Hays scheduled to debut their show-stopping 1988 Pro Street Thunderbird at DuQuoin. Again.
By Toby Brooks
Photos provided by Matt & Debbie Hay
Matt and Debbie Hay aren’t really sure how they got here, but they know they have been here before. The likable couple from Goshen, IN who have called Chandler, AZ home for the past 30 years are no strangers to the Street Machine Nationals or the high-horsepower, glitz, and glamour associated with top-shelf show cars. However, the pair thought they had put that life in the past.
And to be honest, they had – – until the 2013 edition of the Street Machine Nationals up-ended their happy, predictable, and financially stable lives with thoughts of doing it all over again.
“We were thrilled to return to DuQuoin for the Street Machine Nationals in 2013,” said Matt.
The show, back after a 15-year hiatus from the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds, featured more than 2,500 highly styled high-performance street machines from all over the nation. Matt and Debbie were honored along with 16 of their peers with a prestigious “Legends of Pro Street” award. However, unlike any previous visit to Southern Illinois, the Hays were without a show car.
“It was really kind of odd to be at the show and be able to enjoy it without all the pressure,” Hay said. After all, each of the Hays’ previous visits to the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds had been pressure-packed weekends crammed with months of lead-up. The demands of building, preparing, and ultimately showing a car at what was – – at the time – – THE show of the outdoor summer show scene taxed the couple physically, emotionally, and financially.
The Hays had built and brought four different cars of progressively increasing complexity and execution to the Nats over the years, including a ’66 Mustang, a ’79 Mustang, an ’84 Oldsmobile Ciera, and an ’88 Thunderbird. However, for the first time in their lives, in 2013 Matt and Debbie got to simply enjoy the show.
Not So Fast…
Pleasant as the experience last summer was, it rekindled that Pro Street passion in the Arizona pair. Conversations of building a new car or tracking down and restoring one of their previous builds turned serious, and none of the couple’s cars were more worthy of a re-launch than their iconic pink T-Bird.
After a nationwide search, the Hays found what remained of their once-show-stopping Ford in an obscure corner of Western Pennsylvania. The car had been on display for a number of years in – – of all places – – a guy’s living room. Parts and pieces had been randomly pilfered over time and the once-award winning retina-searing pink paint was a distant memory covering sheet metal in various stages of disrepair.
When initially debuted for the 1988 show season, the T-Bird had been the smash hit of the Nationals, walking away with the fiercely competitive Competition Engineering Best Engineered award, Best Paint and Graphics, second place in Best Supercharged Vehicle, and runner-up for Best Overall Street Machine.
The car was so popular that the Revell Corporation crafted it into a 1:24 scale plastic model kit. It was featured in almost every custom car magazine around the globe and displayed at both indoor and outdoor events all across the country. It even made a few international appearances, as well.
However, when Matt finally tracked the car down, those glory days appeared to be gone forever. It had sold at auction for a measly $16,500 in 1999 and changed hands a few times, showing ample signs of abuse and neglect unbefitting one of the pinnacle artifacts of the Pro Street era. If the car had any chance at a revival, it would require a total restoration.
The Hays struck a deal with the owner and managed to get the car back to its birthplace in Chandler. After the 2,000+ mile journey, the car was stripped and taken back to the shop that had initially applied the award-winning neon paint, Squeeg’s Kustoms in Chandler. After six months at the busy shop, Matt got the car back and set out to finish the rebuild in time for the Nats, a nearly super-human feat considering the complexity of the car and the fact that nearly every system needed a total rework.
The process involved completely rebuilding the wild twin-supercharged 351 Ford engine, replacing every wire, and repairing, replacing or refinishing nearly every other piece on the car. The time required was extensive and the cost astronomical. Just one of the car’s twin aluminum radiators cost over $1,000. Matt is certain that the restoration of the car cost far more than the initial price to construct it. Such is the price of Pro Street glory.
Back to DuQuoin
In an eerily familiar scene, Hay is still thrashing away day and night to get the car ready in time for her big debut in Southern Illinois. Although he still has a long punch-list of items that must be addressed before he loads the ‘Bird on a trailer and heads out for the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds on Wednesday, the car will be on display come show time on Friday morning.
“Failure is not an option,” Hay said assuredly.
For Nats fans, it is a chance to relive days gone by and transport back in time to a balmy summer’s weekend in 1988. For newcomers to the show, it is a rare chance to see one of street machining’s crown jewels on display, restored back to her former splendor.
For all, it is a chance to see the end result of one couple’s unique vision and incredible investment of time, talents, and treasures rolled out to take the Street Machine Nationals by storm.
All over again.
Toby Brooks is an Assistant Professor at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock, TX, a freelance author, and founder of the National Pro Street Association. His book, Sensory Overload: Hot Cars, Cool Builders, and Wild Times at the Street Machine Nationals details the rich history of the show that called the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds home for more than a decade in the ‘80s and ‘90s and returned beginning in 2013. The book will be available for purchase at the show and he will be available to sign copies throughout the weekend. Copies may also be purchased online at www.streetmachinereunion.com/sensory-overload. You should buy a copy. Seriously. You should.
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