Mid-August in Spokane, Washington, a couple days previous to the Goodguys Rod & Custom Association event, was wet…cloudy, too. Clouds usually mean rain, messy roadways, and wipers working full time. Surely the weekend of August 15-17 was going to be a total washout.

The show, beginning on Thursday, was number 13, and we know what 13 means. The wet weather challenged any good luck the event might have. But in the end, number phobias belong to taboos, myths, and legends. Do you believe in it? Goodguys doesn’t!

Similar to any event that surpasses number 12, 13 is simply a number. Matter of fact, the 13th Annual Goodguys Great Northwest event turned out to be super nice despite the previous wind and wetness around the area. Mother Nature smiled and the weekend was dry, warm, and sunny–perfect weather for a hot rod show.

If you’ve never been to Spokane here’s some geographical history: The city of Spokane (formerly “Spokan Falls”) was settled in 1871. It’s the second largest city in Washington. The name means, “Children of the Sun.” It’s located on the Spokane River, 20 miles from the Idaho state line and lies in the Columbia Plateau; a plain that rises sharply to the east toward the rugged, timbered Selkirk Mountains.

The TV forecasted a dry weekend, allowing many rodders to head for Spokane for a good time inspecting cars up close. From the official Thursday cruises, local rod shops, the official kick-off party that evening at Scott Motorsports, the opening of the fairground gates Friday morning, on into the Friday night ‘parking lot party’ at the Mirabeau Park Hotel, and all the way thru to the awards
ceremony on Sunday–the event was never overshadowed by bad luck, or the fact that it was the 13^th.

Some 1,400 plus registrants filled the fairgrounds and enjoyed the indoor car show in one of the large buildings on the grounds alongside manufacturer displays as well. There were vendors outside too. Many of the registered vehicles chose to park on the large grassy area just past the entrance. On the south side, there was another large grassy area where many of the participants parked, instead, on asphalt.

Speaking of asphalt, the “cruisin’ lane” around the event was busy all three days with those guys and gals that wanted to show off their rods by making a couple of laps around the fairgrounds. Several 60s-style gassers made a few passes to the delight of the youngsters that love big engines and loud exhaust. There’s nothing better than cruising and showing off your car to thousands of spectators.

On Saturday, the south side grassy area became Goodguys Special Parking, which included the You Gotta Drive ‘Em, Mighty Muscle, Builder’s Choice, Young Guys, Deuce Doin’s, Canadian Corral, Homebuilt Heaven, and the Trick Truck Corral.

Saturday and Sunday, the kid’s area included clowns, free face painting, and games while there was live entertainment with Jimmy Vegas on the outdoor stage. A few spotty clouds floated past Saturday and Sunday, adding a bit of shade to the sunny day, but there were no drops of rain to dampen anyone’s enthusiasm.

J. F. Launier brought his 2014 Ridler award winning Buick Riviera down from Osoyoos, British Columbia, Canada, to award his “picks” to ten vehicles in the “Builder’s Choice” display. Not one to let his Riviera be a static show piece, he loaded it up with friends, fired it up, and cruised the grounds showing off the intense yellow paint on the chopped Riv.

Russ Freund and Darrel Peterson of River City Speed & Kustom brought their “Take-out T” over from Post Falls, Idaho, to show it off. On Saturday night they hosted a Goodguys approved private BBQ at Russ’s Mother’s Ranch about 10 miles east of Spokane for, “200 of their closest friends.” The food was donated by Otis Grille, Pryer’s Café, and Artistic Towing. Russ has been doing the BBQ for 23 years and the very best part of the BBQ is that donation jars are set out and Russ and Darrel donate the proceeds to their favorite charity: Inland NW Car Club Scholarship Fund.

Saturday at any Goodguys event is always the biggest day. There are more registered participants and more spectators than other days, but where else can you see 1,400 plus vehicles for a mere admission fee.

Speaking of spectators, most of them came thru the gate at the south side of the grounds. The swap meet, filled with vendors hawking everything from old literature to license plates and plenty of used parts for the next build, was right in front as they made their way thru.

Next to the swap meet was the “Car Corral” filled with vehicles of all descriptions, prices on most of those cars seemed reasonable too. Matter of fact, there were several 50s cars there, and those make really nice kustoms, a few muscle cars were in the mix, and those prices seemed reasonable too, if you fancied building one.

The variety of vehicles at the Spokane event was spectacular, from genuine 50s hot rods to street rods, 60s nose-high gassers, iconic ’49-‘51 Mercurys, 60s musclecars, and trucks of all kinds. Spokane seemed to have far more kustoms present than any other Goodguys event. One in particular that stood out was a very radical Green ’57 Chevy. On the other side of the kustom coin was a gorgeous Pearl Blue 1960 Buick Electra 225 convertible.

