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2010 NSRA Louisville Nationals - Muscle At The Nats!For The First Time In History, The NSRA Invited Muscle Cars To The Louisville Nationals-And Gearheads Answered The Call! From the January, 2011 issue of Popular Hot Rodding By Johnny Hunkins Photography by Robert McGaffin
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While other street rod organizations have loosened their grip to allow newer cars into their shows, the National Street Rod Association has been the lone holdout in hosting street rod-only events in recent years. For traditional rodders, that fact has been a selling point for attending NSRA events. The thinking is, if your members don't care about cars built after 1948, why let 'em through the gate? As it turns out, some members do care about more "modern" muscle cars, and that's the disagreement: You have your rod-only purists in pitched verbal battle with more "liberal" muscle car lovers. At the end of the day, these guys don't actually hate one another, they just want to ride in style! The disagreement over which year cars make the best event has finally stopped being a theoretical one. When the NSRA began letting cars built as recently as 1980 (!) into their 2010 show series, the die was cast. This culminated at the Street Rod Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky, this past August 6-8. Popular Hot Rodding hasn't covered this event in recent memory due to the advanced age of the clientele (we're talking the cars here-no letters please!), but we couldn't book our airfare quick enough when we found out about the open invitation to our beloved muscle machines. We fantasized about the '60s classics we'd see, then got giddy that late-'70s machines could pass through the gate without being forcibly restrained by security. Wow! This Street Rod Nats thing had potential. When we arrived, we not only saw throngs of muscle cars-they behaved as if they'd been coming for years-we also got an extra treat with the manufacturer's midway. OK, that's an understatement. The manufacturers who attend the Nats are set up in the main exhibition hall at the Kentucky Exhibition Center, which has nearly a million square feet of air-conditioned floor space. When it comes to hot rod and muscle car parts, the Street Rod Nats rivals the biggest industry trade shows for quantity and quality. The big difference is that you don't have to be a member of the trade to attend the NSRA Street Rod Nats-anybody can join in, and boy, did they! Meet "Frankencuda," the '71... Meet "Frankencuda," the '71 'Cuda conceived and constructed by homebuilder, Troy Bumbalow of Cummings, Georgia. Once you get past the 636ci 14-71-blown Hemi, you realize it's got an Art Morrison suspension, Wilwood discs, Budnik "Ice" wheels, and a Turbo 400 with a Gear Vendors overdrive. Muscle is officially here at the Street Rod Nats! We made the best out of our three days there, but honestly thought we could've spent an entire week there. In one sense, we were thoroughly unprepared for the enormity of the event. Not realizing the size of the manufacturer's exhibit hall, we figured we would spend a few hours there, and then meander into the car show for the meat of the show. That turned out to be a big miscalculation. (Plan on at least a full day of your trip being indoors if you go.) Your best bet is to think of it as Woodstock on wheels. When we tried to imagine it with an autocross venue, it nearly caused an aneurism. (We mean that in the best way possible.) As younger gearheads and car builders filter into the hobby, we see more cars being built with the street rod ethic, meaning lots of attention to detail, uncompromised engineering, and a keener eye on design. And it's not just about cruising the burger stand or straight-line performance either. Today's muscle is not only fit for the highway, it can hold its own on a road course or autocross. All these elements come together at a place like the Street Rod Nats! Would you like fries with that too?  Builder Joe Brown of Lafayette,...  Builder Joe Brown of Lafayette, Louisiana, got the best of both worlds when he melded the blown 4.6L mill and six-speed manual trans from a Cobra Mustang with the classic lines of a '67 Mustang. With a custom IFS, huge Wilwoods, and a triangulated four-link out back, this thing is begging to be shot for a magazine feature. We're looking into it!  Bill Boyziden liked the work...  Bill Boyziden liked the work of Hot Rod Joe's Rod & Custom so much, he commissioned them to build his '63 Corvette. The classic lines were preserved, but the classic poor handling was ditched in favor of that from a modern C4 Corvette suspension. Power comes from a 430hp LS3 mated to a 4L60E.  When it comes to car shows,...  When it comes to car shows, you can pretty much guarantee they will be a hit if the Mothers trailer is there. If Mothers endorsee Chip Foose is there signing autographs, you can pretty much count on a packed house too. We see Foose in so many places, sometimes we wonder if there are more than one of him.  I should probably tell you...  