Compiled by SEMA Editors
 A ’39 Oldsmobile Series 60 convertible dubbed “Olds Cool,” painted by Charley Hutton using PPG products, captured the inaugural Hot August Nights Cup on August 6. |
PPG-Painted Oldsmobile Wins Hot August Nights Cup
A ’39 Oldsmobile Series 60 convertible dubbed “Olds Cool,” painted by Charley Hutton using PPG products, captured the inaugural Hot August Nights Cup on August 6 at the recent namesake classic-car competition in Reno, Nevada. The cup, equivalent to a best-in-show award, is the ultimate prize in the Hot August Nights event—a mix of music, entertainment and classic-car show with more than 6,000 vehicles on display—that ran August 2–7. Olds Cool is owned by Billy and Debbie Thomas of Robstown, Texas. It was built by Harold Chapman and his crew at Customs & Hot Rods of Andice in Georgetown, Texas. Earlier this year, Olds Cool won the 2016 Ridler Award—Hutton’s fourth—and was named the PPG-Goodguys Nationals Street Rod of the Year. PPG-finished cars took an additional five of the top-10 honors.
Bestop Inc. Announces Acquisition of Tuffy Security Products
Bestop has acquired Tuffy Security Products of Cortez, Colorado. Tuffy engineers and manufactures extremely heavy-duty security boxes, cases and containers for both recreational and professional vehicles. This is the second add-on acquisition for Bestop in 2016. In June, the company acquired vehicle lights manufacturer, Baja Designs. The acquisition complements Bestop’s existing lockbox business.
 Jay Pagano |
Jay Pagano Named General Manager of Global Parts Network LLC
Jay Pagano has been named general manager of Global Parts Network LLC (GPN)—a wholly-owned subsidiary of VIPAR Heavy Duty. Pagano will be responsible for the day-to-day operations and execution of the Global Parts Network business plan. Pagano has more than 46 years of experience in the heavy-duty aftermarket, including the past 25 years with VIPAR Heavy Duty. Pagano was first a stockholder and then an employee, filling a variety of roles with the organization. Most recently, Pagano was senior director of business development for GPN in the eastern half of the United States and Canada.
Dake Announces Newly Redesigned Website
Metalworking machine tool manufacturer Dake has announced the release of its newly redesigned website. Visitors can now view specifications, features and standard equipment for each type of machine, and a high-quality example image of each type of product. A range of videos are available to demonstrate how the products work. Nearly every product listed has a downloadable PDF manual and parts list. Nearly every page has a contact link, allowing users to receive a response from a representative quickly and conveniently.
 The Fiat 124 Spider Abarth and the Fiat 500 Abarth will join Bondurant’s current lineup of high-performance vehicles as part of the new Fiat Trackside and Road Rally programs. |
Abarth Track Experience Returns to Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving
The FIAT brand is partnering with the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving for an all-new Abarth Track Experience, offering owners and fans of the Abarth models an opportunity to develop their racing and driving skills. The Fiat 124 Spider Abarth and the Fiat 500 Abarth will join Bondurant’s current lineup of high-performance vehicles as part of the new Fiat Trackside and Road Rally programs, which will be available beginning in November. The 124 Spider Abarth will also be featured in a special race series at Bondurant for Fiat Trackside members. Bondurant’s new Fiat Trackside driving program featuring the 500 Abarth and 124 Spider Abarth includes an introduction to the FIAT brand and classroom instruction. Guests will then join in instructor-led skid, slalom, auto-cross, team rally cross activities and hot laps. FIAT customers who purchase or lease a Fiat 124 Spider Abarth or Fiat 500 Abarth have one year from their purchase or lease date to take advantage of the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving opportunity, which is offered at no charge.
VP Racing Fuels Appoints Kyle Moose as Regional Manager for Western Division
VP Racing Fuels Inc. has announced the appointment of Kyle Moose as regional manager, Western division. Based at the company’s regional sales office in Murrieta, California, Moose will be responsible for sales and distribution of race fuel in VP’s Western region, which includes California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho and Montana as well as exports to Baja California, Australia, New Zealand, Asia and the Pacific Rim. For the last two years, Moose served as business development representative for VP’s Western region. During the 10 years prior to VP, he worked as a mechanic and engine builder for Varner Motorsports, followed by a tour with Henson Clutch Components in sales and rider support.
ACC Performance Products Plus Inc. is Expanding
ACC Performance Products Plus Inc. is doubling its square footage and nearly doubling its equipment. With this expansion, the company has received seven new precision Jet lathes from JPW Industries, and several more state-of-the-art machines from Super Flow Technologies. ACC will also receive presses and CNC equipment to bring more operations in house. The equipment—which should be in place and operational by the end of October—will not only expand production capabilities, but also improve product flow, engineering and tighten quality controls.
