Goodguys 2025 Tanks, Inc. Hot Rod of the Year!

scheurenmichael
Jun 5
4 min read

Dave Kroona’s ’33 Willys Built by South City Rod & Custom Captures Goodguys 2025 Tanks, Inc. Hot Rod of the Year Title

A striking set of blue flames swept through the field of contenders for the Goodguys 2025 Tanks, Inc. Hot Rod of the Year award over the weekend, heating up the competition and melting away the notion that this title is reserved for cars with a Blue Oval badge. Dave Kroona’s hot-licked ’33 Willys displayed ground-shaking power, a bold appearance, and first-rate craftsmanship on its way to capturing the 2025 Tanks, Inc. Hot Rod of the Year honor, marking the first time this prestigious award has gone to a non-Ford.

The car’s brilliant blue flames – applied by the talented crew at Compani Color and striped by Eric Reyes – are a fitting symbol for this car’s resurrection from the figurative ashes of project-car purgatory. Dave Kroona, a longtime drag racer, hot rodder, and Willys fan, first took the ’33 Model 77 coupe apart decades ago to start building it. The car never got the full attention it deserved, though, and languished in state of partial construction between other projects and life priorities. A few years ago, Dave contacted Bill Ganahl and his team at South City Rod & Custom to help get the competition-flavored car to the finish line.

The Willys was delivered to South City with a custom chromoly tube frame set up for drag racing. The goal for the car had since shifted to being more of a street-bound bruiser, so Bill’s team made alterations to that end, including building a Watt’s link for the four-link coil-over rear suspension and swapping friendlier gears into the Strange 9-inch rearend.

The custom independent front suspension has tubular A-arms, coil-over shocks, rack-and-pinion steering, and Wilwood disc brakes. Two sets of wheels were built for the car – painted steelies with custom-machined hubcaps modeled after Willys originals by Cory Taulbert, and polished billet aluminum “dancing shoes” inspired by vintage Halibrands and custom machined by Pyramid Optimized Design.

The long, smokey burnouts Bill made during the drag race passes at Nashville Superspeedway on Friday came courtesy of a rowdy 408c.i. small-block Chevy built by Panella Race Engines using a Dart block, 6-71 Mooneyham blower, and a Hilborn intake with Holley controls and Autotrend EFI tuning, all topped by a custom-painted scoop. The long-tube stainless steel headers and matching exhaust system were custom crafted and have already seen enough miles to display a rainbow of colors. The engine makes nearly 800 horsepower, which is delivered through a 700R4 transmission.

The all-steel body incorporates many alterations and refinements made by Bill, Donny Welch, and others on the South City crew. The floor panels are all custom built, as are the raised running boards, while the front fenders have been reshaped and incorporate custom headlight rings. The fenders flank a sectioned grille with a custom bullnose emblem designed by Cory Taulbert and a custom three-piece hood with updated original side vents. The team tuned up the panel alignment and gaps before sending all the steel over to Compani Color, where the final bodywork was completed. That’s also where the exceptional Rouge Finishes black paint was laid down and complemented with candy blue flames and Eric Reyes pinstriping. Finishing touches include chrome by Advanced Plating and Sherm’s Custom Plating, plus plenty of ARP fasteners.

Chris Plante at Plante Interior worked his magic inside the coupe, where a Glide Engineering bench seat for a ’32 Ford was narrowed to fit within the Willys roll cage and upholstered in black leather with vintage blue and black micro plaid cloth. The door panels and other soft parts were trimmed to fit, and there’s a ’60-style pleated transmission tunnel cover highlighting the carpeted floor. The dash was fitted with Stewart Warner Green Line oil pressure and temperature gauges, with a tach hanging underneath. A three-spoke Moon steering wheel tops the custom column, which has a Limeworks shifter and is suspended by a custom drop.

Bill Ganahl says Dave Kroona was a model customer for the South City team. “The process of working with Dave has been awesome,” he says. “Made a friend for life.” The Willys was initially shown in bare metal at the 2024 Grand National Roadster Show and then debuted in finished form there in 2025. In the months since, the South City team got the car dialed in and started adding miles in preparation for Nashville. That preparation paid off, as the little Willys managed the 125-mile Hot Rod of the Year Reliability Run with ease, and then performed some epic burnouts and impressive drag strip runs at Nashville Superspeedway. The car’s performance, attitude, aggressive style, and first-rate build quality all combined to give it a winning edge over a field of exceptional hot rod competitors. Goodguys extends its congratulations to Dave Kroona, the South City Rod & Custom team, and everyone else involved in the build of this wild ’33 Willys, the 2025 Tanks, Inc. Hot Rod of the Year!