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2010
 

NSRA Nationals Select Penfound Design For Builders' Showcase...Again

    One of the most popular auto events in America chose Penfound Design to feature a vehicle in the prestigious Builders' Showcase of the National Street Rod Association Nationals Plus August 5-8, 2010. Along with a selected group of hot rod and custom car builders from around the country, Penfound Design brought the 1964 Cadillac Cambiar to be shown in the Louisville, Kentucky, Exposition Center. The 30 vehicles on display represented a cross-section of the state of the special interest car building industry, according to NSRA representatives.

    "The NSRA Street Rod Nationals Builders' Showcase is a highlight of the premier event in street rodding. The builders of the vehicles included in the NSRA Builders' Showcase have garnered any number of top awards and honors....their creations have been used in advertising campaigns or as special interest vehicles at the SEMA Show and other automotive aftermarket conventions and trade shows. This will be a unique opportunity to view these vehicles up close and in person."

    Penfound Design is grateful for the honor to be selected for the NSRA Builders' Showcase, and looks forward to participating in future events.

  

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Penfound Design Featured at Super Solon Chartiy Cruise

    The 1964 Cadillac Cambiar was on display at the annual Super Solon Charity Cruise, in northeast Ohio and was also selected as a Top 10 Finalist and sponsor choice for the event which includes hundreds of rods, customs, classics, muscle cars and trucks.
   As a featured builder at the event, Penfound Design was highlighted in advertising and promotional materials, and the award picks it received were a special bonus for the car. The Super Solon Charity Cruise, which is presented by the Rock N Roll Capital Street Machines club, is a major highlight of the weekly cruise-ins and shows that continue throughout the summer. The event sponsorship includes Summit Racing Equipment with contributions to charities which include Shoes and Clothes for Kids.
    Cambiar was presented with the "Top Ten Finalist" award as well as a sponsor choice from the Hensel "Gearage". The annual Solon event was held July 24, 2010.

 

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Penfound Design ads featured in NSRA Streetscene

   Advertising which highlights Penfound Design cars is being featured in the magazine of the National Street Rod Association, StreetsScene. As one of the oldest enthusiast auto groups in the world, the NSRA was founded in 1970 and in its own words "produces 11 of the world's biggest and best specialty vehicle events".
    The NSRA considers the StreetScene magazine as a main benefit of the many services and programs offered to members, which also include helpful state representatives who consult on car building and safety issues, participation of dozens of aftermarket suppliers in shows and a nationwide voluntary  Vehicle Safety Inspection program for members.
    The premier event in the sport is the NSRA Street Rod Nationals Plus, which brings an estimated 10,000+ vehicles to Louisville, Kentucky. The 2010 event, the 41st Annual show, supports the NSRA's slogan 'Fun With Cars'.
    Penfound Design cars have been featured at National Street Rod Association events and it makes perfect sense to advertise in the NSRA StreetScene magazine.

  

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LoSabre wins best customized 1950-1970 car
at Loudonville car show

   With hundreds of vehicles lining the picturesque historic streets of Loudonville, Ohio, there was lots of competition for custom cars, hot rods, vintage and muscle cars. The 1959 Buick LoSabre was well received, however, and was picked as Best Customized 1950-1970 Car at the event.
    As the tenth annual Loudonville Car Show, the event has grown dramatically, with some participants arriving at dawn to grab the best parking place around the downtown park or along the side streets around it. The car show also features bands, a swap meet, lots of food vendors and excited downtown merchants selling antiques, books, clothing and ice cream to the hundreds of folks attending the event.
    While the temperature was in the 90s, the event was a popular destination, and had a huge turnout for its 10th anniversary.
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 Spreading the word about Penfound Design

    To introduce Penfound Design to an even wider audience, advertising has begun in one of the most respected hot rod and custom car club magazines in America...the Goodguys Gazette.
    Featuring three of Penfound Design's cars, the 1959 Buick LoSabre, 1964 Cadillac Cambiar and 1963 Chevrolet Impala SportsRoof, the ads encourage potential customers to 'Take Your Car To The Next Level...By Design'.
    The Goodguys Rod & Custom Association "promotes and produces some of the world's most dynamic automotive events" as explained in their website. "Why? Because we're car people like you." Founded by Gary Meadors in 1983 Goodguys holds more than 20 events across the country, each featuring hundreds of cars and thousands of spectators. Goodguys is the world's largest rod & custom association with more than 70,000 members. Most events feature rods, customs, classics, trucks, street machines and muscle cars through 1972, with select events welcoming all years of American powered cars and trucks.
    Penfound Design cars have attended many Goodguys events, including the Nationals held in Columbus, Ohio, so it was logical to advertise in the Goodguys Gazette magazine which is sent monthly to members. It's a great way to spread the word about what we do at PD.

