There is a common misconception that the State of Washington is perpetually cloudy, rainy, and full of days with poor weather. Thankfully, that is not the case. The western Washington region is usually treated to warm, mild summers that provide the perfect weather for great car shows.

We are lucky enough to avoid the triple digit heat that some other areas get, which is great when walking around on asphalt and driving slick black cars with black interior that usually don’t have air conditioning.

The Goodguys Rod and Custom Association 29th Annual Pacific Northwest Nationals event was held on one of the most beautiful weekends of the year at the Washington State Fair Grounds in Puyallup, Washington. It took place Friday July 29th and went through Saturday July 31st. People came from all over the western side of the continent — California, Oregon, Canada, and of course, Washington — to take part in one of the largest and most exciting automotive events in the region.

There was something there for everyone and almost all makes and models were represented. We saw some impressive Tri-Five Chevys like this 1955 Gasser and this custom ’57 four-door sedan. We also got so see some really cool Mopar builds like this ’72 Duster, and there were some other unusual custom jobs like this 1959 Nash Rambler American wagon.

Beyond just cars, there were rows of vendors selling everything you could need for your car from apparel to care products. We looked through the bargain-bin at one of the booths and ended up with a set of Super Sport hats for $5 each! We also talked to some rather inexpensive chrome dealers about bumpers, and they were willing to wheel and deal — offering up to $125 off per core.

Among all of the shining chrome and polished paint, there were just a few in-progress builds that we ran across, one of which was this 1961 Cadillac convertible. An awesome looking car in any condition, this convertible needs a little work, and the owner, Danny Pascoe of Maple Valley, Washington, owns and operates Danny Pascoe Metal Shaping. He is planning on doing a full restoration of this car. The project has already been started and you can see what he has done so far, as well as monitor the build progress here on his webpage.

The show was a family affair and we saw plenty of kids that were there tagging along with mom and dad. There were quite a few kids rolling around in strollers and wagons, but nobody had the kind of style that this little girl did, below. She was the envy of all the other kids out there, and some of the adults too.

Among the awesome cars at the show, we also found this 1964 Pontiac GTO that was built in the style of the 1955 Chevy from Two-Lane Blacktop. The owner even went as far as creating a backstory as to why the GTO looks like the ’55. “In 1972, the 1955 Chevrolet took on a pretty fast ’64 GTO for pinks, and won.” The poster in the window detailed. The GTO was then parked in a barn next to the ’55 for 40 years when the driver and mechanic from the movie got back together and built this car out of parts from both. While it is all fictional, it’s still a cool story and a cool touch.

With a little of everything for everyone, this is a really cool show. If you are in the area next year for the 30th annual Goodguys Pacific Northwest Nationals, you should definitely make a point of going. A lot of the spectators and car owner told us that it has been getting bigger and better every year, so it will be interesting to see how the next one looks!