1st Goodguys Spring Nationals 2010 Street Challenge Autocross

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Goodguys Spring Nationals, March 12-14

Street Challenge Autocross

To see all the juicy event details, check below.  What we are excited about and wanted to point out to you readers is the new event they’re having this year.  The “Street Challenge Autocross”!  Take your hot rod and bash some cones and yank that steering wheel around and put a hurtin’ on your tires and brakes.  Check out these 2 hot rods showing you how autocross is done!

 

Check out this CRC Vette getting it on in the twisties.  Man that looks fun!

…or maybe Corner Carving Muscle is your thing, check out Bryan Frank’s Trans-Am. 

I’d love to see some lead sleds or kustoms out on the course.  Or maybe a 32 roadster! 

Details of the event below:

The Goodguys Spring Nationals is a new hot rod and custom car festival featuring the Southwest’s premier custom vintage automobiles! The event will feature over 2,000 1972 & earlier hot rods, customs, classics, street rods, muscle cars, & trick trucks as well as manufacturer and vendor exhibits, a swap meet and cars for sale area, special “themed” parking areas, model car & pedal car expo, kids play area and lots of fun for the entire family.

A special Autocross will also be featured, allowing event participants to test their car’s performance levels on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, March 12, 13 & 14. Event hours are: Friday and Saturday 8 am to 5 pm and Sunday 8:00 am to 3:00 pm. Where: WestWorld Equestrian Park, 16601 W. Pima Rd., Scottsdale, AZ, Tickets: General admission: $18 per day, Kids (7-12) $6. $5 spectator parking fee charged by WestWorld. Phone: WestWorld 480/312-6802 or Goodguys: 925/838-9876. Web: www.ggspringnats.com

Event Highlights: Outdoor Show n’ Shine: The Goodguys Spring Nationals officially kicks off Goodguys’ 23-event 2010 season. With an outdoor show n’ shine of over 2,000 vintage classics through 1972, WestWorld will be landscaped with acres of gleaming, candy-colored cars. Lil’ deuce coupes, hot rod roadsters, lead-sled 50’s Merc customs, ‘55-’57 Chevy’s, Camaros, Barracuda’s & Mustangs and other timeless beauties will fill the entire outdoor acreage of WestWorld.

Street Challenge Autocross: Hot rods and muscle cars will be in action both Friday and Saturday making runs through the electronically timed “Street Challenge” Autocross course. The course is approx. 1000 ft in length and features tight turns with rapid acceleration and deceleration. Speeds average 20-30mph while testing to extreme limits the vehicle’s performance capabilities. Winners receive gift certificates from sponsors including tires and suspension equipment and other performance goodies.

Commercial Exhibits/Swap Meet/Car Corral: Commercial and vendor exhibits will fill a large circus-style tent and the areas outside the tent. The swap meet and cars for sale corral offers unlimited bargain hunting and shopping for rare car parts.

Special Feature Areas: Held on Saturday from the 8 am to 2 pm, these areas will include: Timberland PRO’s Homebuilt Heaven, Young Guys—(for participants 25 and younger), Mighty Muscle (1955 through 1972 muscle cars), Ya Gotta Drive ‘Em (for participants who’ve driven their car more than 500 miles to the event), and the Trick Truck Corral for pickup trucks. The Goodguys “Builder’s Choice” area will feature the event’s top cars vying for 10 special awards.

Model Car Show: On Saturday, Revell Monogram will be sponsoring the Make n’ Take session at 1 pm. Model car kits will be available for the kids to build the kits and take them home. A full scale model car show and vintage pedal car exhibit will also be featured. Entertainment: Rock & roll music will fill the desert air all weekend long. Awards Ceremony: The culmination of the weekend will be Sunday’s official awards ceremony which takes place at 2:22pm. It’s a great way to see the best of the best! Additional Event Info: Visit www.ggspringnats.com or call 925/838-9876.

2009 Goodguys Southwest Nationals Picture Wrap-up

If you can’t wait until summer time Goodguys Gazette, scratch that now-time itch and check out MyRideisMe.com’s pictures from the 2009 Goodguys Southwest Nationals! Did we shoot your car?

Have you’ve ever worked at something and thought you were making progress improving your skill, then found out you were still way behind? That’s happening to me with my photography. I didn’t shoot alot of pictures at Goodguys, but I shot a few and thought a couple of them were pretty good!

