Classic Instruments releases an all-new Ford direct-fit ’73-79 Ford truck package. It debuted at the NSRA Street Rod Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky, in the new product competition. The package will be available in black and white and fits ’78-79 Ford Broncos and ’75-91 Ford Econoline vans. This all-electric cluster features a speedometer, fuel, oil, temperature, and volt gauges. It has green turn signal indicators, a blue high beam indicator, and two red warning lights. Classic Instruments’ Hybrid LED Lighting offers the feel of the original perimeter lighting and the visual benefits of backlighting: even illumination and clear nighttime readability. The cluster also has a built-in dimmer and separate power (12V) and ground leads in the wire harness for the warning lights. The cluster is wired with a single snap-in wire harness on the back of the cluster. Mounting hardware is included to install with the original bezel and lens and setup is a breeze with push-button speedometer calibration. The fuel gauge is programmable for any ohm range with a selector switch on the back of the cluster, meaning the fuel gauge will work with the stock sending unit, any other factory sending units, or any Classic Instruments fuel sending unit. All other necessary sending units are included with a Classic Instruments Ford no fuel sending unit kit (PN SNFDNF). Save space with Classic Instruments’ Zeus Speedometer Technology built-in, meaning the cluster requires no external control boxes and works directly with ECM or VSS signals and it has a built-in ECM signal filter switch.

s I’ve done for the last quarter-century-plus, the beginning of August kicked off with a lovely plane ride from Southern California to Louisville, Kentucky, for the annual NSRA Street Rod Nationals at the Kentucky Exposition Center.

2022 marked the 53rd installment of the National Street Rod Association’s staple event—28 of those years at the current state fairground location. Prior to calling the Expo Center home back in 1994, the Nats was held originally in Peoria, Illinois, its inaugural year in the summer of 1970 before migrating through Ohio, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Michigan, and a one-year stint in my old stomping grounds of Syracuse, New York!

2022 also marked the 23rd consecutive year for our annual Builders’ Pizza Party (the 2nd year for In The Garage Media, of course, but since WE started it, we get ALL the credit!). Originally started back in 1999, it’s the magazine’s way of showing gratitude to all those in the industry “behind” the builds, as it were … from the actual builders to the companies who manufacture and supply the products that make the vehicles.

or classic truck owners there’s no better adrenalin rush than opening the shop doors to greet a new event season, especially if you live in the Northeast portion of the country where the long winters give you plenty of time to wrench on your ride. Regardless of whether you’ve been putting the finishing touches on a platform change, engine swap, or tuning a hard driven hauler back to perfect health, one thing for sure is that once the temps start to rise it’s time to top off the tank and start laying down the miles. Sure, heading out to the local burger stand or cruise night is a gas but hitting the open road with a destination in mind rules, particularly when you’re mapping out plans to take in a large-scale national event like the 22nd Annual NAPA Auto Parts Syracuse Nationals in Syracuse, New York.

Being one of the largest horsepower festivals in the Northeast, the level of excitement paving the way to the New York State Fairground also gave drivers the ultimate opportunity to experience firsthand the area’s very picturesque Finger Lakes region along with plenty of timeless architecture as they rolled into town. Once you’re at the fairground, it’s the perfect time to get into cruise mode as you roll across 360 acres of manicured grounds, featuring plenty of neat vintage buildings, tree-lined roads, and classic outdoor eateries that’ll transport you back to when you were knee-high to an F-100 bumper. Once settled in it was time to hit the pavement and check out an endless stream of classic trucks covering a myriad of build styles, from traditional to contemporary and everything in between, perfectly complemented by loads of hot rods, muscle cars, customs, and restorations.