WHEELMAN Car Show Life show board customer Ray Turner supplies our #rideoftheweek this week with his 2009 Pontiac G8 GT. We all know cars that we fell in love with because of TV shows, movies, or songs, but Ray fell in love with the G8 in the most 21st century way, from a video game! “Back in 2008 a video game called Wheelman starring Vin Diesel and the Pontiac G8 was released. I loved the game and never saw a vehicle like the G8 before. I knew I had to have it. Once I recove

JOHNNY GREEN EYEZ Our #rideoftheweek goes from one Beast to another. Last week we had the “Beast Guardian Of Children With Medical Needs”, a 2009 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. This week it stays in the MOPAR family with a 2016 RAM from New York. John Cruz is one of our many Instagram followers and he has a stunning RAM 1500 Big Horn Crew Cab in Maximum Steel Metallic with tons of green LED Accents, hence his IG handle: johnnygreeneyez1. “I was always into cars and trucks and enjoy

THE BEAST GUARDIAN… Our ride of the week comes to us from Andrew Bealer and is a 2009 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited X known as “The Beast Guardian of Children with Medical Needs”. It sure is a mouthful, but as Andrew explains, there’s a purpose to this build. “The Beast Guardian of Children with Medical Needs is 1 of 1,116 produced in the Sunburst Orange Pea color and 1of 1 with the factory options. This daily diver is fully customized from a 4" Clayton off-road lift kit, Fox shock

Poison Ivy Our final Camaro in June comes from Camaro Nationals in Frederick, MD which took place June 24-26 at the Frederick Fairgrounds. In the building 9 invitational display was a gorgeous green restomod that was turning heads all weekend. I’m a sucker for green Camaros with an RS package, so I talked to the owner and his son who built the car together. Turns out we had a lot in common. We were both from Westmoreland County, and the Camaro that got us hooked was Mom’s. I

"The Graduation Gift That Keeps On Giving" It's Monday of Camaro Nationals week and we're celebrating the entire month of June with a different Camaro as our #RideOfTheWeek. This week's submission comes from Lisa Feist who shares her love of Camaros and how she came to own this beautiful 1982 Indy Pace Car Edition. Take it away Lisa! "I’ve been a Camaro fan for as long as I can remember. My dad had a burnt orange ’68 with a black roof. I just thought it was the coolest lo

"The Wonderful Emerald Oz" Chances are, if you own a Camaro and are a car show organizer or Camaro club officer anywhere in the Northeast or Midwest, you probably know the name Morgan Iorio. I’ve never been acquainted with someone so connected to the Camaro world without every having worked at GM. Morgan is a great guy and currently the president of the Northeastern Ohio Camaro Club. He’s the guy that introduced me to the Camaro Nationals and it’s fitting to feature one of hi

"Peer Pressure" We’re saluting Camaros at Car Show Life by showcasing Chevy F-Bodies as we build up to Camaro Nationals in Frederick, MD, June 24-26. First up is my dad’s cousin, Steve Mike, and the story of his 1978 Z28. “I was 20 years old in my last semester of auto/diesel school at Rosedale Technical Institute in Pittsburgh talking with my 3 buddies about F-body cars. We all decided to purchase them. Jack ordered his first, a 1978 Z28. It was a 350, 4-speed with a 3:73 po

Shake & Bake Our #RideOfTheWeek comes to us from Mark Wheary of Lock Haven, PA. He owns this well-kept 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T. Mark had many cars over the years but was always drawn to Dodge and when he saw this one in Inferno Red, he knew he had to have it. At the time he owned an ’05 Mini Cooper that he had intended to flip, but instead, traded it on the Challenger and has been having fun ever since. It’s powered by a 5.7 L Hemi backed by an automatic transmission. The

GT-ARRRRRRR John Rose of Hughesville is a regular to the Williamsport Cars & Coffee on the Faxon Corner in Loyalsock Twp, PA and he always brings one of the fixtures of the meet, his 2018 Nissan GTR. This beast has been warmed up with Boost Logic Intake Manifold, Intercooler and Exhaust. Suspension is SPL with full Heims Joints and lowered 1 inch. It’s wearing its 4th set of wheels since he bought it, currently riding on 295/35/20s up frontand 345/30/20s in the rear. One o

Lomego Chris Goode’s 1990 Isuzu Amigo is a very unique ride and grabbed a lot of attention at the first Faxon Cars & Coffee of the season in Loyalsock Twp, PA on April 24th. Originally built in 1998 by Rob Rodell in Texas, it was a cover truck in Mini Truckin’ Magazine for their July 1998 issue. But time was not kind to the “Lomego” and it was neglected for nearly 15 years, when Chris’ friend, Jon Monroe, discovered that the truck was located about two and a half hours away f

