Prepping your car for a big event can be time-consuming and tedious; but it doesn’t always have to be. Just ask “Legendary Lars” Mapstead of Legendary Finds and Clay Slaughter of Clayton’s Hot Rods. While these two industry professionals undoubtedly put some time and effort into getting their hot rods ready for The Race of Gentlemen, not all their prep work was done in the garage. Check out what we mean in Legendary Lars’s above.

Clayton Slaughter’s race car. Image: Clayton’s Hot Rods

Having always wanted to participate in the famed Race of Gentlemen in Wildwood, New Jersey, both Slaughter and Mapstead decided that 2014 was the year to make it happen.

For the event, Slaughter built a pre-war Muroc-style race car with a ’29 roadster body and chassis.

Additional equipment that made this project car race worthy include Model A mechanical brakes, a 1939 transmission, 3.54 rearend gears, 17-inch Kelsey wheels and a built C motor topped off with components like a high-compression head, two Stromberg 97s, a high-rise two-carb manifold, and a homemade header.

Being the hot rod builder he is, Slaughter put every ounce of effort and time into the build himself.

Lars Mapstead’s chosen ride. Image: Hemmings

Mapstead, on the other hand, opted to take his recently acquired Morris Brothers SoCal Speed Shop Roadster to the event. This car, one of the most famed hot rods in the industry, is a ’31 Ford Model A roadster fitted with a pre-1949 Mercury flathead V8 topped off with Edelbrock heads, an Edelbrock intake, and an Iskenderian camshaft, as well as four Stromberg 97 carburetors.

Image: Clayton’s Hot Rods

The engine is backed by a 1937 Ford transmission and a correct “as raced” Halibrand quick-change rearend.

Two amazing cars driven by two diehard hot rod fans, it’s only fitting that the men and their rides prepped a bit for their race in the sand by doing something every hot rod owner should do-drive their cars.

In the end, both Mapstead and Slaughter had an amazing time at The Race of Gentlemen using their cars like they were always meant to be used. And we think it’s safe to say this won’t be the last time you see either gentleman at the famed New Jersey beach race!

Image: Hemmings