This year's three-day event kicked off on a Friday with over 2,000 street rods cruising into the Clarion Dublin Metro Center. Although registration didn't begin until 11 a.m., hundreds of cars were already seeking prime parking locations by 9 a.m. The day was spent looking at cars and the evening ended with Mike Albert and the Big "E" Band singing a tribute to Elvis.
Judging was an all-day event under the able direction of David Landow of Bethesda, Maryland. David assembled a task force of 12 experts and this group spent eight hours selecting the best of the best. One judge, after 10 hours on the grounds picking the top 100 cars, was overheard saying, "My knee surgery didn't work."
In addition to the 100 6-foot-tall trophies that are awarded, a number of Best of the Best cars were picked.
Best of Show went to Ken Ashley and his 1937 Ford coupe. Ken hails from Louisville, Kentucky, and has been a regular attendee at this show for a number of years.
Brian Phipps of Waverly, Ohio, won the Best Engineered Street Rod award for his '37 Ford.
The cruisers have been particularly supportive of this show over the years, and this year helped raise over $180,000 for the work of the Arthritis Foundation in Central Ohio.
For more information on next year's show or to see pictures of this year's show, visit www.ArthritisAutoShow.com.
Fatman Spouts Wings
We've always believed that most real car guys are fascinated by all things mechanical, particularly those contraptions that are fast, loud, and sexy looking. And few things fit that description better than the fighter aircraft produced during WWII, particularly the P-40.
One of the best-known names in street rodding, Brent Vandervort of Fatman Fabrications, is also a war bird aficionado. Brent is involved in building one of these magnificent airplanes from the ground up, and when he asked tech editor Ron Ceridono to go along on a hunt for P-40 parts, the question didn't have to be repeated.
If you think finding vintage tin is tough, try looking for vintage aluminum. Brent is pictured here inspecting a P-40 Allison engine. Built by General Motors, these V-12 engines had a 5.5-inch bore and a 6-inch stroke for 1,710 ci.
Oh, did we mention that next summer when Tom's Fun Run takes off cross-country, you can count on the Fatman crew to be involved again? Look for the gang to be part of our tour next summer and it looks like we will be traveling from the Goodguys Indy event and heading west to the L.A. Roadster Show for the big Father's Day bash.