1950 Dal Porto Lakester at the 2012 Philadelphia Auto Show

In 1951 and 1952, the car won its class at the dry lakes and recorded an impressive 155.64 mph at the May 1952 SCTA meet. Beyond this performance, a 118 mph run at the Kingdom Airstrip quarter-mile drag races in Lodi helped cement an intimidating reputation. Eager to show off his new thoroughbred, Mr. Dal Porto entered his Roadster in the 1952 Grand National Roadster Show in Oakland where, not surprisingly, the handsome race car received First Place for Beauty and Construction in the lakester class. After being pictured in the pages of Hot Rod magazine, the Dal Porto Roadster made the cover of Hop Up magazine's July 1952 issue and was the subject of a feature article, complete with a full cutaway drawing by Jim Richards. Hop Up praised the sleek hot rod, describing it as one of, if not the, sharpest looking and best constructed roadsters in existence and remarked upon its stylish appearance saying, "It's among the top cars for looks in spite of the lack of chrome 'goodies'." Sadly, just as its career was taking off, the Dal Porto Roadster met a tragic end when, in 1952, it crashed during a high-speed run at the dry lakes. The wrecked car remained in storage with John Errecalde until the mid-1970s, at which time it was given to his friend and well-known Stockton parts dealer Carl Schmid. In 1993, the project was sold to Don Orosco, who was eventually persuaded to sell it to the current owner. ~ rodcustom.automotive.com article

More car images from the 2012 Philadelphia Auto Show are up on my FB page. Click here if you're so inclined.