The Goodguys/Classic Instruments '08 Street Rod of the Year award was presented to George Poteet's jet black Delivery Deluxe '32 Ford sedan delivery at the Goodguys 11th PPG Nationals in Columbus, Ohio. For Poteet, a man who has won every major award in street rodding over the past two decades, the goal all along with this fresh car wasn't to win awards, but to "just have a stark and plain sedan delivery."
Enter 44-year-old builder Dave Lane of Fast Lane Rod Shop in Donahue, Iowa-the man responsible for building Poteet the Delivery Deluxe. Lane is a throwback to the European coachbuilders of the 20th century, a master builder and fabricator who's an unquestioned street rod impresario of his generation.
Back in 2003, Lane and Poteet teamed up on another black '32 Ford-a five-window coupe that won the '03 Street Rod of the Year title, also in Columbus. For the record, this is the fourth car Lane has built for the Memphis businessman.This particular collaboration with Lane started four years ago. The Delivery Deluxe took Lane two years and three months to complete.
Lane, who works completely alone in his Iowa shop, massaged and reshaped all four fenders, lengthened the body/with doors shortened 1 1/2 inches (do not try that at home!), and scratch-built the chassis, installing stainless steel rivets to attach all the crossmembers and motor mounts. The inside of the car is just as impressive as the outside, where Lane used myriad of industrial metal and wood products, and even went as far as installing seats adorned in Carhardt jacket fabric!
"It's an unbelievable feeling to win this award with George," Lane said. "George has been the lifeblood of the street rod industry for many years. He's single-handedly kept rod shops alive with various projects over the years."
The top 5 finalists for this year's award included Joe Stuban ('32 Ford roadster), Poteet's Delivery Deluxe, Mack and Shelley Bernd ('32 Ford cabriolet), Steve Legends ('36 Ford roadster), and Sam Magarino ('32 Ford roadster).
To see more of the Delivery Deluxe, check out the full feature at http://www.rodandcustommagazine.com/featuredvehicles/0807rc_1932_ford_sedan_delivery/index.html.