The show was held in March at the Dayton Expo Center and about 150 cars filled the giant hall. In addition, KOI Auto Parts, the presenting sponsor, set up a very cool “store” stocked with all the parts and tools hot rodders are looking for.
“KOI has already agreed to sponsor the show again next year, and they are going to build on their presence in the Miami Valley market,” Mullins said. “We also had great support from Matt Miller at Carl’s Body Shop who brought out the Bat Mobile and the BatBike. By also having Batman and Spiderman here, we had a big crowd of kids who had a great time.”
This was really a smorgasbord for the gearhead. There were full-blown customs, cool hot rods, pro street machines, vintage and current dragsters and even a custom monster truck. Three judges handled the task of picking the best of the best, and plans for 2013 will include not only more classes but also boosting the car count.
“Right now, I’m confident we’ll have 175 cars next year,” Mullins said. “I’ve got at least 25 guys who have already committed.”
Blane Armbruster of Brookville was busy detailing his 1971 Chevelle, but took a break to chat with Wheels.
“I’ve never shown this car before, but this show sounded so cool so I thought what the heck, I’ll bring it out,” he said. “I finished this car about five years ago, it’s a SS 396 clone, and I drive it all the time, so I’m not expecting to win anything. But this show is far neater than I thought; I’m having a great time.”
Armbruster built the car himself, which makes sense since his day job is operating Central Collision Repair in Huber Heights. “It’s got all new panels where it needed it, and I dropped in a strong little 350, so it’s a fun driving car. The paint job is the silver and black look with the wide stripes on the hood,” Armbruster added.
One of two Grand Prize/Best in Show awards went to the classic ’55 Chevy of Ray Thenot, which was built by Burton Kreative Motorwerks. The gold two-door sports the classic gasser high front end and headers peeking out from under the fenders. Under the hood is a 468 cubic-inch big block Chevy that has Edelbrock tunnel ram and two four barrel carbs.
“The judges really couldn’t pick just one, so the ’55 Chevy shared the Grand Prize with Linda Butler’s 1948 Chevrolet Canopy Express, and both of them received Grand Prize trophies and $300 in cash,” Mullins said.
oking for cars to feature in Wheels of the Week. If you know of a car or story that would be a good feature, please send information to Wheels@coxohio.com Read this story and others like it at DaytonDailyNews.com/Wheels.
About the Author