Bob Millard is a car collector, a Grundy customer and endorser, and the GM of the International Show Car Association (ISCA), all at once. 

“I’ve been in this hobby my whole life,” he says. “I love this sport!”

Indeed, Bob jumped into collector cars at a very young age. He was only 13-years-old when he made a deal with a woman from his small hometown in Iowa.  She was hoping to sell her 1953 Chevy, and Bob had definitely been looking to get his hands on it. 

The deal?

He would pay her more than half of his entire life savings ($45) and mow her lawn for the rest of the year for free.

Fast-forward 11 years, to 1969, and Bob was still actively pursuing his interest in cars.  He says that he was into drag racing and mostly hung out with “muscle car guys.” And then, one day, he stumbled across an opportunity to buy a street rod.

Bob says that a local farmer knew that he had an interest in cars and approached him one day, regarding an old car that was at his farm. The farmer wanted to get rid of the car and told Bob that it would make “a neat hot rod.” Bob went to check out the car and bought it on the spot for $50. And so began his passion for hot rods, in particular, as he became the proud owner of a ’34 Ford 3-Window Coupe.

Bob went on to own a slew of collector cars, including a half-dozen muscle cars and a few street rods. And, today, at 62-years-old, he is still in the hobby: Bob built and still currently owns a 1939 Ford (Coast to Coast) and a 1933 Ford Victoria (Windsor Fabrication). He has had the ’33 for 16 years and the ’39 for nine.

On top of being involved in the world of collector cars as a hobbyist, Bob also found a career in this field. Since 1964, he has been involved with the International Show Car Association. He says that after working as a judge for the first time, when he was only 19-years-old, he continued to work with the ISCA, part-time, while also drag racing and owning a few service stations in Iowa.

But, in 1979, his involvement with the ISCA became a full-time gig, when he was named Competition Director. In that position, he wrote and enforced the rules and made sure that judging was performed correctly. Today, he still does those same things (plus more), as the General Manager of the organization.

The ISCA was started in 1962 and incorporated in 1963, just before Bob began judging at the shows. The ISCA sanctions the largest group of indoor car shows produced in the United States and Canada—42 shows that cover 27 states and 4 provinces in Canada. With shows from Boston, Mass. to Phoenix, Ariz. and from Atlanta, Ga. to Portland, Ore., the ISCA covers the entire United States.

Bob says that, today, the largest ISCA shows are the Kansas City and Chicago World of Wheels shows and the Houston and Detroit Autorama shows. Bob goes on to add that the Detroit Autorama is not only the largest show sanctioned by the ISCA, but it is the largest indoor hot rod show in the world. It is at that event that the prestigious “Ridler Award” is presented to a highly creative hotrodder.

“We’re like a traveling circus,” continues Bob, who travels to about 30 car shows each year. “And, we’re all in this together.”

Not only does Bob attend ISCA-sanctioned events, in order to oversee all the judging and the awards ceremonies, but he also heads out to Goodguys and NSRA events to set up vendor spaces at which he promotes his organization. He says that, in turn, Goodguys and NSRA visit the ISCA events, as well, to promote their companies.

Bob says it’s at these shows that he has found many friends. And, he says that building those friendships, through his involvement in the hobby, has been his favorite part of getting into the car show scene.

“I would have never met [these people], if it wasn’t for the shows,” he says. “It’s a fun job.”

Story by: Becky McLaughlin