The 2016 Car Craft Summer Nationals

You did the right thing; you pre-registered and picked your show pass up early. You were waved right into the grounds by the registration staff, and you and a couple buddies found primo parking on the main thoroughfare near the Roadkill cars. You popped the hood, made sure your car looked good, and chatted with your neighbors for a minute before heading out to see who else was there. Near the Chevrolet Performance display, there was a camera crew from the local Fox station conducting interviews with the Car Craft and Roadkill staff, and you paused to check out the Mazdarati. Glancing up, you saw the TV crew had moved over to Stubby Bob as David Freiburger hopped into the driver seat to fire the engine up on camera. The bark from the supercharged big-block’s exhaust crackling from the zoomie headers made the news reporter jump. You jumped a bit inside as well, but would never admit to it. That thing sure is loud.

Chevrolet Performance had several new models on display, including the latest Corvette and Camaro. You lingered over its recent 1970 Chevelle restomod build, before moving on. Looking around, you noticed how quickly Wisconsin State Fair Park was filling up with cars of every make, model, and era. Late-1960s C10s were pulling in behind T-buckets, a row of 1968 Chargers had already formed, a new Hellcat Challenger parked next to a turbocharged fourth-gen Camaro, and everywhere, the air was thick with V8 rumble, the whiff of race gas, the whine of a supercharger.

You went back to your car to grab a bottle of water and a snack. Some people stopped to ask about your headers—what tricks you used to fit them and how you routed your exhaust so tight to the floorpan. An older guy with a wistful expression on his face paused to say he used to have a car just like yours about 30 years ago and, man, did he own the streets. Lost in nostalgia, he pattered on. Rehydrated, you and your buddy decided to take a lap on the cruise route through the show. The starter clicked and the engine roared to life on the first turn. Your neighbor offers to hold your spot for you until you get back, so you loop around the Expo Center and wind through what’s had become a sea of cars in the lot facing 84th Street. The route took you past the Pro Builder’s Shootout and Manufacturer’s Midway, where you reminded yourself to stop back to check out the latest builds from Schwartz Performance and Wisconsin natives Fast Freddie’s Rod Shop and Muscle Car Restorations. As the cruise route took you past the underpass to the Milwaukee Mile, you remembered hearing there was an autocross course set up on the infield. What the hell, right? It was free and would probably be a blast. QA1 banners said you were in the right place, and you queued up behind a lowered and fast-looking S15 Sonoma. On the autocross course, a ratty Chevy Apache pickup was displaying massive body roll as it powered through a hairpin turn. The two goofballs in the cab were hanging on for dear life, looking both horrified and elated at the same time.

The autocross was so much fun that you ran the course three times before returning to your parking spot, then you walked past the main stage for a late lunch. There was a band playing in the pavilion, and a slammed 1965 Impala SS was parked just outside. The food was surprisingly good! Appetite satiated, you walked the north end of the fairgrounds then angled south past the grandstands back to your car. The variety of cars was amazing, each showing the style and sensibility of its owner, depending on when the person built the car or when he wished he had built the car. There are 1970s street machines with jacked-up rakes and Cragar SS wheels; a contingent of 1980s Pro Street Cars rumbled past you on what must have been their 10th circuit of the cruise route; a turbocharged fourth-gen Camaro piloted by a 20-somehting dude was following close behind, rolling on drag radials; a polished 8-71 supercharger towered up out of the hood of an AMC Javelin; and a group of Hemi E-bodies were parked on the corner. In the amphitheater, a group of kids and their parents were assembling Revell model cars, getting an early start on the next generation of hot rodders.

A call on the loudspeaker sent you to the burnout contest on pit row of the Milwaukee Mile, and you settled into a seat on the grandstand as a Gremlin completely disappeared in a billowing cloud of its own tire smoke. Later, two tires exploded, and the guy with the Apache you saw on the autorcross course was given the First Place trophy, as one of the runners-up pushed his car to a trailer after breaking the ring and pinion on the burnout pad.
One more lap of the park took you past the Pro Builders section and you marveled at the carbon-fiber Mustang body on display at the Ringbrothers trailer. Then you noticed the Charger that Speedkore built was mostly carbon fiber as well. “Hot rodding is becoming space aged,” you realized, remembering how happy you were just to shed some weight with a fiberglass hood. You grabbed a tool catalog from Baileigh Industrial before heading back to your car. The show was winding down and Midnight Drags would be starting soon at Great Lakes Dragaway. As you packed up to head to the dragstrip, you were already making plans to come back next year and pondering what changes you’ll have made to your car by then. A cam swap and bigger brakes may have to happen. That autocross sure was fun.

The Pro Builder’s Shootout

This year’s Pro Builder Shootout was sponsored by Baileigh Industrial and featured some of our old friends and some new faces, as we continue to expand our program of bringing the country’s top builders to the Summer Nationals. It was truly inspirational to see the level of workmanship on display, and show spectators were able to vote via text message for their favorite car. When all the votes were tallied, Speedkore, with its insane, carbon-fiber Charger came out on top. Congratulations to Speedkore’s David Salvaggio, his crew, and to all our Pros. Thanks for spending the weekend with us.

Speedkore from Port Washington, Wisconsin, displayed its 1,650hp 1970 Dodge Charger called “Tantrum” with the insane DOHC 9.0L Mercury Marine V8. Yes, you need to see this beast and find out more about the 2,800 lb-ft of torque this monster cranks out.

