ONE HELL OF A FLIP Jeff Nolt loves to build cars. Once he’s done, he’s in search of the next project. For the past two years, he’s been crafting a one-of-a-kind show truck out of a 1983 Dodge D-150. “I have more fun building them than driving them,” Jeff confesses to me at the 2022 PA Motorama in Harrisburg; “I bought this to sell it because it’s different.” And different is good, as Arby’s used to say before they hall “all the meats”. This truck has a lot of eyeball and it

THE DEUCE THAT’S DONE IT ALL The story behind this #rideoftheweek is a car that’s done it all: daily driver, drag racer, show car and neglected candidate for restoration, out rotting in a field. In 1970, Yenko Chevrolet took its COPO Dealer magic reserved for Camaros, Chevelles and Corvairs and applied it to the Nova resulting in the Yenko Deuce package. It was a 1-year only run with 175 cars produced, 25 in Gobi Beige. The original owner of this example purchased it from a Y

ACCIDENTAL SHOW CAR When Ashley Coperhaven acquired this 2019 Dodge Charger, it was intended to be her daily driver. Her husband had recently commandeered her Chrysler 300 and turned it into a show car. That’s why it’s a 3.6L equipped, AWD model. It was intended to haul kids and groceries and not haul ass or look good at car shows. But there was something about that F8 Green finish that screamed “show me off”. Ashley says it started with a glitter kit, then wheels, then lig

One-Owner SS Our #ride of the week for this week is a new Car Show Life Custom. Ken Mack of Chesterfield, OH came to us for a show board for his 1970 Chevelle SS that he's owned since new! I love it when an owner comes to me with a car they've been able to hold on to for years and years. I'm envious of their tenacity to retain a car for so long, while I've had to give mine up. Still miss ya, "Son-Of-Ol'-Blue"! Ken still has a lot of the paperwork for this LS6 equipped Cheve

PURPLE BITCH While chatting with Tawnya La Mark at a car show last summer, I got the low-down on the history of her 1981 Z28. Turns out, the original owner lost it in a bar bet. Well, now that’s a #rideoftheweek story if I’ve ever heard one! And that’s pretty much all we know. No clue as to what the bet was about or why he wagered his prized F-Body. We do know that the winner didn’t really enjoy the car. It sat for about 10 years in a barn when a Mr. Shaffer (first name unk

NAVAL TAXI When Harry Lynn of Saxton, PA was in the Navy and stationed in California in the mid 80s, he bought a 1968 Mustang 2+2 from the original owners, an elderly couple who took great care of the car. It was Royal Maroon with a 289 and a C-4 automatic and became his daily drive and a "taxi" for his Navy buddies for nights on the town or special events. “They’d offer me gas money, pay toward my insurance or buy my tickets or drinks wherever we were going. It was great,”

IT WAS “A HAPPY LITTLE ACCIDENT” Just as painter Bob Ross, would say about any mistake he made while painting, Barb & Dick Moore’s acquisition of this 1970 Opel was indeed a "happy little accident". You see, Barb always wanted an Opel GT. “I dated a guy that had one. Couldn’t care less about the guy all these years later, but still loved that car.” So, six years ago, her husband, Dick, scoured the internet and came up with one in Johnstown, NY. They drove up there and stopp

DID GM MAKE A SUNSHINE EDITION? This week marks 10 years since the #GotchaDay of my 2011 Camaro 2SS/RS convertible, "SunShine". I thought I'd take this week to mark the occasion by telling the story of my own ride and the third Camaro I've owned over the years. When Chevrolet revived the Camaro with the 2006 Concept Car I was still driving my '02 RS. "Son of Ol' Blue" was really starting to show his age, but as a newlywed with a new mortgage, buying a new car was a far-off p

When Wayne And Carole Sokach of Johnstown decided they wanted to buy a fun convertible to drive and possible show, the thought they were looking for a Mazda Miata. But after driving a few they felt it was too small. In March of 2016, they saw a Pacific Green Ford Mustang on the lot. It was nice car, 4.6L V8, 5-speed but it didn’t scream out to them, or at least, they didn’t hear it. That little Mustang stayed on that lot, out front, all summer long. By December, they started

Let’s face it. In the annals of muscle car history, the best paint colors and coolest color names came from MOPAR: Go Mango, Sub-Lime, Lemon-Twist, Vitamin C and of course, Plum Crazy! So, if it’s okay to drop a Chevy 350 into a Ford Model A, it should be fine to paint a Chevy in a Mopar Color. That’s what we have here, a 1941 Chevy Truck that has been sliced, diced, chopped, and channeled into a wonderful hot rod, finished off in a signature Dodge FC7 Plum Crazy Purple. It’

