The Goodguys Nationals In Columbus - Coming Of Age

Question: How do you know expensive suspension parts are going to work right before you buy them? Answer: If the people who design and sell them actually race them all-out in their development car, it's a good bet the parts are serious. That's the case here with the Mustang rear suspension system from Gateway Classic Mustang.

Gateway's unique rear suspension is quite possibly near perfect; a Watt's link centers the rearend perfectly at all excursion points, and a tubular torque arm increases bite off the corner and reduces brake dive. This maximizes the amount of work done by all four tires for faster lap times, and it improves driver feedback and confidence.

Bowler Performance is well-known for building high-horsepower automatic overdrive transmissions, and to test them, they have a keen interest in building and racing project cars for both autocross and road racing. As part of the R&D into the Ford side of their business, Bowler has built this '70 Torino project, which features a 540hp Roush 427ISR motor and their Bowler 4R70W overdrive trans. Suspension is by RideTech.

Kevin Musser is just a regular guy-he's a forester by trade-so in choosing a shop to build his lifelong dream, it was critical to find someone who could stay inside his budget and deliver him a reliable, driveable car. RPM Hot Rods-the builders of the Goodguys Boss Snake giveaway car on our October cover-was chosen for just that reason. Musser's '69 Mach 1 has a 392ci Windsor, Tremec five-speed, Total Control suspension (including a rear four-link), six-piston Wilwood brakes, and Boze 18-inch wheels.

One car that didn't get ignored for the SMOY competition is Mike Manning's dark titanium LS7-powered '69 Camaro, which got a Top 5 finish. Manning owns American Autowire in Bellmawr, New Jersey, so he knows his way around some muscle cars. His Camaro is the perfect business calling card, and has so many DSE components on it that some folks at the Columbus show dubbed it the "DSE Camaro." Kind of ironic, seeing as it's the American Autowire Camaro!

Rad Rides By Troy brought out their most controversial project car to date-an '87 Camaro called the F87 Raptor. We briefly mentioned it in our Sept. '10 issue (see "What's Next") and showed a clay model at that time. Here's the real thing in all its metal-fabricated glory. We're lobbying Troy hard for an exclusive on it. Check out the speed-activated spoiler, the '10 Camaro taillights, and all the cool body mods-including the all-metal nose piece.