The 2015 Huntington Beach Cruise-In was a big success! Over 130 Factory Five cars attended making the 8th annual event the biggest ever. We had exactly two spaces left before having to access overflow parking on the pier plaza.
This year, our special guests Pete Brock, Allen Grant, and Jo Coddington were great. The three of them spent more than an hour signing over 175 autograph posters!
This year’s show was exceptional because of the efforts of customers. The cars that were in this year’s show were some of the best Factory Fives I’ve ever seen. The band did a great job, and DJ Mike Brassfield filled in the gaps with great tunes and announcements. Huge thanks to all of the sponsors who contributed some awesome raffle prizes. We’ve posted a ton of photos from the event here, and Hot Rod Magazine posted another 75 images on HotRod.com. StangTV.com also did a GREAT story on the event with a huge number of pictures and details.
Many customers contributed to this event, but a special thank you to Corrin and Deke Brown who are still building their Hot Rod and spent most of the day helping the Factory Five crew. It is really impossible to recognize all of the people who help an event like this succeed. Here are a few… Dave and Grant Hodgkins, Erik Hansen, Jeff “Da Bat” Miller, Chris and Russ from HB, Doug Deffebach, Mike Brassfield, and Fara Snook. Factory Five’s Tony Zullo and Sally Bean did a tremendous job as well.
The car show judges did a good job considering how many remarkable cars were there. There were some judgement calls that resulted in some exceptional builds not being recognized, and like all car shows, that was tough.
The weather turned out to be nice except for the last twenty minutes when the rain came. The town of Huntington Beach converts the first three blocks of Main Street to a pedestrian mall for the car show, and so guys couldn’t leave with their cars until the end of the show, so when the rain came, we were all stuck in it. The rest of the day was beautiful. Check out the amazing photos below.
Car Show Award Winners
Special thanks to customer/volunteer car show judges Ray McEdwards, Julie Casey, and Doug Deffebach.
Hot Rod Magazine “Editor’s Choice” Award presented by Jeff Dahlin – Fara Snook, Type 65 Coupe
Car Builder Magazine “Editor’s Choice” Award presented by Steve Temple, Editor – Rich Migliori, GTM
Best in Show Overall – Rob Warren
Best in Show Runner-Up – Harold Hoover
Best in Show Roadster presented by Allen Grant – Mario Abril
Best in Show Roadster Runner-Up – Marty Prario
Best in Show Type 65 Coupe presented by Pete Brock – Troy Rieder
Best in Show Type 65 Coupe Runner-Up – Don Vaught
Best in Show GTM – Tim Sharp
Best in Show GTM Runner-Up – Michael Bivens
Best in Show ’33 Hot Rod presented by Jo Coddington – Chuck Armstrong
Best in Show ’33 Hot Rod Runner-Up – Jim Copland
Best Use of Chrome – James Lynch
Best Paint – Ed Johnson
Best Engine – Dave Borden
Best Interior/Details – Michael Dingman
Best Under Construction – Phil Hodgkins
Most Innovative Design – Derek Vianna
Highest Accrued Mileage – Paul Gillespie, 94,073 miles
Factory Five Legacy Award Winner – Doug Deffebach
Power Automedia’s Mark Gearhart was one of about five “Under Construction” cars. Mark’s Factory Five Challenge Car is the subject of a online build story with Power Automedia. Check it out here.
This GTM rolling chassis looked like it was ready to drive.
Bob Warren’s ’33 Hot Rod (above & below) again won Best in Show despite some very strong competition.
Custom mods like hood vents of this Factory Five Mk3 Roadster were everywhere.
John and Cindy Suarez’s blue Mk1 Roadster has been on the road since 1997!
This killer LS-powered Hot Rod (above & below) was very well executed.
Main Street was lined for three blocks with some of the nicest Factory Fives anywhere.
A lot of potential customers attend the show to get build ideas for their future Factory Five build.
Here are some different interiors from just a handful of cars at the event. Chuck Armstrong’s ’33 Hot Rod that was done in an aircraft theme was exceptional and I couldn’t the photo.
