FREDDIE’S ’55
March 28, 2025
THE AUTO BUILDER
Featured
Triple Crown of Rodding 2025: Top 30 Review
In its third year, the Triple Crown of Rodding keeps getting smoother, stronger, and more refined—like a finely aged bourbon, each year’s competition distills the craft down to its boldest, most balanced builds. The 2025 event brought a level of intensity and talent that proved just how far the hobby has come. Builders came prepared, and the competition was fierce, with every entry pushing boundaries in creativity, engineering, and execution. This wasn’t just a show—it was a proving ground where only the most exceptional rides could shine.
LIGHTEN UP
The new E46 BMW M3 comes equipped with some serious OE HID headlights, but what if you’re still not happy? You want something different; you want to add some spice to your headlight setup. Well, this story is just for you.
Hail to “The King”: Richard Petty’s “Outlawed” Hellcat Unveiled at HPX 2025
The crowd at HPX 2025 in Charlotte was already buzzing, but when the cover came off Richard Petty’s “Outlawed” Hellcat, the energy hit a whole new gear. Built by Petty’s Garage to honor the 60th anniversary of the legendary street HEMI, this jaw-dropping Dodge Charger is unlike anything else on the road—or the track.
Spotlighter
GOODGUYS COLUMBUS 2007
10 Years of the Goodguys PPG Nationals
Author
Will Smith
Photography by Josh Mishler
One of the Nation’s Premier Hot Rodding Events
Over the last several years, the Goodguys PPG Nationals in Columbus, Ohio, has established itself as one of the nation’s premier hot rodding events. This event, along with the Detroit Autorama and a few others, has proven to be one of the main events at which builders choose to debut new cars, and trophies are as hotly contested here as at any show in the country. But Columbus is about more than just trophies—it’s about bringing your own car, no matter what kind of shape it’s in, to hang out with the owners of the other 6,000 vehicles that will be there, and to have fun at Goodguys’ premier event.
Woman of the Year and Street Machine of the Year
While the trophies aren’t the only story at Columbus, they are the big story. Detroit Speed & Engineering’s Stacy Tucker was the first big winner of the event, earning the 2007 Goodguys Woman of the Year honors. No surprise there, as she and husband Kyle also had a finalist for Street Machine of the Year, an award that ultimately went to Doug Hoppe’s Ring Brothers-built ’67 Mustang fastback. But of course the street rod fans were most interested in the Street Rod of the Year award. The judges made their picks from more than 500 entries in the Pros’ Pick class, narrowing the field to five worthy finalists. But on Saturday afternoon the big winner was Dennis DeCamp, owner of the Barry White-built ’32 roadster named F-32. After winning numerous runner-up awards at big shows all over the West Coast, DeCamp’s street rod finally got to be the bride, and not the bridesmaid.
A Hot Rod Giveaway and More
Goodguys gives away more than trophies, too. This year’s big giveaway car was the Chip Foose-designed Unique Performance Challenger, a car that went to a lucky West Virginia couple. Next year’s giveaway cars also were announced, so be sure to visit Goodguys’ website to see how you can earn next year’s Air Ride Technologies ’70 Chevelle or the Roadster Shop Speed ’33.
Something for Everyone
But even those who didn’t take home a big trophy or a new hot rod had a great time at the show. Columbus brings all the big guns out, so participants get to double their fun by driving their own cars and seeing the best cars that the nation’s best builders have to offer. The vendor and swap meet areas also had just about everything you might need to finish your current project or begin a new one. Even if you’re not in the market for a new ride, it’s tough to pass up the car corral without so much as a look.
Don’t Miss Columbus
Columbus is one of those shows that all enthusiasts should attend at least once. Go see it for yourself, and not so you can win a trophy—so you can have fun, and say you’ve been to Columbus. You’ll hardly be alone!
Jeff Eischen rolled into Columbus driving this slick ’31 Ford tub. The styling features great vintage touches such as the knock-off magnesium wheels, side nerf bars and more, while a 302 and C4 automatic keep this rod all Ford.
The Roadster Shop unveiled its bare-metal Speed ’33, one of next year’s Goodguys giveaway cars. The car features a hideaway convertible top, and we wouldn’t mind winning this one ourselves.
Sneaky! Joey Stearns added ’39 Ford headlights and side trim to his ’40 Standard sedan and drove it to Columbus from East Aurora, New York. The cowl-mounted wipers are the giveaway that this black two-door is a ’40 Standard and not a ’39 Deluxe.
Gassers will always be cool, and of course the best gasser street rod is probably a Willys. Mark Benjamin certainly thinks so, as he brought his ’40 Willys gasser coupe to the show from Bainbridge, Ohio. The bright paint, high stance and interesting fender art make it hard to ignore this coupe.
Among many, many nice ’32s at Columbus, Tim Thompson’s three-window coupe was among our favorites. The Caddy V-8 was a nice touch, but everything on this car works well together, too.