Global Shop Solutions Celebrates 10-Year Milestone With Director of Consulting
Global Shop Solutions—a developer of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software simplifying manufacturing for 40 years—celebrates a decade of consulting excellence under the leadership of Nick Knight, director of consulting. Under Knight’s leadership, Global Shop Solutions has seen an increase in the size and scale of ERP manufacturing software and implementations. The consulting team has tripled in size; increased years of experience on the team; and expanded to China, Asia-Pacific, Mexico, Australia and Canada. Knight began his career in the manufacturing industry working at a machine shop in Houston when he was just 16 years old. Given the company was a Global Shop Solutions customer, Knight’s love of Global Shop Solutions ERP software began early. With 15+ years of manufacturing experience, Knight brought his understanding and capabilities to Global Shop Solutions to build a robust in-house 50+ consulting and project management team.
 Coker Tire-equipped classics took home Best of Show and 15 Best in Class wins out of 26 classes, with 77 out of the 110 cars in pre-war classes riding on Coker Tires, at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. |
Coker Tire-Equipped Cars Win Awards at Concours d’Elegance
Coker Tire has announced that half of the field of 205 entries of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance were equipped with period-correct Coker Tires, including 77 out of 110 cars in the pre-war classes, 15 First in Class winners out of the 26 classes, seven Special Awards winners and the Best in Show winner—a ’36 Lancia Astura Pininfarina Cabriolet once owned by rock star Eric Clapton and revitalized in 1962 on Italian coachbuilder Pininfarina’s dime. The car also took the special award for Most Elegant Convertible. Many other First-in-Class-winning cars were wearing historically accurate tires from Coker, including a ’37 Dusenberg SJ Bonham and Schwartz convertible coupe, a ’21 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost Brunn and Company Phaeton, a ’37 Bugatti Type 57S Gangloff coupe and a ’57 Ferrari 250 GT Scaglietti Spyder California Prototype.
Hunter Releases New French Canadian Website
Hunter Engineering Co. has introduced a new French Canadian website that uses IP address technology to automatically offer the French Canadian site to users based on location and browser language settings. Hunter’s website has also been adapted for the German and Latin American markets.
 Terry Pattigno |
Edelbrock Promotes Terry Pattigno to Vice President of Manufacturing
Edelbrock has promoted Terry Pattigno to the position of vice president of manufacturing. Bringing 35 years of manufacturing and operations experience to his new position, Pattigno has served as plant manager at Edelbrock’s carburetor division in Sanford, North Carolina, since 2013. Previously, Pattigno worked for Ace Medical Equipment where he held the position of vice president of operations. He held the position of plant manager at Edelbrock’s Torrance, California, manufacturing facilities from 2002–2004. Pattigno assumes the role of directly overseeing all of Edelbrock’s manufacturing and foundry operations, as well as the role of managing and driving operational efficiencies within the organization. This transition will allow the previous vice president of manufacturing, Wayne Murray, to concentrate on his role as Edelbrock’s president.
 Vintage Air is celebrating its 40th anniversary. |
Vintage Air Celebrates 40th Anniversary
Since its founding by Jack Chisenhall in 1976, San Antonio, Texas-based Vintage Air has helped to keep hot rods cool and comfortable. Chisenhall set out to design an aftermarket air-conditioning system that would work well no matter the climate, and would integrate with the aesthetics of the vehicle in which it was installed. Vintage Air has earned many fans throughout the industry, including notable builders such as Ringbrothers, So Cal Speed Shop, Troy Trepanier, Steve Strope and Roy Brizio. Vintage Air has also played a key role in developing air-conditioning systems for some of today’s supercars, including the re-introduction of the Ford GT in 2003.
Summit Racing Equipment to Open New Texas Facility and Retail Super Store
Summit Racing Equipment has announced the opening of a new distribution center and retail super store in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The new distribution center is designed to process orders quickly and efficiently and will be large enough to stock thousands of parts from more than 1,200 manufacturers, ready for immediate delivery. The retail super store will be a destination for performance enthusiasts in the region. It will have 32,000 sq.-ft. of display space for parts, tools and accessories for racing, street performance, trucks and off-road vehicles, restoration, late-model vehicles, ATVs and UTVs and motorcycles. Construction of Summit Racing’s Texas facility is scheduled for early fall 2016. The company plans to ship orders from the new distribution center starting in mid-2017. The retail super store will open shortly afterward.
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