fter careful parts selection, machining, and assembly, the Ford 7.3L Godzilla, prepared by Proformance Unlimited, gulped its first sip of gasoline, fired to life, and produced a beautiful howl from the headers. Ignited by Holley’s popular Terminator X electronic fuel injection, 93-octane pump gasoline was converted into heat energy and the 7.3L Ford Godzilla settled into an aggressive idle.

In this article, we’ll highlight the build of this Ford 7.3L Godzilla V-8 engine and share the results of our dyno test. The goal is to develop a reliable 700 hp on 93-octane pump gas for a classic Ford Mustang.

t was all there. Everything that makes for a world-class custom car show happened at the 75th Annual Sacramento Autorama, held on Cal Expo’s vast fairgrounds. Excluding the Portland Roadster Show, my assignment was to cover four of the five shows in the 2026 ARP West Coast Challenge Series (WCCS), with the focus of reporting on the WCCS.

ARP’s WCCS opened in the final days of January 2026 at the 76th Annual Grand National Roadster Show (GNRS) presented by Meguiar’s, and supported with major prize money awarded by ARP at the Fairplex in Pomona, California. From the GNRS in California, the ARP WCCS moved to the Portland Roadster Show in Oregon where it was covered by Dale Moreau.

From Portland, the series moved to Spokane, Washington, for the 10th Annual Speed and Custom Show, held entirely indoor at the Spokane Fairgrounds. With more than 400 entries from the western states and provinces on display, the Spokane show is billed as the largest all-indoor custom car show in Washington.

n construction, it’s said that a building is only as solid as its foundation; the same principle applies to the frame of a hot rod. To ensure our 1955 Chevy project would be on a solid foundation, the Modern Rodding team (led by contributor Ryan Manson) collaborated with the crew at Classic Performance Products (CPP) to prepare the frame for upcoming modifications. That process included removing the damaged Chevy rear crossmember and installing a new one from CPP.

When examining a frame, look for basic issues, such as rust damage, cracks, bent or broken brackets (particularly at suspension attachment points), bent framehorns, and poorly done repairs, to name a few. In our case, the most noticeable problem was the bent rear crossmember, which seems to be a common Tri-Five malady.

nid, Oklahoma’s Hunter Hay is a busy kid—he’s a senior who works after school at the family’s body shop, Clay’s Collision Center, and is building a 1950 Chevy pickup at his grandfather’s shop, Harold’s Hot Rods. Despite all that, he still found time to assemble a 383 stroker from a 5.3L LS with guidance from his dad, Ron, parts from Summit Racing Equipment, and block preparation by Dunsworth Machine (580-233-5812).

While there are those of us who will always appreciate the impact the small-block Chevy had on hot rodding, the nostalgic appeal of a 348/409, or the rumble of a big-block, the LS engines from General Motors (GM) are arguably the best powerplants they ever produced (address all hate mail to Brian “Big-Block” Brennan). Blessed with a stout bottom end and heads with excellent breathing characteristics, the LS came on the scene and about the only valid criticism hardcore traditionalists could come up with was that they were ugly. The LS engine just didn’t look like the legendary small-block we knew and loved. But it wasn’t long before function mattered more than form, making the LS arguably the most popular contemporary powerplant for high-performance applications.

odge made quite a sensation in 1968 with the release of the second-generation 1968 Dodge Charger, featuring its classic “Coke bottle” shape. The design was a dramatic departure from the first generation’s boxier lines and struck a chord immediately. Not only did these cars have a swoopy appearance, but they were also very successful in NASCAR racing, which helped boost sales considerably. The fastback roofline that looked so striking on the street also proved slippery on the superspeedways. That combination of style and performance is a big part of why the car remains so beloved today.

Scotts Hotrods ’N Customs was asked to build a top-level street machine based on one of these cars. They started with one of their signature chassis, mandrel-bent in-house from 2×4 tubing. The original body styling of the 1968 Dodge Charger is so refined that no major changes were deemed necessary, but the shop enlisted Eric Brockmeyer to sketch a series of subtle modifications to help make this build outstanding.

he L.A. Roadsters Father’s Day Show & Swap has been a staple of the hot rod community for 60 years and has seen nearly every trend in the rodding world. It has also seen our hobby grow—and change. Such was the case for the L.A. Roadsters Show, or Father’s Day Show, as it’s been frequently called over the decades.

It was a show that was held each year on Father’s Day, which was always a Sunday and typically the third Sunday of every year. It had its early start back in 1960. From 1961-62, attendees were directed from a card table set up in front of the Hollywood Bowl to the Great Western Exhibit Center in the county, outside the Los Angeles city limits. At the time, hosting a “swap meet” within the city limits was illegal, so the Great Western served as the venue. This continued until 1980 when the Great Western was earmarked for repurpose, and the show moved to the Pomona Fairplex, where it is still held today. (I believe the show missed one year at the Great Western in 1967 but returned the following year.)

very so often a car rolls into view that makes you stop, lean in, and start adding up the clues. This time it was a 1968 Plymouth Hemi Road Runner hardtop, the kind of stripped-down B-body that never needed chrome trinkets or luxury trim to make its point. Crossing the Mecum Auctions block as Lot S94, this black-and-red Plymouth was a quick reminder that the Road Runner name still has plenty of “bite.” When the hammer fell, the number was $126,500. In today’s muscle car world, that is a price to back up what the Road Runner represents.

Plymouth’s idea for 1968 was simple: keep the price in check, pull out the excess, and leave the good stuff right where hot rodders wanted it. In this case, the good stuff starts with the 426 Street Hemi, factory rated at 425 hp and carrying the kind of reputation that makes a hot rod a street king.

Interesting side notes on the dual four-barrel carbs. In 1968, the Plymouth Road Runner’s optional 426 Street Hemi (rated at 425 hp) used two Carter AFB aluminum four-barrel carbs. For the 1968 Plymouth Hemi Road Runner with a four-speed manual transmission, the carburetor part numbers were: front carb 4430S and rear carb 4431S. If the Road Runner was equipped with the automatic transmission (as this example is), the rear carburetor part number changed to 4432S.