Phoenix Phantom 1929 Ford Pickup Makes Great 8

His Phoenix Phantom 1929 Ford Pickup was one of the cars selected to the Great 8 on Friday here at the Cobo Center in downtown Detroit. So Dennis Portka of Hamburg, New York is a step closer to his dream today. The car he built with his own two hands will be a contender for the 2017 Ridler Award. Brian Fruzen of the Cars On Line car show team interviewed him when the Great 8 banner was placed in his display.

Dennis told us he spent 24 years putting the details together to complete his Phoenix Phantom 1929 Ford Pickup.  He figures it took 13,500 hours of work to put it together. All of the sheetmetal and bodywork were done by Dennis. He also did the Glasurit paint with basecoat and clearcoat. The upholstery was done by Joe McDonald at Z-Best, with pinstriping by Terry Buczak.

It is almost unheard of these days that a custom car hobbyist working on his own could complete such a project without expensive shop work. And then for him to win a Great 8 award really is a complement to his efforts. We commend Dennis for his accomplishment.