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October 28, 2025
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Observations From the Field
Call ’em tech tips, building tips, details or whatever you like, but this is the stuff we see at events and shows while shooting features or doing shop tours, not to mention things we’ve discovered while working in our own shops. It’s like when you’re foot-cruising an event with the boys and pointing things out to each other, or when you have a stroke of genius while working on your own project.
Goodguys 2025: Street Rod and Street Machine of the Year Bring the Heat to Columbus
If you’re into big power, insane craftsmanship, and the kind of custom cars that stop people mid-sentence, then Columbus, Ohio in July is the place to be. The Goodguys Nationals isn’t just a show—it’s the showdown. Since ’98, this event has become ground zero for the best in hot rods, muscle cars, and one-off customs that blend tradition with full-throttle insanity.
LITTLE DEUCE COUPE
LEGENDARY. For something to become a true legend (which actually may be a contradiction in terms), it must survive a certain amount of time. Our Funk & Wagnalls tells us this: “Legend (lej’end) n. 1. An unauthenticated story from earlier times, preserved by tradition and popularly thought to be historical. 2. A body or accumulation of such stories as those connected with a people or culture.” Under these guidelines, the famous blue coupe on these pages is legendary by definition. The fact that it survives today perpetuates the legend.
GOODGUYS COLUMBUS 2026
The 28th Summit Racing Nationals presented by Grundy Insurance took over the Ohio Expo Center in Columbus, Ohio, July 10–12, 2026. As the biggest event on the Goodguys Rod & Custom Association calendar, Columbus brought together thousands of hot rods, customs, classic trucks, muscle cars, and street machines for three
VALUABLE LESSONS
Building an engine at home is exactly what you make of it—your first experience could be a good one if you choose to do it the right way, or it could be a bad one if you take short cuts along the way. As cheesy as it may sound, with
MYSTERY MUSCLE
It’s a beautiful spring morning in Florida. As we round the corner to the next fairway, we assess the hole. Looks like a real beauty, long with deep green grass and a turn to the right. A large pond lies at the end of the fairway. It was the kind
A VISIT WITH THE LOBECKS
You’ve heard the saying, “They went to different schools together.” Well, Ginny and Barry Lobeck did just that. In the 1970s, street rodding was well into its “rebirth,” and mail-order business was just a fledgling industry. In southern Ohio, a young Barry Lobeck was busy finishing a ’65 Riviera. Slammed
DINNER WITH BARRY
Originally published in the November 2000 issue of Street Rod Builder, this candid conversation with legendary hot rod builder Barry Lobeck captures the humor, honesty and unmistakable personality behind some of the industry’s most influential creations. More than 25 years later, Lobeck’s thoughts on traditional styling, proper stance and the
PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT: DYNAMAT XTREME RACE BOND
Available exclusively through SRI Performance, Race Bond is a fast-bonding crash-repair material designed to help crews make strong, durable trackside repairs and get damaged race cars back into the action. It is quick, versatile, and built to survive the heat, vibration, and punishment that would make ordinary repair tape wave
TRI-FIVE FEVER TAKES OVER BOWLING GREEN
For three days, Bowling Green, Kentucky, became the center of the Tri-Five Chevy universe as the 11th Annual Tri-Five Nationals rolled into Beech Bend Raceway Park, August 13–15, 2026.
Presented by Classic Performance Products, the annual gathering brought together an incredible assortment of 1955, 1956, and 1957 Chevrolets from
THE NATS EXPERIENCE
There are car shows, and then there’s the Nats. If you’ve been there, you know exactly what we mean. For four days, the Kentucky Exposition Center becomes its own hot rod city—more than 10,000 street rods, customs, classics, muscle cars, and trucks filling seemingly every available piece of pavement, with
Standout Builds from the 2026 NSRA Street Rod Nationals Builders’ Showcase
The 57th Annual NSRA Street Rod Nationals rolled into the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, Kentucky, August 6–9, 2026, once again bringing together more than 10,000 street rods, customs, classics, muscle cars, and trucks for four days of horsepower, craftsmanship, and everything that makes this hobby great.
NEW PRODUCT ROUND-UP AT THE NSRA NATS
There’s always something new to discover at the NSRA Street Rod Nationals, and the 57th Annual gathering in Louisville was no exception. From August 6–9, 2026, the Kentucky Exposition Center was packed with thousands of street rods, customs, trucks, muscle cars, and the builders and manufacturers who keep the hobby
