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Goodguys Southwest Nationals Scottsdale - Best Of The SouthwestArizona’s finest at the Goodguys Show in Scottsdale From the April, 2012 issue of Street Rodder By Tim Bernsau
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Guess which ’51 Merc custom... Guess which ’51 Merc custom won the Chopped and Dropped award. It was Howard Blackburn’s egg yolk yellow pavement scuffer from Peoria, Arizona. In addition to being chopped, slammed, shaved, nosed, and decked, this sled is Mopar-powered with a built-up 440 and 727 trans. Southern California hot rodders are raised to believe that we live in the center of the hot rodding universe, where trends are born and where all the finest cars can be found. That’s actually in our school textbooks. So naturally, we feel a little confused when we drive across the desert to Scottsdale, Arizona, for the Goodguys Spring Nationals (in March) or the Goodguys Southwest Nationals (in November) and find ourselves surrounded by thousands of exceptional rods, customs, classic trucks, and muscle cars that aren’t from California! We’re getting used to it though. We were back at WestWorld of Scottsdale for the second-to-last Goodguys show of the year. The new Goodguys event in Del Mar means that Scottsdale isn’t their season finale anymore, but Goodguys still uses this show to award the Muscle Car of the Year and to display other “Of The Year” winners from the season, including Hot Rod of the Year. Other attractions include the humongous exhibitor building, crowded with aftermarket manufacturers promoting their newest products, and the always-fantastic swap meet with not-so-new but valuable merchandise. In between the two are 19 acres filled with approximately 2,000 show cars of every description. Here are some of our favorites. Not every car in this article is from Arizona, but not one of them is from California. That’s humbling for us, but we’ll get over it.  Dale and Joann Lackore shipped...  Dale and Joann Lackore shipped their ’55 Olds to Pleasanton and were en route home to Texas when we met them. Dale has built the car three times in 43 years. The current version runs a 455 Olds engine and is modified with ’56 tailfins and taillights, a ’58 Impala roof, Fatman frontend, and 138 hood louvers, among other things.  Lots of red and white Tommy...  Lots of red and white Tommy the Greek–style ’striping is the finishing touch on Jerry Kilgore’s traditional ’32 roadster. The Chevy 350 is treated to triple Rochester 2G carbs, Olds Rocket valve covers, and megaphone headers. It’s backed by a five-speed.  That’s the original factory...  That’s the original factory paint on Denny and Bonnie Cissell’s ’49 Pontiac. Denny goes in for genuine GM accessories like the visor, umbrella case, hat holder, and tissue dispenser, plus a ’55 A/C unit. The engine is a high-compression inline-eight.  Don Stevens has owned his...  Don Stevens has owned his ’30 A roadster for 25 years, but this was its maiden voyage after being totaled four years ago. The four-banger runs Winfield carbs and a Miller head. Headlights are ’29 Woodlites. The Kelsey Hayes wire and Norm Grabowski shifter knob remind us of the ’29 Stevens had here last time.  The hood louvers in Bill Andreski’s...  The hood louvers in Bill Andreski’s ’56 Plymouth were punched with Ed Roth’s old 3-inch louver press. A new crate Hemi sits underneath, tied to a Tremec five-speed. The seats are covered in original seat cover fabric.  All ’57 Ford two-door wagons...  All ’57 Ford two-door wagons are awesome, but Terry and Ellie Jones’ Ford 390-powered custom cruiser, with ’57 Fairlane quarters, hardtop-style doors, leather upholstery, ’58 Ford headlights, and about 100 others mods, is especially awesome.  This show seems to attract...  This show seems to attract great early Ford sedans, such as Steve Bryant’s olive green Tudor and that burgundy one in the background. Bryant’s ’31 with a ’32 grille is powered by a Chevy small-block with an Offenhauser intake and a pair of deuces. A pair of bomber buckets seats were added inside.  The wheels and fenders on...  The wheels and fenders on the teardrop trailer were matched to those on Gene Alexander’s ’40 Ford, all the way from Superior, NE. With a white tuck ’n’ roll split bench seat, Mooneyes gauges, wide whites, and that teardrop, Alexander’s coupe looks like it just arrived from the ’60s.  Jeff Slinkard’s ’27 track-nose...  Jeff Slinkard’s ’27 track-nose T, built by Stewart Fabricating, all started with that Sprint car nose, which has been narrowed 3 inches and equipped with a custom grille. The 327 is backed by a five-speed. The hand-laid ’glass body remains in gelcoat and looks great.  The only way this just-finished...  The only way this just-finished ’31 roadster pickup would look better is with salt under it. Ron Simm was going for a salt racer theme and the ET wheels, zoomies, nerf bar, rear push bar, and aluminum bomber seats take it there. Note the louvered ’33 grille. It rides on a homebuilt chassis with split wishbones in front and rear quarter-elliptic springs. Painless Performance Products Presents STREET RODDER TOP 100 For the Top 100 program, STREET RODDER attends 10 particular car shows each year and picks 10 vehicles at each to make up the Top 100. For more on where those shows are and how they’re voted on, check www.streetrodder.com.  