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If you’re looking for a show toward the end of the season with a myriad of super sleek customs, amazing street rods and gorgeous classics, the Goodguys Southwest Nationals in Scottsdale, Arizona is a top event every year. In 2014, we were lucky enough to get a front row seat to this super-sized weekend event, and with that came the task of choosing our Top 5 hot rods of the event. Of course, this was no easy task with over 3,000 vehicles to choose from, but we feel that the ones that we selected ultimately represent the best of the variety of vehicles we had the pleasure of spending time with!
1958 Impala Owned by Don Jones and Pam Winton
While the caliber of vehicles at Goodguys shows these days are well within the professionally built range, the “Homebuilt” section of this year’s Southwest Nationals was particularly impressive; so much so that we chose a couple of our Top 5 hot rods from there. One of them is the 1958 Impala owned by Don Jones and Pam Winton.
Built almost exclusively by Jones, with the exception of the chassis fabrication and welding, brake system, machine work to the engine, and custom interior, this Impala is the perfect example of how impressive a garage built hot rod can be.
It’s equipped with a 348ci engine with a Griffin aluminum radiator, which is backed by a Bowtie 700R4 Stage II transmission. The Impala is a bit different than your popular LS-powered classics, but with Edelbrock fuel injection disguised under the hood, she runs just as good.
Classic in every aspect, this Impala is the perfect vintage cruiser!
Inside, the Impala features a custom interior from Kinsey’s Custom Auto Interiors, complete with Vintage Air A/C and custom gauges from Classic Instruments. She may be simple, but that’s just the way we like our classic Chevys!
Finished off in a classic white and teal paint scheme, this gorgeous car truly represents a caliber of classics like no other.
1934 Ford Tudor Sedan Owned by Ken Seresun
As one of the most custom hot rods we found at the show, this 1934 Ford Tudor Sedan built by Bobby Anderson and owned by Ken Seresun was an easy pick to include in our Top 5. From the custom body to the luxurious all-white interior, every bit of this Ford is one-of-a-kind.
The first thing you’ll notice is the amazingly detailed steel body, which features everything from a custom hood, hand-formed fender flares and one-piece running boards to a custom grille, one-off mirrors and a distinctive dual exhaust tip. The body is topped off with a custom PPG Candy Apple paint scheme, which has hints of Silver, Tangerine and Gold throughout.
Under the custom body, there’s a one-off coilover suspension system that’s just as gorgeous as the rest of the vehicle. Planting the car to the ground are Mickey Thompson wheels wrapped in Mickey Thompson Sportsman rubber and backed by massive disc brakes. Powering the custom street rod is an LS2 engine with a 6-71 blower on top.
Inside, the Tudor features a fully custom interior done in hand-stitched white pleather, with a custom dash, hand-formed brightwork, bolstered bucket seats, one-off center console with integrated window controls, and a tilt steering column.
Also competing in the “Homebuilt” category, this incredibly custom piece of rolling art was a crowd-pleaser all weekend long!
1932 Ford Deuce Coupe Owned by Vern and Denise Van de Loo
A true “go anywhere” hot rod, this 1932 Deuce Coupe owned by Vern and Denise Van de Loo is not only a show car, but also a race car. Believe it or not, ever since the Van de Loos purchased the car in 2012 at a Barrett-Jackson auction, the street rod has made the annual trek from Phoenix, Arizona to the Bonneville Salt Flats to run in Speedweek.
Don’t believe us? Just look for the spotting on the car’s nickel plating caused by the salt spray, a minor price paid compared to the fun of driving on the salt, the owners told us.
Originally built by Hi-Speed Customs in Tucson, AZ, the Deuce Coupe now features a 383 stroker engine built by Chuck’s Speed Center, which the Van de Loos swapped into the car after they purchased it.
This engine is performance built with a COMP Cams roller camshaft, three Rochester 2-barrel carburetors, an MSD ignition and nickel-plated Speedway Lake Headers (which feature removable caps) that when closed, dump spent fuel into a complete 2 ½-inch dual exhaust system with glasspack mufflers. What does this mean in quarter-mile talk? How about a best time of 12.784 seconds?
Backing the engine is a 700R4 automatic transmission, which is tied to a Halibrand quick-change rearend, pushing much of the 383 stroker’s power to the pavement via 15×5-inch (front) and 16×8-inch (rear) “Ford Style” wire wheels wrapped in Firestone rubber. Providing stopping power for the street rod are Wilwood disc brakes hidden inside aluminum Buick drums.
