Europe Cars & Trucks News

In our opinion, the most fun a person can have on four wheels during the summertime is to attend Rod & Custom magazine’s cross-country rod run known as Americruise. For 2007, Americruise featured two separate cross-country tours that joined in Lincoln, Nebraska, at the state fairgrounds to show ‘n’ shine and Go & Whoa.

Beyond the fact that participants actually drive their rods across the country to show at Lincoln is the Go & Whoa segment of the event, where anyone who enters is welcome to join the competitors for Rod & Custom’s Rod Of The Year competition in handling and braking trials. New for Americruise 2007 was a Truck Of The Year award handed out jointly by Custom Classic Trucks and Classic Trucks. Proving that cars are cool but trucks are even cooler were the guys driving hopped-up old trucks breaking down the doors to get their rides out on the track to run amongst the hottest of hot cars.

The West Coast tour pulled out of Sacramento Vintage Ford on June 22, led by Rod & Custom’s editor, Kevin Lee, with around 150 well-wishers in rods, customs, and pickups present to see the R&C entourage off. On June 25, the Southern tour left from Painless Performance’s Fort Worth, Texas, facilities led by Dennis Overholser. With the number of hot-rodded cars and trucks at around 50-plus pulling out from Painless Performance on Monday morning, needless to say, it was quite a sight as the pack worked their way toward old Route 66 in Elk City, Oklahoma, for the first night out.

Of course, time really flies when you are having fun. The next thing we knew we were at Speedway Motors’ giant (and we mean giant) facility checking out what has to be one of the largest inventories of cool aftermarket parts ranging from a shift knob all the way up to a ‘34 Ford cab.

In upcoming issues we will run special features on each of the trucks that toured with us on Americruise, but in the meantime, please enjoy our coverage of the happenings at the fairgrounds in Lincoln. CCT

Photo Gallery: 2007 Auto Show - Americruise 2007 - Custom Classic Trucks Magazine

If there’s one sure way to categorize whether or not an event is on a national level, it would be to look at how far an enthusiast will travel to attend it. That said, with Ford F-100 fanatics driving across country from as far as California, Oregon, and Washington to attend the 29th annual F-100 Supernationals held for the fourth year in a row at Chilhowee Park from May 17-19 in Knoxville, Tennessee, we’d definitely say Pat Ford’s Effie affair is at the top of the charts.

For 2007, attendance was down ever so slightly in comparison to last year, but considering 2006 was the year dedicated to celebrating the “deuce” of all classic trucks, the ‘56 F-100’s 50th birthday, along with gasoline prices at an all-time high, this year’s turnout was not bad at all. One thing that was better than last year was the weather-we didn’t feel a drop of rain all weekend.

So, how many Ford trucks were there this year, one might ask? Well, it was kind of hard to get an accurate number, but we counted approximately 900 F-100s cruising by while we were having a quick cheeseburger hanging out with Truckin’s Mark Halverson. Mark is one of those guys who really does his research before he shows up for an event. He went on to tell us that the F-100 Supernationals have a local economic impact of $1.1 million. No matter how one slices it, that’s a lot of cabbage. Although there was also a fine assortment of restored 8 and 9N Ford tractors on display, we weren’t there to cultivate cabbage; nope, we were there to shoot trucks. And shoot trucks we did, with 12 truck features in the bag, including Alvin McCoy’s F-1 Of The Year award-winning Candy Apple Red ‘48 F-1. We acquired enough really great Ford features to run in every issue until we return next year. For more information about next year’s F-100 Supernationals, call 704-872-7327 or log onto www.f100supernationals.com.

Photo Gallery: Ford F-100 Event - F-100 Super Nationals - Custom Classic Trucks Magazine

In the middle of the summer heat, there is hardly a better place to be than sitting under the shade of a big ol? tree with a plate full of barbecued grub admiring a flock of customized ?47?87 Chevrolet and GMC trucks. For the Bow Tie and Jimmy folks living in Southern California, this means Brothers? 9th Annual Show & Shine held July 8, 2007, at Featherly Regional Park in Anaheim, California.