Ringbrothers brought its latest build, the half-million-dollar, red 1965 Mustang of Michael Schmalz. Powered by a Wegner Motorsports 427ci Ford/Tremec six-speed combo, it’s the type of build Ringbrothers is known for.

Fast Freddies Rod Shop from nearby Eau Claire proudly showed off its recent build, Don Boxx’s titanium 1953 Chevy Pickup packing a 500hp LS3/Tremec six-speed combo and some clean custom body mods, riding on 20- and 18-inch rollers.

Rad Rides by Troy’s amazing 1966 Plymouth Belvedere was recently featured in HOT ROD magazine. Though you would think it’s a resto, it’s still Gen-II Hemi-powered—but far from stock.

Kevin Oeste’s V8 Speed Shop recently finished this killer 1969 Camaro convertible, which is owned by Comp Cams. It’s been upgraded to modern standards, packing a 700hp RHS LS7 aluminum engine and spinning a TCI six-speed automatic.

Schwartz Performance from Woodstock, Illinois, brought back another 1969 Mustang—this one is the silver Raybestos giveaway car. Somehow they managed to cram a 5.0L Coyote engine under the hood, and you can check out the install and ask how to fit one into your next project while attending the Summer Nationals.

Musclecar Restorations showed off its recent Hemi-powered 1969 Super Bee belonging to customer Greg Miller. Known for incredible Mopar restos, this silver Bee is anything but a restoration with a mini-tubbed rear, Wilwood disc brakes, and custom red leather interior.

The Custom Shop brought an AWD 1968 Camaro. Powered by a 376 LSX, it utilizes a 4L70E AWD automatic transmission with lots of Trailblazer goodies used for the suspension and also features some trick body mods to accept the 20- and 19-inch steamroller tires.

The Amsoil Undiscovered Builders

In the months leading up to the show, we invited amateur builders to submit what they’d consider their best work, and we invited our favorite cars to display in an area near the Pro Builders. Local radio personalities Capt’n Bob and Arlo of Wisconsin Hot Rod Radio hosted a seminar with the Undiscovered Builders on the Main Stage. Later, in collaboration with Jimmy Shine, they presented the Young Gun award to Steve Grybel.

Steve Grybel was a late entry to the Undiscovered Builders. He brought the 1972 Corvette he purchased from his dad, who was the original owner. Steve fully restored the car, warmed over the original small-block, and straightened the body and custom-mixed the eye-popping yellow paint.

Jason Vega began with a real rust bucket in this 1978 Firebird. How bad was it? During disassembly, he pulled the 10-bolt rear out by hand because the leaf-spring mounts were completely rusted out. He had to replace or repair nearly every section of the car, but ended up with an exceptionally straight-looking car. Along the way, he added QA1 coilovers, a 9-inch rear, and rebuilt the car’s 455 engine with a stroker crank (now displacing 495 inches), forged pistons, and Edelbrock cylinder heads.

Jim Ransom, who also competed in Midnight Drags this year and last, brought this 1969 Nova. It was a total mess when he began working on it—rust-ravaged by Wisconsin’s road-salt winters. In addition to the extensive bodywork, Jim built a 2×3 frame for the car and made custom upper and lower A-arms and the fabricated 9-inch rear axle. He also built the 8-second certified rollcage and the headers for the 512-inch big-block that propels the Nova to 10-second passes in the quarter-mile.

Chad Davis put this 1968 Oldsmobile 442 through a three-year restoration, with the body spending a good percentage of that time on a rotisserie. He had the original 400 rebuilt; it puts the power to the ground through a Muncie four-speed and a 12-bolt rear. The ride was improved with CPP control arms and QA1 springs and shocks.

Nick Shultz was the odd man out with his 2009 Nissan 370Z, but we gladly invited him after hearing he designed and made several carbon-fiber parts for the car, including the roof panel, brake ducts, and bellypan. If that wasn’t enough, he sprayed that color-shifting paint himself.

The Editor’s Choice Awards

As the big cheese, it’s always my privilege and honor to select 10 noteworthy cars for recognition on the main stage. Here, in no particular order, are the Editor’s Choice awards and winners. —John McGann

The Best of Show trophy went to Jim Hallowell in recognition of the stellar work he did building his twin-turbo 1963 Nova. He spent years working nights and weekends on the car, doing all the work himself, including the bodywork and paint.

Thank you

Chevrolet Performance
Painless Performance
Optima Batteries
Amsoil
Pilot Transport
QA1
Baileigh Industrial
AutoZone
West Bend Dyno Tuning

As always, we wish to extend our sincere gratitude to our sponsors. Chevrolet Performance was our presenting sponsor, and without them, the show wouldn’t happen in the first place. Baileigh Industrial sponsored the Pro Builders Shootout, and Amsoil sponsored the Undiscovered Builders. On the performance side of our show, QA1 sponsored our autocross, and West Bend Dyno Tuning sponsored the chassis dyno. Additional thanks go to Pilot Transport for hauling the Roadkill cars, official products sponsors Optima Batteries and Painless Performance, and AutoZone for sponsoring the Vision Screen on the main stage. Finally, I personally wish to thank our in-house events team as well as FM3 for helping make the show run as smoothly as it did. I really appreciate all your help!

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