Word has gotten out quickly: The Goodguys Rod & Custom Association isn't just for old guys with '32 Fords and lounge chairs anymore. The world of hot rods has changed ever so perceptibly in favor of the younger (younger feeling?), more active rodder. In the past few years that Goodguys has embraced the '64-and-up muscle car audience, their ranks have swelled with street machines, Pro Touring muscle cars, and even the occasional '70s disco-bumper machine. Yeah, we even sneak our project cars into the mix, and nobody seems to mind. That's a far cry from the geriatrics of past years. Add in a Street Challenge autocross track, and the youngsters are hangin' on the fence by the hundreds.
As a coast-to-coast organization, the Goodguys people have their work cut out for them as they trek across the country, hitting all the regions on the way. Understandably, the Southwest gets the lion's share of the attention in the beginning of the year as the rest of the country emerges from its winter slumber. With much of the country socked in by inclement weather this spring, it was sunny and mild in Del Mar, California, the weekend of April 9-11. We were there to soak up the SoCal hot rod action and capture the Street Challenge Autocross, choosing to focus on our favorite muscle cars.
If you've never been to a Goodguys show, you don't have to haul all the way to Southern California. By the time you read this, the Goodguys will have their travelling road show in high gear in the Midwest and the East Coast. If you take your hot rods and muscle cars seriously, you haven't gotten the full experience until you've become a Goodguy!
Tom Fogelsong is just 23,...
Tom Fogelsong is just 23, but he's already assembled his first muscle car on his own: a 5.3L LM7-powered '67 Camaro that he autocrosses all the time. The Tempe, Arizona, resident did the LS engine swap on his own and added a liberal dose of Hotchkis suspension components. Fogelsong's grandfather was the original owner, who purchased the Camaro in February of '67. Fogelsong remembers riding in the car everywhere as a kid.
We dig custom pinstriping,...
We dig custom pinstriping, and Cisneros Pinstriping (www.CisnerosPinstriping.com) was on hand at Del Mar to demonstrate the finer techniques of this resurging art form. You can see that even the youngsters were spellbound by it.
We'd seen Turn Key Engine...
We'd seen Turn Key Engine Supply's '67 Nova in Super Chevy magazine, and really enjoyed seeing it in person (www.TurnKeyEngine.com). This modernized street rat features a 6.0L LS engine with a T4 Turbonetics turbo and PWR air-to-air intercooler that puts out 1,050 hp at 14 psi of boost with 116 octane, and 750 hp at 6 psi of boost with pump gas.
At Del Mar, we checked out...
At Del Mar, we checked out GM Performance Parts' new E-Rod engine package. The emission-compliant package features the 6.2L 430hp LS3 engine from the C6 Corvette, and includes everything needed for a smog-legal installation into any hot rod. We've picked up one for an installation story-stay tuned as we drop it into a '76 Nova!
We find a lot of new products...
We find a lot of new products that make their debut at Goodguys, and the Select Series of shocks by Ridetech qualifies as one of the coolest things we've seen in a long time. These mono-tube construction shocks have a damping valve that can be changed with the flip of a cockpit-mounted switch. One position provides a soft ride on the open road and the other firms things up for aggressive track work. It's like having two radically different suspensions in one car. For a set of four, the price starts at $1,200.
When we saw this '61 AMC Rambler...
When we saw this '61 AMC Rambler owned by Jim and Marsha Hawes of Carlsbad, California, it stopped us in our tracks. We don't know much about it; we hovered over this car for half an hour to find its owner, but to no avail. All we know is that it has a 454 big-block Chevy and a six-speed transmission. What sets it apart-besides its Rambler origins-is its single-minded dedication to the Trans-Am/NASCAR ethic. Ironically, Trans Am hadn't made its appearance by 1961, so it's a bit of a heretic, and NASCAR hadn't advanced to the technology level you see here with the tube-frame chassis and big-block mill. Let your eyes pour over these photos and try to imagine what it would be like to open this baby up on a high-speed road course ...
Albert Melchior gets the long-distance...
Albert Melchior gets the long-distance award for hauling his fresh '73 Trans Am all the way from Toronto, Canada. And just as you'd suspect, he wasn't about to let it gather dust in the car show when he unloaded it in Del Mar. We can't fault him for anything, well, except maybe for letting Bill Howell of MuscleRides.com wheel this thing around the autocross.
On his tech sheet, Dan Weishaar...