On Sunday, it was “All American Sunday”–the latest musclecars were allowed in and a few were chosen for the winner’s circle. If you get a chance to attend the Great Northwest Nats, you won’t be disappointed.

Rod Authority’s Top Three From The Great Northwest Nationals

Ike Reisenauer, 1950 Mercury, Dickinson, ND

Ike has owned this Merc for over 10 years. He bought it as a project simply because Gene Winfield had chopped the top and he knew it was done correctly.

Ike’s the kind of guy that goes rod running all summer–from June 1st to September 1st. This is his sixth year of going to events all summer. He’s 73 years old, but still 16. His wife, Rita, goes with him every summer and they go to five or six states, attending 13-16 events every summer.

Ike was a crusher foreman for 45 years, retired now, but in the past he’d worked for Fisher Sand and Gravel company which provided gravel road base for highway departments.

His Merc runs a 351 ci Cleveland and a C4 transmission. John Larson from Mandan, ND did the flames over the Brandywine red paint. The gray leather interior was done several years ago and the car has cruise control, a back-up camera, power steering, power brakes, and A/C.

When Ike got the car he had to finish the rest of it, redoing the chassis and engine compartment, as well as chroming the bumpers. The Salt Lake City chromers did the mold-out on the tailpipes from Ike’s design.

The Merc has won approximately 75 awards over the past six years that Ike’s been rod running including Best Paint, People’s Choice, Best Leadsled, Coolest Kustom, and several long distance awards.

Rick Rilling, 1955 Pontiac, Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada

Canadian Pontiacs are unusual vehicles…why, you ask? They’re built on Chevy frames, suspension, and are not the same length as a US built Pontiac. Compare a Canadian Pontiac to an American Pontiac and the very first thing you’ll notice is the “shorter” front clip.

General Motors of Canada Limited confirmed this 1955 Pontiac Pathfinder Station Wagon as body number 312 of 1410 produced in Canada. The side trim is Pontiac, the headlights and taillights are Pontiac, and the tailgate opens similar to a Chevy.

Rick‘s ’55 Pathfinder was an off-the-frame restoration completed in 2002, but looks as fresh as the day it was completed. He reports it’s been driven 25,000 miles so far. Wait, did he say kilometers? “No, you heard correctly. The odometer reads miles,” Rick said. That’s lots of trying to avoid road rash! After the Spokane event, he and his wife headed for Pleasanton, CA home base of Goodguys.

The wagon is powered by a 350 ci and a 700 R4 transmission. The front suspension consists of an ’87 Grand Prix subframe that fit well enough, but Rick said making the inner panels fit was the bigger job.

With that accomplished, body and paint was next–Sunset Orange Metallic was applied by Bud’s Classic Restoration and Paint shop. Modern gauges fill the stock Pontiac dash and a B&M shifter was added to the floor. Gray soft leather and tweed fabric covers a split bench seat up front. The rear seat folds flat, the cargo area is fully carpeted in gray, and a rear-mounted CD player provides the tunes.

Ron Zike, 1930 Ford Model A, Yakima, Washington

Sometimes certain cars just jump out at you. Case in point–this 1930 Ford coupe, a genuine hot rod in the true sense of the word.

Ron Zike built this car and did all the work including the interior and paint. However, Ron’s wife picked out the paint colors, and when building a car you should include your wife in those decisions–a woman’s sense of color is nothing to scoff at.

The engine is a true hot rod, a ’51 Oldsmobile Ron purchased with the car. It had been overhauled, replaced in the ‘51 Olds convertible, and then the convert got wrecked. The owner decided not to rebuild so Ron purchased it and set it on the Model A’s rails.

A bit of searching turned up the manifold and three two barrel carburetors. Ron left the generator on to convince folks the car is a genuine survivor directly from the golden age of rodding. A three speed/overdrive works well behind the engine and adds to the old timey look.

Alongside the ’32 Ford grille resides ’36 Guide headlights. Steering is done by a ’36 Chevy box and inside, Ron used a ’32 Chevy dash simply because he had one and it fit the width perfectly. Staying with the ‘old school look’ is the venerable ’40 Ford steering wheel. Not wanting to detract from that, Ron didn’t want any kind of late model seat so he pulled the “buckets” out of  a ’50 school bus and cut them down–perfect.

Ron and his brother-in-law, Terry Cannon, chopped and filled the soft top roof. The deck lid was hand formed since he couldn’t find one during the eight year build, and when it can’t be found you do the next best thing. Inside the “trunk” resides two six-volt batteries, placed end to end in sequence since the gas tank takes up room. Once the bodywork was finished, Ron’s friend, Mike, sprayed the car and added the off-white scallops.

Ron’s been driving the car for a couple years and enjoys every minute of it.Be sure to check out Rod Authority’s exclusive gallery from the 13th Goodguys Great Northwest Nationals below.