For folks with motor oil coursing through their veins, Meguiar’s Detroit Autorama is a highly-anticipated event.

It’s an opportunity for gearheads to show off the hot rods and custom cars they’ve restored, built from scratch or purchased.

When Autorama roars back into the Cobo Center on March 1-3, it will feature vehicles from three Oxford residents.

David Norgrove is scheduled to bring his 1927 Harley-Davidson motorcycle with a 61-cubic-inch V-twin engine.

“It’s not something you’re going to see on the road,” he said. “You’d have to go to a specialty show or swap meet or a museum to see one.”

When Norgrove purchased the bike’s frame, it was far from a museum-quality piece.

“It was rough. It was rusting,” he said.

It took him years to collect all of the parts necessary to breathe new life into this relic of the Roaring Twenties. He attended swap meets in Ohio and Iowa, made phone calls and scoured the internet. Norgrove even sourced parts from other countries, including Australia, Poland, France and Germany.

“It’s probably been about a five-year process putting it together,” he said. “I just finished it last summer.”

Norgrove decided to build a bike that represented what an amateur racer in the 1920s might have ridden on local dirt tracks. He described it as “a hot-rodded street bike.”

“It has racing handle bars and feet,” he said.

Norgrove began restoring motorcycles about eight years ago. His interest was sparked by the vintage Indian parts he found in the rafters of his late grandfather’s garage.

As Norgrove researched them and early racing bikes, he said “one thing led to another” and a new hobby was born.

“I’ve always been a history buff,” he explained. “My mom collects antiques and my dad’s a bit of a gearhead.”

The first bike Norgrove ever restored was a 1968 Italian-made Benelli. He showed it at Autorama two years ago and was awarded first in class.

Norgrove prefers vintage motorcycles to new models that are backed by warranties and can be driven straight off the showroom floor. He believes the old bikes have “more soul” because they require an intimate connection between man and machine.

“(With) the old bikes, you’ve got to tinker with them to get them to run right,” he said. “There’s just something appealing about keeping history alive.”

Early bikes, like his 1927 Harley-Davidson, didn’t come with “assembly manuals,” according to Norgrove, which makes them much more challenging to work on and leads to “lots of missteps.”

“You’ve either got to figure it out on your own or hopefully, you can meet somebody else in the hobby that knows what they’re talking about,” he said.

To Norgrove, bringing vintage motorcycles back to life isn’t about making a sound investment or turning a big profit, it’s about pursuing a passion, making new friends and seeing the “amazing machines collected by other enthusiasts.”

“If you added up my time and the money, it would not make sense at all,” he said.

Terry Dworin will also appear at Autorama with his two-door 1953 Morris Minor, originally made in Covington, England.

Eight years ago, he purchased it from a guy in Germantown, Wisconsin to be a project car. Its unique look appealed to him.

“I had never seen one before,” Dworin said. “This is something completely different.”

Instead of restoring this European classic to its original form, Dworin decided to transform it into a “novelty car” with plenty of power under the hood. He installed a 1969 Chevy 327-cubic-inch engine and a Chevy Turbo 350 automatic transmission.

Dworin made changes to the exterior as well. “I narrowed the rear-end on it and put big, fat tires underneath it,” he said.

His 12-year-old granddaughter, Tatum Wright, an Oxford Middle School sixth-grader, created the unique burgundy paint for the car.

This will be the Morris Minor’s third appearance at Autorama. According to Dworin, the car previously earned second and third place awards in its class.

“We’ll see what happens this year,” he said.

Dworin thoroughly enjoys sharing his passion for cars with his granddaughter and spending quality time with her.

“She works with me all the time,” he said. “We’ve been running around together (going to car shows and swap meets) since she was 2 years old.”

“I probably put it in her blood,” Dworin added. “She’s a car gal all the way. She’s got shelves and shelves of Hot Wheels and model cars in her room. She’s got posters on the walls. She’s just a car nut.”

Prior to the Morris Minor, Dworin previously appeared at Autorama with two other vehicles – a souped-up, satin black 1927 Ford Model T and a 1999 Harley-Davidson Fat Boy.

Dworin admitted his interest in Autorama has waned, but his granddaughter’s excitement over participating in the event keeps him coming back.

“I go now for her,” he said.

Joining Norgrove and Dworin at Autorama will be Oxford resident Matt Chojnacki, who will display his 2006 Cadillac Catera Touring Sedan (CTS).

Autorama will run from noon to 10 p.m. on March 1, from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. March 2 and from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on March 3.

Admission at the gate is $21 for adults and $8 for children ages 6 to 12. There’s no charge for children age 5 and under.

Discount tickets are available at O’Reilly Auto Parts locations. They are $19 for adults and $7 for children ages 6 to 12.

Visit autorama.com for more information.