At the Goodguys Fifth Spring Nationals Car Show held in Scottsdale, AZ Dan Sobieksi brought out his green 1962 Cadillac. This Cadillac was scrapping the asphalt.
The judges were right to award it their So Low pick.
Dan Sobieski
While you might not recognize the name, you’ll probably recall that he was a fabricator at Boyd Coddington’s shop when it was captured on TV’s American Hot Rod. Dan formed his own shop Poor Boys Hot Rods and in fact occupies part of Boyd’s old shop in La Habra, CA. We have spotted Dan swinging by with one of his rods at the Friday night cruise – Cruising Grand – in Escondido Ca
1962 Cadillac
The Cadillac was down low but also spotlighted a custom authenticate flake green paint job for the roofline. In fact it was painted just months before the Goodguys Rod and Custom show.
Everything about this rod screamed period authentic custom. Nice to see such a good eye for detail. Dan has a Facebook page for his 1962 Cadillac.
Purse
On Sunday in the awards area, Dan’s lady friend had a matching purse. Have to wonder which came first the car or the purse?
George is always around the car scene when the cameras pop out. His gold jacket stands out even amongst the eccentrics at SEMA. He sure got some publicity and ca$h when the Batmobile sold last year at Barrett-Jackson. And as I’ve said before he had a great publicist. But Dean Jeffries was the catalyst for a lot of memorable TV and Hollywood cars, as I mentioned here.
I guess careful wording can avoid some legal heartaches!
Galpin Auto Sports brought out the Backup Pickup to their display at Barrett-Jackson Auctions in Scottsdale, AZ this month. This recreation was also seen last year at the SEMA Show and our friends at Hot Rod magazine highlighted it on both their blog and in the March, 2014 print issue.
Backup Pickup
This is a pretty wicked ride and was a crowd pleasing wheel stander, back in the day. Outwardly the Ford Econoline looks okay with an awesome 60’s paint job. But look closely and you’ll see the driver’s seat is on the right side and facing to the rear!
Paint
The paint job is a real trip and probably took weeks to plan and execute. The truck sports a 427 stacked injected engine that puts out just shy of 1,000 horsepower. Apparently Galpin has yet to put it on the track for a full out wheel stand, but that would be sight to see. Back in the day, the driver actually had to peer out the right side of the truck to watch the track. Hard to believe that this was all done in only twelve weeks! (Although HRM said it was six months).
Up Next
Enjoy the pictures and subscribe to this blog to learn about the Mach IV Mustang that Galpin also touted at Barrett-Jackson.
The 1964 Ford Fairlane dubbed “Afterburner” and built by the Ring Brothers debuted at the SEMA Show in 2009. It was eye-popping and showed the exceptional skills and vision continuously displayed since by the two boys. We loved it then and love still today.
In the interim the Ring Brothers have continued to make a name for themselves and have produced a great number of jaw dropping cars.
Barrett Jackson
Now it is auctioning off at the 2014 Barrett-Jackson Auction. This beauty is a work of art and has less than 1,000 miles on it since first built. The Ford Windsor engine with a bored out 427 is spectacular. The body modifications made by Ring Brothers is exceptionally eye pleasing. Here’s hoping that more than one bidder falls in love , like we did five years ago.
Bryan Fuller’s 32 Ford Roadster – Double Down Deuce
We’ve always been a fan of the work and craftsmanship that Bryan Fuller demonstrates. Last year at SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) he dragged out the ultra-long “Thundertaker“. Now this year at SEMA we were once again impressed by his “Double Down Deuce” Ford. And we weren’t the only ones – Hot Rod Magazine did not just one but two entries on the deuce.
Fuller – All Wheel Drive
After all when’s the last time you saw a quick change gear set – in the FRONT end?? Yep this is an all wheel drive beast! This metal roadster is powered by a Ford Boss 429 producing 600 cubic inches and huge horsepower with a GMC Denali transfer case and a clutchless five speed. from G Force.
Slick is Sick
The “Slickest” item might be the Goodyear 28.5—14.50-16 Goodyear Eagle slicks to provide the traction to the asphalt or even the salt flats. This roadster will be at home on the auto cross, with pro tourers or at Bonneville.
While still “a work in progress” this “Double Down Deuce” in bare metal is still awesome. Plus we had the chance to see it again in November at the Jet Hot display at the Goodguy’s Southwest Nationals show in Scottsdale, AZ.
This past weekend, at the Goodguy’s 16th Southwest Nationals car show held in Scottsdale, Arizona attendees had the chance to see all the Goodguy’s Terrific 12 Award winners displayed together in one space.
Goodguy’s
This year the Goodguy’s AutoCrosser of the year was determined after Saturday’s AutoCross Finals Shootout.  All 11 of the other finalists were already on display for Friday and Saturday. Some of the Terrific 12 were seen at earlier Goodguy’s events, other car shows and even at the recent SEMA Show. But this is the one chance each year to see all the cars at one time.