But then, just after I sent the, “Hey Swanee, you gonna load your shots?” email, I noticed he’d already loaded them in the events picture gallery. You’re good people Swanee! ‘Cept for the fact that your images kill mine, that is… You can tell by the logo, that slammed Caddy riding on twenty-plus wires photo above is from our Alaska-raised Director of Photography.

Shown here is one of my best shots. This is the 1957 Chevy Custom that won the Goodguy/Grundy Kustom of the Year. Sunset in Arizona is frequently a, “Damn it’s good to be alive” event and this Saturday evening in Scottsdale made for some great shots. Learn more about this car from an article by our friends at Goodguys. More about the 57 Chevy Custom

Here’s a few more from Swanee’s lens.  The complete collection (sounds official don’t it?) is available in the Car Show and Events Picture Gallery under Goodguys Southwest Nationals.

As you can see, the sky and reflections from the low setting sun do it for me on the Tall T and Mercury Cougar.  Ford genus Puma concolor like this on are on my short but growing list of cars that didn’t TOTALLY SUCK from the 1970’s.

Striking back, I got some of that low-lying sun for myself shooting some other “of the Year” winners that always make their way to Scottsdale, the last show of the year for Goodguys. This is also the start of the, “That guy’s a MyRideisMe.com member” shots.  These first two shots are Kirk Johnson’s Truck of the Year-late 1968 F100. Kirk’s from my old stomp’n grounds in Sacramento, CA and a new member, so go say hi and learn more about his truck. He’s got another F100 he calls, “The Beater” shredd’n some rubber.

Swanee grabbed a few more member ride shots including this 1967 RS SS Camaro from Mesa.

Not sure what award this  supurbly detailed Camaro won, but with the Shafiroff built 540 large-block churning out a ridiculous 700 ponies through a Tremec 6 speed, don’t be fooled. This baby’s show and GO!

Swanee snapped a few members running their classic trucks at Goodguys, too.  On it’s near maiden voyage, Rob’s bumper-scrap’n ‘burb got pinstriped and broke-in some driving in from Mesa with his son riding shotgun. I know Rob, like me, loves it when the boys get involved.

Then up in the winner’s area, the “Unbound Scout” was collecting a prize. This truck’s made heartfelt impression on the IH guys who are coming over from some devoted forums to see the pics and build info.

Another fun and sunny Goodguys Southwest Nationals comes to an end. As usual, we had perfect weather and over 2400 cars.  The Goodguys folks took note that AZ’s the place to be when it’s too cold to be anywhere else and scheduled another show for Scottsdale in March. Now AZ’s got the first and last show of the year!  Anyone planning to come in from out of town, book your hotel NOW! March’s prime golf weather when the greens are frozen across the US, so Scottsdale hotels fill up quickly.

We’ll see you there! Make sure to Join MyRideisMe.com so we can feature your car next time!

Any comments?  Which shot is your favorite? Leave comments below. (Or I’ll assume my writing’s perfect and every word’s spot-on!)

Best Pinstriping Pictures from Goodguys Southwest

As always, MyRideisMe.com is on the lookout for pinstriping at races or car shows so you can see what’s out there and decide what to do on your own ride.  Here’s a few from the Goodguys Southwest Nationals in Scottsdale, AZ.

All Photos by my man and Director of Photography at MyRideisMe.com, Swanee…

To see all of Swanee’s pinstriping pictures from Goodguys, please go to the Pinstriping Picture Gallery

This Arizona Pinstriper Joel from 1320designs.com doing his thing on MyRideisMe.com member Mr. Freeze’s slammed Suburban he recently picked up. Joel’s rates are very reasonable for striping and he’s also an up-and-coming designer as well. Make sure to check out his website and let him know MyRideisMe.com sent you!

What do you think? If this is YOUR pinstriping work (or your car!), please let us know and we’ll say so next to the picture.

Leave your comments below and don’t forget to see all the pinstriping pics in the:

Pinstriping Picture Gallery

Unforgettable Gold/Copper 1929 Ford Sedan

Cruising any car show with buddies, there’s always one car that even weeks later, you’re still talking about it: “Remember that one car?” and you all do. That happened cruising the Scottsdale Goodguys show in November and I never forgot, even though Otis Schmidt, the owner of this bad hot rod may have thought I did!

Otis, a hot rod, custom car and racing fan since he started building model cars at 12 years old, is now living in Moore, Oklahoma. He bought his 1929 Ford Sedan from Mark Riojas of Bridge Creek, Oklahoma after finding it parked right next to him at an NSRA show in Oklahoma City. Otis immediately dug the car cause it reminded him of a similar-styled 1934 Ford Sedan he’d recently, and regrettably sold . Between missing his 34 and the gold teaser parked right next to him, Otis contacted Mark soon after the show and a deal was struck on the phone.

