Rob & Shelli Hall
Wahoo, Nebraska
'32 Ford Deluxe coupe
With the exception of boxing the 'rails, Rob did virtually all the work on his all-steel, unchopped '32 three-window highboy. Since he bought it in the early '80s, he's added the 327 (with '57 Olds J2 Tri-power carbs) and Powerglide combo, along with a 9-inch rear, and a LeBaron-Bonney interior kit. Front '40-48 rims are paired with 5-inch-wide Jeep rims with Ford centers. He says he felt a little anxious about tearing up blacktop for the first time with the Deuce, and is now looking for a drive-in theater for his next experience.
Phil & Dianne Mayo
Reading, Pennsylvania
'34 Chevy roadster
We've known Phil and Dianne since their high-mileage Chevy won the R&C Asphalt Ego-Rama road trip shootout in 2002, so we knew the roadster was awesome and that Phil would drive the spit out of it. Phil built the whole car, right down to machining countless brackets. With a trusty 350/350 combo and 3.73 gears, expanded interior, Hartz top, side wings, and matching trailer, the roadster was built for long trips-with occasional short trips through the cones to keep the adrenaline flowing.
Jason Rains
Des Moines, Iowa
'35 Ford sedan
This extensively modified custom belongs to Bob Rosencrans, who lets builders Jason Rains and Ted Lesher drive it and show it as much as they want (which has turned into 10K miles-so far). Ted's wife, LuAnn, talked Jason into driving the chopped, shaved, and smoothed steel-bodied '35 in our competition in Lincoln. It rides on a Total Cost Involved chassis, and is powered by a '94 LT1 with a 4L60E and 3.00 gears. The project started with an all-original car, and morphed into something really cool. Don't you agree?
Vance Alexander
New Sharon, Iowa
'25 Ford Model T
This turtle-deck T was built like the first hot rods. Vance has had the body since 1965, but didn't get busy until the early '90s when he got the Halibrand Culver City quick-change. He wanted a three-pedal car built in the style of the old circle-track racers. The '63 215ci aluminum Olds mill is backed by a T5 five-speed. Vance did all the work, making parts from bicycle tubing, farm machinery, and other material, and building components using homebuilt tooling. He's got $5,500 in the whole car, but a ton of his own hard work. Check out the feature on page 50 in this issue for more details.
Kenny Mumford
Topeka, Kansas
'56 Chevy
It was built to drive, and in the three years that the body-off rebuild of his '56 Chevy has been finished, Kenny has driven his mostly '50s-style Bow Tie all over the place, including through the cones at Americruise, where the power steering, disc brakes, and low stance came in handy. The 330-horse Mouse motor and overdrive 700-R4 make those trips problem-free. He told us he took it easy during the slalom testing, but had a lot of fun in the acceleration testing.
Jack Benge
Topeka, Kansas
'61 Ford Starliner
Jack's '61 Starliner is Ford on the outside, but Lincoln on the inside, with a 4.6L engine, transmission, and rearend from a '97 Lincoln. The car, built by Bright Built Hot Rods, is a tribute to the '61 that served as Jack's first car. With the upgraded drivetrain and suspension-and a million handbuilt custom mods (including Ford oval-shaped openings)-this version is probably a bit nicer. He says he didn't go all out in the driving events, but was very happy to find out how well his custom is capable of performing.
David Bratcher
Lincoln, Nebrask
'61 Buick
David claims he's never been one to sit behind his car, and proved it with a big smoky burnout. The mostly stock body was pulled from a field and built at Fast Eddie Hot Rod Shop, loaded with a Stage 1 455 and TH400 automatic, and 3.70 gears in the 9-inch four-wheel discs and power everything. David says he likes cars that can perform and has participated in numerous Americruises, but he came into the Custom of the Year contest by accident. "I was just trying to park under the shade tree."
Greg Beishir
Spanish Lake, Missouri
'52 Chevy
Greg wanted to push the Chevy a little harder through the slalom, but after finishing the build shortly before Americruise, and driving for 12 hours in the rain to get there, he decided not to hammer it. He bought the car off of eBay and built it all, minus the upholstery and finished paint. The LT1 was muscled up with a cam, roller rockers, and bigger injectors and throttle body. He customized the car with all kinds of mods inside and out for show, but says the biggest fun is getting out and driving it.