PHR Photo Contest - Hometown Heroes

'67 Camaro
Scott Masche • Lake Mills, WI
In 2003, Scott Masche decided it was time to get back into a muscle car. A friend mentioned he'd spotted a '67 Camaro sitting in a pole barn, so Scott decided to check it out. The Camaro needed some TLC, but was surprisingly solid, and even more surprisingly, it was actually for sale. After charging the battery, Scott drove it home. The 327 was tired, so a 350 built by Dave Ringelstetter was dropped in along with a TH350 in place of the four-speed. Boy, that's something we rarely hear. All through the resto process, Scott's daughter has been drag racing it, and he has assured her that the Camaro is in the family for the long haul, and one day the keys will be in her hands for good.

Finalist
'06 Corvette Z06
Todd Sroufe • Columbia City, IN
As much as she'd like to say this sharp Daytona Sunset Orange (our personal favorite Vette color) Z06 is hers, photographer Elizabeth Woodruff admits it's the new toy of her friend, Todd Sroufe. Previously Todd had a '99 Vette, which in hindsight he refers to as a dog since the stock LS7 pulls much harder in every gear than his old C5. Funny how progress does that. We remember being impressed with the last-gen Vettes, especially the 405hp Z06, but stock versus stock, they do pale in comparison to the 505hp punch the '06 LS7 packs.

'70 Chevelle
John Rzenka • Plover, WI
Originally equipped with a 396 when he picked it up in 1993, John Rzenka briefly swapped in a 350 for a couple of years. It ran 13s, but it didn't take too long before John began to miss the big-block's torque in the heavy A-body. The 396 was rebuilt and dropped back in, supplying 360 hp and 365 lb-ft of torque to the wheels, but the Chevelle has never returned to the track since. Nowadays, John says it's just his cruiser that he occasionally uses to terrorize the backcountry roads.

'82 Corvette
Randy Sferro • Rittman, OH
Technically, this is Randy Sferro's second Corvette, although the first one didn't really constitute an entire car since it was missing the floors and was so rusty the headlights fell out. This '82 needed much less-just some paint, seats, carpet, exhaust, and trans, and Randy was ready to roll. With a stock crossfire 350, 700-R4, and 3.55 gears, it's no race car, but posts respectably consistent 15-sec quarter-mile times and reportedly will easily best his son's '95 Z28 and wife's '97 Corvette to 60 mph. Of course after that Randy says they pass him like he's standing still. That doesn't matter though; he just loves the style and feel of his C3-generation Vette and uses it to unwind from his rewarding (but sometimes stressful) job of retrofitting homes for the physically disabled.