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Custom Candy
The Seattle area is a perfect convergence of means and passion. The Emerald City and its environs are home to powerful people with automotive aspirations wrapped in a robust economy needed to feed the habit and keep it pumping on all cylinders. The local car culture was on full display July 27 to 29 at the 2018 Goodguys Pacific Northwest Nationals presented by Griot’s Garage. We walked miles of aisles at the Washington State Fairgrounds in Puyallup to discover the best of the best, offering you a quick yet detailed look at this year’s bumper crop of dream machines.
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Ford Slamback
Something about this old Ford clicks . . . proportion, stance, its awesome Candy Wine Red paint job . . . maybe a combination of all of the above. The pristine 1937 Ford Slamback is the pride and joy of Nick and Kim Axtman from Gig Harbor, Washington. We appreciate how the chopped top, aggressive fenders and running board treatment work with the laid back grille and Ford’s signature prewar headlights.
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Ford Slamback
Under the Ford’s side-tilt hood rests a well-trimmed Corvette LS1 small-block V8 backed by a 4L60E automatic transmission . . . which means this rod is as easy to cruise as it is to look at. The seductive coupe was built by BBT Hot Rods.
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El Rageous
El Rageous is a 1966 Chevy El Camino with tons of attitude. Owned by Oregon City, Oregon’s Don Farrelly, everything that went into this wild build was larger than life. Thanks in part to its 3-inch chop top, the Chevy’s towering intake is taller than the vehicle’s roofline. Crazy.
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El Rageous
Motivation for El Rageous comes from a fully-blown 540-inch big-block V8. The massive motor is topped by a pair of 4-barrel Edelbrock carburetors and a twin throttle plate intake housing. We like how the blower has been powder coated black and tucked under the hood, and the intake and carbs are chromed and peak/peek above the hood. Speaking of the hood . . . it looks like it cannot be raised via the hinges, so it might be an unbolt and lift job.
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El Rageous
This wild El Camino runs an Air Ride Technologies suspension that features a 4-link rear setup. The low-slung suspension combined with 3 inches of channeling on the frame give the Chevy a menacing look. Channeling involves cutting a channel in the body and setting it over the frame, which can lower the body significantly. We also love the overtly aggressive header treatment that has the pipes coming straight out of the fender. Wheels are from Billet Specialties and Farrelly is keeping to his big theme by running whopping 18x20s in the rear.
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So Lo II
So Lo II is a 1932 Ford roadster that brilliantly combines old school and new tech. The brainchild of Victoria, British Columbia’s Al Clark, this Blue Oval dandy runs a Fastburn Chevy 350 V8 engine, period-correct Wheelsmith wire wheels, and a paint job with a decidedly vintage vibe. But Clark mixed in some modern touches, such as a backup camera and heated seats, to name a couple.
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So Lo II
The brakes that Clark runs on So Lo II personify his old-parading-as-new theme. From afar, it looks like a drum setup complete with cooling ribs, but look closer and there’s a brake disc inside the housing with a disguised caliper applying the clamping force. Trick.
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1962 Chevy Bel Air
Jim Terhar of Tacoma, Washington, doesn’t know when to stop. His black 1962 Chevy Bel Air bubbletop is well known on the local scene. Bubbletops are full-size General Motors hardtop coupes offered from 1959 to 1962 in the Chevrolet Bel Air and Impala; Pontiac Ventura, Bonneville and Catalina; Buick LeSabre and Invicta; and Oldsmobile Super 88 — to name a few.
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1962 Chevy Bel Air
Although it’s been a sweet ride for years, Terhar recently pulled the chromed-out 409-inch V8 from the engine bay and then dropped in a fully-dressed, fuel-injected LS3 boosted via a single-turbo setup. Although the 409 was not the original motor, they’re a rare and highly desirable powerplant that was an option in the original cars. Terhar was unimpressed, calling the old V8 “a bit of a dinosaur” because of its poor aftermarket support. Oh well. Enjoy the boost, Jimbo!
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1962 Chevy Bel Air
Jim Terhar’s’s LS3 engine in his 1962 Chevy Bel Air is pressurized by a 76mm turbo from Precision Turbo. The turbo header on the passenger side was fabricated to run up and forward so the good stuff is in full view, and all the while accommodating the turbo system’s twin Precision Turbo wastegates.
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1962 Chevy Bel Air
Intercoolers are usually flat like a radiator. Not this one. J-Rod & Custom contoured a pair of Kenne Bell intercoolers to match the front profile of the car, i.e. the bumper, grille and hood edge.
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1962 Chevy Bel Air
The bubbletop rolls low and mean thanks to a full RideTech air suspension with Baer Racing disc brakes poised at the corners to quickly bring the show to a halt. A foursome of sweet Billet Specialties rims sets the car off just right.
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1962 Ford Thunderbird
Dave and Brenda Kreg’s low-slung 1962 Ford Thunderbird knows how to make a great first impression. Right off the bat something seems different and the owners, who hail from Puyallup, Washington, were quick to confirm the Ford has been re-roofed . . . with a hardtop from a 1961 Starliner. They were also proud of the T-Bird’s inventive bullet grille which was created using 112 valve stem caps.
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1962 Ford Thunderbird
The Thunderbird’s Starliner roof has been¬¬¬ narrowed at the front edge and shortened five inches by Dino’s Kustom Shop in Tacoma, Washington. Other shape-shifting mods include laying the original windshield back 3.5 inches, shortening the decklid by 6 inches, shaving the nose, and adding custom taillights. Then a custom fade-away blend of House of Kolor Kandy Oriental Blue paint job was laid down.