A Soup That Eats Like A Meal That Campbell's Chunky reference in the title is a nod to having the best of both worlds. That's exactly what Dustin Maurer has in his 1951 Ford F-1 Restomod Pickup. It's a truck that rides like a car. Dustin shares his journey with classic cars and how it led him to this build. “About 10 years ago, one of the guys I worked with had a pretty hopped-up older car and took me for a ride. From that moment I was hooked on the old cars. I had always

A tribute to all who gave some and some who gave all. Bethanne McCarty sends us her 2012 Camaro, “Smoke”. She is a Military/Police/First Responder Tribute car. There are over 400 signatures in and around her engine bay from members of all branches of the of the armed forces, both active duty and veterans. There are also “In Memory” signatures from family members to loved ones they lost that were in the military. All ages are represented, from an “In Memory” of a 19-year-o

Piggy-backing on last week’s retired professional vehicle in James Cogdill’s Suburban Ambulance, this week’s #rideoftheweek is a commercial vehicle that has had three generations of drivers behind the wheel. Drew Hopay is a returning Car Show Life show board customer. In 2020 we designed the display for his 1936 Ford Woody Wagon (#rideoftheweek 03/15/21). During the design period, he was telling us about this 1928 Model A panel truck he was in the process of restoring. Since

Someone call for an ambulance? James Cogdill of Smyrna, DE sends us his 1970 Chevy Suburban Ambulance for the #Rideoftheweek. It’s always cool to see former professional vehicles live on in the car show scene after their retirement from duty. James picked this up 2 years ago from a retired funeral director. It has only 36,000 original miles and despite looking like it just drove away from “Rampart Medical Center” after transferring patients cared for by Paramedics Gage & DeSo

“Coveting thy brother-in-law’s brother’s Corvette” Jon Geise is a Corvette guy, having owned two in the early 90s. He started out with a red-on-red ’84 and sold it after a short time to upgrade to a similarly appearing 1992 model with only 6,000 miles & equipped with a 6-speed. But as we all know…life happens, forces changes. Thus, the two-seat sportscar had to go. Little did Jon know he’d have to wait nearly 30 years to get back behind the wheel of a Corvette. Jon writes, “I

"Better than a gold watch" Once upon a time, when an employee reached retirement or a specific milestone in their employment, the company would honor that service with an award of some significance. Thus the “Gold Watch” came to symbolize longevity, appreciation and a job well done. In the case of Garry Greer, who worked for a family-owned business for over 40 years, that “gold watch” for decades of service came in the form of a ’55 Bel Air. Garry writes, “I have dreamed of o

"A Labor Of Love" Dave Owsley of Louisville, KY has been a car guy all his life. He’s had Buicks, Corvettes, Monte Carlos, Dually Trucks and Camaros, but one car has eluded him all this life, a real 1969 Z11 Pace Car Edition. There were about 3,600 made in 1969 and they can be had, but at a price. In 2013, Dave had another idea, take a 5th Gen Camaro and create his own pace car edition convertible with classic touches on the modern platform. He started out with a Summit Whit

"Pieces" Drew Hopay always wanted a Woody. So, when he found this 1936 Ford, he saw the potential in becoming its 3rd owner. When I say, ‘saw the potential’, I mean that this car was just a collection of parts and a partial rolling chassis. Drew took the car to Mark Gissendander of GIS Automotive in Glenshaw, PA. GIS mated the maple, ash and steel body to a TCI chassis and equipped it with Air Ride Suspension. The Woody is powered by a small-block Chevy that breathes thru a c

"Another date that lives in infamy…. for me." March 8, 1993. I can remember bringing this 1985 Camaro home after signing paperwork at the Notary Public. It was a cool car. Heck, even the license plate was cool: AHH-8125. "Ahhhhh" says it all! I was 17…a mere 10 days away from my birthday. On March 18th I would become an adult, but it was on March 8th that I became a man, a car-owning man. Throughout my teens, I saved every penny I earned mowing lawns and working at the l

“What the hell is that dang deal?” Northcentral PA is definitely muscle car country. Shows here are well populated with Chevelles, Chargers, Mustangs, Camaros and hot rods of all shapes, sizes and makes. But this little roadster caught my attention, for well, being a roadster among muscle machines it was parked with. As I got closer, I was expecting it to be a Triumph or an MG, but then I could make out “Datsun” on the front fender. That made me quote Steve Martin & Bill Murr