We Catch Up With The Goodguys Hall Of Fame Tour As It Hits Colorado

Event Coverage - HOF TourEvery year, the folks at the Goodguys Rod & Custom Association find a reason to cruise across the country with a handful of hot rod enthusiasts; the end destination being one of the organization’s many shows. This year, it was announced that the “Hall of Fame Road Tour” would kick off in September to honor one of the legends that we lost this year- Mr. Jack Trepanier– and cross the country in eight days in remembrance of his contributions to the hot rod community.

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Kicking off in Pleasanton, California on September 25th, the Goodguys Hall of Fame Road Tour was set to stretch over 2,400 miles in just eight days, with stops setup at some of the country’s biggest hot rod shops and collections along the way to the 22nd Lone Star Nationals in Fort Worth, Texas.

As usual, the folks on the tour stopped by one of the country’s premier hot rod shops, Pinkee’s Rod Shop of Windsor, Colorado, on the way to their final destination-the 22nd Lone Star Nationals in Fort Worth, Texas. Lucky for us, we got to tag along as the rodders cruised from the famed Stanely Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado down to Pinkee’s for a night of hot rod fun!

Located in the heart of Estes Park, just a short jaunt from the famed Rocky Mountain National Park, The Stanley Hotel has been a staple not only in the Colorado community for decades, but also in the automotive and ghost-hunting circles nationwide for years. Though it may sound like a bit of an odd combination, The Stanley Hotel has been the center of history and mystery for generations.

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Built in Estes Park, Colorado by Stanley Steamer creator F.O. Stanley, the famous Stanley Hotel served as a great backdrop and lunch stop for the crew of the GG Hall of Fame Road Tour.

Built by F.O. Stanley, creator of the Stanley Steamer, The Stanley Hotel has accommodated dozens of famous guests, starred in a number of TV and movie productions (including the original TV miniseries “The Shining,” which was later remade into a movie of the same name staring Jack Nicholson, as well as comedy “Dumb and Dumber”) and has been named one of the country’s most haunted places.

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A major part of the hotel’s history, a restored Stanley Steamer can be found in the lobby of The Stanley Hotel. According to staff of The Stanley Hotel, F.O. Stanley was forced to move west back in the early 1900s due to his health and decided to settle in Estes with his riches made from the vehicle.

To give you an idea of just how proud the Stanley staff are of the hotel’s rich history, an original Stanley Steamer still sits in the hotel’s lobby while ghost tours are a daily attraction for guests and locals alike.

On their way through the Colorado mountains, the GG Hall of Fame Road Tour stopped by The Stanley Hotel on Sunday, September 28th for lunch, where a number of the well-known hall-of-famers taking part in the event got to see a bit of automotive history many had never been exposed to up close and personal.

Following lunch, the crew headed out, taking the 45-minute curvy drive down the Big Thompson Canyon to reach their final destination for the evening- Pinkee’s Rod Shop.

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Trepanier (left) joined Peratt and tour leader Ed Capen (right) for a photo op in front of the Goodguys G/RS Camaro out front at the Sunday evening tour stop.

Set up with food, exclusive hot rod parking, and plenty of knowledgeable shop techs to inspect and fix any of the struggling tour cars, owner of Pinkee’s Rod Shop, Eric Peratt, welcomed the tour-goers and local hot rod enthusiasts alike for a night of relaxing celebration. While rodders relaxed and took in the artistry of Pinkee’s many on-going projects, Pinkee’s staff doted on a number of cars that had tweaked something on the trip through Colorado.

With a number of exquisite builds on display, Pinkee's Rod Shop truly put their best foot forward for their Hall of Fame Road Tour guests.

Guest of honor, the famed Troy Trepanier of Rad Rods by Troy, floated around the shop, making small talk with many fellow road-trippers, as well as countless fans. If he wasn’t talking car projects or inspiration with young builders, he was discussing the trials the tour had put on his famed “Chicayne” thus far, or admiring the many rolling chassis and works-in-progress on display inside the shop.

