Last Saturday, Goodguys named Robert Anderson’s ’36 Pontiac the 2018 BASF America’s Most Beautiful Street Rod at the 32nd West Coast Nationals presented by BASF in Pleasanton, Calif.
The Pontiac, named “Pindian,” was built by Legends Hot Rod Shop in Martin, Tenn. – and it’s already had quite an impressive year. It was a Great 8 finalist for the Ridler Award at the 2018 Detroit Autorama and made the Top Five for Goodguys Street Rod of the Year last month in Columbus, Ohio. Stretched, chopped, stylized and refined, the radical sedan is a sleek modern masterpiece. It rolls on a custom Roadster Shop chassis with a supercharged LT4 engine and one-off wheels from Evod Industries. The custom interior is highlighted by a globe-shaped instrument cluster built by Dakota Digital.
The five finalists for the award were announced early Saturday afternoon and included an array of pre-’49 American vehicles. In addition to Anderson’s Pontiac, there was Pete Aardema’s ’34 Ford, powered by a big block Chevy engine with Porsche heads; Jim Bridgewater’s ’37 Ford built by All Ways Hot Rods, which debuted at this event; Erik and Oksana Hansen’s ’32 Ford Fordor built by Tim Strange; and Greg Meyer’s ’33 Chevy roadster from A&M Deluxe Customs.
The special Saturday afternoon awards ceremony included interviews with each car’s owner or builder, followed by BASF’s Tina Nelles assisting Goodguys emcee John Drummond in opening the sealed envelope. Robert Anderson pumped his arms in victory when he heard his name announced! Congratulations go out to all the America’s Most Beautiful Street Rod finalists, especially Robert Anderson, Steve Legens and the crew from Legens Hot Rod Shop.