Since our friends at Brothers are headquartered just a few miles away in nearby Corona, California, we thought our readers might enjoy a little shop tour thrown in with the coverage lens master Galen Armenta shot last year at Brothers? 8th Annual Show & Shine.

When we showed up at Brothers, it didn?t take us long to learn the company name was derived from the fact that brothers Jim and Steve Flanders founded the business after deciding to focus on providing the highest-quality parts available for ?47?87 General Motors trucks. It wasn?t too long before the Chevy and GMC community responded overwhelmingly and the Flanders brothers? new business venture met with tremendous success.

To express their gratitude to all the loyal customers and friends who helped to make this possible, the brothers initiated their first annual Show & Shine in 1998. Some nine years later, the event has taken on the personality of a giant family reunion, with all the trappings associated with a really good custom classic truck show combined with the best qualities of summer fun. For more information about attending Brothers? 9th Annual Show & Shine, log onto www.brotherstrucks or call 800-977-2767.

Photo Gallery: The Annual Brothers Show And Shine - Custom Classic Trucks Magazine

One of the first things that comes to mind when one hears mention of the Detroit Autorama held in Detroit’s Cobo Hall is the coveted Ridler award, or perhaps if one is a pinstriping enthusiast it would be the Motor City Pinstripers Art Auction headed up by “Yosemite” Sam Radoff each year that benefits the Rainbow Wish Foundation with 100 percent of the proceeds. Either way, there is one thing that is for sure, the Detroit Autorama has evolved into a great venue to check out some super-fine customized classic trucks.

For 2007, the International Show Car Association-sanctioned show was held March 9-11, with a general admission of $16; children 6-12, $5; and children 5 and under were free. Or if one went over to Murray’s Auto Parts, one could save a couple of bucks off the admission and apply it toward the price of a grape soda. Well, no one seems to remember if grape sodas were actually available, but there is no question that “Tow-Mater” from the hit Disney/Pixar movie Cars was present in the show’s special features section. For those of you who didn’t get a chance to see Cars, Tow-Mater is loosely based off of a Tri-Five Chevy tow truck with the personality of a ‘61 Buick Le Sabre, or maybe it was an Invicta.

On the serious side, we thought that it might be interesting to mention that the ‘36 Ford three-window coupe that won this year’s Ridler award has been owned by Ross Myers since he was 9 years old. Well, there’s no sense wasting any more space with words when it can be filled with pictures of trucks. For more information about next year’s Detroit Autorama, log onto www.autorama.com.

Photo Gallery: 2007 Detroit Autorama - Custom Classic Trucks

When anything lasts 50 years in this day and age, it’s quite a feat. Those select few things that have reached the 50-year milestone have found a way to weave themselves into everyday Americana.

Disneyland and the ‘57 Chevy, which have both reached the half-century mark, have become symbols of Americana, amusement, and enthusiasm. In Wichita, Kansas, the heart of the Sunflower State, a happening that has entwined itself into everyday lives can now claim 2007 as its 50th anniversary: the Darryl Starbird National Rod and Custom Car Show.

In ‘57, Darryl Starbird, the owner/operator of the Star Kustom Shop in Wichita, Kansas, saw a way to not only promote the up-and-coming custom shop, but to also fill a void in the Midwest hot rod scene. Starbird’s revelation? To put on an indoor car show in the middle of winter to keep the scene alive. At the ripe old age of 24, Darryl and his wife, Donna, put everything on the line and took out a loan to rent out the now non-existent Wichita Forum and put on the first ever Auto Capades. (The name was later changed after the Starbirds received a cease and desist letter from the Ice Capades.) Not sure what to expect, the newfound promoters decided to set registration fees at $5 a vehicle and general admission at 98 cents. Much to the Starbirds’ surprise, over 100 vehicles appeared in the inaugural show, and just a hair over 1,000 spectators walked through the doors of the Forum. At the time, Darryl and Donna were flabbergasted over the turnout, but little did they know that show would later spawn a 16-city show circuit dubbed the Star Car Caravan, and more importantly, turn into an annual family and hot rod tradition for 50 years.