Larry Vail, Surprise, AZ /...  Larry Vail, Surprise, AZ / ’32 Ford roadster The essential, simple, homebuilt hot rod. Larry Vail modified the repro steel roadster body with a cowl vent and cowl bead. The Speedway buckets were altered and anodized to look old; plans are to do the same to the wheels. The engine is a Chevy small-block. “This is not a show car, it’s a driver,” Larry told us. So we gave it an award.  Larry & Dee Wilson, Gilbert,...  Larry & Dee Wilson, Gilbert, AZ / ’55 Buick Century This just-finished Chevy 454-powered maroon and tan Buick is a driver, riding on a Mustang II–style frontend and four-bar rear. The interior was redone with a modified dash and a pair of refinished Honda bucket seats, with A/C from Vintage Air. Larry Wilson couldn’t wait to fire up the big-block, drawing a crowd.  Bob Kile, Scottsdale, AZ /...  Bob Kile, Scottsdale, AZ / ’31 Ford roadster pickup This two-owner, old-time traditional rod was bought from the Texas rancher who bought it new and hot-rodded with all pre-’48 or similar parts. The Flathead wears an Eddie Meyer intake, heads, and manifold, with a ’39 transmission and Zephyr gears behind it. The Z’d rear ’rails and dropped axle bring it down 2-1/2 inches.  Tim Kirby, Fountain Hills,...  Tim Kirby, Fountain Hills, AZ / ’33 Ford coupe Fenderless ’33 coupes make knockout hot rods, as this chopped-and-channeled beauty from Hot Rods by Dean proves. Three deuces feed the old 303 mill, which is hooked to a five-speed trans. The wheels are original 16-inch Kelsey Hayes “milk truck” wheels. The interior is covered in black tuck ’n’ roll Naugahyde, and the headlights are from a ’35 Nash.  Jim Bridgewater, Paradise...  Jim Bridgewater, Paradise Valley, AZ / ’40 Ford convertible After buying the convertible three years ago, Jim Bridgewater swapped the ZZ3 for a GM Ram Jet. Components like the Heidt’s IFS front end, rear airbags, and Cadillac eight-way power seats make the contemporary very enjoyable on the street.  Dave McGary, Paradise Valley,...  Dave McGary, Paradise Valley, AZ / ’39 Lincoln Zephyr There aren’t many of these classics left, and few as nicely done at this mildly modified specimen. The original V-12 features rare Skoval heads and is fed by a pair of Strombergs. The oval vent windows are rare accessories. Dave McGary is the second owner and added a modern sound system with a CD player and satellite radio.  Allan Walsh, Gilbert, AZ /...  Allan Walsh, Gilbert, AZ / ’51 Chevy The screaming green paint, Watson-inspired scallops, and Radir wheels on this Chevy sled caught our eye. The top was chopped 4 inches and the B-pillar removed to make it a hardtop, and an airbag suspension slams it to the ground. A 383 Chevy stroker powers the custom, which was built at Sledsville.  Floyd Oldewurtel, Phoenix,...  Floyd Oldewurtel, Phoenix, AZ / ’30 Ford coupe Notice anything different about the dimensions on this cool, owner-built coupe? In order to fit the twin-cam Ford engine, the custom-fabricated frame and hood were stretched 6 inches. The body is original with a 6-inch chop. And the color is not white, but the palest shade of gray.  Charlie Sumrall, Peoria, AZ...  Charlie Sumrall, Peoria, AZ / ’32 Ford coupe Built with a reproduction body, but intended to look old. A 250ci inline-six engine, Winters quick-change, external hinges, and front and rear buggy springs contribute to the nostalgic style. The grille is from a Thames truck, made in the U.K. by Ford. Charlie’s Deuce coupe rides on a stretched, kicked, and pinched frame.  James Abraham, Phoenix, AZ...  James Abraham, Phoenix, AZ / ’50 Oldsmobile Rocket 88 convertible Talk about stunning, this gorgeous resto-custom spent years disassembled in boxes before its transformation. Now it’s powered by a Chevy Ram Jet FI engine and modified with custom leather seats, Halibrand wheels, Fatman Fabrications independent front suspension, and a deep black finish. PowerBraid loom from Painless is an open-weave, high-temperature loom, which will allow moisture to pass through and not puddle inside like a conventional loom. PowerBraid is also split and has great memory so installation is simple. This black covering will enhance any project. John Greenwood Sun Lake, AZ The ’47 was a team effort between John Greenwood (a body and fender guy) and his son-in-law, Bob Youngsma (a mechanical guy). When he bought it online sight unseen, John discovered the coupe was as pristine as advertised. He and Youngsma pulled off the front and rebuilt everything from the firewall forward. The straight-axle frontend was replaced by a Mustang II independent suspension. Interior upgrades include Pontiac Sunbird seats, bright red upholstery, a Flaming River shifter column, and a set of Auto Meter gauges. The engine compartment was finished with handbuilt inner aprons and packed with a 302ci Ford Racing crate engine, backed by a C4 transmission and Ford 8-inch rearend. “I wanted it to be a little different than some of the other ’47s I’ve seen,” John told us. He certainly succeeded.  The Ford Racing 302 crate...  The Ford Racing 302 crate engine makes 340 hp and looks great. John accessorized it with a Vintage Air Front Runner serpentine drive system. “It’s a good strong engine and gets a lot of compliments,” he says.
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