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Trepanier's famous Chicayne build was a highlight for most local rodders to see at the Pinkee's Rod Shop tour stop, but the trip didn't take it easy on the car. Prior to reaching the Sunday evening stop, the car blew a tire, which was eventually taken care of by a trailer ride, tires borrowed from Pinkee's and trusting Walmart staff that allowed Trepanier to use their tire machine to mount the new shoes to the car's custom wheels. Unfortunately, the next day on the tour's way through Nebraska, Chicayne started leaking coolant and was retired for the remainder of the road trip.

Truly fitting of the Hall of Fame Road Tour name, the trek across the country attracted many other automotive greats, as we soon found out. Along for the trip were Jesse and Jeff Greening of Greening Auto Company, Steve Legens of Legens Hot Rod Shop (who was driving a car he had just completed for George Poteet), owners of the 2013 Goodguys “America’s Most Beautiful Street Rod” Harold and Tracy Chapman, Goodguys 2014 Custom Rod of the Year owners Bill and Carol Raper, and Fatman Fab’s Brent Vandervort.

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Among the stellar cars on the tour was this gorgeous ’56 Chevy built by Steve Legens for George Poteet. Once the Road Tour reached Texas, it was off to its gracious owner.

Of course, we can’t forget Goodguys’ own Ed Capen, who led the tour from the driver’s seat of the Goodguys 1969 Camaro G/RS logo car.

Among the other tour participants were a number of individuals who had traveled countless miles just to meet up with the rest of the rodders for the trip to Texas, including Randy and Cathy Slack, owners of a gorgeous 427-equipped ’63 Nova, from Ontario, Canada, and Roy Wighton, owner of a ’34 Chevy pickup and custom trailer, from British Columbia.

In addition to just over 2,400 miles planned for the Road Tour, Wighton was planning to drive over 16,000 more miles in a round-about trip from BC to the Lone Star Nationals, then out to Galveston, TX, New Orleans, and through Jacksonville, FL to catch the last part of the Hot Rod Power Tour before heading to Las Vegas for the 2014 SEMA Show and then Arizona for the Goodguys Southwest Nationals. Equipped with a reliable ride, a tent, and a gung-ho attitude, Wighton should be interesting to catch up with at the Southwest Nats when he and Rod Authority both make it down to Arizona in mid-November.

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Wighton and his ’34 Chevy pickup definitely took the toast for traveling the furthest during their hot rod adventure, including the 2,400 miles traveled during the GG Road Tour.

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Built by Kindig-It Design and owned by Ron Meis, this familiar ’65 GTO met the tour in Windsor at Pinkee’s before tagging along with the other tour participants to Texas for the Lone Star Nationals.

With everyone aiming to be on the road early the next morning for the next leg in the tour, which would take them to Grand Island, Nebraska, many of the rodders began to retire to their hotel just up the street from Pinkee’s around 8:00 p.m. By that point, scattered rainstorms, which everyone joked that the tour had brought along with them since they had been rained on each day at that point, had scared away a chunk of the local rodders.

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The Pinkee’s crew had their hands full working on a number of the tour cars that had troubles along the way, but at the end of the night, all the hot rodders left with their rides fixed!

A favorite stop among all the rodders we talked to, Pinkee’s Rod Shop will almost certainly be a scheduled stop on the next Goodguys Road Tour. After all, it is one of the premiere hot rod shops in the country and with great hospitality and highly-trained techs on site to help with anything necessary, the rodders couldn’t ask for a better place to kick it for a night.

We’re so glad that we got to catch up with all of the guys and gals on the GG Hall of Fame Road Tour as they swung through Colorado in the peak of the fall season. Be sure to check out the Rod Authority Gallery below for more photos from the Goodguys Hall of Fame Road Tour below!

From dressed up engines to shiny hood ornaments, everything we saw from this year's Road Tour stop at Pinkee's Rod Shop was well worth it

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About the author

Lindsey Fisher

Lindsey is a freelance writer and lover of anything with a rumble. Hot rods, muscle cars, motorcycles - she's owned and driven it all. When she's not busy writing about them, she's out in her garage wrenching away. Who doesn't love a tech-savy gal that knows her way around a garage?
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