Arras earns Top Five finish with Airflow Coupe

The Goodguys 17th Annual Rod & Custom event at the Del Mar Fairgrounds March 31 through April 2 was topped off by local talent again this year.

De Luz resident Henry Arras proudly entered his breathtaking 1935 Chrysler Airflow Coupe after a four year rebuild with good friend George Ness and the car was finished just two days before the show at midnight!

After final judging on Sunday, April 2, Arras was proud to say that they were one of the Top Five finalists out of about 2,700 entries; "They only award a grand prize, there are no second, third or fourth place finishers. Goodguys announces the champion and the rest of the Top Five receive an acknowledgement but we are very pleased with that."

Asked about the inspiration, Arras said he just liked the car and Ness went along with the idea. Outwardly, they maintained the original shape and style. He wanted the car to be stock and the biggest challenge was getting the body straight. But inside it's all new: powered by a modern 6.1 Chrysler HEMI engine with an Edelbrock supercharger and all the interior comforts of the latest showroom car.

Arras commented that a lot of the 'purists' don't like to see a car that still has the original shape without metal fabrication (making it 'custom') but said the only thing they changed a bit was the front bumper. His final input was "It looks like a Volkswagen on steroids".