OUTSTANDING IN ITS FIELD The compliment to a scarecrow that does its job well can also be applied to the origins of this 1959 El Camino. Frank Swartz of Ginter, PA found this first year ElCo abandoned in a field and bought it for $150 in 1978. It was a California car that made it all the way across the country before coming to an abrupt stop in Pennsylvania, where it sat abandoned. Frank spotted it by the side of the road and eventually made it his own. It took a lot of wo

NEVER BREAK THE CHAIN (OF OWNERSHIP) When I asked James Voldrecht of Groton, NY how long he had this American Bantam Closed Coupe he said, “All my life.” YES! This 1938 American Bantam was purchased new in ’38 by his great-aunt. She bequeathed it to her brother-in-law, his grandfather, on her deathbed with the stipulation that he either scrap it or fix it, but never sell it. So, he honored her request and stored the car in his junkyard inside the back of a Charlie’s Chips pa

Two, two, two trucks in one Just like Certs breath mints, this ride of the week is two, two, two mints in one. Mostly it’s a 2008 Dodge Ram that was the victim of a cab fire. In place of the fire-damaged cockpit rests the cab of a 1992 Peterbuilt. It is the brainchild and handiwork of Williamsport car show scene staple, Gene Duke of Linden, PA. It all started about 5 years ago when Gene got a hold of the fire damaged Ram and decided to make a driver out of it with something

AN OLDS LEGACY When I happened upon this 1969 Hurst Olds at the Madera VFD Car Show in August of 2021, the owner was somewhat mobbed by curious spectators. As I was admiring his car and show board display, I overheard him telling some of the backstory. Once I heard him talk about the firewall, stamps, I knew this car had to be a Car Show Life #RideOfTheWeek. This particular Hurst Olds was the only one sold in State College, PA. However, it languished on the Rider Oldsmobile

ONE THING LED TO ANOTHER As is the case in many classic car situations, you work on one thing and that leads to another, and another, and another. Such is the case with Joe Monaghan’s 1948 Willys Panel Truck. When he purchased it 10 years ago it was equipped with a Chevy small block that was tired, so Joe replaced it with a fresher Chevy 350, then came paint, then interior, then wheels and so on and so on. Joe was attracted to it because he like the looks of it. He found it

Throw it in the Dumpster This 1933 Ford is a hybrid…That’s right, it was crossed with a 1980s Toyota Pickup and dubbed by its creator as “The Dumpster”, mainly because “when you hit the switches, it slams to the ground and sounds like garbage truck dropping a dumpster.” One could also infer that the Dumpster name comes from all the odds and ends that make up this awesome, eye-catching rat rod: Toyota 22RE engine, 5-speed transmission, airbag suspension, custom bomber seats, d

WHAT’S A MOPAR? Joe Panaro of Duncansville is a life long Chevy guy. So how does a guy who’s into Chevelles and Corvettes and Camaros end up with a Plymouth? A tragic twist of fate and a family connection. The Plymouth was restored in 2019 for a guy who had a decades long battle with cancer. When he was in remission his kids had the car redone as a gift, but the celebration was short lived as he was diagnosed with dementia. So, they decided to sell the car. That’s when Joe’

DIAMOND IS THIS GIRL’S BEST FRIEND And by “Diamond”, we mean Amanda Lloyd’s 2015 Hyundai Genesis Coupe Ultimate. Amanda first caught the car show bug from her stepdad. She says, “Now, every car show I see, I go to.” And she really enjoys being one of the few women that show up at a local car show each weekend over the summer. Her story and the car seat in the back screamed out to make her “Diamond” a Car Show Life #rideoftheweek. Amanda first fell for the Genesis Coupe whil

THE JAILBIRD'S LOSS WAS HIS GAIN Bob Stutzman of Muncy, PA acquired this 1934 Buick from the wife of an incarcerated felon in Boston, MA. “I don’t know what he did to go to jail, but I got his car.” Bob says that it has its original mohair interior and 263 OHV V8 with dual-carbs. He’s owned it for four years and done just enough work on it to make it a reliable driver. He updated the electrical system to 12 volts and repainted the fenders and running boards. While not the o

MY INHERITANCE Katie Remsnyder takes a little piece of her dad with her to every car show she attends, especially when she arrives in one of her late father’s prized Mustangs. That’s what I gathered from her when I asked to make her 1969 Mach 1 a Car Show Life Ride of the Week after watching it pull into the Pudgie’s Pizza Cruise-in in Montoursville, PA in August. Her dad, Terry, bought the car sometime in the late 80s. It had some right side damage, but nothing too bad tha