The Goodguys Rod & Custom Association brought their traveling road show to the Chicagoland Speedway this past September 17-19, and we were there to capture all the action. The Midwest is one of our favorite places to hang out because it's a hotbed of muscle machines; these guys don't have the luxury of driving their cars hard all year round, so during the summer months they make up for it in spades. The sprawling Chicagoland Speedway complex is an ideal place to let it all hang out, and that's exactly what Goodguys did.
One of our favorite activities is the Goodguys autocross, and with every new event the number of cars and spectators increases. At Joliet, the 30-second course was set up inside the big NASCAR oval, and that served as big inspiration for the tire burning that ensued. Nevertheless, the unpredictable nature of the Midwest's summer weather caught participants off guard on Saturday with some rain. In spite of that, the drivers and fans were so into the cone carving that they prevailed on Goodguys to open it back up after the gully washer for some "exhibition" drifting in the wet!
Photog Robert McGaffin hustles...
Photog Robert McGaffin hustles PHR's project Olds around the cones for like the 79th time. The SAM-built 461ci Olds big-block makes well over 500 hp, and the Tremec five-speed, DSE suspension, Baer brakes, and Nitto NT01 tires do a great job managing all that famous Olds torque!
Project Olds-photographer Robert McGaffin's '65 Cutlass-was also on hand. After wringing it out on the autocross, we parked it at the Detroit Speed & Engineering tent where we met a lot of readers who wanted to check it out. The vendor area is always a fun place to hang at Goodguys-you can see the hardware up close, and ask lots of questions. You may even see a PHR project car too. If you can't find what you need at a Goodguys midway, you probably don't need it!
We captured Randy Johnson's...
We captured Randy Johnson's '70 Camaro in a rare moment of rest. We featured the supercharged 6.0L LS-powered beast in the February issue (see "Second Wind")-it's got a Heidts IRS out back, a Heidts Pro G suspension up front, a T56 trans, and Baer 6R brakes at all four corners. Johnson has been beating on this puppy all summer long and he must've stopped to finally take a breather. That was enough for it to garner a Muscle Machine of the Year finalist award at Joliet.
Owner Chuck Barnes (Barrington,...
Owner Chuck Barnes (Barrington, Illinois) got on the green bandwagon with his Mist Green '70 Chevelle. It recently got an LS3 E-Rod transplant from GM Performance Parts, which is nestled nicely in front of a highway-friendly TKO 600 overdrive. It's fully emissions compliant too!
We've featured Brent Jarvis'...
We've featured Brent Jarvis' cars before-his shop Performance Restorations in Mundelein, Illinois, has built some incredibly agile track performers. We featured this '65 Vette in March's coverage of the Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational.
Donny Freise's '32 Ford roadster...
Donny Freise's '32 Ford roadster isn't a muscle car, but it doesn't know that. The 355ci small-block is plenty healthy, and stuffs it around corners with power to spare. This hot little rod won the Street Rod Autocross hands down with a 30.9-second lap.
Dueling '66 Chevelles!
We...
Dueling '66 Chevelles!
We almost did a double take when we saw these similar rides: The first one was packing a 496ci big-block with a 700-R4 trans, DSE suspension, Baer brakes, and the telltale Vintage Wheel Works 17-inch hoops. We didn't get the guy's name, but he's a businessman from Shelbyville, Michigan. The second one you may remember-it's an ex-Randy Johnson car we featured a few years back, and it's now being tossed around by new owner, Chris Jacobs. It still packs its fuel-injected LS7, T56 trans, Wilwood brakes, and Schwartz chassis.
'56 Imperial SRT8
All we...
'56 Imperial SRT8
All we can say is "wow" when we look at Paul White's '56 Chrysler Imperial. This thing has the complete running gear and interior from a late-model Dodge Magnum SRT8, right down to the 6.1L Hemi and five-speed automatic. This sweet machine was built by Back Bay Customs of Portland, Maine.
Jeff Van Buren also got on...
Jeff Van Buren also got on the LS bandwagon by dropping a Wegner Motorsports 6.2L L92 bullet underhood of his '67 Camaro. It makes 599 hp at the flywheel, and he's not afraid to channel all of it through the T56 trans and RideTech suspension.
Harley Veldhuizen-a contractor...
Harley Veldhuizen-a contractor from Elburn, Illinois-built his '65 Corvette to drive, and he had a blast around the Goodguys autocross. It's got a 350hp 327 small-block and Turbo 350 trans-rockin' it old school!
Steve Prouty of Hill Point,...
Steve Prouty of Hill Point, Wisconsin, won the Snap-On Innovation Award with his '69 Firebird. The nicely built Pontiac 400 mill has electronic fuel injection, which keeps purists happy while making it sweet on the street.
Nice Mavericks are as rare...
Nice Mavericks are as rare as hen's teeth, and this '71, owned and built by 19-year-old Chris Yukon, is one sweet machine. It still runs its original 200ci inline-six (hey, he's just a kid, give him a break), but Yukon has upped the grip with a RideTech suspension and some wider meat.