Rod Authority's Top Five Rods From Goodguys 17th Colorado Nationals

With the Goodguys Colorado Nationals in Loveland, Colorado the first weekend of June, we couldn’t help but find ourselves smitten by dozens of vehicles– from classic pickup trucks to red-hot first-gen Camaros. When it came to our ultimate favorites, only a few hit the mark. Check out this year’s top five hot rods from the Colorado Nationals below!

1957 Chevy 210

Starting off our list this year is an iconic Chevy Tri-Five, only this isn’t the type that your grandmother used to drive around. Smoothed, tweaked, and expertly refined, this bad little 210 instantly drew our eye from the Builder’s Choice contenders, and regardless of how many other Tri-Fives we saw over the weekend, we just couldn’t take our mind off this one.

Owned by Mitch Bock of Garden City, Kansas, this beautiful 1957 Chevy 210 sits atop a top-of-the-line Roadster Shop chassis. Under the hood you’ll find a potent supercharged LS9 engine encased in a custom engine bay and tied to a T56 transmission. Pushing the car’s power to the pavement are Schott Wheels wrapped in Continental rubber.

From grille to tail, this highly-modified Tri-Five screams class, but one look under the hood and you'll understand this 'sleeper' for what it is.

Adorning the exterior is an expertly laid custom DuPont paint color trimmed by fresh chrome, all performed by Bright Built Hot Rods. To match the crisp exterior look, components like the door handles were shaved off.

Inside, you’ll find a custom deep red leather interior, also designed and executed by Bright Built Hot Rods, with plush leather seats, a custom center console and a custom matching dash, which all match the engine dress-up components in color. Also inside, there is a custom stereo system featuring Diamond Audio components. The trunk follows suit with expertly wrapped leather panels and matching deep red carpet to boot.

1939 Lincoln Zephyr Convertible

Next on our list is another selection from the Builder’s Choice Award contenders, only this time it’s more of a vintage street rod type. Owned by John and Diana Fleming of Asher, Oklahoma, this stunning 1939 Lincoln Zephyer convertible was getting attention left and right when we came across it. Just one look at her and you can see why!

Completely hand fabricated, the Zephyr features hours and hours worth of metal work, from the custom inner fenders to the firewall. A custom hood puts the finishing touches on the front end of the car, along with frenched headlights, a non-existent hood ornament and shaved door handles.

All of this is topped off with a gorgeous purple hue which comes from a base layer of Hyundai purple topped with a layer of black. This is accentuated with classic orange pinstriping that matches the interior.

Low-slung and refined to a tee, this ’39 Zephyr was one of the finest custom rides we saw at the Colorado Nats.

The interior is complete with a refined body-color dash, leather-wrapped console and door panels, and leather seats. All the upholstery and trim is done in a deep orange color called Tangelo.

Completely in an aesthetic class of its own, the radical custom’s engine bay also leaves a lasting impression as the car is equipped with a supercharged 5.4L Ford Lightning crate engine, which has been tuned to 390 hp.

Backing this up is a manual 4R70W Mustang Transmission.

All of this sits atop a custom frame complete with TCI front-end suspension components and a Currie 9-inch in the rear. Disc brakes help this bad boy stop.

Truly a dream car with so many custom touches, we can see why it’s been a favorite at Goodguys shows across the country since its debut earlier this year.

1941 Willys

A Top Five list would not be complete without an iconic Willys, and in this particular one, we found one heck of a celebrity.

Owned by Brad Ott of Park City, Utah, this spectacular 1941 Willys was built by the one and only Paul Teutul Sr. of Orange County Choppers eight years ago. Since it was built, the car has seen a number of owners, including Ott, who has actually owned the Willys twice.

Added to Ott’s collection of Willys (a 1936 true steel car, 1938 model, and another 1941), this model is an instant eye-catcher with silver paint and true Ohio Flames laid by Wade Hughes atop an Outlaw body.

Inside, the Willys is just as nice with red leather upholstery and a color-matched dash, steering setup, and console compliments of Shannon Walters.

Expertly stuffed in the engine bay, this Chevy Big Block could give any competing rod a run for its money.

Stuffed between the front fenders you’ll find an amazing 572 ci Big Block Chevy engine potent enough to get this fiberglass-bodied stunner going in a split second. Underneath, the Willys features an Outlaw chassis tied to Budnick wheels wrapped in Gasser tires, which do the vehicle well considering what’s under the hood.

1937 Plymouth

We included Ford and Chevy, so of course we’ve got to include a Mopar in the mix of our Top Five and with an example like this, there was no having to ask twice. Owned by Bob and Liz Olsen of Woodland Park, Colorado, this phenomenal 1937 Plymouth two-door sedan takes refined classic to a whole new level.

Clean and elegant, this Plymouth was just as much class as it was all Mopar.

Finished in an interesting Butter Cream-like color with thick black accents, this stellar example of an “all Mopar” car is classically elegant in all the right ways– from the overlapped door gaps to the nose-mounted headlights that extend over the front fenders.

Just because it maintains much of its vintage class doesn’t mean that this hot rod isn’t a bit refined.

Cleaning up the front end nicely, the front bumper was removed and the brightwork was kept to a minimum, only accentuating the must-haves like the slotted front grille and hood ornament.

Adding an interesting touch, you’ll find vintage pinstriping details strategically placed along the body.

Inside, a simple gray cloth interior gives the car a more useable appeal while contrasting nicely with the unique exterior color choice.

Under the hood, this refined classic makes use of a 318 ci engine, sticking with the Mopar theme, which is backed by a 727 transmission. A great choice for a solid build, we just couldn’t say no to this fully Mopar-equipped ride!

1955 Crown Victoria

Capping off our list is the queen of them all, this 1955 Ford Crown Victoria owned by Terry Menebroker of Fredrick, Colorado.

Though not your typical hot rod, this gorgeous Crown Vic instantly caught our eye with her famed chrome crown adorning her roof, and we couldn’t be happier with the choice.

After all, this car was built by a father-son duo who worked for years to restore the classic car back to its glory years, and at the Colorado Nationals, it stole the show.

Sitting in a sea of other amazing builds, the Crown Vic expertly painted in 2012 Ford Electric Blue stood out in class and uniqueness. According to Menebroker, all of the chrome on the car is original while a number of other components are his and his father’s own creation, like the hand-formed front grille and crown-emblazoned taillights. These only enhance the nosed and decked body, as does the significantly louvered hood.

A blast from the past, this classic Crown Victoria may be one awesome classic, but it certainly has all the right custom additions to be in the running for any Goodguys award.

Underneath the car you’ll find a full air suspension system, allowing Menebroker to slam his “Crown Jewel” to the ground or raise her up high enough to clear anything the road puts in front of her.

Menebroker’s Crown Victoria may be pre-police cruiser, but with this 425hp power plant under the hood, it would have certainly given any ornery speeder a run for his money.

Under the hood sits a body color-matched Ford 390 ci engine good for over 400 hp, which the father-son pair took out of a 1960 T-bird. This is backed by a C6 transmission and Ford 9-inch rearend.

Inside, the T-bird donations continue with the custom fitted dash, also finished in body color. Pleated blue and white seats, white pleated door panels, and a custom center console add even more to the overall aesthetic value of the car.

Though we were able to pick out five amazing standouts from the 17th Goodguys Colorado Nationals this year, the choice wasn’t painless. If you’ve ever been to a Goodguys show, you know it would be easy to put just about every vehicle there in someone’s Top Five list, and for that, we have to thank the hundreds of hot rod enthusiasts that brought their vehicles out to share last weekend!