Inside, the car features real World War II bomber seats with custom padding. The industrial-style rivets that cover the upholstery on the seat pads is carried over to the headliner and even to the drivers side floor. Finishing off the custom Marvin’s Creations-designed interior are hand-formed aluminum accents.
Topping off the build is a custom Grey/Brown paint scheme laid by High-Speed Customs, with subtle pinstriping done by Johnny Vegas.
A great example of an auction-bought street rod modified to the owner’s liking, this little Deuce is certainly one well-loved and well-used street rod!
1932 Chevy Sedan- Owned by Cameron Bishop
Now, what would our Top 5 be without a rat in the mix? Not complete by many people’s standards. But this rat is a bit different than what you’re probably used to.
That’s because rather than a bunch of randomly sourced components put together to create a unique vehicle, it’s mostly a modified C5 Corvette tucked under the chopped and channeled body of a ’32 Chevy Sedan. How’s that for one-of-a-kind?
Owned by Cameron Bishop, this awesome hot rod is built atop a special chassis built by Bishop’s company Jankee Bros. Hot Rods and Fabrication. From there, the car features a complete C5 Corvette suspension system and brake system. Even the wheels are off of a C5 Corvette.
The Corvette theme continues on with an LS1 engine up front and a 6-speed rear mounted transaxle out back. Both the C5 engine harness and PCM were reworked in order to control the transplanted Corvette powertrain in the ’32 Chevy body. Special Jankee Bros. headers that dump into Magnaflow mufflers just short of the sedan’s doors top off the engine for one menacing look and sound.
Inside, the interior of the sedan is minimalistic but plenty comfortable for a good tire thrashing. A New Vintage USA gauge package gives basic engine readings on the dash while a Corvette emblazoned steering wheel keeps the car on the straight and narrow. Four-point harnesses attached to the basic bolstered seats come in handy when really getting on the gas.
Not surprisingly, we found this car, not only, in full show mode on Saturday, but also up at the AutoCross course for a bit of fun on Sunday. And we’re not exaggerating when we say this unique rat stormed from the starting line like a bull charging in an arena!
1957 GMC 100 Stepside Owned by Joseph Witte
Last on our list, but certainly not least, this 1957 GMC 100 Stepside pickup caught our eye the instant we saw it. Ironically, this truck was a late entry at the show on Saturday as owner Joseph Witte had just finished the build that afternoon.
Painted by Lucky Luciano Custom Paint and pinstiped by Ron Hernandez, the GMC’s unique color was inspired by a Christmas ornament.
As fresh of a build as you can get, this gorgeous copper truck sits atop a custom frame that has been C’d in the rear for axle clearance and Z’d in the front for a lower stance. Fitted to the frame is a custom rear 4-link with Firestone bags built by Lowboy Customs, as well as factory 1993 Chevy upper and lower A arms, a Muscle Bar roll bar, and Firestone bags in the front. KYB GR-2 shocks and a 1 ¼-inch front sway bar with urethane bushings are also part of the truck’s suspension.
The air ride system on the truck hails from Accuair (both eLevel and iLevel) and is supplied by two VIAIR 460C compressors and a 5-gallon chrome air tank. All of the hoses and wiring for the system are run through the frame.
This level of design is what affords the truck’s undeniably slammed stance; one of the owner’s favorite factors of the build.
Powering the truck is a 1994 Chevy 5.7L 350ci engine with a modified throttle body for better performance. The engine also features a GM distributor with a Summit performance ignition coil, and Pacesetter shorty headers that flow into a 2 ½-inch stainless Pypes exhaust with Flowmaster mufflers.
The engine is backed by a 4L60E transmission tied to a Ford 9-inch rearend out of a 1967 Bronco.
Custom leather and cowhide interior from Hotrod Interior by Glenn grace cabin and the seat, recovered from a 2013 Honda Odyssey. A two-tone dash is detailed with new vintage Woodward gauges, Vintage Air A/C, custom stereo system, and a Lilliput monitor. This custom truck will certainly be a show-stopper when it reappears on the show circuit this year fully massaged and polished off.
We were absolutely astonished by the caliber of builds we found at the 2014 Southwest Nationals and can’t wait to go back and experience even more unique builds this year. For more photos of our Top 5 hot rods, be sure to check out the Rod Authority Photo Gallery below!