The first thing you notice about Otis’s 1929 Sedan, called the “Corrugated Flyer”  is the wild gold/copper color. The color’s officially Gold Acrylic enamel. From there, throw in some flattener and mix in this-n-that to get a color that, in the sun, is really striking. The paint and most of the build were done by Mark.

Looking past Mark’s slick paint, the custom touches are found all over the sedan. The body’s chopped a full 8 inches, including the 1932 window frame, then set down on deuce rails. Looking closer at the back end, you’ll see the rear was pie cut to fit a 1932 tank . (Click the image to make it bigger) Move forward just a bit to see the wheel wells from a model A roadster cleverly grafted in to tuck the big 8.90-16 Firstones mounted on steelies. The front wheels are off a vintage carnival ride to get’m only 4″ wide.

Inside, Mark put his custom casting skills to use. Along with his other talents, he also casts custom hot rod parts in his backyard! The steering wheel’s custom made to duplicate a 1940 Ford wheel and the instrument cluster’s made to look like a 1932 piece with a little patina cast right in. Subtle black pinstriping finishes the at the time unfinished interior.

Up front, the induction’s pretty hard to miss, too. Cruising home for the first time, the 29’s Chevy LS1 was acting up and Otis blamed it on the original Stromberg 97’s and a vintage mag setup. Right then, Otis decided to run the new-stalgia look of 4 Demon carbs. After getting it running again with the Demon’s, the real devil turned out to be a couple flattened cam lobes. The old school true Stromberg’s weren’t running bad, after all!

Otis and his hot rod made the long trip to Scottsdale to visit his nephew over in the small Arizona town of Wadell. Along for the ride is Otis’ close friend Bob Starks and his equally bitch’n Gasser-style 1966 Chevy Nova done in pink murano pearl. Bob and Otis have been buddies since high school. I guess they’re glad they made the trip; Bob’s Nova got a “Period Perfect” award and Otis came away with a “Street Rodder Top 10″.

No I haven’t forgotten Otis’ sedan, and I probably won’t. Otis sent over some in-progress pictures of the interior going in and when this car’s done, look for it on the cover of your favorite print magazines.

If you remember this unforgettable 1929 Ford Sedan, let us know!

Please leave a comment.

Squeeg’s Kustom Goodguys Lunch Stop

The Goodguys Southwest Nationals rolls into Scottsdale, AZ only once a year and with it comes a mad thrash to get your car ready and some great chances to roll your car out (even a roadster since it was in the 80’s that week!) have some fun and meet some other rodders in the area.

Doug Jerger the owner of Squeeg’s Kustoms in Mesa, Arizona landed the lunch stop for the Goodguys Show. Doug was kind enough to let me take up some space at his shop and hand out some of the posters we made.

The open house came at a perfect time as Squeeg’s was debuting 3 trick hot rods. Doug’s shop can build and paint anything you want and do it to near perfection. The 34 Ford Roadster shown above was one of the cars. Everything on this car screams professional builder and the style and execution let you know this car had a solid plan right from the start.

The other 2 hot rods finshed were a 32 Ford Roadster and a 40 Ford coupe. I’m not showing the 40 Ford right now because we’re all hoping the coming out part for the 40 will be on the pages of Rodder’s Journal.

Make sure to look closely at the pictures below. Maybe I got a shot of you or your car? If so, let me know.

Until then, right click and save the image of the poster we made and use it as your wall paper. It’s a good size file and should look great as your screen saver.

Special thanks to Doug and all the guys at Squeeg’s.

66 Super Sport Gasser in Pink (yea, pink!)

It takes all kinds, we know that, but you gotta like the gasser style from the 60’s. Straight axle jacked up in the front with a slight lift in the back too. It’s an attitude. It says, “I’m fast and I was built to run.”

So stumbling along at the Goodguys Southwest Nationals in Scottsdale, enjoying the sun and the 3000+ cars, I found one that stopped me in my tracks. It’s a gasser alright, but it was pink. Pink! Not that goofy Mary K pink or some faded, pale pretty in pink, this was HOT pink and it was glowing in the Arizona sun. People walking by kept turning their heads sideways. Delirium?

