Goodguys Get in Your Garage – July 2020
How is your project coming along? With virtually no public automotive events happening this spring, many hot rodders and car enthusiasts have been making good progress on the project vehicle – or vehicles – in their garage. It’s one positive outcome of the forced downtime most of us have faced this year.
Whether you’re chipping away at a long-term build or refining some details on a ride that’s already on the road, we hope you’ve been making good use of your shop time. Goodguys has done its part to provide inspiration and incentive, with weekly Get in Your Garage emails offering how-to videos, links to technical info, examples of incredible project cars, and other cool content, plus some great deals from our aftermarket partners.
We’ve had fantastic feedback to those weekly emails – including many of you who have shared photos of your projects. There are some cool cars and trucks being wrenched on across the country, and we can’t wait to see them at a Goodguys event soon. Until then, here are a few highlights of the in-progress rides and projects you shared with us.
We dare you not to get garage envy when checking out Greg Golucci’s extra-clean workspace! His ’72 Mach 1 Mustang is basically all original except for the exterior paint, which was redone a few years back. With just 49,000 miles and three owners, the 351-powered machine still runs strong and has a mint-condition interior. “I have not seen any of these in as nice of shape as this one and kept stock,” Greg says. “I am purchasing the original-looking Firestone tires from Coker soon to complete the look.”
Dave Brown from Tacoma, Washington shared some photos of freshening up his home-built ’37 Chevy, which has about 40,000 miles since hitting the road in 1996. He’s added a better cam to the ZZ3 engine and installed a 2004R transmission for lower revs on the road. The car uses a Kugel front suspension, Chassis Engineering rear suspension, and PPG paint. Dave says it’s a dream to drive.
It’s a tight squeeze in David Lombardy’s garage! His ’32 coupe won an award at Scottsdale last year, the ’56 F100 made an appearance in Classic Trucks magazine after the Goodguys event in Puyallup back in 2004, while the 2004 F150 has just 31,000 original miles. “Life is good in the Arizona sun,” David says.
Some people like their projects big! Doug Mills is working on a ’41 Ford COE with a custom frame, mid-mounted big-block Chevy engine, and air spring suspension. He says he’s building it as a flatbed hauler for his other cars and motorcycles.
George Milakovic was finishing up a new air conditioning and heating system in his ’39 Chevy sedan this spring so he’ll be ready for some cool cruising this summer.
We like the look of Glenn Brayman’s “Garage Mahal,” which is extra deep and has a four-post lift to make under-car projects easier – not to mention making storage more efficient. It looks like a perfect space to wrench on his ’41 Ford coupe and C4 Corvette!
Grant Wood shared some “during” and “after” photos of his ’63 Falcon, a car he bought when he was 15 and rebuilt over a 10-year period with his dad. “We did all the work ourselves except build the headers,” Grant says. “I am from Toronto, Canada and haven’t been to one of your shows yet but hoping to attend soon.” We are digging the ’60s vibe of your Falcon, Grant, and hope to see you somewhere this season!
Jerry Bemis tells us he’s been working on his ’55 Nomad, a car he bought a few years ago complete with a Roadster Shop chassis and small-block power. He has slowly redone much of the car, including new wiring and, ultimately, an LSA V8 backed by a 4L85 transmission. It now rolls on American Racing wheels, breathes through Flowmaster mufflers, and is about ready to hit the streets of SoCal.
Ralph Dwyer and his buddies have the right idea. They pooled their resources and rent a small shop to work on their rides. “We all have our space and help is never far away,” he says.
Rick Nelson shared a timeline of his ’37 Ford project, from the time he brought it home in 2013, to its first outing at the 2019 Goodguys Colorado Nationals in Loveland six years later. Well done, Rick!
Scott Freund didn’t give us much info on his Model A coupe, other than that he was “freshening a 20-year-old build while social distancing.” We’re digging the first-generation ’Vette, too!
Jeremy Mouchka is working on this mean-looking ’38 Chevy with a 6-71-blown, 505c.i. big block Chevy and plenty of rubber stuffed under the rear fenders.
Werner Muth sent us photos of his ’46 Merc business coupe, which he’s building on an S10 chassis with a blown small-block Chevy crate engine, ’51 Olds rearend, and 18-inch Mickey Thompson rubber. “It’s not high end, but cool,” he says.
Don Monsheau says a photo of his ’52 Chevy in the Goodguys Gazette back in 2008 inspired him to embark on a six-year frame-up rebuild, resulting in this beautiful chopped custom he calls “The Devil’s Daughter.”
