On May 30th Rod Authority took a trip up north to our friends at Goodguys’ hometown of Pleasanton, California. We’d arrived just in time for the second of four events taking place at the Rod & Custom association’s home base. Needless to say the 21st Summer Get-Together was nothing short of a car lover’s quick summer-getaway.

We spoke with John Drummond, Communications Director at Goodguys, on Saturday afternoon and had a nice little pow wow over the PA speakers. He asked us what we thought about an event like the Summer Get-Together.

For those who aren’t familiar with the Goodguys Get-Together event, it’s truly special because domestic makes, models, and powered cars of all years are invited to showcase their unique rides over the weekend. From traditional lowriders and 100-spoke touting Cadillacs to hot rods, kustoms, and muscle cars. We called this event automotive Sangri-La and it’s truly a special atmosphere having so many car niches in one place appreciating each other’s work.

At each Goodguys event a host club is present and for the Summer Get-Together, the P-Town Push Rods were in full attendance. They had a special parking area situated in the heart of the show grounds and as we passed by we were greeted by the smell of BBQ.

The AutoCross area was moved from its old location to the swap meet lot. While familiar faces from around the locale came to participate, the simple move of the course offered a unique challenge and something new for competitors. The winners from the Summer Get-Together AutoCross challenge were “Hollywood” Mike Maier who won in PRO class (58.707), Rob McGregor who earned the AutoCross Finals Shootout (60.546), Nathan Reid who won in the Street Machine class (61.597), and George Dias who won the Truck competition (65.855).

Another special show area was the Mustang exhibit housed inside the Alameda Fairground’s main show hall. Over 50 Pony cars graced the indoor display in commemoration of Mustang’s 50th anniversary. According to Goodguys, “There must have been over 400 Mustangs in attendance outside.” This spectacle also lent itself to the eclectic vibe of the Summer Get-Together.

Rod Authority’s Eye Catching Rides

There were two cars that caught our eye over the weekend. As we walked through the Trick Truck Corral and Mighty Muscle special parking areas it was down a straightaway that we fell in love.

Dave and Diane Abbley out of Livermore, California had brought out their gorgeous 1956 Chevy with an outstanding satin two-tone paint job. We know there are a lot of people out there who love the look of high-shine show-status paint, but if there was a car that could make muted-shine sing it was definitely this one.

Featuring a beige top and pastel green body the finely upholstered and matching serape seats really tied this family wagon together. With “family fun” being the special detail about this ride, you know the 350ci and TH350 transmission combo provide all the tried-and-true durability to get these folks from show to show and accomplish day-to-day errands in record time.

If a clean-cut family car had a rebel cousin it was definitely Randy and Kristin’s ’32 Ford which was situated just around the way from the Abbley’s Tri-Five. The sunburst orange paint job was blinding, but in every good way possible. The genuine leather interior featuring some old school rolled stitching and classy upholstery buttons gave this roadster a craftsman touch.

Named “Crushy” perhaps in part to how it makes people feel when they set eyes on her–whatever the reason we certainly felt that way. The powertrain features a 350ci/’40 Ford transmission combo. The triple-deuce carb setup, finned valve covers, and ram horn exhaust manifold really gave this roadster some classic flare. All the things they did right back in the day packaged in this show-stopping roadster. We hope to run into it and the owners again in the future.

Johnny Cerros’ Jaw Dropping Paint

Walking the show grounds further, a pair of Chevy Fleetlines sitting quaintly next to one another drew our attention. Both were beautifully restored with some mild custom touches, but for the most part these things looked like they’d rolled straight out of a 50s dealership.

Johnny Cerros’ 1950 Chevy featured a deep blue-green paint job. The way it shifted in the light from the slightest angle change made for a very impressive color choice. We could have stared at this body from sunup to sundown all the while meandering over how our favorite classic rides would look adorned with this color choice–good eye Johnny!

