of them and wouldn't part with a single one but your show with Blacky brought back memories I had forgotten thanks for sharing this with us and I hope I didn't go on to long but I just want to let people know if you're son or daughter is in to cars be thair for them I've never drank done drugs or Smoked because that's money for a hot rod
Great Interveiw Dennis ,talk about Automotive Royalty it’s kind of weird hearing him tell the stories of who did what on the different Hot Rods in the collection so non Chalant oh this was so and sos brother-in-law’s creation this one was painted by this famous guy and so on
Where has this video been hiding??? I don't remember if it was Blackie's last autorama or 2nd to last, but he had almost every car associated with him displayed there. Blackie would travel all over going to every car show he could and inviting the cars he liked to be at his autoramas. Blackie was a fixture at the SEMA shows in Las Vegas.
This was shot back in 2004 but a lot of it had to be cut out to get it to fit into a TV episode with a bunch of other things back then. RU-vid gives the opportunity to air the full interview in its entirely though. We have 25 years of this kind of footage. Stay tuned!
It was there at the beginning of it all. It was the first hot rod ever to be invited to Pebble Beach. The Holy Grail of hot rods! What an amazing person. What an amazing life. Blackie was one of my favorite people on the planet!
Call Dennis them last two you guys are in on the road man I love them you used to have models of them I'm about half of them I don't know if I even got anymore you guys have a good night oh dude I can feel my butt in the seat
I can only imagine how old Blacky is. The guy looks great! Must be the result of driving all of these super cool cars! What’s your secret Blacky for that magnificent head of hair at your age?
Blackie was 78 when that pic was taken. He passed away in 2016 at age 90 and was just as dashing right up to the end. Truly one of the all time greats!
I love this guy! Some of the people Dennis talks to don't hardly want to talk and Dennis has to keep prodding them t9 get the story. Bu5 this g7y absolutely l9ves to talk about the cars. I say just let him talk.great stories
Love your collection. Not wild about a V6 in a hot rod. I wished you would have let the guy drive the 8 cylinder open pipes one. Love to have heard that. Your flathead sounded sweet. Skip the 6 cylinder for me. I'm sure even George Barris regretted that .
For some reason, the way that car was built the air was directed around the driver, and there was almost no wind. Pretty unique because the stache usually takes a beating in roadsters!
Mrs Richards: "I paid for a room with a view!" Basil: (pointing to the lovely view) "That is Torquay, Madam." Mrs Richards: "It's not good enough!" Basil: "May I ask what you were expecting to see out of a Torquay hotel bedroom window? Sydney Opera House, perhaps? the Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically past?..." Mrs Richards: "Don't be silly! I expect to be able to see the sea !" Basil: "You can see the sea, it's over there between the land and the sky." Mrs Richards: "I'm not satisfied. But I shall stay. But I expect a reduction." Basil: "Why?! Because Krakatoa's not erupting at the moment ?"