Choosing a show car to display @ SEMA is no easy task. For a start, stand space is seriously limited which means you don’t have the luxury of picking cars from a range of different scenes. Secondly, the sheer quality of cars on display is unlike anywhere else in the world. It doesn’t matter how wide your arches, how deep your wheels or how much horsepower your engine produces, it’s easy for cars to be lost in the sea of madness @ SEMA.

In recent years, Meguiar’s has always looked towards the hot rodding scene for its SEMA inspiration and for good reason, too. When you’re chopping and changing cars built in excess of 80-years ago, it takes SERIOUS skill to make something look truly unique given how long – and how modified – these cars have been treated in the past. Throwing air and wheels doesn’t cut it in this industry…

Secondly, hot rodding is renowned for its attention to detail. From roof chops to bespoke chrome grilles, you wont make an impact within this scene unless it’s performed to the absolute – beyond OEM – standard. No cutting corners, no quick bodges, either get it right or get back in the workshop.

For Meguiar’s there’s an extra element we need to take into consideration, paint depth and quality. We’re not saying typical hot rods feature bad paint – quite the opposite in fact – but under the convention centre lights and the prying eyes of the world’s media, any car on the Meguiar’s stand needs to be flawless, and we mean flawless!

In case you haven’t guessed already, John Wright’s ’36 Ford Roadster ticked all those boxes. And then some.

Black is a notoriously difficult colour to keep clean and swirl-free which, while a nightmare for most people, makes it the perfect colour for showcasing just how good the entire Meguiar’s range is. Combine that with lashings of chrome (John’s business just so happens to be custom chrome plating) and the result is nothing short of spectacular.

Meguiar’s first spotted John’s 1936 Ford last year at the Grand National Roadster Show, but the story of how it fell into Jon’s ownership makes it all the more special. Back when he was a teenager, John would see this exact roadster cruising through Pennsylvania albeit painted in a Chevy blue at the time. Unfortunately John moved away from the area before he could ever find himself in a position to own it.

It wasn’t until after John graduated collage – and had the urge to now own a ’36 Roadster – that a customer of his recommended one which had come up for sale nearby. Fully expecting it to be a wreck, John headed over with a trailer and a cheque book. Not a single piece was put together with the majority of the panels being in primer bar the hood panels. These were blue…

A short conversation later and it turns out John had discovered the very car he’d witnessed as a teenager which cruised Irwin in the 50s! ‘I never thought i’d see the car again let alone have it in my life’ John explains.

Needless to say the project is very much a labor of love, taking some 20-years to complete it to the standard here. But don’t be fooled thinking this is some kind of trailer queen – John regularly uses the Roadster for all kinds of trips, and isn’t afraid to get a bit of road rash over the bodywork. Now that’s the sort of attitude we can appreciate!

You can see more details and build images on John’s ’36 Roadster over at the custom rodder forum here: http://customrodder.forumactif.org/t3707-1936-ford-roadster-jon-wright