Goodguy’s Award from Snap On
Adding to the uniqueness of the exhibit, will be each winner’s custom toolbox from Snap-on. Each winner receives their large toolbox in Scottsdale, wrapped with pictures of their ride to display alongside their car of the year.
The cars are displayed at the Westworld show grounds on the top level of the asphalt. There the public can go by and see these cars up close. Throughout the show, the owners, builders or their representatives were usually around to answer questions and show off special features.
Goodguy’s had a great show overall with lots of cars and great weather. Subscribe to this blog to learn when we write up our coverage of the show.
Take a 2008 Harley Davidson Dyna Street Bob motorcycle, add huge amounts of ingenuity, imagination and innovation and blend with over 3,000 hours of labor and you might end up with this homage to the ever popular 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air. This red beauty was seen at the SEMA (Specialty Equipment Marketing Association) show held in Las Vegas, Nevada last week.
57 Chevy Bel Air
The 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air is an iconic look from the 50’s. Any enthusiast will easily recognize the front chrome bumper, the bullets on the hood, the swoopy aluminum molding along the sides and the wild fins and rear tail lights of the 57. It is ironic that these styling features were only found on the 57 and none of the other Chevy years. For the tri-five years, (1955-1957) Chevrolet altered the appearance and styling of their vehicle. Try re-tooling a car line now like that every year!
Close Up of Rear End View
LUPO Racing
The builder, LUPO Racing, was from France and brought over this interesting takeoff on the iconic ’57 Chevy Bel  Air. The builder/owner used the styling cues from the Chevy “fins” for his rear end and actually utilized the rear tail light to accentuate the rear view. The exhaust exits through the rear end’s light housing. Originally Chevrolet had thought of using the same idea for their cars, but the exhaust left a residue on the chrome which stopped that concept from going to production.  He also used the “chrome Dagmar’s”  from the Chevy’s front bumper to help carry off the theme. Add in some Chevy emblems and badging and mix up some great imagination, and you end up with one sweet look. Famed motorcycle builder Arlen Ness handiwork was even  used for the engine cover.
SEMA Show
This motorcycle parked in front of the SEMA Show, where anybody could walk by and admire the handiwork. To top it off, the builder/owner drove it out of the SEMA Show on the Friday night Cruise. The bike caught the eye of Hot Rod Magazine, who was at the cruise too. Here’s their closeup of the motorcycle.
The bike had been featured in two writes up in bikenet.com previously as well. Part One featured the frame and Part Two looked at the rear tail light housing.
You’ve got to admire the craftsmanship of the builder and the expense of carting it over to the states to be seen for one week here in Las Vegas!
This year’s SEMA Awards for the top trending vehicle models in four categories were announced on Tuesday November 5, 2013 at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. The Ford Mustang was named Hottest Car, the Scion FR-S took the Hottest Sport Compact honors, the Ford F-Series won Hottest Truck and the Jeep Wrangler received the Hottest 4×4-SUV award.
I was pulling for the Chevy Silverado and the Corvette Stingray, so I guess I struck out; there but no complaints with the Scion FR-S and Jeep Wrangler winning.
Dare to be Different
One of the fun parts of SEMA, is the over the top, just because I can, attitude of many of the cars. Enough said
This past week Kia Motors America revealed at San Diego’s Comic Con the last of eight Justice League-themed vehicles – a  Kia Sorento. The Sorento’s design was created by legendary comic book artist and DC Entertainment Co-Publisher Jim Lee, who finalized the customization of the car before a live audience. The colorful airbrush artwork and interior customization was done by West Coast Customs.   All eight Justice League inspired Kia vehicles were on display throughout Comic-Con at the Interactive Zone at Petco Park. Each of the first seven custom cars featured one of the heroes – Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg while the final car showed all of the Justice League characters.
Four of the Kia’s were originally displayed at the 2012 SEMA –Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association show in Las Vegas and can be seen here
This last Sorento is being auctioned off now on eBay to benefit DC Entertainment’s charity, the “We Can Be Heroes” campaign.
Car customizer, engineer and stunt driver Dean Jeffries died in his sleep recently at the age of 80.
Die hards will recognize both his name and his cars. Dean might not have had the greatest publicist,  but he was a renaissance man when it came to cars.
Of course his customs done for Hollywood are instantly recognizable. The Monkeemobile, the Green Hornet and the Beach Boy’s cover car from their Little Deuce Coupe album were all his handiwork.
He started out as a painter- striper and worked with Von Dutch. He added the script to James Dean’s Porsche Spyder – Little Bastard. He moved over to George Barris’s shop and honed his metal working skills. He painted the first Shelby Cobra for Carroll Shelby.
At the Goodguys Fifth Spring Nationals Car Show held in Scottsdale, AZ Dan Sobieksi brought out his green 1962 Cadillac. This Cadillac was scrapping the asphalt. 
Have to wonder which came first the car or the purse?
Galpin Auto Sports brought out the Backup Pickup to their display at 
![backup-pickup-3](http://route66pubco.com/wp-content/gallery/back-up-pickup/backup-pickup-3.jpg "\\"driver\'s\\" side view")