Wildest Ride-A Macabre Mopar

Harkening back to hot rods with ghoulish themes during the early 90s, it was nice catching this black sheep sitting amidst the droves of classic, muscle, and late model domestics that dotted the show ground.

With headers cut and bent like organ pipes, looking at Lance Berger of Livermore, California’s 1924 Dodge from the front epitomized what comes to mind when one thinks of a speed demon.

Everything about this car brought us back to the hot rodding wave of the 90s. This Hemi powered hot rod with Iron Cross side-view mirrors and mini-chain steering wheel were all diabolical touches that brought us back to one rugged time! We’d have loved to hear Lance’s ’24 idling–we hope to catch it around in the near future!

Special Awards From Summer Get-Together

One of the things about Goodguys is that they are heavily involved during the course of an event. Judges were running around pegging down picks for awards all day long on Saturday. Below are a couple of special awards that were announced on Sunday.

Muscle Car of the Year Finalist (Sponsored by Hemmings) went to Gary Justenson of Gridley, California’s ’69 Boss 429. The Goodguys Pick went to Larry Gotelli Jr. out of Danville, California’s 1932 Ford Roadster, and as we’d mentioned earlier, the Goodguys AutoCross 1st Place Pro Class winner was Mike and Brianne Maier of Hayward, California in their 1966 Ford Mustang running the course at 58.707.

50th Anniversary Chevelle Pick went to Daniel Armbuster’s ’71 Chevelle, the 50th Anniversary GTO Pick went to Josiah Coy’s ’65, and the 50th Anniversary Mustang Pick was awarded to Nelson Cardadelko’s ’69 Mustang Grande.

Coolest 50s was handed to John and Diana Schneide’s ’56 Buick and Chopped & Dropped went to Joe Buresh’s ’36 Ford 3-window coupe.

The above list is just a few of the winner’s from the weekend. You can check out a full list at Goodguys here. All in all, over 75 Goodguys show n’ shine awards were announced, that’s one hell of a ceremony!

An Up-Close Interview With Mike And His ’55 Chevy

After a nice day of shooting, gawking at cars, and staying hydrated courtesy of the fresh lemonade stand that we found ourselves constantly at, we made our way to the Trick Truck Corral. Here we caught site of a ’55 Chevy with a smooth paint job and deep rear wheels that you could practically have sat in to get out of the sun.

Owner Mike Burns was sitting on a lawn chair catching some sun himself when we walked by. He smiled as he saw us checking out the rear wheels which touted 4-inch lips. Mike walked up, shook hands, and said, “that’s the first thing everyone notices on the truck.”

Hot Rod Service Company out of Campbell, California built the project for Mike and the Bordeux Red Metallic paint was laid on by Nor Cal Autoworks. Interior was handled by Finish Line Interiors out of Santa Clara, California. The powertrain features a 396 BBC with a 6-71 blower for some serious airflow. A turbo 400 transmission is mated to the motor and a Ford 9-inch completes the package.

After exchanging pleasantries we talked a bit about some of the changes between the first generation of advanced design trucks and his year. “This is why I like parking at Goodguys’ special parking areas,” Mike told us. He continued, “You know that when you park here people that come to check out your ride share a common interest.”

It’s definitely true and we applaud Goodguys for taking the time to designate these areas as options for people to park their beautiful rides. You can expect to have a niche of like-minded enthusiasts that form a wealth of knowledge, tips, and tricks. Even if you don’t have a ride registered it’s still a great place to direct your search for some friendly advice. Whether it’s on your current/next pickup project or muscle car, the folks at Goodguys have gone out of their way to really create something special that benefits the enthusiast in more than just one way.

Be sure to check out Rod Authority’s exclusive gallery from the 21st Goodguys Summer Get-Together below. We can’t wait to get back up to Pleasanton to check out Goodguys 28th West Coast Nationals otherwise referred to as the “Crown Jewel” in August. Be sure to stay up to date with one of the hardest working event coordinators in the game and visit their homepage here.