One of the biggest decisions car owners face each and every year is planning just where to go during the peak of rodding season. Those folks who are lucky enough to live on the West Coast can drive the skins off their rides year-round, whereas many of us on the East Coast have only a few glory months to revel in.
Whatever coast you hail from, though, there's usually a lot of planning spent each season figuring out which substantial shows to take in. Many of these events have become larger than life, creating a virtual fantasy world for rodders that allows them to not only see some of the coolest rides in the country, but to also check out the latest technology available from top manufacturers, along with the chance to catch up with old friends, have a few laughs, and take in a multitude of entertainment.
Lou Cinque's '49 Ford sports a 7-inch sectioned body and is treated to '55 Chevy headlights, radiused wheelwells, a custom grille, and custom front and rear bumpers.
On the East Coast, the Syracuse Nationals, hosted for its eighth season at the New York State Fairgrounds, has proven to be one of the events rodders wait for all year. The expansive, tree-lined venue offers great cruising lanes bordered by plenty of vintage buildings across a massive 360 acres. While planning your visit to the Syracuse area, you'd be cheating yourself if you didn't allow for a few extra days to take in some of the amazing stops along the way. A few of the neat places to visit include the scenic Finger Lakes region along the Keyuka; the Cayuga wine trails; the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, which is jam-packed with classic memorabilia; or the Museum of Automotive History, boasting one of the world's largest collections of artifacts of automobile culture.
This year, car owners hit the pavement at the break of dawn for three days, arriving at the fairgrounds to be welcomed by an event schedule that was not for the faint of heart. With weather cooperating throughout the weekend, you could comfortably walk through the venue and take in many of the 200-plus vendors displaying their wares while checking out some of the informative and well-presented tech seminars offered by Hot Rod Air, American Autowire, and Bob Turner. STREET RODDER's Road Tour, led by Jerry Dixey, was on hand along with all the hard-driving rodders who made the picturesque trek to Syracuse eager to talk with other car owners about their experiences along the way. Saturday morning featured the 2nd annual Classic Car Auction presented by Tristate, which brought in plenty of excitement as bidders vied for vintage steel, while across the fairgrounds countless pinstripers from all over the country laid down some of their finest lines for charity auctions that took place all weekend long. Dennis Gage from Speed TV's "My Classic Car" talked with many enthusiasts about his countless experiences as plenty of live entertainment filled the speakers thanks to Dunes and the Del-Tunes and other hard-working performers, all surrounded by the scents of some of the tastiest food vendors ever assembled in one venue.
Fresh from Total Performance, their new SST T-bucket was loaded with style thanks to all the latest goodies from their parts bin, such as classic wheels, a new-styled interior, and a dramatic blue metallic body topped with tasty white racing stripes.
If this all sounds like fun, just wait till night creeps in, 'cuz you're only halfway there! Within the facility there is a giant grandstand area that plays host to a tire-burning competition to get each evening started, followed by an old-school auto thrill show and a demolition derby capped off by scorching-hot flame-throwing demonstrations and vibrant fireworks displays. Well known for their endless giveaway program, the promoters teamed up this year with New Age Motorsports to build a simply wicked turnkey "American Graffiti"-inspired coupe to be given away to one lucky car owner in attendance on Saturday. Once the fanfare was over, the lucky person taking away the keys was Nancy Ostrander of Niskayuna, New York. By the time the event came to a close, more than 6,800 cars had cruised the grounds, and an estimated 75,000 visitors had stopped in to dig the massive amounts of horsepower on display. As in years past, thanks to the overwhelming cooperation of the Central New York Car Club Association-the show's hosts-and area service clubs, donations from the proceeds of the event amounted to $60,000, bringing the eight-year donation total to $230,000.
Any way you slice it or dice it, this event needs to be on everyone's must-experience list for 2008. You can check it all out at www.rightcoastcars.com.
Mike Bacon's Endicott, NY-based two-tone '56 is a great example of a Crown Vick. Mike snagged a Top 100 pick for his '56. | 
Dave and Sue Ciappa made their way behind the wheel of the couple's SBC/ 4L60E-powered '53 Starlight coupe that truly deserves a Top 100 pick, as well as a closer look in an upcoming issue. | 
John St. Germain's '36 Ford roadster, Time Bomb, is perhaps one of the nicest custom rods we've run across, with its chopped Carson-style top and Packard grille. |
Cranston, RI's Ken Burghardt cruised to the Syracuse Nats in style in his super '34 sedan. | 
You may remember this beauty from the May 2007 issue of STREET RODDER. | 
Eric Hill's '34 Ford pickup was a shoe-in for a Top 100. Not only is this '51 Merc Flathead-powered highboy period perfect, but it's also Eric's very first attempt at building a hot rod. |
Gary Newman has a true hot rod with his no-frills '31 Model A with a 3 1/2-inch chop, Winters quick-change, stroked Flathead, and '46 Ford dash. | 
Methuen, MA's Rufus Price wowed the Syracuse crowd (and us) with his awesome '40 Plymouth coupe. | 
A member of the STREET RODDER Road Tour gang, Tony Brandt's '36 Dodge roadster is a true long-hauler with more than just good looks thanks to a Mopar 360 V-8 linked to a 904 automatic and 8 3/4-inch rear. |
Tony Muscatella from Rochester, NY, brought his chopped, shaved, and frenched '53 Chevy. | 
A 47-year love affair with this period-perfect '33 Ford coupe earned Colchester, CT's Brian Snell a Top 100 pick. | 
Calling it a '32 Speed Queen, Jack Mulligan's pickup started life as the front half of a '32 Essex two-door sedan that he mated to a '34 Ford pickup rear. |
As low and evil as they come, Patrick McGee's '51 Merc got its dramatic looks thanks to a hard chop, Air Ride Tech 'bags, Packard taillights, Boyd wheels, and a sweet floating grille, while Ford V-10 power gives it plenty of go. | 
If you dig show rods from the '60s, John Butchko's hammered '30 Ford coupe was a blast down memory lane with its altered wheelbase, hard chop, one-off grille, fire-breathing Hemi, and wild gold metalflake vibe. | 
Chevys were scorching hot all weekend long, especially with the likes of Patrick Leveille's orange cream pearl '36 in attendance, with its custom grille, V-Rod headlights, bagged stance, and mystical ghost flames. |