Labor Day was established in the late 19th century as a national day of rest for the working man. Today, the three-day Labor Day weekend is celebrated as the unoffi cial end of summer, a last chance for warm-weather vacations and parties before autumn sets in. So it only makes sense that thousands of car guys in the Midwest choose to commemorate Labor Day weekend by making one last pass of summertime cruising in the rods and customs they labored so diligently to create.
For the last few years, Goodguys has provided such rodders with an ideal end-of-summer destination by hosting its Mid-Western Nationals. Held at the Kansas Speedway near Kansas City, the Mid-Western Nats has established itself as a prime venue for end-of-summer automotive fun. The 2007 event upheld the tradition with great weather and more than 2,500 rods, customs, classics, and trucks. In addition to the customary showin', shinin', and cruisin', participants had several opportunities to put their rides to the test, including an Street Challenge Autocross course set up by Air Ride Technologies and a track cruise around the speedway's high-banked oval on Saturday evening.
Rod & Custom always enjoys getting back to the Midwest, and we figured this Goodguys show would be a great opportunity to see some of the heartland's coolest rides before the harsh winter weather forced them into hibernation. We brought along a batch of Top Tin awards to hand out as we made our way around the Speedway infield, and generally had a blast checking out the finest rides from the nation's midsection.
Dan Benck cooked up his T-bucket with '60s flavor using red metalflake paint, white pinstriping and upholstery, a dual-quad Nailhead, and 10-spoke wheels up front paired with steelies and cheater slicks out back. | 
John Wiggins didn't have a ton of dough, but he still wanted a cool, eye-popping custom. So he picked up a '62 Ford Galaxie, shaved the trim and handles, put it on the ground with Air Ride Technologies 'bags, and covered it with custommixed PPG green paint and killer orange flames. | 
You've seen several creations from Texas-based Hatfield Restorations on these pages before. The latest is this '29 Model A roadster on '32 'rails. Though it looks like it could've been crafted decades ago, this Top Tin winner is a fresh build with a Brookville body, Pete & Jake's chassis, Winters quickchange, and T5-backed 401ci Buick Nailhead. |
Bob Smith dug his '33 Ford three-window coupe out of a Nebraska ditch in 1973. A few years ago, with help from his son, Bob Jr., he built it into an early '50s-style highboy hot rod with a chopped top, dual-carb Flathead, '40 wheels and brakes, and maroon Naugahyde upholstery complementing the black paint. | 
Mercury didn't make an all-steel wagon in 1949, which is why Dave Dolman's chopped longroof leaves many people scratching their heads. Dave started with a coupe and added a '57 Ford wagon roof skin, '56 Ford side windows, '55 Merc tailgate, and '52 Merc taillights, topping it all off with custom-mixed yellow paint. | 
Homebuilt customs don't come much better executed than Gene Weaver's '54 Bel Air. Gene gave the lid a gentle 2-inch chop, frenched the lights front and rear, added extra teeth to the grille, reshaped the rear bumper, and covered the smooth skin with Chrysler Light Almond Pearl paint. |
Maple panels contrasted by PPG Poker Green paint gives Carolyn Smith's '38 Ford woodie a classy, distinctive appearance. Further refinements to the old lumber wagon include a torsion bar front suspension, LT1 smallblock Chevy mill, tan leather seats, and wide whitewalls wrapped around the steel wheels. | 
Wayne Putnam's '32 Packard coupe looks so clean and refined, it's hard to believe it began life as a four-door sedan. Rusty Jackson at Odd Rod Creations skillfully scaled down the luxury liner and also updated its underside with a Heidt's IFS, 9-inch rearend, and a blown LS1 V-8 backed by a six-speed. | 
Ever heard of a '49 Chevy Utility Coupe? Neither had we. James Wolk imagined what such a model might look like, then created it by adding '47 Chevy B-pillars to his '49 Fleetline, deleting the vent windows, and building a fold-down rear seat with a wood-floor pass-through cargo area to the trunk. |
We had to include at least one Deuce in our Top Tin lineup, and Bob Holt's understated five-window fit the bill perfectly. | 
We like to reward creativity, and Jeff and Verna Sharer's fenderless flyer is about as creative as they come. | 
Label Mark Sowell's '49 Ford however you want-a custom rod, contemporary custom, or 'box rod. We'll simply call it cool. |
Black was the preferred color for the toughest early Fords at the show. Jerry Eckholdt's Hemi-powered '32 five-window and Larry Roller's hammered threewindow both looked bitchin'. | 
Steve and Tina Petterson's '55 Ford Ranch Wagon is a perfect example of clean, simple 50s fun. Its bright yellow paint grabs ya, the whitewall-wrapped five-spokes hold ya, and the white tuck 'n' roll upholstery draws ya in for a closer look. | 
Jeremy Marzen's Red Ram-powered '55 Dodge hardtop sure looks sharp all nestled down into the grass. |
A handful of rodders put their cars to the test on the Street Challenge Autocross course sponsored by Air Ride Technologies. | 
It's great to see Hub Harness still cruising his copper '60 Buick custom nearly 20 years after it was first finished and featured in R&C. | 
The street gasser revival continues. John Klimowicz's '65 Vette gives the look a slightly updated twist with billet wheels, but the blown and injected big-block proves that this high rider still means business. |