Cool Coupe Named Goodguys' '09 Hot Rod Of The Year
Bill Steele's Hemi-powered 1930 Model A Ford coupe from Oakdale, Pennsylvania, was named Goodguys' 2009 Hot Rod of the Year at the recent 21st Hot Rod Nationals at O'Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis. Steele, a custom motorcycle builder by trade, explained after the awards ceremony this was his first wholehearted attempt at designing a hot rod. The car came to Indy with only 25 miles on it but Steele was more than happy to drive it during the competition and thrash it a little on the drag strip. The award criteria calls for all participants to make a lap around the famed Indy Brickyard, a 100-mile roundtrip run up to Sharpsville, Indiana, then back to O'Reilly Raceway Park for an 1/8th mile time trial on the dragstrip. Steele's A Bomb passed all tests with flying colors. Steele's coupe was completed in nine months. The body features a 4-inch chop, a removable roof insert and cowl, a molded visor, Terraplane headlights, and PPG 12 percent gloss Downtown Brown paint with black semigloss accents.
The chassis is a Roadster Shop '32 with a Super Bell front axle, four-bar rear suspension with Air Ride ShockWaves, Vega cross-steering, Buick brake drums, and Spotlight Artillery wheels featuring custom machined caps with grooves that match the trim rings. The coupe gets its heart from a 331 Chrysler Hemi with four Strombergs on a custom intake by Josh Hart, a Joe Hunt magneto, and custom headers. It's mated to a Corvette six-speed thanks to a Ram Industries clutch and a Hot Heads aluminum flywheel. The rear is a 3.70-geared 9-inch posi. The coupe's interior is ultra-slick and sports a '38 Dodge dash Classic Instruments gauges, handmade aluminum bomber seats, a custom arm rest, and a late '50s Lone Star boat steering wheel. For the big win, Steele gets national bragging rights for a year and will also be invited to Scottsdale in November to join all Goodguys Terrific 12 award winners at the season-ending Southwest Nationals, November 20, 21 and 22 at Westworld.
Chopit Named Builder of the Year at Fresno
This past March Blackie Gejeian held his 50th Anniversary Fresno Autorama, one of the nation's most prestigious shows. This year Blackie named Gary "Chopit" Fioto "Builder of the Year"-quite an honor for anyone when you consider the talents of the many builders showcasing their creations each year at the Autorama. "It was an honor to be selected for this award by such icon in the hot rod and Kustom car community as Blackie" said Chopit. "Chopit Kustom was thrilled to have three Kustoms on display at this amazing show, which included the Beatnik bubble-top, Tuff Enuff '50 Merc, and Potion-a '51 Merc. Chopit has been a friend of STREET RODDER for years and we're all pleased as punch he's been recognized in such a manner! Congrats Chopit! Now what's next?
Cool-Flex Under New Ownership
Cool-Flex, the leading supplier of fluid transfer hoses for hot rods, classic trucks, muscle cars, low riders, and tuners, announces the purchase of the company from Total Performance, Inc. by Jim Wilkos. The company has been renamed Cool-Flex Motorsports and is launching a new chassis and suspension component division. Flexible, universal, and made in the U.S.A., Cool-Flex offers radiator and heater hoses for automotive enthusiasts of both vintage and current, domestic and import vehicles, and provides all specialty cars with all copper construction for greater heat dissipation.
Not just hoses anymore, Cool-Flex Motorsports' new street rod division, Wintec Fabrication, is manufacturing chassis and suspension components for T-Buckets, Model As, and '32 Fords. Some of their featured products include a signature pinion-mounted emergency brake, radius rods, shock brackets, and axles. Their products are universal and adaptable to many different applications. They are also dealers for many other street rod suppliers including Walker Radiator, Lokar, TCI Engineering, O'Brien Truckers, Scotts Fans, Pete & Jake's, Super Bell, Borgeson Universal, Early Wheel Co., Watson's StreetWorks, and New Age Motorsports. For more info check out www.coolflex.com or www.wintecfabrication.com, or give 'em a call at (203) 265-3617 for Cool-Flex Motorsports or (203) 294-1339 for Wintec Fabrication.
The Classic Automobilia Tour from "The Zoo" to Burlington
Fall in the Midwest and Northeast may mean pretty colors but, for street rodders in those areas, it means the wrap up of the rod run season with the NSRA Nationals North in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and the NSRA Northeast Nationals in Burlington, Vermont. Since they occur on back-to-back weekends and are only about 1,200 miles apart, the week between was a perfect choice for the Classic Automobilia Road Tour.
Heading out from Kalamazoo on Sunday, September 13, after the awards at the Nationals North, the Tour will include Monday stops at Flaming River, GearStar Transmissions, and TP Tools in Canfield, Ohio. Besides their fantastic nostalgic showroom, TP Tools has just completed work on a new building to showcase all of their own personal special interest vehicles and memorabilia.
Tuesday the Tour will stop at the Classic Automobilia offices in Youngstown, Ohio, a get a look at all of their cool pedal cars and automobilia items. After a morning visit at Rocky Hinge in Girard, Ohio, it is just a two hour drive to DuBois, Pennsylvania, where we will get a personal tour of the huge collection of rare '60s race cars owned by Don Fezel. Wednesday starts with a tour of the original site of the Woodstock Music Festival and the new Woodstock museum in Bethel, New York. Wednesday evening the Road Tourians will be guests at the home of Sue and Dennis O'Brien in Charlton, Massachusetts. O'Brien Truckers is well known for cast aluminum products and they own the largest collection of club plaques on the planet.
Thursday morning street rodders from around the New England area will gather at Intercity Lines in Warren, Massachusetts. The folks at Intercity Lines will give us a look at how they handle all of the special interest vehicles they transport each year. After breakfast at Intercity Lines it is just a three hour trip north to the NSRA Northeast Nationals in Burlington. This is an extended year event and has grown by leaps and bounds over the last few years. Join the Classic Automobilia Road Tour for the whole week, just a few days, or stop by to say "hi" at any of the many stops along the way. A registration form is available at www.streetrodderweb.com along with the information on all eight of this year's Tours. Call the Road Tour Hotline at (800) 664-1362 for all the latest details and updates.