George Poteet’s 1932 Ford Tudor Sedan

 

This 1932 Ford Tudor Sedan owned by George Poteet, the well-known hot rodder from Memphis Tennessee  was a featured part of the Ford exhibit at the 2017 SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) show in Las Vegas.

 

Photo by the author

 

The real-steel car was built by Alan Johnson of Gadsen Alabama and is a multiple award winning car, as it was one of the “Great Eight” finalists for the Ridler Award at the Detroit Autorama, was named the Goodguys Street Rod of the Year and won the Ford award for outstanding achievement of design at the SEMA show.

 

Photo courtesy of SEMA

 

Photo by the author

 

Johnson’s Hot Rod Shop chopped the top 3-inches in front and 2-inches in the rear and leaned the A-pillars back eight degrees. At the rear the crew raised the rear wheel openings three inches, and re-arched them and rotated them forward to outline the rear wheels which are Coker Tire Firestone dirt track tires around Real Rodders magnesium Indy wheels. The completed body was covered in a glistening custom black mix PPG paint.

  

Photo by the author

 

The powerplant is a 339-cubic inch Ford Y-Block V-8 engine with FAST WFI electronic fuel injection built by Keith and Jeff Dorton with Johnson’s custom machined valve covers and beehive oil filter. The engine’s 400 horsepower is fed through a Tremec TKO 600 five-speed manual transmission to the Winters Performance V-8 quick change rear end.  The interior floorboards were assembled from more than 275 pieces of laser-cut high-density aircraft-quality plywood with leather wrapped 1932 Ford seats.

1979 Indy 500 Pace Car tribute

at SEMA 2017

 

 

 

 

The Goodguys Rod & Custom Association's newly-built 1979 “Fox body” (third generation) Mustang Pace Car was on display at the association's booth at the 2017 SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) Show. Built to showcase the coming wave of next-generation muscle cars, Eric Brockmeyer penned the design which was executed by the team at Jonathan Goolsby Customs.  

 

1979 Ford factory photo of the Pace Car replica sold to the public

 

1979 Ford factory photo of the actual Indianapolis 500 Pace Car

 

The brand-new 1979 Ford Mustang was selected as the Pace Car for the 63rd running of the Indianapolis 500-mile race. Ford had three specially built Mustangs available during the month of May which were easily identifiable due their T-tops, an option not available to the public.

The 1979 Pace Car Mustang powered by a custom engine built by Roush Engineering was driven by Jackie Stewart for the flying start of the race which was won by Rick Mears in the 'Gould Charge' Penske PC-6 who was awarded a copy of the Pace Car.

 

  

This radical build had its original turbocharged 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine replaced by a Ford Performance Aluminator “Coyote” XS crate engine equipped with Mahle hard-anodized forged pistons and Manley H-beam connecting rods. The new engine is conservatively rated at 500 horsepower which passes into a Bowler-prepped Tremec T56 six-speed transmission. The spent exhaust gases pass through custom headers, 3-inch exhaust and Flowmaster mufflers.  

 

 

The car rides on a custom, fully independent suspension Roadster Shop Fast Track chassis fitted with Baer brakes and 18×10- and 19×12-inch Forgeline center-lock wheels shod with Michelin tires. To accommodate the ultra-wide wheels and tires, custom “mini tubs” were built for the rear wheels before the bodywork was finished in a custom yellow mix of PPG Vibrance colors with the paint scheme that uses the striping colors of the 1979 Indianapolis 500 Pace Car.  

 

 

 

Photos by the Author except as noted

 

Two interesting 1967 Camaros

at the 2017 SEMA show

 

 

Through the years far and away the most popular car seen at the SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) shows is the first-generation Chevrolet small rear wheel drive F-body, the Camaro, and the 2017 edition was no different as 2017 marked the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the Camaro, which has been in continuous production save for the period from 2002 to 2009. The author found radically 1967 Camaros on display worthy of mention.

This is the thirteenth Camaro, hand-built in Norwood (suburban Cincinnati) Ohio during the early months of 1966 as a pre-production or “pilot” car. This car assigned serial number 124677N100013 was the fifth convertible built finished in Bolero Red with a black interior and white top is known specifically as the “Gear & Axle Test Car.”

 

 

Powered by 327 cubic inch Turbo-Fire V-8 engine rated at 300 horsepower by the factory which is backed by a Powerglide two-speed automatic transmission this Camaro is equipped with power steering power brakes and an AM radio and rides on US Royal white wall tires with N96 mag-style wheel covers, which were a $73.75 option.

 

 

Owned by Logan Lawson of Pilot Car Registry ( http://www.pilotcarregistry.com) the appearance of the 1967 Camaro “Pilot Car” at SEMA was sponsored by the Chevrolet Division of General Motors Company.

 

This “restomod” 1967 Camaro SS is the GoodGuys Rod & Custom Association grand prize giveaway car for 2017 and 2018. Outwardly it appears close to stock finished in Butternut Yellow with a black nose stripe and a hazelnut and mocha interior, but as one would expect with a “restomod” the mechanicals have been massively upgraded with equipment from a huge number of sponsors.

 

 

 

The GoodGuys Camaro is powered by an Edelbrock Performance 420 cubic inch LS1 engine connected to a Tremec 6-speed manual transmission. The car designed by Eric Brockmeyer and built by Goolsby Customs rides on a Roadster Shop chassis fitted with Baer brakes,  B-Forged wheels and BF Goodrich tires.

Registered GoodGuys participants have a chance to become a finalist to win the car, or you can visit https://www.good-guys.com/promos/camaro-giveaway to register online.

Photos by the author

Good Guys 1963 1/2 Giveaway Galaxie

The Good Guys Rod & Custom Association booth at the 2016 SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) show in Las Vegas featured the Good Guys 2017 Giveaway car, a custom 1963 ½ Ford Galaxie Fastback.

 

This body style with a sporty roof line and no post was introduced by Ford Motor Company mid-way through the 1963 model year known officially as the “Sports Hardtop.”  By changing the roofline, the improved aerodynamics made it more competitive in high-speed NASCAR (National Association of Stock Car Racing) competition.

   

 

Reportedly testing revealed that a 1963 ½ Ford Galaxie Sports Hardtop required 100 fewer horsepower to maintain 160 miles per hour around the Daytona Motor Speedway 2 ½-mile oval than did a 1963 Ford Galaxie “notchback.”  As a bonus to Ford, the fastback body style proved to be a winner in the showroom as well as the race track, and was far and away the most popular 1963 Ford Galaxie body style

The Good Guys Giveaway car designed by Eric Brockmeyer http://www.brockmeyerdesign.com/ and built by Legens Hot Rods of Martin Tennessee http://www.legenshotrod.com/ is finished in a custom mixed PPG tan paint, matte bronze plating of the bumpers and trim and a brown custom leather interior.

 

 

Under the hood the Galaxie features a Ford Racing Performance Coyote 5.0 liter V-8 engine and a Tremec transmission nestled in a Roadster Shop chassis with Roadster Shop suspension parts.  The custom Greening Auto Company wheels are finished to match the matte bronze finish of the rest of the trim on the Galaxie.

 

 

 

The Galaxie will be given away during the 20the annual Good Guys PPG Nationals in Columbus Ohio in July of 2017. Check out the link for a free chance to enter at https://www.good-guys.com/promos/ford-galaxie

Photos by the author