In the world of phantom rods this year's nod has to go to the Coast to Coast '39 Ford roadster, as four made the selection group. The "final four" were comprised of cars belonging to Jeff and Judy Osborn of Mt. Vernon, Illinois, who received the Top Ten at Indy for their lime-green ride; John and Pat Miller of Gahanna, Ohio, received the award at Columbus for their burnt-orange ride; Tom Simmons of Fallbrook, California, at Pleasanton, California, for his candy-flames-over-orange-paint ride; and Mark Wcislo of Westport, Connecticut, received the award at Rhinebeck for his House of Kolor Sunset Pearl ride.
One last mention on phantom rods: Wayne Leach of Penn Yen, New York, was on hand with his '30 Ford phantom phaeton at Columbus. Why a phantom? 'Cause it started life as a sedan. The workmanship was excellent, and tied with styling touches, such as the use of a '40 Ford dash, early chrome wires, Coker wide whites, you have an outstanding street rod.
What else? Probably the most unusual car to receive a Top Ten was the '48 Crosley of Bill Ross at Pleasanton. Outfitted in wild flames, a V-8-60 mill, white walls, and a Jayne Mansfield-inspired tribute to Von Dutch on the nose made it different.
Something from outside the mainstream of rodding is the, and we might add well-done, '36 Plymouth owned by Thomas Flurry of Mattituck, New York. The car is wrapped in a brilliant Candy Apple Red from House of Kolor over a 3-inch chopped top plus a combined 4 inches of sectioning and channeling. It sports a homemade grille, Billet Specialties wheels, and on and on.
Now for the fun part-which car is the SRM Street Rod of the Year for 2001? Well, it came down to three choices. One we already mentioned is the '34 Ford pickup of Shine's and two we haven't. The two remaining street rods come under the heading of "incredible." The all-black-and-chrome TrackStar coupe of Bobby and Cindy Alloway's from Louisville, Tennessee, takes a time-honored design and comes away with something fresh and fun-filled. Next up is Barry and Ginny Lobeck's black-with-red-grille-insert '32 Ford cabriolet of Cleveland, Ohio. Barry has done what Barry does best-make a Deuce look right. All three rods fulfill a major criteria-innovative.
In selecting the STREET RODDER Street Rod of the Year there are a number of critical factors. The car must exhibit freshness and creativity in its style and quality of workmanship. This doesn't mean a checkbook car, but it does mean well-thought-out styling and well-executed engineering. The final criteria is one that will most likely cause a car to "stumble and stutter;" The car must have a great deal of "street" in it. Remember, we are STREET RODDER, the World's Street Rodding Authority, and we are looking for cars that perform on the street. We define "street" as a car that looks "gooood," is driveable, has relative passenger comfort, and is blessed with loads of overall performance (handling, acceleration, and braking). We don't get our boxers in a bunch over trailers. We can tell if a car is streetable and trailered versus trailered and not streetable.
It's with a great deal of confidence that we feel all of the cars that receive a Top Ten award are driveable, if not daily drivers. To be recognized as best of the best we are looking for that incomparable street rod that's a driver as well as something special.
The pickup of Shine's is a driver-he will drive it anytime, anywhere, and under all conditions. We believe Shine has more off-road miles on his hot rod than any in the country. (Remember the photos from El Mirage?) We also found Shine's workmanship first rate and filled with innovative ideas-a real breath of fresh air.
The TrackStar coupe of Alloway's can be driven, but even Bobby will admit that the super low stance does make for some tense moments. It's hard to beat the quality of workmanship on any Alloway car. Couple his attention for detail and ability to attain just the right stance (a trait all three cars share) with the trademark Alloway brute horsepower, and it makes his coupe a true hot rod.
Lobeck's cabriolet is a road warrior as well. We have watched him drive his hot rod from home to Charlotte and back, all points in between, regardless of the weather. Okay, no snow driving! Lobeck's treatment to the cabriolet by gently sloping the windshield posts and frame rearward give it a roadster appearance while at the same time keeping the cabriolet side glass. To this he introduced a roadster top-innovative and highly functional. By allowing the use of the more stylish roadster top, which enhances the look of the car, coupled with the inherent cabriolet features, this street rod is even more desirable as a driver. It combines the best of both worlds, the roadster's look and cabriolet comfort. Lots of street here!
What to do? It's was a great deal of anxiety, but the '32 Ford highboy cabriolet meets and exceeds all our criteria. The cabo is beautiful in its appearance; is infused with innovative treatments; and can be driven anytime, anywhere, with loads of performance. It can do it all and do it well. Congratulation's to Barry and Ginny Lobeck for receiving our 2001 Street Rod of the Year.