By SEMA Editors
 The 2016 Mothers Shine Award winner was the ’39 Oldsmobile Series 60 Convertible “Olds Cool,” owned by Billy and Debbie Thomas of Corpus Christi, Texas, and built by Customs and Hot Rods of Andice, Georgetown, Texas. |
 L-R: Jim Holloway of Mothers, owners Billy and Debbie Thomas, Levi Green, Gary Massengill and Greg Yokum from Customs and Hot Rods of Andice and Dennis Holloway of Mothers. |
The 2016 Mothers Shine Award was presented to Billy and Debbie Thomas of Corpus Christi, Texas, for their ’39 Oldsmobile Series 60 Convertible, aptly named “Olds Cool.” Hosted by aftermarket industry veteran and Shine Award judge John Naderi, the 16th annual edition of the Shine Award, held at the Mothers Polish booth during the 2016 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Wednesday, November 2, was open to all of the cars on display at the Show.
Thomas stumbled upon the Olds in a newspaper ad and purchased the rare Series 60 from the original owner. From there, Harold Chapman and his team at Customs and Hot Rods of Andice (CHRA) in Georgetown, Texas, took on the task of building the Olds over the course of three years.
The radically reworked body is the brainchild of CHRA’s in-house stylist Christian Dotson, who created the entire Olds design in foam with inspiration from everything from lowriders to European classics. Each panel was reshaped, including the profile, stance, wheelbase, bumpers, hood and cut lines. The wheelbase was stretched by 3 in., and the doors and hood were lengthened to match, while the front and rear fenders were completely reformed. Once the body mods were complete, Charley Hutton sprayed the custom-mixed PPG Kona Brown paint. Greening Auto created the one-piece wheels, steering wheel and valve covers from scratch.
Joe Mondello punched out the Oldsmobile 455 V8 to 470cid, and with the one-off Wilson EFI intake manifold with twin throttle bodies, the entire package sends 650hp back to a Bowler 4L60E auto trans and Winters mini-banjo rear end. The sculpted body sits on a modified Art Morrison chassis with dual A-arms up front, and a four-link rear. Finally, Jay Schluter transformed the interior to match the quality of the rest of the build.
An international panel of respected members of the automotive world, including seasoned builders, paint specialists, journalists and previous Shine Award recipients, were tasked with selecting a winner. Judging is based on overall appearance, fit and finish, attention to detail, integration of custom and stock elements, creative vision and execution of concept. Entries are scored with the state-of-the-art eJudged application that calculates results in real time.
The Shine Award-winning Oldsmobile was on display at the PPG Automotive Refinish booth.
In addition to the Shine Award, 10 Mothers Choice Award trophies were also presented to the following finalists:
’55 Ford F-100
Owner: Otto Vega, Miami, Florida
Builder: Dave Kindig and Chris Anderton, Kindig-It Design, Salt Lake City, Utah
Location: Kicker Audio booth
’72 Datsun 510
Owner: John Nelson, Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin
Builder: Fred Kappus, Fast Freddies Rod Shop, Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Location: Optima Alley
’92 Mazda B2600i
Owner: Chris Gilder, Grand Junction, Colorado
Builder: Chris Gilder and Wicked Welds Custom Frame, Fort Collins, Colorado
Location: Central Hall entrance
’17 Ford F-350 Platinum
Owner: Jordan Schultz, Auto Truck Service, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Builder: Jordan Schultz and PMF Suspension, Tucson, Arizona
Location: PMF Suspension booth
’39 Oldsmobile Series 60 Convertible “Olds Cool”
Owner: Billy and Debbie Thomas, Corpus Christi, Texas
Builder: Customs and Hot Rods of Andice, Georgetown, Texas
Location: PPG Automotive Refinish booth
’69 Chevrolet Camaro
Owner: John Wilkus, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Builder: Roadster Shop, Mundelein, Illinois
Location: HRIA/ARMO booth
’60 Cadillac “Copper Caddy”
Owner: Wes and Vivian Rydell, Grand Forks, North Dakota
Builder: Troy Trepanier, Rad Rides by Troy, Manteno, Illinois
Location: AM Hot Rod Glass booth
’33 Ford Coupe “Dry Lakes Coupe”
Owner: Bruce Leven, Mercer Island, Washington
Builder: Wicked Fabrications, Auburn, Washington
Location: HRIA/ARMO booth
’16 Ford Fiesta ST
Owner: Dominick Tucci, Marcy, New York
Builder: Tucci Hot Rods, Marcy, New York
Location: Ford Motor Co. booth
’15 Chrysler 300S
Owner: John Fortuno, Huntington Beach, California
Builder: John Fortuno, Brett Graves, Cam Sheuvront, Huntington Beach, California
Location: Mothers Polish rig (outside Central Hall)