There's no place like home, someone once said. We love traveling to car shows all over America, but we're always glad to get home to California. One of the biggest shows in our part of the country is the West Coast Nationals, held the weekend before Labor Day in the Northern California town of Pleasanton.
After treating our eyeballs to the best hot rods and custom cars from the North, South, and East, Pleasanton is our chance to reacquaint ourselves with the best in the West. Not to brag, but the cars at this show are always spectacular, the weather is always perfect, the atmosphere is laid-back, and the organic tofu burgers are incredible. I made up that last part, but everything else is 100-percent true.
Despite the late-summer date, Pleasanton is the show many rodders come to in order to debut a project car. Like Columbus and Indy, there is a prestige to Pleasanton that makes it a favorite event for showing off a brand new ride, and we spotted plenty of fresh iron again this year.
More than 3,500 pre-'55 rods, customs, and classic trucks packed the Alameda County Fairgrounds. Participants who missed nabbing a spot in one of the grassy areas could park along the many roads winding through the grounds. As always, Goodguys had special corrals set aside for certain types of vehicles. We like the fact that owner-built, regularly-driven rods and customs are celebrated at Goodguys shows, with designated areas such as Garage Grown, Homebuilt Heaven, and Ya Gotta Drive 'Em.
We're not done hitting the road, and next month's R&C will have show coverage from Colorado and Kansas. But for a few pages, allow us to brag on our home state with shots of some of the hot rods and customs from the West Coast.
Another sweet '50 Merc on...
Another sweet '50 Merc on the grounds was this gold beauty, owned by Lisa and Dave Baker. Once a low-mileage stocker from South Dakota, there are now more than 30 mods on this custom, including a chopped and stretched top with the B-pillar removed, square tube chassis, hood louvers painted with black and white Greek-style stripes, and a grille full of bullets.
A pair of black traditional...
A pair of black traditional '32 five-windows caught our eye right away. The chopped Cad-powered coupe in the front has a long drag racing heritage and is now owned by collector Richard Munz. The other, running a ZZ4, belongs to Denny Cissell. Both recently completed an almost 4,000-mile drive through the Pac Northwest and western Canada.
Leo Reyes' chopped '54 Buick...
Leo Reyes' chopped '54 Buick is yet another cool custom to come out of the Oz Kustom shop in Northern California. The bronze metalflake ground-scraper, which runs a Chevy small-block, was picked for the Chopped & Dropped award at Pleasanton.
This topless '36 Plymouth...
This topless '36 Plymouth already has a Packard grille, frenched headlights in molded buckets, an independent suspension, and high-profile billet five-spoke wheels. All it was looking for in Pleasanton was a new owner.
Alan Donald covered all the...
Alan Donald covered all the custom paint bases on his '53 Buick Special, including blue suede, fogging, and metalflake--not to mention some tasty pinstriping. Other custom tricks include frenched headlights, split Pontiac rear bumpers, and a wrap-around T-bird back seat.
Hot licks over cool blue paint--Steve...
Hot licks over cool blue paint--Steve and Kris Welsh sure know how to make a '40 coupe pop. Yellow steelies beneath the fenders, a 350/350 drivetrain under the hood, and a two-tone gray interior complete the look of this knockout.
Steve and Geri Bera's '50...
Steve and Geri Bera's '50 Ford is a classic custom from every angle, whether you're looking at the frenched headlights, '59 Imperial grille, and rounded hood corners, or at the chopped top and cut-down '54 Merc taillights. The paint is pearlescent champagne with raspberry mist.
Jerry Cooper's chopped and...
Jerry Cooper's chopped and hard-topped '40 Merc proves that it never hurts to pay homage to classic custom design--in this case, the Barris-built Matranga Merc. Jerry's version has Chevy running gear and other modern conveniences.
Model A sedans look especially...
Model A sedans look especially tall when they sit this low. Jerry Foreman's back-to-basics full-fendered '29 sure captured our attention.
A few simple things like subtracting...
A few simple things like subtracting hood and side trim, vent windows, and bumper guards, and adding tri-bar dot headlights and dummy spots helped transform Gary and Joanne Levering's caramel-colored '50 Ford into a beautiful mild custom.
A Ford 429 Hemi with electronically-controlled...
A Ford 429 Hemi with electronically-controlled Hilborn injection is not the conventional choice for powering a '32 Ford, but Ken Schell went that way with his all-steel Vicky and went home with the Hottest Hot Rod award. He's got six other Ford-powered Deuces at home.
Fred White's '50 Plymouth...
Fred White's '50 Plymouth Suburban looks sharp with a filled hood, V-butted windshield, one-piece door glass, billet wheels, Pontiac taillights, a little dechroming, and bright yellow paint. Butterscotch leather covers bucket seats inside and a 350/350 combo moves it along.
We noticed the purple paint...
We noticed the purple paint on Larry Kinerson's '50 Mercury from a mile away, but did a double take when we noticed that this chopped and dropped sled from Delhi, CA, is a four-door.
Metal rules! Bodyman extraordinaire...
Metal rules! Bodyman extraordinaire Cole Foster's latest creation--an oh-so-smooth '36 Ford coupe (built for Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett) was on display in bare steel so that everyone at the show could stare agape at the expert metalwork. Careful though, drool causes rust!
Who would've thought orange...
Who would've thought orange suede paint, apple green wheels, and retro pinstripes and lettering would look so good on a '38 Ford pickup? Everyone's who's seen Wayne and Yvonne Laciberte's cool hauler, that's who.
Bob Bruhn's high-tech '49...
Bob Bruhn's high-tech '49 Packard is powered by a big-block Chevy, hence the name "Pack Rat." In addition to super-clean body lines and an in-the-weeds posture, Bob's unusual custom boasts a leather interior that's just perfect.
Tom Pagano's '27 T-bucket...
Tom Pagano's '27 T-bucket pickup was finished the day before the show and rolled into the event with 28 miles on it. Son TJ's pinstriping is all over this thing. Some might say that the 354 Hemi is overkill. We say, what's wrong with overkill?
Green accents and red rims...
Green accents and red rims behind Lancer caps really set off Herb Gehlken's mild '54 Chevy. It gets even better on the inside with white rolls and pleats and yards of pinstriping on the dash.
Dave and Terri McCullough's...
Dave and Terri McCullough's '37 Ford cabriolet is another great example of how proper stance and color selection can make all the difference. The fact that Dave and Terri drove this rare drop-top all the way from Edmonds, Washington, is pretty cool, too.
The custom mods on John Moses'...
The custom mods on John Moses' '53 Ford are so subtle that you might think it's stock. That's not such a bad thing.