The Darryl Starbird National Rod and Custom Car Show celebrated its 50th anniversary January 19-21 at the Century II Convention Center, which sits atop the old Forum in downtown Wichita. The show showcased some of the best cars and trucks the country has to offer and provided entertainment to all those who attended. This year’s show was over five times the size of the inaugural show, and it displayed over 500 vehicles from all walks of the automotive life. Not to mention Darryl “The Bubble Top King” Starbird himself brought more than 25 of his own creations to celebrate the 50th anniversary. In fact, 90 percent of the center hall was filled with Starbird cars! Also thrown in the mix was the largest display of bubble top creations ever. There were a grand total of nine bubble tops, five of which were the Bubble Top Kings, on display in the center hall. In addition to that, some of the biggest names in customizing history, such as George Barris, Bill Hines, Joe Bailon, Jerry and Elden Titus, and Starbird, were on hand to meet and greet.

CCT attended the 50th anniversary Darryl Starbird National Rod and Custom Car Show, but seeing as how we were about to walk right into Kustom City, we were a little up in the air about what the custom classic truck scene would be. As it turns out, there was no need to worry at all, because the Wichita area is packed with custom haulers. There was a wide variety of all different styles and makes of trucks that, quite frankly, made us a little trigger happy with our cameras. For information about next year’s show, log onto www.darrylstarbird.com, and be sure to check out the CCT Web site (www.customclassictrucks.com) for expanded coverage of the Starbird show.

Photo Gallery: The Darryl Starbird National Rod and Custom car show - Custom Classic Trucks Magazine

If there’s a better free car show or cruise taking place anywhere in the United States other than the Donut Derelicts held every Saturday and Sunday at the corner of Adams Avenue and Magnolia in Huntington Beach, California, please let us know.

Around 20 years ago, our friend Rick Finn invited us to come down and hang out with a group of guys who were informally known as the Donut Derelicts. The idea was to show up before the crack of dawn and have a little fun chewing the fat and checking out what the other local hot rodders were cruising. When 9 a.m. rolled around, it was time to clear out and let the businesses surrounding Adams Avenue reclaim the parking lot for their customers. The guys who had shops still had the rest of the day to conduct business, and the “honey-do” guys could run home and appease the little woman.

Since Rick was already a budding graphic designer producing T-shirt designs and developing combination marks for local companies in need of a cool new logo, it was only natural that Rick trademarked the Donut Derelicts name and launched a gearhead lifestyle clothing company featuring his distinctive style. Throughout the years, it was kind of an unwritten rule that all of us automotive photojournalist types wouldn’t publicize the Donut Shop so that it wouldn’t get ruined. In spite of our efforts, the Donut Derelicts would occasionally get some mainstream ink or end up on a TV show.

Thankfully, the exposure hasn’t produced the ill effects we’d all feared, and today the Donut Shop is still a thriving phenomenon. On a sad note, Rick Finn passed away on September 23, 2006, but as with all of our hot-rodder buddies who’ve passed away through the years, the ones who are still standing show up religiously and continue to carry the torch. For anyone who might ever find themselves in Huntington Beach, California, we extend an open invitation and a reminder that it’s customary to buy any magazine editors present a cup of coffee and a donut.

Photo Gallery: Huntington Beach Free Car Show - Custom Classic Trucks Magazine

According to Lichter’s law of containment, if one puts up a fence around an event that used to be free and starts charging admission, it’s only a matter of time before things go bad.

In the early days of the Mooneyes X-Mas Party, if memory serves us well, it used to be called the Rat Fink Reunion, and it was held at Moon Speed Equipment’s parking lot in Santa Fe Springs, California. Back then, most of the guys who attended were pinstripers and usually showed up early enough to park their ride inside Moon’s parking lot, grab a toilet seat or a trash can, and pull some stripes.

