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Mike Bida’s ’65 Comet exemplifies... Mike Bida’s ’65 Comet exemplifies the quality of cars coming from Canada (Kelowna). Best of all, it’s homebuilt. It rides on a C4 Vette suspension and 20-inch billet interpretations of Ford’s Magnum 500 wheels. It also features a 4.6 Modular engine against an AOD. But which comes first, the crowd to entertain or entertainment to draw the crowd? Certainly the framework already exists; a kickoff party happens at a restaurant … in another state. It’s only about half an hour away but it doesn’t exactly foster a sense of place around the show. Goodguys hosts a TGIF party at the host hotel, which is admittedly pretty good but that’s on Friday night and it’s clear across town. Unfortunately there’s nothing on Saturday. A group that finds a way to capitalize on that captive audience stands to profit greatly. Shops at other venues have figured this sort of thing out. Something more than just a show needs to exist to give people something to look forward to if they’re going to stay out of town all weekend. So does the Great Northwest Nats have potential? Of course it does. It draws enthusiasts from as far north as Edmonton, Rapid City, and Phoenix if you can believe it. The diversity of the cars those people bring proves that the show does indeed attract quality, too. But without our enthusiasm and most importantly our attendance, potential is all this show will have. It’s really up to us to make it happen but a little more incentive would be nice. So if you’re on the fence next year, take a chance, if only for my sake. At the very least I need a good excuse to visit my pals in the Spokane area. And a really cool show to attend is a great bonus that any of us can live with. Painless Performance Products presents Street Rodder TOP 100 Each year the Street Rodder staff picks 100 choice cars from 10 selected events. Of those cars, online readers nominate five finalists. The one that garners the most votes earns the coveted Painless Performance Products/Street Rodder Street Rod of the Year. To learn more, visit www.streetrodder.com.  Jusdin Lynch, Othello, ID...  Jusdin Lynch, Othello, ID / ’34 Dodge pickup Few pickups have been as handsome as the ones Dodge built from 1933-38. Spokane’s Whipple Motorsports capitalized on the car-like proportions by chopping the grille shell and relocating the headlights. This one rides on a boxed stock frame with a Mustang II IFS and a Ford 8.8-inch axle. Air springs make the 18- and 20-inch Budniks tuck beautifully. Chris Ledger applied the astonishingly handsome PPG Lion’s Mane paint.  Russ Freund, Post Falls, ID...  Russ Freund, Post Falls, ID / ’25 Ford roadster It may have been an AMBR contender but Russ Freund originally built his Flathead-powered bucket as a roller from spare parts and sold it to finance another project. He later bought it back and built it entirely at home—he even painted it with affordable Martin-Senour paint! Dave Swenson built the 59A. George Frank trimmed it. To prove it’s not a dandy Freund spun donuts for Goodguys’ Kirk Jones, blowing off the radiator hoses in the process!  Andy Barchek, Bremerton, WA...  Andy Barchek, Bremerton, WA / ’36 Ford Tudor sedan It’s probably easier to say what Andy Barchek didn’t do to his DeLuxe sedan: he chopped and sectioned it, denuding the rear of the touring-car bustle it once had. Its power is unique: a Yamaha-developed 3.0 V-6 from a Ford Taurus SHO against a T-5. As demanding as this car was to build, Barchek did everything except paint and trim.  Wayne Darby, Richmond, BC,...  Wayne Darby, Richmond, BC, Canada / ’66 Chevy II With all the gasser-inspired cars roaming the earth it’s easy to overlook even the good ones. Not this one. The Hilborn stacks on the 427 are quite a spectacle. So are the four sticks for the Lenco—yes, Lenco—transmission. And it’s built to run hard, too, with a full frame and rollcage. He moved both axles forward 3 inches for weight transfer.  Josh Scott, Spokane, WA /...  Josh Scott, Spokane, WA / ’41 Ford pickup Some of the neatest cars and trucks evolve slowly rather than simply show up all done. That’s Josh Scott’s ’41. It runs a 59A Flathead against a ’39 transmission and rides on chromed ’42-48 Mercury wheels with Firestones. He built it while running his own vintage shop, raising kids, and building bicycles and a ’60 Chevy wagon.  Dusty and Dawn Smith, Spokane,...  Dusty and Dawn Smith, Spokane, WA / ’48 Chevrolet Fleetmaster Sport Coupe We dig this car for the way it looks but love it for how it was built: at home and on a budget using available parts, ingenuity, and help from friends. It’s all tried-and-true parts: 350/350 combo, Mustang II, and 10-bolt axle. The 20-inch wires were a friend’s castoffs. The once-gold spokes were rusty so Dusty meticulously sanded and painted them. The Smiths put on the Spokane Auto/Boat Speed Show.  Tina and Mark Colby, Kalispell,...  Tina and Mark Colby, Kalispell, MT / ’55 Plymouth Belvedere Tina Colby’s magenta pearl Mayflower started out as Lloyd Turner’s only he sadly died right after he finished it. She honors him by driving it almost daily. And drive it does: it has a Camaro subframe, radial whitewalls, a TH350 trans, and a 350 Chevrolet with special shrouds that take Chrysler Hemi rocker covers.  Bud Wolfe, Graham, WA / ’60...  Bud Wolfe, Graham, WA / ’60 Edsel roadster If you’ve never seen a ’60 Edsel you’re not alone: Ford made only 2,846. Bud Wolfe’s started as 1 of 777 sedans. He lopped the top off, chopped the windshield, leaned it back, and fabricated the slick tonneau and speedster windows. Gone is the Y-block; in its place a dual-quad 429.  John and Sheila Emacio, Chattaroy,...  John and Sheila Emacio, Chattaroy, WA / ’56 Chevrolet Nomad Would you believe the guy who originally built this Nomad didn’t like it? It has an LS-6 against a T-56 transmission on an Art Morrison chassis. The only thing that rivals the flawless finish is the tasteful interior, a combination of modern matte-finish leather and OEM-style cloth. About the only thing they’ve done to the car are the Schott wheels and drive it.  Ralph and Barbara Carlaw,...  Ralph and Barbara Carlaw, Kelowna, BC, Canada / ’63 Buick Invicta A car needn’t be outlandish to be a Top 100. In fact, the Carlaws’ Invicta, with its fridge-white paint and blue interior, is quite understated. But it also runs a pumped-up 401 and a 700-R4, late bucket seats, a tilt column with a billet wheel, and Intro wheels. The RideTech elevation control system gives the car the right altitude and attitude for every occasion. Installing the correct size fuse in a circuit can be made easy if you know what all the consumption devices are rated at. If there is only one device, like a wiper motor, and it is rated at 9 amps, a 15-amp fuse will offer plenty of protection even in startup mode. A headlight circuit requires the amp ratings of all the lights combined for proper fuse selection. Just verify that the fuse doesn’t exceed the current rating of any given wire in that circuit.
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