 
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Penfound Design Video... Ride with us!

   Watch some of the Penfound Design cars in action, along with a look inside the interiors and engine rooms of LoSabre, Cambiar, SportsRoof and Inpala as they take to the streets. More cars will be added later as the PD crew works on new 'Production Concept' cars. Stay tuned! Your comments are welcome at barry@penfounddesign.com


Click Here to ride now!

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2009
Buick LoSabre Featured In NSRA Builders' Showcase
 
   Penfound Design was given a special honor by being selected to show a vehicle at the 40th Annual NSRA Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky, August 6-9, 2009. A special feature added to the NSRA Street Rod Nationals in 2006, the Builders' Showcase is a "one-of-a-kind display of vehicles by street rodding's elite professional builders," according to the NSRA description of the event. Held in the South Wing lobbies of the Kentucky Exposition Center, the cars were on display all four days of the prestigious Nationals, which brings thousands of cars, and hundreds of commercial exhibitors to Louisville each year.
   "The National Street Rod Association is excited to be able to bring these works of automotive art to the Street Rod Nationals for the fourth year in a row so thousands of enthusiasts from around the world will be able to appreciate the workmanship and creativity of their builders.
   This activity is another highlight of street rodding's most significant event of the year." Thanks to everyone at the National Street Rod Association.
   To learn more about the NSRA and its events, visit: www.nsra-usa.com

         

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High Performance Pontiac Magazine Features Two-Part Sabertooth GTO Motor Build

  
   It makes perfect sense that the Sabertooth GTO motor would make its debut in a national magazine before the car...because the engine is the heart of the beast. The 449 cubic inch motor with 507 horsepower and 528 lb-ft of torque, might owe its heritage to Pontiac, but it got its muscle through the partner companies which made it happen.  High Performance Pontiac did an in depth, six page story of the motor build in the July, 2009, issue of the magazine. "When it came time for Barry Penfound, of Penfound Design, to choose a power plant for 'Sabertooth', his '64 Pro-Touring GTO project, he didn't have to look any further than the engine bay. You guessed it- the original 389 was still there," Don Keefe explained in his story, which had photos and contributions from HPP editor Thomas A. DeMauro.
   "To marry vintage flavor to modern technology and increase power at the same time, Barry turned to Bryan Weber of Weber Racing Equipment in North Ridgeville, Ohio, who formed a plan that put the goals with practical reach, and his dad, Dave, assembled the engine," Keefe wrote. The August issue of High Performance Pontiac saw the motor move on to the dyno to find out if it would make the kind of horsepower worthy of a GTO tiger...

  

  
   "While at Weber Racing, it became a 449 ci, Edelbrock-headed beast that was topped off with one of the Barry Grant Six-Shooter setups, which offers a modern approach to the Tri-Power systems we are now so familiar with," Keefe writes. "The end result was an engine that was substantially larger in cubic inches and more powerful and lighter than the original 389, all positive attributes to have in a performance-oriented Pro-Touring machine."  The results, on the dyno at Michael's Racing Engines in Macedonia, Ohio, were spectacular.  "After multiple pulls and backup pulls (which include timing and jet changes), it was determined that the second was the best. The 21st Century Tri-Power laid down a corrected best of 507.6 hp at 5,700 rpm, with 528.3 lb-ft of torque at 4,400 rpm."
   Penfound Design thanks Bryan and Dave Weber of Weber Racing, Michael Tietro of Michael's Racing Engines, Ken Wilhelm of Ken's Performance, and Jeff Gulley for all the help with the engine build and testing.  The following partners helped make the project possible: Edelbrock, Barry Grant Inc., Wiseco Pistons, Eagle Specialty Products, Federal Mogul Corporation, Comp Performance Group, Milodon, MSD, and Crane. Thanks to High Performance Pontiac, Thomas D. DeMauro and Don Keefe.



Thanks to High Performance Pontiac!
 Please visit them at www.highperformancepontiac.com
 

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Penfound Design Cars

LoSabre

  

Cambiar


"...One of those timeless customs that will still look cool decades from now," Hot Rod Magazine, December 2002.
    The 1959 Buick LoSabre made its debut at the 2002 Detroit Autorama, has been featured in more than a dozen magazines, and won awards including a "Boyd Coddington Pro's Pick", "Custom Rodder Top 10", and Lowrider Magazine "Best Lo-Rod". It continues to be shown and well-received.