I should probably tell you about Detroit Speed & Engineering's new line of first-gen Chevy II suspension stuff, or their new line of billet wheels that was designed by Bonspeed, but this time I'll just tell you how great DSE's Stacy Tucker is. I can always count on an ice-cold diet Cheerwine or Sundrop whenever I stop by their trailer. It's a Southern thing.  The Ringbrothers are coming...  The Ringbrothers are coming on strong, and they had their recent '64 Ford Fairlane creation, Afterburner, on hand for showgoers. But the big news is that Ringbrothers is now offering many of their custom billet parts-the same ones designed for their award-winning vehicles-to regular guys via their new catalog. It's a trend that's growing among the top builders.  Running a photo of PHR publisher...  Running a photo of PHR publisher Ed Zinke's '64 Chevelle convertible might sound like sucking up to the boss, but ever since he put those gorgeous 18-inch Wheel Vintiques steelies on it, it's been rocking out hard. Zinke did all the mechanical work on it himself, with the exception of the paint. What's more, Zinke drove it all the way to Kentucky from California, a grin plastered to his face the whole way, no doubt. Show visitors were able to check it out at the Source Interlink Media booth in the main exhibition hall.  It takes a real man to paint...  It takes a real man to paint a car yellow. If you do it, you better be packing some heat, and that's just what this '69 Camaro Trans-Am clone does with a high-compression race-spec 302, Muncie M-22, and vintage Cragar S/S wheels. We found it hanging out at the Cragar booth, and discovered that it was built to compete in the Vintage Racer/Historic Trans-Am series.  Look familiar? That's the...  Look familiar? That's the G-Force 'Cuda that graced our April '06 cover. This bad boy was built by Alan Johnson of Johnson's Hot Rod Shop (Gadsden, Alabama), and is now the closely guarded property of Doug Cooper. Four years after it was built, we've yet to find a more elegantly designed, more technologically advanced hot rod.  A year ago, it would be unthinkable...  A year ago, it would be unthinkable for owner Glenn Lee to bring his homebuilt '70 Plymouth Road Runner to the Street Rod Nats, but here he is with his 440 Six-Pack four-speed car. We dig the '80s vibe with the two-tone gold graphics, Cragar S/S wheels, gold anodized radiator, and gold trim in the engine bay.  Joe Wood says he built his...  Joe Wood says he built his '65 Chevelle Malibu 300 the way the factory shoulda-with a 572ci big-block crate engine! Back in the day, it would've run rings around the rare Z16 big-block it most closely resembles. Check out how Wood tried to keep things very factory-looking underhood. Those 15-inch tires have got to be screaming uncle!  Some street rods are closer...  Some street rods are closer to muscle cars, and Tommy Manner's '33 Dodge pickup certainly qualifies. Where to start? Manner built his own 20-inch truck wheels. The truck's bed tilts-more to gain access to the engine's radiator and various coolers than anything else. Oh, and you can see the 392-inch Hemi through the grille, because the radiator isn't there anymore. This thing is completely off the hook!  Our Laguna of the Month is...  Our Laguna of the Month is brought to you by Jim McGrew of Morton, Illinois. McGrew has owned this '74 Chevy Laguna for the past 31 years, which explains its somewhat dated wheels and graphics. It's all cool though, because this time capsule has a survivor vibe, right down to the original '80 Car Craft Nationals sticker on the window. McGrew says he took the car there, and it looked almost the same then as it does now!  The '60 Chevy Bel Air is arguably...  The '60 Chevy Bel Air is arguably the best-looking fullsize Chevy ever built, and possibly even the sleekest style to come out of GM between 1957 and 1964. Owner Todd Jones placed the build in the capable hands of David Birkhofer of Muscatine, Iowa. We dig the dog-dish steelies and Chili Pepper Red Pearlcoat paint. After seeing this, we could easily see doing a '60 project car with bigger meats, overdrive, and LS power.   Bill Rowe has really taken...  Bill Rowe has really taken the Gasser ethic to heart with his '64 Mustang! This thing is loaded with enough vintage stuff to move the hands of the clock back 45 years. Among the goodies: an original set of Casler 30x8 slicks, a teardrop hood, a '67 Econoline straight axle (narrowed), a Top Loader trans, a Hillborn scoop, vintage decals, a Moon fuel tank, traction bars, and a parachute. Rowe says the 428 Cobra Jet plant is good for about 750 hp, and he expects the pony to run low 11s or high 10s once he finally gets up the nerve. (Hint to his wife, Jeanette: Now's a good time to take out that life insurance policy. Did you see those rear tires?!)    Tim Strange built this '63...  Tim Strange built this '63 Ford Falcon Sprint with an industrial theme in mind-notice how there is nothing chromed or polished anywhere? Once the show circuit is complete, Strange and owner Ryan Thomas have hinted that they might autocross and drag race their baby. With a custom suspension all around and a 4.6L Cobra engine underhood, it should be a rewarding experience.
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