P-Town 2K2

Whatever the case, you've got to make the Goodguys West Coast Nationals at least once in a lifetime; it's well worth it. If you recall last year's coverage here in STREET RODDER, "Incomparable Nor-Cal," you'll probably remember how we went on about the show. Even after a full season of traveling to events, it's still the event we make, bar none, whether our finances can take it or not. It's the weather, the location, and without a doubt, the cars.

Speaking of cars, more than 3,000 could be found at this year's event. With over 75,000 attendant spectators this was the largest west-coast gathering. Depending on whom you talk to, it's also the most anticipated. It consistently pulls cars from Northern Nevada, Oregon, Idaho, Washington, and Southern California. Hey, if you ask a Northern Californian, Southern California might as well be another state altogether, so that's saying something!

The numbers grows yearly, too, as people hear all kinds of stories about the show and the drives to get there. It seems that each starting point gets its own scenic tour: those coming from the south can take the scenic 101 or PCH; those traveling from the north can enjoy major highways that wind through the Cascades and Shasta; and those coming west from Nevada or Utah can soak up Tahoe and the Sierras.

Incidentally, for those of you hard-core driving types, the Southern California Timing Association and Bonneville Nationals, Inc. holds Speed Week in Wendover, Utah, the week before the Goodguys West Coast Nationals. Traditionally, true autophiles make the trek to both runs back-to-back in order to make the West Coast Nationals a true week long event, but considering this year's conflicting schedules (they were two weeks apart), it wasn't possible. Making both runs in a week is certainly enough to separate true car people from the rest.

But enough about the drive, this is about the show. In typical Goodguys fashion, they organize several days' worth of activities. Unfortunately, life got in the way of plans, so I showed up Friday night after all the day's happenings. It meant I missed the Thursday evening poolside kickoff party at the Wyndham Garden Hotel, but more than that it meant missing Hot Rod Heaven in downtown Pleasanton. Since they've foregone the cruising for high-density parking, it's lost some of its soul, but it's still nice enough to have a street all to ourselves for the night. Street vendors dish out some pretty good grub, but if plans include dining on anything that requires utensils, book early; all the restaurants fill up days, if not weeks, in advance.

On Saturday, we checked out the Mecum auction's wrap-up. Although only just over a third of the cars made reserve over the weekend, a few good deals still popped up from time to time. Consider the '63 Riviera, one of the nicest, cleanest, rust-free, and original '63 Rivs we've seen in some time, only pulled a mere $3,900--a real bargain. Hey custom fans out there, pay attention!

As far as street rods went, only one, a '29 Ford sedan, garnered over 30K, but just barely at $31,500. Five more eclipsed the $30,000 mark, but none made a sale. On the other hand, two cars, a '30 Tudor and a '27 Touring, went for under $20,000. The real bargain: the '30 Tudor that went for $3,000.

However, it seems trucks are coming into their own right. Trucks accounted for eight sales, over a quarter of the total. Of that eight, only four crossed the block for under $10,000, and of those four, two were '90s models.

We even spotted some killer deals out in the for sale area. Good friend Scott Gafforini drove away in a cherry pie, rust-free, fully documented '62 Cadillac Coupe de Ville for $4,000. An original-paint, completely gennie, and clean '64 Buick Wildcat sat unsold on Saturday for an asking price of $4,500. We also saw a '60 Bel Air we'd consider for $2,000 and a half-restored'62 Olds convertible for under three grand. Yeah, it was a buyer's market out there, Jack!

But alas, once Saturday's over, we've got to start thinking about heading home. Due to time constraints, we left Sunday morning as the sun came up. To offset the early wake, we treated ourselves to a nice, ambling trip along the cliffs on PCH. We've found it gives us plenty of time to relax...and make plans for next year's trip!