Now that Project Devin is painted and pinstriped (KC, May 2008), it's time to finish out the interior. We took it to Jackie Collins Cars in Weatherford, Texas, for the upholstery and carpet. Collins has been in the interior business for over 40 years and builds complete award-winning hot rods in addition to his custom upholstery work. Two of his rods have been included in the Street Rodder list of best rods of the year. I needed to have both seats and the door panels upholstered, custom carpet cut to fit, and boots made up for the shifter and parking brake handle. Here is how Collins put it all together.

The London Cobra Show is a multi-day series of spectacles all geared around replicas of Cobras, Ford GT40s, Daytona Coupes, and their social owners. Enthusiasts from disparate parts of the U.S. and Canada converge upon Lexington, Columbus, and London, Ohio, to partake in the festivities. Ohio Cobra Club volunteers devote much of their free time to produce the LCS and make sure that it's a success. Measured by how many participants and spectators the event yields and, more importantly, how much money is raised to help find a cure for Cystic Fibrosis, the OCC hits a homerun every year.

From 1966 through 1969, they were world-beaters. The 427ci big-block Ford V-8-powered GT40 Mk IIs finished First, Second, and Third overall at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans in Rheims, France. With dramatically different bodies, but still powered by Ford 427ci big-blocks, the Mk IV GT40 came in First and Fourth overall for the 1967 Le Mans. In 1968 and 1969, the same GT40 Mk I, with a small-block Ford 289ci V-8, captured First Place overall. By 1969, GT40 Mk Is claimed First and Third overall, though the GT40 no longer had Ford's financial backing, which meant it wouldn't be developed any further. Other race car manufacturers like Porsche had the latest high-technology race cars that effectively put the Ford GT40 into the rearview mirror of racing obsolescence and automotive racing history tomes.

Car Club Winning Grand Prize in Eagle One Golden Rule Awards To Receive $1,500 For Favorite Charity

The 1932 Ford Sedan of Cale, Bridgett & Carlee Kern of Bedford, Indiana won the Goodguys 2008 Hot Rod of the Year award presented by Hot Hues at the Goodguys 20th Hot Rod Nationals Sunday, June 8th. The family of three had quite a weekend in Indy, having just finished a yearlong thrash to build the car the night before the event began at one o'clock in the morning.

In honor of America's finest, the 17th Annual California Hot Rod Reunion is offering free admission to active military personnel on Sun., Oct. 12. The 3-day Reunion, presented by the Automobile Club of Southern California, runs Oct. 10-12 at Bakersfield's Auto Club Famoso Raceway. "Honoring the military at the California Hot Rod Reunion is a small token of gratitude and recognizes the tremendous sacrifices armed forces personnel make for our country," said Tony Thacker, executive director of the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum, which produces the Reunion.

Distinctive Driving Tours recently launched its company's first-ever consumer ride and drive program and selected to do so at the world famous Nurburgring. DDT spent 3 days of intense driving (August 3-7, 2008) marking the beginning of DDT's mission to unite automotive enthusiasts with the best cars, the best roads, and the best accommodations in the world. Following the recent Nurburgring, DDT will be doing its first North American driving program from Scottsdale, Arizona called Scenic Southwest Tours. "This is an adventure that every car enthusiast has to experience. Whether racing the Nurburgring or enjoying a Sunday drive, Distinctive Driving Tours offers an unparalleled driving experience." We are hoping to set the bar to a new level with DDT!

About DDT at Nurburgring
Nurburgring consists of some of the most famous turns in racing history. No one could have prepared for the challenge and thrill of 13 miles and 170 turns of intense speed. "Just when you think you have it figured out, you wonder what part of the track is up next. There are no video games or track maps that can prepare you for what you're going to experience," stated Scott Herberg, retired NASCAR driver and director of operations for Distinctive Driving Tours.

Mark your calendars for October 4h as ididit inc. (the steering column folks) are once again hosting their car show and open house for you '79 or older vehicle on the road once more memorable. Enjoy a fun filled day with the ididit folks to celebrate another successful year. Enjoy their live band, food, festivities, tour ididit's facilities and hang out with your buddies before you have to cover your ride back up and wait until the weather prevails once more!

This is the 13th installment in the series of build-up articles on the California Hauler-the '41 Willys pickup kit from Auto Classics that utilizes a stock S-10 chassis as a base. Past articles have included sandblasting the chassis, mounting the bed and cab, fabricating a custom tailgate, adding lowered coils and springs, and more. In this month's article, we cover wheels and hubcaps.

Kit Car's first ever Performance Day was so successful that we'll be staging another Performance event in 2008. Before we do, we need to give the results for all the cars tested on that inaugural day. In this very issue of the magazine, we provide feature articles on the remaining two cars that were put through their paces.

Today's kit car builders have a plethora of choices in chassis and running gear. Most Cobra clones have ladder frames mounting Mustang, Jag, or Corvette suspension, while the sturdy Fiero still provides underpinnings for most mid-engined exotic replicas. Super Se7en-style kits use neatly triangulated space frames to mount sophisticated suspension systems. There are even fabricated aluminum and steel monocoque chassis for everything from GT-40 replicas to snake skins. But it wasn't always so.

Florida has always been a hotbed for kit car companies. Some say it's where the industry got its start. Being the Sunshine State, there are also quite a few automotive enthusiast related companies in general that have their corporate headquarters in Florida. Given these two facts, KIT CAR Associate Publisher Angela Schoof, KC Account Executive Brenda Frias, and I had sufficient ammunition to convince our colleagues that a trip to Florida made perfect sense. When we mentioned that we could visit several companies and I could also cover a multi-day driving, showing, rallying, and racing event called Reptile Roundup, we had the makings of a whirlwind tour. The total area of Florida is 65,768 square miles, with 53,997 of those on land. We had some panning and driving to do!

The moment Dean Hornbacher unloaded his Midstates Cobra from the trailer we knew something was unusual. For one thing, the 427 badges on the front fenders above the cooling vents were Corvette 427 logos. Our second clue was the license plate: "COBRAT 1." To confirm our suspicions, we immediately opened the hood, with Dean's permission that is. Aha! The Cobra had a Chevy 427ci powerplant. To some, that's taboo. But, not everyone's a Ford fan. The kit car hobby is filled with individuals who desire to build some self-expression into their cars.