For the ones like us who showed up later in the day, we had to park out somewhere on Norwalk Boulevard and walk the rest of the way. One of the things that was really neat about the Rat Fink Reunion was Ed “Big Daddy” Roth, who would be there in person walking around with his top hat on, smiling and talking to people. For anyone who ever met “Big Daddy” Roth, we are sure the experience left them with a memory they will never forget. One of the usual stories is how approachable he was. As kids, we used to talk with him at one of the local custom car shows while he was painting creepy monsters on T-shirts and selling them. One of the last memories we have of seeing Ed Roth in person was at the Moon X-Mas Party. It was around dinnertime, and there was a barbecue going on. “Big Daddy” Roth and another guy were taking turns cooking the burgers and putting them together to set on a table and hand out to folks. When it was Ed’s turn to cook burgers, he jumped right in and started cranking them out in a hurry…

maybe too much of a hurry. In his zealousness, Ed flipped a burger from the grill to the bun, but he missed it and it landed on the ground. Without skipping a beat, “Big Daddy” looked around with a giant smile, scooped the burger up, and plopped it onto the bun.

In defiance of Lichter’s law of containment, the 2006 edition of the Mooneyes X-Mas Party was held for the first time at the Irwindale Speedway in Irwindale, California. The Rat Fink Reunion has evolved into a really great event of major proportions. Probably the key to this success is the folks at Mooneyes didn’t get greedy and charge a bunch of money to get in. For only $5, you could park your ride and walk in, or for $20, you could enter your vehicle in the show. In addition to a large vendor’s row area, the indulgence we were most impressed with was that it cost only $20 to drag race on Irwindale’s eighth-mile strip.For information about attending next year’s Mooneyes X-Mas Party, log onto www.mooneyes.com or Google “my truck ain’t never gettin’ out of primer.”

Photo Gallery: The 2006 Mooneyes Christmas Party - Custom Classic Trucks Magazine

In the first Farm Truck Fever (October ‘06), we ventured across California and into Nevada and Utah to see whether we could still find an old truck sitting in a field or front yard to haul home and create a masterpiece. In our second chapter, The Bug Hits Home, instead of scouring the countryside searching truck by old rusty truck, we went to the Pomona Swap Meet in Pomona, California, where folks from all over the western United States converge to form the largest antique automobile swap meet on the West Coast. In our effort to provide readers with an accurate overview of the event, we attended four occasions before we compiled our story on how to search the Pomona Swap Meet for a project truck.

It’s a good thing that we did decide to attend several dates before we presented this piece,because we learned that you can’t predict how good the next Pomona Swap Meet will bebased on the last one. Of the four meets, June 4 was the best. There were a lot of goodtrucks there, and the prices were reasonable. To cite a few examples, the first one thatcomes to mind was a yellow (original paint) ‘57 Ford F-100 panel truck that had Idahoplates with an asking price of $2,700. What caught our eye about this truck was that itwas fully loaded. Instead of the base 223-inch inline six-cylinder with a three-speed stick,this truck originally came with a 292 V-8 backed with a Fordomatic transmission. Theengine and trans were missing, but the chrome-plated Fordomatic emblem was still on thehood. Its desirable extras included a factory chrome grille and what we would imaginewas rare even back in ‘57, a Custom Cab with matching bucket seats. Next on our list offavorites was a California original ‘62 Chevy shortbed Fleetside with a 283 V-8 engineand a compound four-speed for $2,500 or best offer.

One of the really neat things about the Pomona Swap Meet is that people haul vehicles infrom all over the United States to offer for sale. We ran across one group of guys whowere camped out around a ‘55 Ford fire truck they’d shipped in from Oklahoma. Theshort-wheelbase pumper had less than 8,000 original miles and was in absolutely flawlessmuseum quality for only $7,500.

A bit of advice that we always like to offer to someone who’s in the market for a projecttruck: Buy the absolute best example you can find. Of course, if you wait until you havethe kind of dough necessary to buy the best truck available, you might never get started.As we were leaving the June 4 event, we were stopped by two guys selling a big-window’59 Chevy shortbed Stepside. In the morning they were asking $3,000, but at the prospectof hauling the battered truck 200 miles back to their Central California home, the pricehad dropped to $1,500-it’s likely that anyone with $1,000 cash could have taken ithome.