This Challenge Car was over-the-top race rod Roadster!
Grant Hodgkins worked hard as the official event photographer.
It’s amazing how many blue Factory Five Roadsters are all unique and different!
Chuck Armstrong’s has won Best in Show twice before at Huntington Beach. His new kidney bean wheels were stunning.
This GTM had custom hydraulics that opened the nose, doors, and rear hatch.
Wheel options are all over the map!
Rich Migliori’s race GTM and Fara Snook’s Bonneville Land Speed Record-setting Type 65 Coupe were displayed on Main Street at the first intersection.
Factory Five President Dave Smith interviewed Fara Snook about his Bonneville Coupe.
1965 World Champion driver Allen Grant shared his experience with attendees.
The designer of the original Daytona Coupe Pete Brock was an honored guest.
Left to Right: Pete Brock, Jo Coddington, and Allen Grant were on hand for autographs.
Factory Five’s favorite DJ Mike Brassfield did a great job with announcements and music. Mike has been at every Factory Five Huntington Beach Cruise-In event.
There were ten GTMs registered (!) and six 818s registered. All of the GTMs showed up and the weather scared away all of the 818s!
This customer Mk4 Roadster has a really cool hood scoop among other details.
The car show judges had a VERY hard job.
This GTM was stunning! Love the palm trees reflected in the paint.
Mike Caruso’s ’33 Hot Rod was exceptionally well-built with customer hood scoop, glassed on hard top, and beautiful custom interior.
Dave Standridge drove down with fellow Coupe owner Fara Snook all the way from Oregon! Dave’s absolutely perfect Type 65 Coupe deserved an award.
Love the license plate!
Everyone loved the music from the band The Fabulous Nomads.
Jo Coddington presented Chuck Armstrong with the Best in Show – Hot Rod award.
Pete Brock presented Troy Rieder with the Best in Show – Type 65 Coupe award.
Dave Smith presented Tim Sharp with the Best in Show – GTM award.
Dave Hodgkins accepted Best Under Construction on behalf of his brother Phil.
James Lynch scored Best Use of Chrome (above) and Dave Borden earned Best Engine (below). Dave Borden ordered kit #1046 from me back in 1996 (!) and has been a huge member of the community for 19 years!
Steve Temple from Car Builder Magazine (right) presented Rich Migliori with an Editor’s Choice Award.
Jeff Dahlin from Hot Rod Magazine presented his Editor’s Choice Award to Fara Snook for his Bonneville Land Speed Record setting Type 65 Coupe.
Rob Warren won Best in Show for the second year in a row with his stunning red supercharged ’33 Hot Rod.
Above and Below: Karen Salvaggio and Dave Hodgkins presented Factory Five customer Doug Deffebach with the Factory Five Legacy Award.
Paul Gillespie beat out everyone at the event for the Highest Accrued Mileage award. His Factory Five Roadster has 94,073 miles on it!
Factory Five Tech Manager Tony Zullo (above) introduced Jeff “Da Bat” Miller and a special award that Jeff and his son made for Factory Five President Dave Smith.
Factory Five’s Sally Bean and customer Karen Salvaggio presented raffle prizes.
Some pictures don’t need a caption. This Coupe is one of them.
The next day, a BMX bike competition was held at the base of the pier plaza. Huntington Beach is a great place for a cruise-in car show because the weather, the ocean, and there’s always something happening.
Above & Below: On Sunday, a group of customers did a rally/drive up through Ortega Highway. Above is a rare Type 65 convertible called the Factory Five Spyder GT. Less than 40 of these were made and this one came down from Canada!
Thank you to every single Factory Five customer who attended the event and apologies for those who we’ve missed. Thanks also to our sponsors KONI Shocks, Detail Pros, Wilwood Brakes, The Shorebreak Hotel, The Sugar Shack restaurant, Mother’s Car Care Products, Power Automedia, Car Builder Magazine, and Hot Rod Magazine.
The planning has already begun for next year. We hope to see you there!
Dave Smith
President