Wahl's Woodie WinsThe ballots are in, and Tom and Annie Wahl's '51 Ford woodie has been named the Goodguys/Eagle One 2005 Custom Rod of the Year.
The Lakeville, Minnesota-based wagon, which was featured in the November '05 issue of Custom Rodder, made appearances at several Goodguys events last summer. It was chosen as a CRotY finalist at the 14th Heartland Nationals in Des Moines, Iowa.
As you'll recall, 2005 marked a change in the Custom Rod of the Year competition, which in the past was held exclusively at the Heartland Nats. The new system selected one finalist at six different events across the country. The Goodguys judging committee then voted on a winner, which was announced on the organization's Web site on Sept. 30. They called Wahl's woodie "a contemporary, yet timeless, custom rod woodie wagon, the likes of which we've seldom seen on the Goodguys scene." We'd have to concur.
The lumber longroof faced some pretty stiff competition, too. The five other finalists were Gil Losi's '67 Buick Riviera, Ronnie Staples' sectioned '50 Ford, Steve Frediani's '51 Ford convertible, Mike Terzich's '56 Olds, and John and Jim Meyers' '57 Chevy. For more information on the finalists, the award, and the 2006 Custom Rod of the Year competition, log on to the Goodguys Web site at www.good-guys.com.
From Paper To MetalIt's always cool to see custom artwork come to life "in metal." Artist Dan Picasso contacted us recently to say that Larry Thompson of Great Falls, Montana, was building the '54 Chevy he penned in the November 2003 issue of Custom Rodder. We touched base with Larry to get the details.
"The Chevy was started a few years ago as a full custom, but I had no set plan for the car," Larry said. "Before the car was very far along, Dan's artwork was published in Custom Rodder. I loved the design and blew up his artwork and gave it to Mike Johnson of Phantom Kustoms here in Great Falls. He loved the design also, especially the frontend. He built the front headlight brows with electrical conduit over '55 Chevy headlight rims. We changed the design slightly by using a '55 Pontiac rear bumper in front. We made a few other changes from his artwork, but I think overall it captures the 'evil' look he came up with.
"When finished, the car will be painted purple metallic with a white pearl top. The interior will be traditional white tuck 'n' roll. Engine and trans are Chevy 350/350 with Oldsmobile rocket valve covers and air cleaner. The Chevy is sub-framed with an '81 Buick Regal clip and rearend," Larry said. "My dream is to drive it to Paso Robles, as I have been a spectator for the past four years."
We're impressed, Dan's flattered, and with any luck, many of you will get to see Larry's cool cruiser in Paso or at another show someday soon.
Down Under Factory CustomSometimes we're convinced that Australians have way more fun than we Americans.
Artist Jason Rushforth turned us onto a radical custom concept car that GM's Holden division recently unveiled at the 2005 Sydney Motor Show. Inspired by the iconic 1953 FJ Holden, the Efijy is a $1.5-million creation that shows what kind of custom OEM designers can create when given the opportunity.