The 2024 Detroit Autorama was packed with some amazing machines, including a wide array of #TREMECequipped cars and trucks. Detroit Autorama is also host to the Ridler Award, one of most prestigious awards in the U.S. for custom and hot rod car owners and builders. It is awarded annually at the Detroit Autorama to an exceptional vehicle that has never been shown before.
Choosing the winner starts with narrowing the field of entries to the top eight cars, called the Great 8. Picking one car out of eight to receive the award might sound easy, but for the Ridler judges it’s like walking into Louvre in Paris and deciding which is the greatest work of art on display. Among the Great 8 finalists were three #TREMECequipped cars that are highlighted below. We’ve also included photos and information about sme of the other great vehicles with 5- and 6-speed TREMEC transmissions at this year’s Detroit Autorama that grabbed our attention.
1959 Chrysler 1000X
This one literally had a big presence at the 2024 Detroit Autorama. Randy Kholtfarber drove (or maybe sailed) this monster of a land yacht 1959 Chrysler 300E to American Legends with the idea of turning the classic into something special. American Legends went to work, and what came in as a 300E left as the 1000X with a 1,000 HP Hellcat Hemi bolted to a TREMEC Magnum 6-speed transmission. The factory chassis replaced by a custom one from the Roadster Shop, and the car wowed judges to make the Great 8 for the 2024 Ridler Award.
1968 Mercury Cougar
This 1968 Mercury Cougar “Predator” built by JF Launier and his team from Vancouver, British Columbia was another #TREMECequipped car vying for the prestigious Ridler Award. Taking the fastback roofline from a 1968 Mustang, Predator the builder’s take on what a Mercury version of a Mustang would have been. It features fine trim details, wood inserts and other refinements typical of the Mercury brand in the late 1960s. It is powered by a Kaase-built 529 Ford Boss V8 connected to a TREMEC TKX 5-speed transmission. Gary Yorston developed the custom suspension.
1959 Chevrolet Corvette
Another Great 8 contender for the Ridler Award competition, True Colors Customs’ 1959 Corvette features a built LS7 and TREMEC Magnum 6-speed transmission (with a fully polished case no less) as the powertrain foundation. This was a father and sone build with lots of subtle details that had you looking at it again and again. Cradling the engine and TREMEC transmission is an Art Morrison chassis, and the body was widened and tweaked as part of the car’s multi-year build. Watch for a TREMEC Blog with more details on this one.
1966 Plymouth Barracuda
Here’s a really different #TREMECequipped vehicle! This 1966 Plymouth Barracuda got a heart transplant from a Dodge Viper. The powertrain swap is very cool and clean, while from the outside this Barracuda – with dog-dish steel wheels and all the factory sheetmetal and trim – doesn’t give any clues what’s lurking under its hood.
1972 Ford Maverick
Ford Mavericks were good looking cars in the wave of new, American “small cars of the 1970sl. They had a fastback design, small sizes, reduces weight and could still cradle a V8 engine in a rear-wheel-drive chassis, making them popular as racecars. Gapp and Roush, Dyno Don Nicholson and others campaigned them. This clean 1972 Maverick example had a TREMEC T-5 5-speed transmission behind its 302 engine.
1967 Camaro
Built by US 1 Speed and Custom, this 1967 Camaro had a TREMEC bolted to its 6.2L LS with Detroit Speed hardware to use all that power in all the right ways. A DSE minitub makes room for plenty of rubber to lay down the horsepower hitting the rear wheels.
1958 Chevrolet Delray
1958 Chevrolets were once the red-headed stepchildren of Chevy fans. Other than the most rare and valuable versions, such as factory 348 and fuel injection cars, no wanted to build them for decades. Not anymore! This beautiful #TREMECequipped 1958 Delray has a Roadster Shop chassis, TREMEC TKX 5-speed transmission and – surprise-surprise – instead of an LS-based V8, it has an old school 454 big-block turning the gears of that TREMEC.
1987 Mustang GT
This 1987 Mustang GT is a factory TREMEC 5-speed transmission car. It was like a time capsule right out of the late 1980s/early 1990s heyday of Mustang Fox Bodies battling it out with the Camaros on the streets of America, complete with Freedom Rock CDs blasting from the radios.
1969/2012 Ford Mustang
What do you get combining 1969 and a 2012 Mustang? This! Duncan Brothers Customs took a 2012 Mustang GT and grafted on parts from a 1969 Mustang for this unique build that debuted at the 2021 SEMA Show but still catches the eye three years later.
1968 Dodge Dart
Platinum Custom Cars hit dead center with “Bullseye,” its custom 1968 Dodge Dart build. It takes a keen eye to see the altered wheelbase and the ghosted stripes on the tail. But there’s no mistaking the classic 426 Hemi underhood that’s bolted to a TREMEC TKX 5-speed transmission. This was a fantastic build, with lots of subtle mods that took multiple looks to notice and appreciate, a sign of an award-worthy build.
1993 Ford Mustang
There are a lot of cool 1979-1993 Fox Body Mustang builds out there showing what a great canvas these cars are for projects. Dan Outlaw’s 1993 Mustang had the dash and center console from a 1994-1998 SN95 Mustang transplanted in, along with a 4.6 4V engine with a Kenne Bell supercharger on top. Sending all that power to the rear wheels is a TREMEC TKX 5-speed transmission.
1981 AMC Concorde
You might’ve seen this one posted to the TREMEC social media channels, and it was too cool not to also mention here. It still exudes AMC style complete with woodgrain decals. The drivetrain, however, has had a significant upgrade with a Ford Mustang 5.0L V8 and a TREMEC 5-speed transmission.
1987 Merkur XR4TI
One of the more unusual #TREMECequipped builds to come along recently is Jordan Henke’s 1987 Merkur XR4TI which won the Sport Compact-Luxury-Exotics class of the 2023 SEMA Battle of the Builders competition. Its Ford Racing 2.3L Ecoboost four-cylinder is bolted to a TREMEC TKX 5-speed transmission. It has a 2018 Mustang IRS, custom widebody kit and reengineered C6 Corvette front suspension with American Racing VF529 wheels. The striking color is factory Ford Area 51 Blue.