  



Impala

"...Most custom cars are personal creations, built to suit the specific tastes and desires of their owners and builders. A select few go beyond mere personalization and approach the level of true design studies..." Damon Lee, editor, Custom Rodder, September 2006.
The 1963 Impala SportsRoof made its debut at the 2006 Detroit Autorama, and was selected the Super Chevy Pick Of the Show. From there it won a Fab Five Pick at the Goodguys Great American Nationals, Hershey, Pennsylvania, 2006. It received "First In Class- Lo Rod" and a "Special Judges Award" for the vehicle that "best exemplifies the lowrider movement" at the Lowrider Magazine Tour Stop in Indianapolis, Indiana. During the summer of 2006 it received numerous Super Chevy awards, including "Best Full-size 1958-1964 Car" and "Top 8" at the Nationals in Indianapolis, Indiana. At the Goodguys Nationals in Columbus, Ohio, it received both a "Rod & Custom magazine Top 10" and "Boyd Coddington Pro's Pick". The car was featured in Custom Rodder, Super Chevy and Power magazines and was shown in event coverage in Super Rod, Rod & Custom, Custom Rodder, Street Rodder, and several other publications. American Racing Equipment, Inc., selected the SportRoof for its booth at the 2006 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the car was also on display for three months at the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum in Pomona, California at the end of 2006. In 2007 it was featured in American Racing Equipment, Inc., advertising and catalogs, was a cover photo for Jeg's Performance Products and Pace Performance catalogs, as well as Newstalgia Wheels.

  
"...the custom rod movement has taken off and clearly created its own identity, one very distinct from its nostalgia predecessor. And at the forefront are clean, smooth, yet very stylish cars with a unique modern twist...not overdone, not too flashy. Basically, cars like Cambiar", Damon Lee, Custom Rodder Magazine, November 2004.
    The 1964 Cadillac Cambiar, see above, appeared at the Detroit Autorama 2004 for the first time, was a cover feature for Custom Rodder, a Goodguys Pick, the "Alexander Brothers Pick" at the KKOA 2004 Nationals,  and "Best Of Show" at the 2005 Dub Magazine Cobo Hall Detroit show.

 

GTO

The GTO was introduced to America in an advance story in the May, 2006, issue of Hot Rod Magazine. Featured in the "Project Garage" section, Rob Kinnan described the GTO as "combining factory concept car with street-race sensibilities". As "the fourth car from Penfound Design (the car) will have single headlights, tucked bumpers, an engine-turned grill, and functional scoops in the hood and fenders. Jeff Gulley and Paul Jonela of Trackside Automotive (Avon Lake, Ohio) are doing the body and chassis and will bathe the car in a custom mix of PPG Blue."
    Kinnan went on to write..."One-off Boyd Coddington wheels will be tucked by Air Ride Shockwave bags. You Pontiac faithful will appreciate that it'll be powered by a 389 (stroked to 449 cubes) and a Barry Grant Six Shooter intake."
    Stay tuned for more GTO information on the car and its debut!


Inpala

"...Barry Penfound, under the guise of Penfound Design, is making quite a name for himself building clean, crisp customs based on late-'50s and early '60s two door hardtops. The past few years have seen a '63 Impala Sportsroof, a '59 Buick LeSabre, and a '64 Caddy, but the latest, this '59 Chevy dubbed Inpala, might just have presented his greatest challenge yet, owing to one remarkable feature. It wears its original paint.." Kev Elliott, technical editor, Rod & Custom magazine, May 2008.
        The 1959 Chevrolet 'Inpala', named because it was created in just eight weeks, is the fourth Penfound Design project. After making its debut at the Hot Rod Power Tour in 2007, 'Inpala' went on to appear at nearly a dozen events, including Goodguys Hot Rod Nationals in Indianapolis, the Goodguys PPG Nationals in Columbus, and the NHRA Hot Rod Reunion.
        The 'Inpala' is based on a survivor, original paint 1959 Impala. Inspiration for the car came from the "little book" custom magazines like Rod & Custom in the 1950's and 1960's, which featured many new cars that would be modified quickly so they could be driven and shown on the street. Owners would change the grills, trim, wheels and tires so that the original paint could be maintained. The result is that 'instant customs' were born, and 'Inpala' brings that concept into the 21st Century.

 
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