23Rd Annual Goodguys West Coast Nationals Deuce

23rd Annual Goodguys West Coast Nationals - A Pleasant Destination

The 23rd Annual Goodguys West Coast Nationals

From the January, 2010 issue of Street Rodder

By Ryan Manson

For the past 22 years, some of the finest hot rods, customs, and classic cars on the West Coast have gathered at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton, California, as part of the Goodguys West Coast Nationals. Over 3,500 cars rolled in for the August weekend festivities which included hot rod seminars, vendor exhibits, swap meet and car corral, and our favorite, the mini engine display. The Goodguys staff was busy all weekend handing out endless awards to a sea of worthy cars, while we seemed to have the easy job: picking 10 cars to add to the Turtle Wax Top 100 finalists list.

While the show formally kicked off Friday morning, the week preceding the event was packed full of gearhead activities for those who wanted to get things started early. Known as "Hot Rod Week," the Goodguys had tours planned each day that left the Hilton host hotel departing for different Bay Area destinations, taking in various local shops, sites, and museums that catered to us hot rodders.

This year, the West Coast Nats had a very special feature in the Roy Brizio Street Rod Reunion. Gathering over 100 Brizio-built cars for the first time in history, it was definitely an impressive sight to behold. The Brizio crew was on hand fielding questions and Roy was signing copies of his new coffee table book, Roy Brizio Street Rods: Modern Hot Rods Defined. It's easy to forget the impact the shop has had on the traditional hot rod movement until their body of work can be taken in at once, in person; it truly is spectacular.

We managed to fit in the weekend's events on our way home from Bonneville Speed Week, capping off a most excellent road trip. From the hot rods on the salt to the hot rods cruising the fairgrounds, we definitely needed to decompress upon returning to the daily grind. Next year, we're going to try to make it out early for Hot Rod Week and put some more miles under our belt. Hope to see you on the road!

23Rd Annual Goodguys West Coast Nationals Turtle Wax

Turtle Wax Tech Tips
Clean Wheels and Tires Regularly
Turtle Wax introduced ICE wheel and tire cleaner and ICE tire shine. It's important to clean your wheels and tires regularly since brake dust, grease, and other harmful road elements can cause corrosion and damage. With ICE wheel and tire cleaner, you can remove buildup and grime in one step.

The concentrated formula removes road soil buildup on tire sidewalls and brightens lettering with its unique low pH formula and co-solvent cleaners. It also breaks down brake dust and other road debris for an easy clean up. It is safe for use on all aluminum, chrome, steel, painted, and clearcoated wheels, as well as all makes of rubber tires.

Handy Tips Headers:
Block hugger headers for Ford small-block engines have long been around but they have often caused interference with the motor mounts. To keep a street rod look but with more options for motor mounts check out Ford Racing's SR header (M-9430-SR302), which features a semi-clamshell design to resist cracking.

Modular engines seem to be getting more popular due to their unique look and excellent driveability but headers can be an issue. Luckily Hanksville Hotrods (www.hanksvillehotrods.com) makes Two-Valve block huggers and lake-style headers and Sanderson (www.sandersonheaders.com) produces Four-Valve block huggers. In some cars like the Factory Five Hot Rod we built last year, you can use factory-style headers originally designed for Mustangs. In fact BBK just began producing their Two-Valve header with a Three-Valve flange to make it easy to squeeze a Ford Three-Valve into a Factory Five. If you'd prefer to build your own headers, SPD Exhaust produces flanges for just about any Ford engine you can imagine (www.spdexhaust.com).