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Columbus, Ohio - A lady came first at the Goodguys 13th PPG Nationals presented by Bridgestone. At least when it came to picking the country's top Street Machine.
Karen Leisinger's radical all-steel first-generation 1967 Camaro "Scar", built by Lakeside Rods & Rides in Rockwell City, Iowa, took home the Goodguys 2010 Ridetech Street Machine of the Year award.
Leisinger, a first-gen Camaro lover, wanted a car that featured extreme performance while combining the looks of a 1967 with some of the design and style elements of the new 2010 Camaros.
Working from an Eric Brockmeyer sketch, builders Roger Burman, Marshall Starrett and the entire Lakeside Rods & Rides team created the PPG hyper orange Camaro nicknamed "Scar" (seen here) from all the cuts and modifications required to get the desired look. Lakeside completely redesigned the cars aesthetics by extending the wheelbase 2 inches. They then grafted a 2010 Camaro roof skin, raised the rear quarters 2.5 inches, added a custom carbon fiber hood, handmade the front and rear faces and flared the fenders on all four corners.
Scar's drive train features a carbureted 600hp LS-X mated to a Gearstar 200R4. The custom Lakeside-built chassis features Detroit Speed front and rear suspension, big brake kit from Baer and Boze 18" & 20" wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport rubber. Weber's Custom Interiors stitched the black leather with orange threads.
Karen and her entire family are devout Camaro enthusiasts. Over the years they've restored and given the hot rod treatment to dozens of first-gen Camaros, including a pearl white '67 Grumpy Jenkins tribute car that was chosen as a finalist for the Goodguys 2009 Muscle Machine of the Year award.
Karen, her husband Dave and their two sons Josh and Jared are already planning next year's Street Machine of the Year candidate - a 1970 Camaro which will again be hand built by lakeside Rods & Rides.
Meanwhile, Jerry Magnuson's sleek and stylish '32 Muroc roadster (named "Magnatude", seen here) was crowned Goodguys 2010 Classic Instruments Street Rod of the Year. Hand-formed by Marcel and designed by Chip Foose, Magnitude also won the Street Rod d'Elegance Crown this spring at the Goodguys Del Mar Nationals.
Magnuson is well known throughout the automotive aftermarket for his "Magnacharger" super charger kits. "Magnatude" features an LS-1 Chevy with a intercooled Magnacharger (of course!), Tremec 6 speed with polished Kugel 9", Kugel I.F.S & I.R.S., custom Kugel chassis, chopped Carson top, DuVall windshield, hidden headlights, custom dash by Magnuson, Jim Griffin upholstery, tunneled seats and countless other subtle tricks. The paint is two-tone butterscotch pearl with champagne metallic.
In traditional So-Cal hot rod fashion, the car features one off Foose designed "bigs and littles" - 17x7" in front and 20x10" out back wrapped in Scorpion Zero rubber.
