The Goodguys team pulled off another winner this year with the 31st Annual Pacific Northwest Nationals in Puyallup, Washington, just south of Seattle. An area usually known for its dreary and cold weather, gave us a scorcher with temperatures just kissing the 90-degree range! Warm weather, thousands of cool cars, and plenty of old friends to talk with — what more could you ask for from a Goodguys event?
There were a lot of great cars and trucks at this year's show. Plenty of hot rods, gassers, and street machines to go around!
We had a blast walking the Washington State Fairgrounds and looking at all of the cars. There was plenty of cool stuff to keep our eyes wide open, and our camera busy for all three days! That being said, there were a few cars that stood out. So, without further delay, here are our Top Five picks from this year’s show! Don’t forget to check out the gallery at the end for many more cool Chevrolets!
As always, there was a plethora of cool parts at the swap meet! Plenty of rare parts to go around, some good deals, and some, at a premium price.
Custom ’68 C10 Pickup
What Goodguys coverage would be complete without a home-built C10 pickup? This custom ’68 C10 belongs to Mike Wilson of Port Orchard, Washington. When he got it, the truck was nowhere near this nice. “It was a pile of parts,” Mike said.
Mike has owned the truck for four years, but it sat for the first two years, while he worked on another project. After he finished that one, he spent two years working on this truck to get it to look like it does today.
This is a stellar build that looks good from every angle. The reverse-tilt hood is operated via an electronic lift system and opens with the push of a button.
It’s seen some extensive drivetrain modifications, and now features a 330-horsepower Mutha-Thumper-filled 350 cubic-inch engine, a four-speed manual transmission, coilover rear suspension, and four-wheel disc brakes. The body has also been heavily modified, as the cab has been stretched 6 inches, the B-pillars have been moved 2-inches forward, and the cab has been fused to the bed for a completely unique look.
This truck was finished with care and an attention to detail.
The body is channeled over an ’83 Chevy S10 frame. Two cool body modifications are the ducted hood and the fused tailgate, which both give it a completely unique look. “I had a perfect, cherry hood for the truck,” Mike explained, “But I cut up the bad one to use because I didn’t want to cut up the nice one!”
’59 El Camino with Good Looks, A Big-Block, and A Long History
Most people who are into hot rods, are often wheeling and dealing, just to get something different. Barry Collier of Des Moines, Washington, is not one of those guys. He has owned his 1959 El Camino for 48 years. “I bought the car in 1970,” Barry explained.
“After getting out of the Army, I knew I wanted one of these cars. I like that it is kind of a car, and kind of a truck,” he said. While the powerplant has remained the same all these years, the automatic is now a four-speed manual transmission. The engine itself is a 348 cubic-inch big-block with Tri-Power induction.
There's just something about the look of the three two-barrel carbs that really get us going!
“The car has been changed and upgraded several times over the years. It’s been painted like this for two years now, and there is always stuff being done to it,” Barry quipped. When he first bought it, the car was his daily driver. Now it gets driven a little less, but it’s never neglected. The care that’s been given the car over the years is evident in the current condition.
This El Camino looks good from every angle, and the pictures do not do the unique shade of teal paint justice. She really popped in the Washington sun!
“The interior is from a ’62 Impala SS,” Barry said. Rather than a bench seat, it’s got buckets and a console. He found the top of the console and custom made the base, so fitment was not an issue.
Supercharged Z06-Swapped ‘68 Camaro
This ’68 Camaro could be the mother of all modern engine swaps. Nestled tightly between this car’s inner fenderwells is a supercharged 6.2-liter Gen-5 LT4 engine. The mill features roto-cast aluminum cylinder heads, lightweight titanium valves, forged aluminum pistons, direct injection, 10:1 compression ratio, and variable valve timing (VVT).
This high-powered creation was built by Dave White, a resident of the Seattle area, and he told us a little more about his build. “The performance is off the hook!” Dave explained. The cool thing about this Camaro is the power-to-weight ratio. “It equated to 4.2 pounds of car per horsepower,” Dave explained.
It's a tight fit, but it works!
Dave has owned the car since 2008, and he had it finished at the end of 2016. We asked him why he chose this car to build this way, and his answer was simple and understandable. “Everybody loves a gen-one Camaro. Especially when it’s built like this.”
The interior has a great retro look that works well with the restomod theme of the car.
In addition to the incredibly powerful engine, Dave has the car sitting on an Art Morrison front clip, Wilwood disc brakes, a Tremec six-speed manual transmission, and a 3.73-geared Currie rearend. The interior features a complete interior by TMI, and Dakota Digital gauges. This Camaro is the full package when it comes to a complete, modern build.
A Classic 1959 Corvette Gasser
We love a good, old-fashioned, straight-axle gasser — especially when it’s built from a badass 1959 Corvette. We know that the look of this will get the purists’ blood boiling, but with this baby, it was love at first sight for us!
The car belongs to Barry Chunn of Gig Harbor, Washington, and he’s had it for 8 years. “I’ve always liked gassers. I thought I needed a Willys, but I’ve had a lot of stock Corvettes, and I thought it would be fun to build a gasser Corvette,” he said.
The iconic look of the dual quads on the blower is never a disappointing sight!
Barry is actually half-owner of this car, and he built it with a buddy of his, Dick Bennison, also from Gig Harbor. “I’ve done multiple cars, but I do them all with Dick,” Barry said.
The engine is a 454 cubic-inch big-block that actually came out of a boat. The tire-fryer features dual Holley carburetors on a supercharger from Don Hampton, the transmission is a Borg Warner Super T-10 four-speed, and the power is put to the road by way of a 9-inch rearend with 3.55 gearing. “Everything that we did to the car, we tried to make period correct to the late ’60s,” Barry said.
An interesting fact about this car: it was originally fuel injected. The car came to Barry as an empty shell, and the original powerplant, along with all fuel-injection components, was long gone, so nothing was lost in making this beauty into the classic-built gasser it is today. “It was all taken apart. All that was there was the bare body,” he stated.
Simple Perfection In A Big-Block ’64 Impala
With all of the ultra-custom builds you can find at a car show like this, it’s important to take some time to appreciate the more “mild” builds that pull together what GM did right back in the day with a little modern flair to spice things up. This ’64 Impala does that well, with a classic big-block powerplant and Holley Sniper fuel injection.
The car is owned by Perry Austin of Kent, Washington, and he’s had itfor close to 2 years. When he bought the classic, he upgraded the wheels and did some engine work to get it into shape. The paint, interior, and engine were good to go.
The exterior color is Gunmetal Gray, and we love it! It really pops in person.
Perry just put the Sniper EFI on about 3-months ago and loves it. “It runs amazingly well,” Perry said. “It fires right up. I love it.” Perry states that it’s got more power and it’s also more efficient since adding the EFI.
The drivetrain is made-up of a 454 cubic-inch big-block engine, a Muncie M-20 four-speed transmission, and the stock rearend with 4.11 gearing. It’s also got disc brakes with hydraboost power, power steering, and an MSD ignition.
There's really nothing like the look of a big-block in a classic Chevy.
All in all, this was one of the best years for the Puyallup Goodguys event. We loved getting to see all the great Chevys that made an appearance at the show. Check out the gallery for more pictures of the show and more of our top picks, and keep your eye out in a year for coverage at next year’s show! We hope to see you there.
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