We hit a lot of shows around the country on the lookout for Blue Oval hardware. In particular, Goodguys always puts on a great show, especially when it puts one on in the Evergreen State at the State Fairgrounds in Puyallup, Washington. The grounds are plenty big enough to hold the show every year, and it’s always packed. The weather was warm, the cars were cool, and there were lots of people walking around and checking out the sweet rides.
There was a huge variety of different cars at the fairgrounds this year, everything from big ol’ Mercs to high-horsepower, built Falcons.
We walked around for all three days and went to the Nostalgia Drags on Friday night to get a taste of the other events that the Goodguys put on. We had an absolute blast at the show and quite a few cool Ford musclecars and trucks grabbed our attention. With all the great Ford muscle to choose from, here narrowed them down to our five favorite Fords from this year’s Pacific Northwest Nationals. Check them out…
There was just too much too look at in one day. It’s a good thing these shows last three days.
Lucas Call painted his truck when he was still in high school.
It’s always cool to see a young guy building, driving, and racing a classic in a hobby that is recently dominated by folks that are usually much older. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s really important to get some new blood into this hobby. This ’66 Ford F100 is owned by Lucas Call of Puyallup, Washington, and we actually caught up with him at the track on Friday evening after the show. Lucas is in his early 20s and has had the truck since he was in ninth grade.
The matte look of the primer is a really cool color combo with the red wheels and retro hubcaps!
“I wanted to take a non-traditional hotrod engine, throw some shit on it, and see what happened,” Lucas explained. It’s powered by a 300 cubic-inch straight-six engine with an upgraded cam, Clifford intake, Edelbrock 500-cfm carburetor, MSD ignition, and Clifford Viper headers.”
4. T-Top ’82 Capri Retro Rarity
The condition of this Capri is what caught our eye at first. It has a little stance, wider wheels, and the clean look that says it’s something special.
Often the Mercury Capri is the forgotten cousin of the Fox Mustang. This 5.0-liter V8-powered, 1982 Capri RS is as clean as can be and we loved seeing this unusual car get some of the love it deserves. You don’t see these too often, and this small and light car packs a punch with the venerable, carbureted pushrod powerplant.
The car was repainted when it was still relatively new and the RS badges just never made it back onto the outside of the car.
The car belongs to Harold McLaughlin of Ravensdale, Washington, and he’s had it since it was brand new. Originally a two-barrel, single-exhaust car, Harold has added a four-barrel Weiand intake and a four-barrel 600-cfm Holley carburetor. “I had to have a custom crossmember made to work with the dual exhaust,” Harold said. “With the V8, this thing really moves around!”
T-tops are the pinnacle of '80s styling and we just love the look of this beauty!
It also features the stock four-speed Single Rail Overdrive manual transmission with overdrive, stock suspension with air shocks, and the stock traction bars. The car still only has 135,000 miles on it and it looks like half that. The car is clean top to bottom and the classic look of the T-tops can’t be argued against. The hardcore ’80s vibe we got from this was too much to ignore, and the fact that it was the Capri made it even cooler.
3. Luxury-Powered ’60s F100 Built To Drive
Don’t let the paint fool you, this truck is very well built and not at all neglected!
Maybe it looks a little rough on the outside, but it runs smoother than you’d think thanks to a powerplant sourced from a 2003 Lincoln Aviator. The InTech Four-Valve 4.6-liter modular engine provides plenty of luxury power to motivate this F100 wherever it wants to go — and it does so with style. This truck belongs to Randy Doolittle of Tacoma, Washington, and he’s had it four years.
That InTech fits nicely between those old inner fenders.
“My first car was a truck just like this, but red,” Randy explained. “Four years ago I got nostalgic and bought another one. The old red one didn’t have the powertrain of this one though, and along with the fuel-injected V8, this truck features a four-speed automatic transmission, crown-vic front crossmember, and air bags in front and rear.”
The red interior pops with the aged exterior and makes a really cool combination.
Randy also gets points for being resilient. The day before the show, late Thursday evening, he was out on a poker run and he broke a front axle. He towed it home, tore it apart, fixed it, and had it ready in time for the show the next day.
2. 1966 Mustang Street/Strip Family Project
You just can’t beat the pure classic styling of a first-generation pony car like this 1966 Mustang. What was once an inline-six-powered, three-speed car is now a 5.0-liter powered Mustang equipped with a Holley four-barrel carburetor, a Tremec six-speed manual transmission, and Ford 8-inch rearend with 4.11:1 full-spool gearing.
There's still a little rubber on the rear quarters from the track action the night before!
Kevin Doland of Tacoma, Washington, bought this coupe seven years ago and built it as a family project. “This was originally meant to be a project car for my dad, my son, and myself,” Kevin explained. “We all worked on it, cutting floors and swapping the motor in. It was a family thing.”
In addition to the new engine and transmission, they also converted to front four-piston disc brakes and added rear traction bars. All said and done, it’s pushing 420 horsepower to the flywheel and makes for an awesome car to take on the street and on the strip. We just loved the simple build that’s made to drive and race, and the backstory is hard to beat. With three generations working on the build the family history alone makes this a really cool build.
1. Wicked-Built ’63 Falcon
Craig Wick owns Wicked Fabrications and the shop creates some seriously cool rides. This Falcon is no exception, and Craig built it for himself. What started as a client’s car turned into a project of his own. “I sat in it and I fit,” he explained. “It’s not very common that I find that.” Craig is a tall guy, so finding a classic car that fits someone of his height is often a challenge.
This car looks good from every angle and it's about as clean as you can get. Craig does this for a living, so he knew how he was going to build his car.
Craig’s had it three years and they put a new engine in it, upgraded to Heidts front suspension, and built a 9-inch Ford for the rear. It’s now powered by a 302 stroked to 347 cubes backed by a T-5 five-speed manual transmission, and the rearend is geared at 3.50:1 with a Traction-Lok diff.
The seat covers are original and the car is believed to only have 65,000 original miles on it. With the mild-performance drivetrain this light little car would have no problem holding its own in any stoplight battle, and we love it.
If you missed the Pacific Northwest Nationals, don’t worry, the Great Northwest Nationals are coming up in a few weeks from August 17-19 in Spokane, Washington, so get out there and make sure you hit that show. If it’s anything like the show in Puyallup, it’s going to be a good one for sure. Until then, check out our full gallery…
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