I gotta get a story about this car. Questions poured out when I finally had a chance to meet Bob Starks of Weatherford, TX. The story Bob told about his car epitomizes, “My Ride is Me.” After buying a 1966 Chevy II Super Sport new, then selling it to buy a house, Bob has painstakingly remade his car. (Check out the pictures of the original car at the bottom of this page)

Bob’s been into racing his whole life. Back in Jr. High, a friend knew a Texas based drag racer named Vance Hunt who ran a T/F dragster. Next thing you know, he’s at the races with Vance, then in 1965, he started crewing for Gene “the Snowman” Snow. You remember Gene Snow, he was the first funny car driver to break the 200mph barrier. Gene’s Hemi powered Dodge called “Rambunctious” is shown on the left. It was while working for Gene the idea for the Super Sport was born. Bob’s car was inspired by Kelly Chadwick’s gasser. (Bob hooked me up with this great old school picture)

So then in ‘66, after owning the new Super Sport for only 9 months the straight axle went in and the nose went up. From there, he raised the back for the perfect stance, then realized that since the car was up in the air now, you could see the underside. That’s when the chroming started… the axles, front and back, leaf springs, backing plates… it’s all dipped in the shiny stuff. Jackie Peebles of North Texas Quality Chrome did the all the plating (and did an encore performance on the new car) From there, Bob showed the car all around the Texas and Oklahoma area and drove it. It continued to serve as his daily ride and even took him through college in style! But then, in 1977 to buy a house for him and his new wife, the car was sold for $1900! Sound nuts? Well keep in mind that a house was only $12,000 back then.

Fast forward to just over a year ago. Bob went to his 40 year high school reunion and heard alot of, “What’d you do with your car?” Then a car sow in Des Moines somehow sealed the deal. Bob needed to recreate his ride from 1967 in 2007. That’s where Sam Woodard of Oklahoma City, OK stepped in. In a stunning (and highly focused!) 13 months, Sam turned the Kansas doner car into the perfectly straight show car seen at Goodguys. Sam’s no stranger to high quality builds. He does it all the time as shown at his website: Woodard Racing He’s also the president of the Central States Gasser Association, so this isn’t his first trip down the 1320.

As you often hear, the car they thought was, “In pretty good shape” drank a stiff shot of truth serum known as media blasting. The truth of the old Kansas car is barely seen now. Only the basic shell survived and practically every panel was replaced for all the rust. From there, Bob had to kinda talk Sam into his plan. Sam had some good ideas, but Bob only wanted what he had in 1967. Looking back, Sam’s glad they did when folks say, “I remember that car!”

From Oklahoma City, the car made its way to the Forth Worth area in the shop of Shark Performance Art. Scott Draper or “Shark” as he’s called, consulted with the original painter, Nat Quick. Nat was painting Funny Cars and Top Fuelers in the 60’s and Bob knew him from his pit crew times. Nat’s original paint job, just like this one, set Bob back two-hundred-bucks! Nat was kind enough to coach (over the phone no less!) Shark on how the original car was painted. There’s alot going on in that House of Colors Magenta Candy Pearl.

The custom paint on this gasser is set off by two things. One is the super rare gold murano pearl mixed into the paint. The same was murano pearl was used when Nat did the car in 67 and that’s where Shark needed some coaching. Murano pearl is made from sea life, like shells and real pearls, but was apparently outlawed by the EPA maybe 45 years ago. Somehow Bob found some. I guess the stuff keeps forever if you keep it in your refrigerator! (source for the info on Murano Pearl: lostart1.com) Bob bought a whole jar of the stuff, but it turns out that a spoonful was enough to shoot the entire car. As a thanks to Nat, his crest is painted onto the lower front fender of the car. (Click on the image to see the lace)

The second reason this paint’s trick is the same reason folks were turning their heads in all kinds of directions looking at the car. It’s got a circular lace pattern running in two stripes on the top of the car and also along the side. It’s wild! Way back when, the lace pattern was made from a doily or something like that, but searching high and low, even in Belgium, Bob couldn’t find the right pattern. No problem. Bob took an old photo of the car showing the lace then scaled it to find out the exact size. He then drew the pattern using Autocad and had it (frick’n) laser cut onto a piece of naugahyde. The final lace pattern was 84″ x32″ and had 36,000 holes!

The last bit of cool-rareness on the car is the Morbec wheels. We’ve already established that Bob’s a damn resourceful guy by finding the murano pearl and cutting the lace pattern. The wheels were the last piece of the puzzle to perfect the Super Sport masterpiece.