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1956 Chevy 150 “Miss Taboo”
“Built in the ‘60s style” is how C.J. and Sherry Carlile of Aloha, Oregon, describe their pristine 1956 Chevy. C.J. handled paint duties, which consist of a deep blue with a white stripe inside the Bow Tie’s chrome body trim. We also like the chrome reverse wheels with spinner spindles that really drive home this ride’s ‘60s styling theme.
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1956 Chevy 150 “Miss Taboo”
Under the hood of this 1956 model resides a tidy race-built 327-cubic-inch Chevy small-block with a six pack of Rochester 2-barrel carburetors providing the go juice. We love the color-matched block and valve covers, and how they contrast all the chromed and polished engine parts.
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1956 Chevy 150 “Miss Taboo”
The fun continues in the cabin, where C.J. and Sherry employed Jim Enger to install a 1960-vintage Thunderbird interior consisting of T-bird bucket seats, rear seats and center console. The dash is a custom job with all the ancillary gauges moved to the center dash area.
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1954 Chevy Pickup
Taken from zero to hero by Black Diamond, Washington’s J-Rod & Custom, Michael Petramalo’s 1954 Chevy pickup was an abandoned project before being built up into the pristine pickup you see here. A stout Art Morrison chassis serves as the basis of the build, while a custom distressed leather interior from McFarland Custom Upholstery puts the finishing touch on the truck.
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1954 Chevy Pickup
Crack open the hood of Petramalo’s pickup and you’re greeted by a 480-horepower LS3 small-block V8. This engine is all about attention to detail . . . the industrial look of the header flanges, the “laying quarters” welds on the custom intake manifold, and the beautiful contrast of the copper orange engine and the truck’s filled firewall and custom inner fenders.
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Pontiac Firebird
This pro-touring style Pontiac really pops the retinas with its bangin’ Viva-La-Red custom-blended PPG paint, created and sprayed by Richardson Custom Auto Body of Hoquiam, Washington. Footwork consists of Detroit Speed Quadra Link coilover front and rear suspension, Rushforth custom wheels, Nitto tires, and huge Baer Racing brakes all around.
Pontiac Firebird
A 550-horsepower 6.2-liter LS3 V8 provides the thrills. It is dressed to the nines and features a set of Sanderson Headers and a Sanderson custom exhaust. Key engine parts and the V8’s custom cold air intake system have been color-matched with Viva-La-Red.
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1934 Ford Throttle Plate
Sometimes it’s the little details that make the biggest splash. The fine airbrush work on Ray Bremner’s supercharged HEMI is one of the many things that make his 1934 Ford 5-window coupe a standout.
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1932 Ford Coupe
Some hot rods just have “the look” — making an impression greater than the sum of its parts. Such is the case for Monty Beagle’s 1932 Ford coupe. It’s a high boy, which is a hot rod with the body sitting on top of the frame. We like the basic gray/blue paint employed on the body and the exposed frame. The wheels are Halibrands, a common sight in the hot rod world — but the impact of all these attributes is exceptional.
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1932 Ford Coupe
The engine bay is where this old Ford shines . . . literally and figuratively. It’s powered by the legendary 392-inch HEMI V8. Monty, who hails from High River, Alberta, Canada, fitted a 1957-vintage Chrysler Fire Power HEMI that runs quad 2-barrel carburetors from Vintage Speed and valve covers polished to perfection.
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1963 Lincoln Continental
Flexing a distinct mafia vibe, Nick Griot’s sinister 1963 Lincoln Continental was a serious attention-getter at the Pacific Northwest Nationals. The Lincoln runs a J-Rod & Custom modified front suspension, Art Morrison triangulated 4-bar rear suspension, and RideTech air shocks all around. J Rod & Custom also handled the paint and bodywork, while McFarland Custom Upholstery of Puyallup wrapped the cavernous interior in fine black leather.
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1963 Lincoln Continental
This fine Lincoln is motivated by a Ford Motorsport 427-cubic-inch V8 rated at 535 horsepower and 545 lb-ft of torque. J-Rod added custom valve covers and a trick air cleaner assembly powder coated in black, creating an effect of which Darth Vader himself would approve. Nick wanted a car that was “built for burnouts and disturbing the peace,” and we hear there have been quite a few sleepless nights in Tacoma, Washington, this summer.
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1933 Ford “Lobeck” Roadster
Vancouver, British Columbia’s Tom Hoeltgen brought some rolling history to the show. The Lobeck Roadster was originally constructed and owned by Hot Rod Hall of Fame builder Barry Lobeck who passed away in 2011. The 1933 Ford roadster has the look — we especially appreciate the swoopy body line running along the lower part of the car.
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1933 Ford “Lobeck” Roadster
Beneath the side-tilting Rootlieb hood — a piece of art in itself — sits a well-dressed 383 stroker V8 that pumps out 500 horsepower and 475 lb-ft of torque. Fueling comes compliments of Jim Inglese and his custom-fabricated and tuned side-draft carburetors perched atop a cross-ram Wilson manifold.
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1952 Dodge Rat Rod “Gone 2 Far”
The rat rod movement is a ‘found-object art meets automotive enthusiast” proposition. These cars are built with mismatched and sometimes non-automotive pieces, and original patina is much preferred over fresh paint. The trick is telling if a rat rod is built for the aesthetics or due to a lack of funds. With its twin-turbocharged 496-inch big-block engine, Prineville, Oregon’s Sean Barter looks to be building his 1952 Dodge — dubbed Gone 2 Far — in the name of aesthetics.
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