This 1960s Car of the Year Still Runs! | Ed Smith’s Emmons Yellow Roadster

The Emmons Yellow Roadster is one of the most recognizable show rods of the 1960s. Named Car of the Year by Car Craft and featured on magazine covers across America, this legendary hot rod somehow survived decades of changing trends, multiple owners, and major engine changes. Best of all, more than 60 years later, it still runs—and you’ll get to hear it come to life in this video. Ed Smith has been its caretaker for more than 55 years. Join Ed Smith and me (Barry T) at Five Star Engines as we explore the remarkable history of the roadster built by Chauvin Emmons. The ownership story alone is worth hearing. Emmons eventually lost the car in a poker game. The winner sold it, the next owner threw a rod through the engine and parked it, and in 1970 Ed traded a repossessed Oldsmobile plus $175 to bring the famous roadster home. He’s owned it ever since. The roadster’s unique look came from Emmons’ experience around Indianapolis racing during the dominant A.J. Watson era. Inspired by the front-engine Indy roadsters of the early 1960s, Emmons blended Indianapolis race-car styling and suspension ideas into a hot rod, creating a look unlike anything else on the street. The pointed Watson-style nose became the car’s signature feature and helped earn national attention. Ed also shares the details that make this car so special today: the original Halibrand wheels, handmade components Emmons built without modern tools, the unique frame design hidden beneath the body, and the yellow paint that remains from its magazine-cover days. We also fire up the roadster and hear the Oldsmobile-powered engine run as Ed explains its evolution from the three two-barrel carburetors it wore in period to the modern electronic fuel injection system it uses today. Along the way, Ed shares practical hot-rodding wisdom, including an important lesson every engine builder should know about the first startup of a fresh engine. Videos, Garage Store and Newsletter Sign-Up: www.BarryTsGarage.com Have a question for Ed? Email [email protected] #BarryTsGarage #HotRodHistory #EdSmith ⏱️ CHAPTERS 00:00 Repo, Poker Game & Revival — The Hooks 00:30 Car of the Year: Magazine Covers & the Batmobile 01:05 Red to Yellow: Ron Owens & the Paint Story 01:40 Lost in a Poker Game 03:30 The Repo Trade: How Ed Got It in 1970 04:50 Original Tires & Narrowed Olds Rear End 06:10 Suspension, Coilovers & the Gas-Tank/Battery Swap 08:50 The Oldsmobile Engine & Emmons-Made Headers 09:35 The Fuel-Injection Saga: 3x2s, a 427 & Back to Olds 14:50 The Frame That's Wider Than the Body 17:35 First Start in 9 Months + Ed's Break-In Wisdom 20:50 The 1963 Indy Watson Roadster Inspiration & the LA Show #BarryTsGarage #HotRodHistory #EdSmith