Profiles From The Road Tour - Expanded For Web

Hank Langsenkamp and Lee Johnson

Ft. Lauderdale, FL
’36 Ford Phaeton
Our favorite phaeton was this dark green and black ’36 sitting on a TCI Engineering frame. The original body, chopped 2 inches, has had all wood removed. The car is powered by a Ford Motorsport-injected 351W engine. The Cadillac seats are covered with leather upholstery. It’s a beautiful car and has won First-In-Class awards at the Grand National Roadster Show, the Portland Roadster Show, the Sacramento Autorama, and elsewhere. Despite those credentials, Hank Langsenkamp’s ’36 has never looked more at home than out there on the Bonneville salt. Rhett Roy got this photo as Hank and copilot Lee Johnson cruised by. Hank has owned the phaeton for approximately 20 years and, after reading so many Street Rodder articles about the Road Tour, decided to make the trip in 2010 as an 80th birthday present to himself.

Ray and Johnny Barrows

Naples, FL
’41 Willys Coupe
"Despite the Pro Street look, this car was built to be a driver," Ray Barrows says, who has been driving this Willys since it was finished in 2006. The car is equipped with A/C, power rack steering, and air suspension. Hot rodding is a fulfillment of a passion Ray’s had since he was a kid building model cars. Getting out there and visiting historic sights around the country, seeing various custom shops, and talking to people about cars are the reasons he participates on Road Tours. He and his brother, Johnny, always wanted to make the trip to Bonneville and this trip fit the bill. By the time they got to Utah, they were 2,500 miles from Florida. That’s a long ride home, but Ray says he enjoys it. Every time I can do this, I will, he promises.

Dewey Cassler

Pittsburgh, PA
’32 Ford Roadster
It’s hard to find a more iconic hot rod than a black flamed ’32 Ford highboy roadster, especially when it’s blasting down an open stretch of road. When we asked Dewey Cassler about his ride, the first words out of his mouth were, "This is the car I’ve always wanted!" Since buying it off the Internet five years ago, Dewey has managed to add about 7,000 miles a year. That average probably went up in 2010 after the run from Pittsburgh to the Road Tour and back. Dewey is another return Road Tourian who had enough fun in 2009 to compel him to do it all over again. After the tour, Dewey continued onto Los Angeles before turning around and heading to Pennsylvania. Back home, the car is his daily driver during the summer months.

Bryan Hamilton and Sam Cheal

Bowling Green, KY
’65 Ford Station Wagon
While taking a break between high school and college, Sam Cheal decided to travel from Australia to the United States to visit his brother, Bryan Hamilton. Both of them are gearheads. Bryan has owned a variety of hot rods and muscle cars over the years and has been driving the Ford wagon for two years. The size of the car made it perfect Road Tour transportation (and occasionally lodging). Their goal for the tour was "to do as much as we can." At this point in the tour, they’d already gone for a swim in Lake Michigan and were eager to get to the salt. The Honda Rebel motorcycle they’d recently bought was for getting around in the pits; it only got a few strange looks from the bikers we passed in South Dakota who were heading to Sturgis for Bike Week.

Ray Astamendi and Nick Sfetku

Burbank, CA
’60 Pontiac Ventura
Ray Astamendi and Nick Sfetku are our neighbors in Southern California, but were eager to get to the Street Rod Nationals and then to Bonneville, so the trip from Burbank to Louisville and then home via the scenic route was far, but worth it. Hey, if the Florida guys can do it, then the California guys can too! This was the first Street Rodder Road Tour for Ray and Nick, and Ray’s gray 389 Poncho was the perfect ride. Ray found the car on eBay about five years ago and has kept it virtually bone stock. He has other cars at home for taking to car shows, but this one is his jump-in-and-go driver.