three cars.
three builders.
three nonprofits.
larry chen Selects RPM Foundation for Hagerty’s RADwood Build Challenge
RPM Foundation is honored to have been selected by renowned automotive photographer and builder Larry Chen as his nonprofit partner for Hagerty’s RADwood Build Challenge.
Larry is transforming a 1996 Honda Accord Si-R as one of three builds celebrating the cars and culture of the 1980s and ’90s. On October 24, all three completed vehicles will come together at RADwood NorCal in Alameda, California, where attendees will vote in person for their favorite build.
If Larry’s Accord receives the most votes, RPM Foundation will receive $50,000 to help advance its mission of building the next generation of vehicle restoration craftspeople.
Saturday, October 24, 2026 | 4–8 p.m.
Gold Bar Hangar | Alameda Point, California
Free with registration | Voting takes place in person
Can’t Make It to RADwood?
You can still follow along.
Watch the RADwood Build Challenge, follow RPM Foundation and Larry Chen on social media, and share the story with fellow enthusiasts, especially those in Northern California who can experience RADwood NorCal in person.
And if this is your first introduction to RPM Foundation, welcome.
Whether you’re an aspiring craftsperson, restoration professional, shop owner, collector or enthusiast, there is a place for you in helping ensure the knowledge behind the machines continues for generations.
The Cars We Love Today Are Tomorrow’s Classics
RADwood celebrates an era of vehicles now coming of age as collector cars.
The cars a generation grew up with, dreamed about and learned to love are becoming part of the automotive heritage we will be called upon to preserve.
But preserving these vehicles takes more than keeping the cars themselves alive.
It takes people.
It takes skilled hands, specialized knowledge and craftspeople prepared to carry those skills forward.
RPM Foundation is building that next generation.
Through paid apprenticeships, endangered skills preservation and industry recognition, RPM creates career pathways, protects rare knowledge and strengthens the craft of vehicle restoration for generations to come.