Bob told me Morbec wheels were made in the Fort Worth area from the 60’s on through to about 1982 by Perry Morrison, thus the “Mor” in Morbec. These wheels are near cult status in Texas, so Bob had his work cut out to find some. Just about every link I found about Morbec wheels was a WANTED ad! While Bob’s deep reaching feelers searched the country, a set turned up in none other then, Forth Worth, TX. Looking closely, their in perfect condition and are rumored to be one of the last sets ever made.

I couldn’t be more impressed with Bob or the car. Bob and his buddy Otis traveled out to stay with some family in Scottsdale. Otis’s 29 Sedan is coming up in a future story. If you ever get a chance, take the time to chat with Bob. You’ll be glad you did. Things come big in Texas and Bob’s determination, persistence and kind heart are great examples.

Twin Huffers on a sick Model T

Ron Ginn from Albuquerque, New Mexico ain’t playin’ when it comes to building ridiculous horsepower Model T’s. I asked Ron, “Why two blowers?” and he kindly expanded on the theorem: “Injection is nice… but blown once is twice as nice!” I take that to mean, why the hell not?

Like so many folks at the 2008 Goodguys Southwest Nationals in Scottsdale, AZ, you’re gawking at 572 cubic inches of Chevy power in this highly detailed Model T. I won’t call it a “Ford” because from looking at Ron’s garage here at MyRideisMe.com, I think Ron’s more of a Chevy guy. Twin Blown

Stepping back, the ride Ron calls, “Nas T Too” was a 4 year build with everything but the paint and interior done by Ron in his home shop. That includes milling or turning several custom pieces on the car. Ron said that “dipping” into the hot rod fund to buy a mill and lathe was essential. He made alot of chips (scrap!) before he made any parts, but you might have guessed that there aren’t many off-the-shelf pieces available for twin blown big blocks! Looking closely, there are alot of custom-made, one-off pieces.

Ron’s an engine builder by hobby which is why he likes to go over the top with the engine. What’s “Over the top” mean? How about 1348 HP at 5800 rpm with 985 ft-lbs of torque. Ron was quick to explain that there was a little more in it but the tires started slipping on the dyno rollers. (Big deal Ron, that happens to me in my T too… NOT!) There’s a total of 12 lbs of boost from both blowers, so they’re seriously under driven.

Any time you’ve got over 1000 ponies in a car that only weighs 1885 pounds, you’re in for a wild ride! Hanging out with Ron for only a few minutes, we heard the common question, “How fast is it?” To which Ron politely answered, “I don’t know!” I think Ron’s years have given him the wisdom to give respect where it’s due. That’s alot of power! Consider that the 425 hp in the SRT8 Challenger represents a HP to weight ratio of 9.8 lbs/HP. Ron’s at 1.4 lbs/HP!! I could see that Ron’s not afraid to lite’m up here and there, but a wide open run on a back road didn’t seem to interest him much.

Ron does like his entrance. The stares and sideways glances of folks wondering, “What is that!?” really get Ron going. It’s good that people know that yea, it does run, and it sounds wicked. Lopey. That’s a word now, add it to your vocabulary. Blower surge could maybe be tuned out of this thing a bit, but I’d vote against it. In fact, It’s beautiful. This video gives you a taste of what it’s like, but doesn’t show how at each surge, the T’s looking to break those huge rear tires loose. Awesome.

In the days, or 4 bucks a gallon, I’m sure Ron heard it more, but he said he always gets the, “What kind of mileage do you get?” I think I’d be more likely to ask, “Do you change your shorts after every ride?” His show card says, it all when it says simply, “MPG: Not real good”. Yep. To be more specific, he gets about 35-40 miles from his 15 gallon tank or about 2.3 miles per gallon.

After my 30 second video, Ron’s hand was out. “That’ll be seven dollars.”

2008 Goodguys Scottsdale – Photo Upload

The first of many, MANY photos from the 2008 Goodguys Southwest Nationals held in Scottsdale, Arizona just went up. (You can find all the events we’ve shot here: Hot Rod and Custom car Pictures)

…it’s just like being there, but without all of that pesky good weather, fine folks and healthy walking around stuff. Come to think of it, all of that sounds pretty good, huh? That’s the whole point of MyRideIsMe.com: Interacting with other members, making new friends, and just enjoying cars! If you missed this one, we invite you to check out our shots, as well as our member’s photos, too… and if you snapped some that we missed, feel free to join in and post them as well! Have some thoughts or a story from the weekend that you’d like to share? Send it our way, and we’ll make you famous!”