What could be finer than a ’40 Ford Deluxe coupe with Y-block power under the hood? If you ask Millersville, Missouri’s Bill Baldwin, he’ll say nothing, because this is his coupe, and it packs a 312 with a 3-2 intake setup and finned T-bird valve covers.
Dick and Brenda White offered their own interpretation of the ’39 Chevy sedan, but they, too, chose a ZZ4/700R4 engine and transmission arrangement. This ’39 got to keep all of its chrome trim, door handles and so on, making it quite a contrast to the Lies’ car.
Tim, Chris and Jess Lies know about cool cars—Chris’ 56 Ford ranch wagon was a Super Rod cover car, and Tim’s ’39 Chevy isn’t too bad, either. Ultra-slick purple paint on a smoothed exterior and a ZZ4/700R4 drivetrain highlight the changes to this Bow Tie.
You sure won’t see a ’32 Packard coupe at every show—unless, of course, your name is Wayne Putnam. In that case, you bring your own Packard to the show, and then you will see it every time. The long-and-black look suits this car to a T.
Almost nothing looks as cool as a woody, and this ’47 Chevy makes it easy to see why. The metalwork and woodwork are both great, and the American Racing Rodmaster wheels add just the right amount of hot rod feel to the classic Chevy.
Ronnie and Linda Loyd showed off their fine, unchopped ’33 three-window, and the green wire wheels and pinstripe make a nice contrast against the black paint. Mechanical parts include a ZZ430 Chevy crate engine and 4L60E transmission.
Bruce and Shirley Krumlauf’s ’36 Ford Tudor sedan shows how little work these cars need to look great. The lines on their car appear to be stock, with just some mustard-yellow paint and red on the grille and steelies to complete the look.
This rare rod is Tom Huche’s ’37 Lincoln Zephyr four-door convertible. The big Lincoln has a big 502—with a supercharger, no less—for power, so we hope it has some big brakes, too!
If you like traditional hot rods, you’ll love Jim Stockton’s ’33 Ford roadster. The Springfield, Ohio, Ford runs a 331 Cadillac V-8 for power and a narrowed ’37 Ford truck grille for style. Flat-black paint with black steel wheels and Firestone bias-ply tires make the look authentic.
Gary Rhynold’s ’48 Buick is everything a luxo rod should be. It’s 3 miles long, 3 inches off the ground and wears its classic Buick styling proudly, with no exterior changes that we can spot. The owner and car practice north-of-the-border rodding in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Steve Legens’ ’36 Ford coupe is just drop-dead gorgeous. Built on a surviving hot rod, the car includes a fuel-injected 425 Nailhead, a four-speed Muncie transmission, a Chassis Engineering suspension and a Nash grille.
One Street Rod of the Year finalist was Dick Applegate’s Hot Rod Garage-built ’41 Willys coupe. Under that basic blue finish hides a giant 528 Hemi, so those big rear tires aren’t just for show!
Mitch Henderson’s ’37 Ford convertible was another finalist. The variety of paint tones and colors really sets this one apart, with champagne, cream and copper hues all working together. Under the hood you’ll find an LS1 and 4L60E automatic.
Alan Johnson built Ron Winters’ ’32, and it’s been one of the big hits of this show season. There are too many modifications to count on this machine, but they’re so subtle and well executed, the car looks nearly stock.
Dave Foshe’s ’38 Plymouth convertible shows why you shouldn’t be afraid to pick an odd body style. The car looks great, its rarity will bring it attention, and it’s the perfect place to stick a supercharged Hemi engine, as Foshe found out.
“F-32” is the name of Dennis Decamp’s Barry White-built Deuce roadster, the car that earned this year’s Street Rod of the Year award from Goodguys. In addition to the radical styling touches, the car features 427 ci of Ford power and a six-speed manual transmission.
The last contestant was Gary Mitsch’s ’32 highboy sedan. The injected Hemi was too much to contain under the hood, and the black paint is a testament to the straight bodywork underneath.
Bob Johnson’s ’48 Ford woody picked up a much-deserved Pros’ Pick award. Alan Johnson’s shop built the wagon, removing two doors and installing a Ford DOHC mod motor before sending it to Paul Atkins for upholstery.
The ’48 Nash coupe is a rare sight, but Karen Rhodes did a great job of making hers top-notch. P-Wee’s Restorations built the car, installing a Ford 302 and AOD transmission and laying down the two-tone paint. When was the last time you saw a Ford engine in anything but a Ford?
Does a ’37 coupe get any better looking than this one? We doubt it, and so do Dave and Gerry Yow, from Virginia Beach, Virginia. Their little red Ford hides a 350/350 drivetrain combo, but what the car shows off is more than enough.
Karl Schweikert’s ’36 Ford three-window goes to show that white can be just as much a hot rod color as black. The coupe features a Corvette drivetrain with ostrich leather upholstery.
The Street Rod of the Year presentation brought together three previous winners: the Deuce that Dave Lane built for George Poteet, the Ridler-winning “Grand Master” and the Dale Boesch-built ’37 Chevy that took top honors last in 2006.
