Goodguys Columbus - The Main Event

Lobeck's V8 Shop was set up in its customary corner at Columbus. One of the mouth-watering rods on display this year was Barry's copper-colored Model A roadster pickup, fendered with yellow-spoke wheels, an engine-turned dash panel, and handcrafted leather seats.

Bob Appleman's '32 Ford pickup is probably nicer than any truck running around in the '60s ever was, with extensively louvered hood sides and tailgate, big 'n' littles, hairpins, a 283, and lots of gold paint.

Scotty Gray always has something cool to drive. In Columbus, he had spectators drooling over this burgundy '33 Ford coupe. The original three-window body rests on boxed stock 'rails. The Flathead is dressed up with polished Offy heads and triple carburetors. The interior is genuine "pleather" tuck 'n' roll.

Designed by David Brost, built at Steve's Auto Restoration, and owned by Gary Coe, this handcrafted '57 F-100 is just amazing. The body got a 2-inch chop, 1 1/2-inch section, and 1-inch channel. The powerplant is a supercharged Ford SVT 4.6L DOHC Cobra. Suspension includes a Heidt's IFS and four-link. It's unbelievable.

Packard taillights, whitewalls, custom interior, side pipes, orange and gold paint, and an in-the-weeds altitude are just some of the appealing elements of Gary Ritchie's '51 Mercury custom.

Ed and Bev Kurtzman are the proud owners of this tasty '53 Ford. They removed some chrome by eliminating the door handles, bumper guards, and hood emblems, but kept the rest, and added a little with side pipes and spots. A '53 Flathead is right at home under the hood.

This daily-driven '46 Hudson hauler is one of three cool vehicles that Glen Reeves brought to the Nats...

...It tows a vintage Scotty teardrop camper, and has a '59 Simplex motorbike loaded in the bed.

We kept coming back to Ed Gonder's brand-new, old-time, channeled '32 Ford pickup, packed with a '57 Olds J2 motor, and dressed up with red tuck 'n' roll on the bench seat and pie crust cheater slicks in back.

Every yellow fenderless '34 three-window coupe reminds us of Jim Jacobs' famous Nailhead hot rod from our November 1973 cover, but this is the genuine article, as we could tell from the '37 Ford pickup grille, fat 'n' skinny tires, and four-link suspension (which Pete & Jake's championed 30-plus years ago). The license plate, Jake behind the wheel, and the cop following him were other clues.

This seemingly simple '64 Falcon turned out to be not so simple. Merle Eschman kept the hood ornament to help make his 302-powered, five-speed Ford look low-buck, but he added Total Cost Involved A-arms and coils, Grand Am seats minus the headrests, Budniks, and all kinds of details, such as boxed doorjambs and Mercedes silver paint.

Scott Morehouse's '51 Olds is a bona fide throwback to '50s sleds. We remember it as Joel Sheipe's custom, modified with '53 Buick headlights, '52 Buick front bumper, '55 Dodge bumpers, and '52 Kaiser rear bumper exhausts. A Camaro subframe, Chevy small-block, and four-speed are other details.

Another Jim Jacobs car we love is his yellow phaeton, plastered with magazine pages. Jeff, from Cincinnati, is moving toward that look with the decals and signatures on the firewall of his '32 "tubaroo." We liked the skinny Firestones on painted steelies, custom headlight housings, and--could it be?--Don Garlits' helmet from the '60s?!

Sure enough, Pete Chapouris and Jim Jacobs, probably better known as Pete & Jake, got back together in Columbus to sign autographs and talk to enthusiasts.

Here's a done-right Deuce highboy roadster, owned and shown by Jim and Joan Krejci. The leather interior is complemented by a banjo wheel and engine-turned instrument panel.

Curtis Fisher's '54 Studebaker wagon, built in a contemporary style by Randy Segar, started out as a four-door and ended up as a phantom, topped with a Pontiac wagon roof. A 500ci Cadillac engine powers the car, which is equipped with 4-wheel disc brakes, a Mustang II front end, four-link, and bags.

Mark Trostle's beautiful '32, black with green interior, was built on a Lobeck chassis using a new Dearborn Deuce body, and features an SVO 351 with Holman-Moody valve covers, a Tremec 5-speed, Dayton-Dunlop vintage racing tires and wheels, and black-face gauges.

A combination of scallops and flames accentuate the length of Jeff Gilger's '60 Olds 88, with a slammed stance, orange steelies, a Mexican blanket upholstery to cover the seat, and a For Sale sign in the windshield.

Another much-driven, primer-coated hot rod is this '32 Vicky. Al Mayer has owned the Deuce for 20 years. The current Chevy 350 is its fourth motor. Al drives the car anywhere and everywhere and plans on keeping it in primer. "Let the next guy paint it," he said.

Butch Fairfield shows off his Street Rodder Top 10 '31 Model, built reminiscent of a car he remembers as a kid in the '50s. This 5-speed sedan is channeled 5 1/2 inches in front and 7 1/2 in back, over kicked-up Deuce rails. The small-block is disguised with Olds Rocket valve covers.

Another great wagon. The interior woodwork on Bob Wills; '49 Chevy four-door woodie is as nice as the rest of the car. Mike Mayabb's brush created the perfect exterior woodgrain.

Over in the import section, we found this row of nice Anglias. Greg McRoberts' suede '52 came from New Zealand, then Great Britain, before making it to the States. The small-block-powered rod is an Ohio resident now, and gets driven all over.

Don Richardson achieved a great look for his '35 Dodge pickup, thanks to a four-inch dropped axle, and a '52 331 Hemi engine with four carbs, and three-speed transmission. Don started with the cab, followed by the frame, grille shell, and bed, and finished the chassis components in black.

We love to see Willys built in all kinds of different styles, as long as they never stop building them like this. We didn't get this guys name, but we sure liked the looks of his straight-axle Gasser.

We've always liked Paul Brewer's '32 Ford Y-block pickup, built to replicate a truck he loved as a kid, but was never able to own. A copy of an old magazine story on the original is displayed with the tribute truck, and describes how the first one was chopped and channeled decades ago.

This fendered '32 three-window has been showing up everywhere this year, and has the traditional look nailed. Built on an Ionia Hot Rod Shop custom chassis, it's powered by a Cadillac engine with triple carburetors. Tim Thompson is the smiling owner.