This blog will be updated as I load new pictures, so check back here over the next couple of weeks.
Updated:
11/19/2008
11/23/2008

Goodguys Rod and Custom shows have a mix of cars. While I was there, I thought there were mostly hot rods, but looking over my photos, I shot alot of muscle cars, and G-touring type cars too. I’m calling all those cars, Street Machines. I held a brief but meaningful internal debate about that and finally decided that if there’s some opposition to that naming convention, then you’re welcome to make your own website! Ha ha!! What would you call’m?

The 4th Gallery of customs pics is up! Swanee, you’ve got to have some to add to this one! Once again, here’s the direct link: Goodguys Scottsdale Pictures – Hot Trucks

The 3rd Gallery of hot truck photos is up! Click on the link here: Goodguys Scottsdale Pictures – Hot Trucks

The 2nd Gallery of hot rod photos is up! Click on the link or wander over to the Car show picture gallery Here’s that link and my favorite picture: Goodguys Scottsdale Pictures – Hot Rods

Here’s a link to the 1st gallery and one of my favorite pictures. Goodguys Scottsdale Pictures – Street Machines (Click on the pic to make it larger)

Next to come: (almost done!)

Pro’s Details Photos (shots of some of the super trick ideas from big time builders)

MyRideisMe.com Favorite Photos

What else should I do?

OH! Then there’ll be a bunch of photos from Swanee. I’m sure he’ll make my shot’s look crappy, like usual… Look for his logo on the prints and get in touch with him through his MyRideisMe.com Garage here: Custom car pics

While you’re here, stop saying, “Hey, that’s a good idea for a website!” and join already!

2008 Goodguys Scottsdale – Just a teaser…

If you’re a Cali hot rodder or maybe even a Texan heavy into nose up A/FX drag cars, then you probably missed the 2008 Goodguys Southwest Nationals in Scottsdale, AZ. Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered! The dedicated staff of MyRideisMe.com (Paul Swansen, Erick Anderson and myself) took over 1000 pictures. This is just a taste of the photos and stories coming out soon at MyRideisMe.com. Please check back for updates!

Click this link: The Gasser Chevy II Story is Done!

While you’re here, take a second to join. I’ll shoot over a notice when the new stories and photos are ready.

(click on any of these pics to see them full size. It’s Vivazoom!)

Story about this Crazy!! T-bucket now posted: Twin Huffer T-bucket

Interested? Which story should I do first? So tell a friend and check back. We’ll try to put these stories up asap. Thanks!

The Drag’n Wagon

So you’ve owned it since you were 16? Yes. And that was when? 1973. So then, what’s the next obvious question… Why’d a 16 year old kid buy a van? I’m a drummer!

Mark Greenwell of Phoenix, AZ drove this 1966 Chevy Van to the 2007 Scottsdale Goodguys show and immediately caught my eye. The sun setting on those retro-perfect murals blew me away. I knew right away this van had a story. Check these out: (click to enlarge)

I hadn’t looked inside yet.

The original murals were painted in 1978. That was right after the van was totaled in an accident coming back from Flagstaff, AZ in the snow. $550 bought the van back from the insurance agency and Mark, a mechanic by trade, went to work. His work paid off when the truck was featured in the 1982 centerfold of Truckin Magazine. Back then, it ONLY had a turbocharged 350 mounted between the seats. Then, in 1987, Mark rebuilt the truck again. This time, he went over the top. Take a look inside:

You’re looking at a twin turbo 428 Pontiac with and Hillborn Fuel Injection backed by a Powerglide trans with race converter and trans brake. All this is center-mounted, In the van!

It’s not just for show either. Mark shared his near success story of the first time he drag raced the van. He’d gone 7 rounds, all the way to the finals. There’s always some luck there, but Mark had a head start on all the other racers. Then in the final, racing a super comp car, he’d be way out front. After a clean start, racing to the first stripe on the drag strip, he’d won! Sure, the full-tilt race car had passed him, but it was too late. The weird thing was, the time slip showed Mark losing. What gives? Mark learned the hard way that the first stripe is the mile per hour line and that the SECOND line was the finish. Later on, Mark’s turned a best 12.48 @ 148 mph in Lancaster/Palmdale raceway, but a near miss with the throttle stuck open retired the van from racing. To go fast and be safe, Mark started working on a dragster.

Mark and his van show the meaning of My Ride is Me. I encourage everyone to build what you like and have fun doing it. Mark certainly is and it was my pleasure to meet him. Here’s the show card to fill in what I missed and give proper credit to Airwolf, the airbrush artist who did the murals.

Do you dig the van?

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