With the arrival of our fourth consecutive visit to the Pomona Swap Meet, we werediscouraged-the quality of the trucks had progressively worsened, while the askingprices were increasingly higher. While one might take this as an indication that theavailability of old trucks is drying up, which is true to a point, there’s no need to panic.We have been checking out the Pomona Swap Meet scene on and off for the last 20years, and one thing we have learned is that you can’t judge the next one by looking atthe last. CCT

Photo Gallery: Pomona Swap Meet - Custom Classic Trucks Magazine

Sometimes all it takes to put the wheels in motion is a little spark. Since we ran Al Ming’s ‘65 Chevy short Fleetside from Spokane, Washington, in the Readers’ Trucks section a year ago, we have not only attended the Spokane Goodguys show held August 18-20, but we’ve also shot 11 truck features while we were there as well.

The snowball started rolling when we phoned Al to get a little more information about his truck. The next thing you know we were talking about his future plans to swap out his punched-out 283 for a 383 stroker and upgrade his suspension and brakes with the latest goodies from Jim Meyer Racing Products. Knowing Jim Meyer is located in Oregon, which is next door to Washington, we asked Al to tell us a little more about the custom classic truck scene in the Northwest. That was all it took. Before anyone could say, “You’d have to be crazy to drive 2,700 miles in a weekend,” we were on our way.

We checked out a brand-new ‘06 Harley-Davidson F-150 from the Ford Motor Company’s press fleet and hit the road late Thursday night. By the time the sun had risen on Friday morning, we were almost at the top of California, heading into Oregon. Somehow it was a whole bunch longer than it looked like on the map, but by Saturday morning we had rolled into Spokane right on time. From the very instant we spotted the Goodguys’ banners at the front gate, it was clear that our journey was well worth the drive. There were super nice up-to-’72 customized vintage trucks from all over the Western states and provinces. It wasn’t unusual to see Montana, Wyoming, Alberta, andBritish Columbia plates in with the mix of Washington and Oregon vehicles.

This is the first time Custom Classic Trucks has covered the Spokane show, but one thing is for sure: it will not be the last. A special thanks to all the people who shared their hospitality with us while we were there, and we hope to see you again next year. For more information about the next Great Northwest Nationals, log onto www.good-guys.com. CCT

Photo Gallery: Goodguy’s Northwest Nationals Car and Truck Show - Custom Classic Trucks Magazine

Along with the rest of the automotive press, Air Ride Technologies invited Custom Classic Trucks to attend their third annual Street Challenge hosted on the outskirts of Indianapolis at the Putnam Park Road Course September 2006. Although we had never attended the event before, we knew from talking with our friends at Primedia’s other automotive titles that the Street Challenge was one of the most fun one-day events around. The principle behind it is “to expose the hot rod world to the performance benefits of air suspension.” Having owned and still owning trucks equipped with homebuilt air-ride setups, we weren’t averse to air suspension, but frankly, the thought of taking an old truck packing a high-horsepower engine on airbags around a race course sounded a little bit risky. Our old trucks are cut to lay hard, but good handling just wasn’t part of the equation when we were (not to make a pun) laying things out.

After a quick blast around Putnam behind the wheel of Air Ride Technologies’conventionally sprung ‘68 Camaro powered by a blown 500-plus-horse 327, we didn’teven have to complete the first lap to realize a guy could easily go through a turn on thistrack backward if he wasn’t careful. The next vehicle we jumped in was Air RideTechnologies’ ‘56 Ford F-100 pickup. This time, instead of one of our guys driving,former NASCAR Busch Series driver Mike McLaughlin was behind the wheel. The little’56 went around the course like a hot knife through butter, but we attributed every bit ofthis to Mike’s driving ability. For the next round one of our guys was behind the ’56’swheel. With Mike’s coaching, our guy shaved time off of every lap. It was a real eye-opener for us-that darned little ‘56 was the best-handling truck we had ever driven.Interestingly enough, we weren’t the only ones who formed that opinion. After drivingthe ‘56, NASCAR driver Boris Said announced that he was going to buy a Tri-FiveF-100, “and one of the first things I am going to do is put air suspension on it.” All daylong we noticed guys like Scott Pruett and Ted Musgrave kept gravitating back to the ‘56,exiting it with a smile. At the end of the day we left Putnam Park with a whole newoutlook on air suspension. CCT

Photo Gallery: Street Challenge at Putnam Park Road Course - Custom Classic Trucks Magazine