The 2009 car show season lept off the starting line March 14 and 15 at the Good Guys Orange County Get Together in Costa Mesa, California. The Hotchkis team was at the show in full force, with our new rig setup behind the Good Guys auto cross course and our Project E-Max 1970 Challenger on display. The auto cross was a crowd favorite all weekend, drawing dozens of participants and hundreds of spectators, and by the time the last tire rolled across the finish line on Sunday, Hotchkis customer Mary Pozzi and her 1973 Camaro topped the podium with the fastest muscle car time of the event, 29.1 seconds. 

“I was so happy with how my ’73 ran, turned, stopped, and anything else it does or should do,” Pozzi says. “The majority of my Camaro’s suspension is from Hotchkis Performance. The Camaro receives a lot of attention mainly for what it’s NOT… it’s not a high-dollar build, or equipped with an aftermarket subframe, nor has the huge horsepower or other parts that usually are seen on those ubercars we read about and lust after.” 

When the show opened Saturday morning it was and cold and cloudy with a chance of rain, but by midday it was clear and sunny, just in time for the Editor’s Challenge Cup Auto Cross. Ten of the industry’s top editors participated, including Steven Rupp from Camaro Performers in his amazing Bad Penny 1st gen Camaro and Hot Rod Magazine Editor David Freiburger in his unrestored four-door Chevelle. Several editors elected to drive cars provided by the event sponsors, including Super Chevy Editor Jim Campisano, Nick Licata from Camaro Performers, Jeff Smith of Car CraftMagazine, Robert McGaffin from Popular Hot Rodding and Travis Noack from Muscle Car Power. 

After a tough battle, Rupp took the grand prize with a blistering 29.694 second pass. It should be noted that the last major suspension modification Rupp made to the car, which is equipped with a fully custom racecar style suspension setup, was the addition of a new Hotchkis Auto-X Series rear sway bar. 

Back at the booth, hundreds of spectators stopped by to say hello, check out our latest parts, ask technical questions and sign up for our new newsletter and t-shirt giveaway. Several customers asked about running their Hotchkis-equipped muscle cars in future auto cross events, and Gregg Hohman was so inspired he drove his ’71 Chevelle straight over to the registration booth and was on the course carving the cones that same morning! 

This was also the E-Max Challenger’s final car show appearance as a static display. First thing Monday morning after the event the car was pulled into the Hotchkis R&D Center for a complete track-prep, a transformation that will include new racing bucket seats from Sparco, a new custom baffled oil pan from Moroso, new MSD billet ignition, a Be Cool aluminum radiator, Tremec TKO 5-speed transmission from Classic Five Speed, Redline Gauges and a Flaming River steering shaft. Combined with the new Hotchkis Mopar B-Body TVS, Stop Tech Brakes and Forgeline wheels, this car will be a true force to be reckoned with when it makes its Auto Cross debut at the Good Guys Del Mar Nationals, April 3-5 in San Diego. 

Overall the Good Guys Orange County Get Together was a huge success, and we’re looking forward to meeting more customers, answering questions and showing off our latest hardware at the next few shows on our calendar, Mopars at the Strip in Las Veags March 20-22, Good Guys Del Mar and the Mopar Spring Fling April 25-26 in Van Nuys, California. 

For more information on the editor’s challenge, visit the Good Guys news site here.

This stunning 1964 Chevelle 300 two-door wagon looked great with forged 17” wheels, an SS trim interior, four wheel disc brakes and more.	Fred Pope from Trabuco Canyon, California, brought his super sano ’64 to the show, featuring Intro Vista billet wheels, a shaved firewall housing a built 355, and a complete Hotchkis TVS.
This striking copper ’69 Chevelle was on the cover of Chevelles Magazine a few months back, and it’s owner Bob said he enjoys wringing the car out in the canyons every chance he gets.	Gregg Hohman brought his ’71 A-Body muscle machine to the Hotchkis Installation Center last Fall for a set of sway bars, but by the time he left the car was equipped with a complete suspension system, including upper and lower tubular A-arms, control arms and more. Gregg cruised by the booth with his family to say hello, but before the day was done he was slicing the car around the cones on the auto cross course. This is exactly what we like to see: customers driving and enjoying their cars.
Ace driver Mary Pozzi brought her ’73 Camaro to the event, which features an array of Hotchkis hardware. Mary – who has won several Auto Cross competitions – posted the fastest official time of the event with a 29.1 second pass on Sunday, posting runs several seconds faster than several six figure pro-built cars. We couldn’t be happier to have Mary running under the Hotchkis banner. (Photo by Steven Rupp)	Steven Rupp from Camaro Peformers Magazine has been slowly dialing-in his incredible LS2 powered ’68 Camaro “Bad Penny,” and the car was in top form in Costa Mesa, fresh off a win at the Optima Batteries Ultimate Street Car Shootout. Rupp won the Good Guys Editor’s Challenge Cup, and was thrilled with his most recent addition: a Hotchkis rear sway bar.