“Big Al” Liebmann has been involved with the collector car hobby for nearly a decade; but prior to his involvement in hotrodding, he was a professional drag racer for around 30 years, he says. Hence, a passion for the automotive hobby, as a whole, runs through Al’s veins.

As a teen, growing up in the 1970's, Al wanted a fast car. So, when looking for his very first vehicle, he purchased a 1969 Z28 Camaro. And, the need for speed remained in his blood for quite some time.

Al became heavily involved in drag racing with nitro funny cars, and immersed himself in that hobby. However, in 2000, he decided to settle down, finding an interest in hot rods.  He says he has now found a "second childhood" in the hobby.

“This is my new life,” says Al. “A second childhood. A midlife crisis. I don’t know…”

When he found this interest in hot rods, Al befriended both Chuck Wasoski, VP of Grundy Worldwide’s Collector Vehicle Insurance Program, and the owners of the popular Web site www.hotrodhotline.com.  Al’s ties and connections within the industry continue to grow, and many hotrodders are now familiar with “Big Al.”

In 2000, Al quickly became a major endorser of Grundy’s “great rates and great people.” He claims to have referred thousands of friends to Grundy Worldwide for their collector car insurance needs. And, he adds that he is often thanked for his referrals, once his fellow hobbyists see what Grundy has to offer.

As mentioned, Al also built friendships with the owners of HotRod HotLine.  He soon became a photographer for their Web site. Al attends cruise-ins and car shows regularly, snapping as many pictures as possible, and then he shares the photos with fellow hobbyists, through the site. Over the last year alone, he has posted around 20,000 photographs from around 40 events.

Recently, Al did something a little different: he posted pictures from an April 2008 vacation in Aruba. He contacted Grundy to tell us about these special photos.

As it turns out, Al’s vacation with his wife turned into a bit of an adventure with some hotrodders, on the small island. Collector cars are all over the world, but Al says that upon his first time seeing a hot rod in Aruba, it seemed a little out of the ordinary. Al says that he has vacationed on the island about ten times, but it wasn’t until about two years ago that he found Giovanni Rafini’s Underground Hot Rod and Kustom Kulture shop.

“To find something like this, so far away, is unique,” says Al. “While driving downtown, it was kind of strange to see a rat rod Model A turning the corner. It was like ‘Follow that car!’”

Al says that this year, as he passed Giovanni’s shop, he noticed some new cars and stopped to check them out.

“I had met Giovanni once before,” he says. “And, the next thing I know, I’m out for a ride.”

Al notes that his wife had remembered visiting the shop in the past and didn’t object to stopping.

“Collector cars are not that big in Aruba,” says Al. “I didn’t see a lot of antiques. There aren’t many muscle cars or anything too high-caliber.”

Al mentions that some of the cars he found were in people’s backyards, explaining that he had to seek out these hot rods. And, leave it to Al to find them… and snap pictures to share with all!

Photos can be viewed here: Aruba Rats 2008.

Al’s next stops will be the NSRA Street Rod Nationals East, in June, and the 11th Goodguys Nationals show in Columbus, Ohio, held during the weekend of July 11-13, 2008. Keep an eye out for “Big Al” and his camera!

Also, be sure to visit Grundy Worldwide’s display at the Goodguys Nationals, along with all Goodguys events. A complete schedule of events that Grundy visits is located at www.grundy.com/calendar.

Story by: Becky McLaughlin

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