On his tech sheet, Dan Weishaar of San Diego says he's a professional idiot, and yet enigmatically he's not in upper-level management. We'd say he's pretty sharp-minded to turn the barge-like handling of a '68 Road Runner into a corner-carving machine. Weishaar relies on a complement of Hotchkis suspension goodies, Wilwood disc brakes, BFG KDW tires, a manually shifted 727 trans, and plenty of snot from a short-deck "B" engine to hustle this beast around corners. Can we get a "yee-haw!"
Ralph Cimarusti of Valley...
Ralph Cimarusti of Valley Center, California, brought out this meticulously prepared street/strip '72 Nova. We're just diving into our '68 Nova project so we were all over this thing. Unfortunately, the owner failed to show, so details are limited. We think the car was built or tuned by Phil Confer of Bob's Carbs in Oceanside, California. It's got a full 'cage, and a serious big-block resides underhood. We place it conservatively in the high 10s based on what we saw.
Don Prudhomme's '71 Plymouth...
Don Prudhomme's '71 Plymouth 'Cuda Top Fuel Funny Car and matching car carrier was a big hit with young and old alike. Remember the Snake and Mongoose Hot Wheels? They're collector items now, but we had 'em when they were new!
Displayed at the Meguiar's...
Displayed at the Meguiar's booth, this '68 Mustang by Scott and Laura Taylor (Sacramento, California) is so nice, you'd think it never got near a dyno, but the couple swears by its 950hp dyno number. The 490-cube dual-quad small-block Ford uses nitrous to make those oats. Other goodies include a five-speed Tremec, 8-quart dry sump, custom frame, and Ridetech suspension.
We don't know why we don't...
We don't know why we don't see more cars like Richard Trujillo's '69 Mustang coupe. These things are still as inexpensive as water, and as Trujillo has proven, they can be made to look absolutely sinister in satin black. It looks so wicked, we don't even mind the poverty steelies. The powertrain is a 302 small-block feeding a C4 automatic.
Mitch Allread of Lancaster,...
Mitch Allread of Lancaster, California, had his Ford freak flag flying with this Powerstroke Deisel-powered rat rod '49 truck. This thing is all homebuilt custom using parts from so many different vehicles-plus a few he made on his own-that it defies classification. And this thing is huge too; the closest thing we can compare it to is the Blastolene Special owned by Jay Leno.
Muscle Car AWARDS
10th Annual Del Mar Nationals
Muscle Machine of the Year Finalist
Matt Alcala
San Diego, CA
1969 Camaro
Autocross Vendor
Mike Maier
Hayward, CA
1966 Mustang
Autocross Street Machine
Mary Pozzi
Monterey, CA
1972 Chevy Camaro
Chevy Muscle
Borjie Forslund
Yorba Linda, CA
1962 Chevy bubbletop
Cool Camaro
Robert Venegus
San Clemente, CA
1969 Camaro
Cool Cruiser
Rick & Val Van Unen
Ripon, CA
1966 Chevy Nova Wagon
Long Distance Award
Albert Melchior
Ontario, Canada
1972 Pontiac
Mighty Muscle
Tom Harmon
San Diego, CA
1969 Chevelle
Mighty Mustang
Mike Yaklyuich
San Clemente, CA
1965 Mustang fastback
Preacher's Pick
Dave Powers
San Juan
Capistrano, CA
1963 Chevy Nova convert
Slick '60s Pick
Paul Alderman
Ellensburg, WA
1969 Chevy
Class Act
Danny Piazza
Riverside, CA
1962 Impala
Flowmaster
American Thunder Award
Kevin Watkins
El Cajon, CA
1966 Ford Mustang
Mopar Muscle
Winfield Wood
Fallbrook, CA
1964 Plymouth
Ya Gotta Drive 'Em
Steve & Francie Rowe
Swan, IA
1964 Corvette
Best Ride on BFG Tires
Rick & Bonnie Billuni
San Marcos, CA
1965 Chevelle two-door wagon
Dare To Be Different
Jim Mariano
Torrance, CA
1961 Rambler
Ford in a Ford
Dennis DeCamp
West Covina, CA
1970 Mustang
Meguiar's Magnificent
Masterpiece Award
Gil & Janet Losi
Murrieta, CA
1970 Pontiac
Slick & Smooth
Jerry & Susan Tucker
El Centro, CA
1967 Nova
Young Guys Pick
Taylor Long
El Cajon, CA
1967 Plymouth Satellite
Builder's Choice Award
Ken Jansen
Abbotsford, BC, Canada
1968 Plymouth