Vaughn Early Memorial Award

        A new generation of builders is rising in the custom car industry. With this new generation comes new technologies and a new way of doing things. Many car builders, both young and old, have found a balance between modern technology and the old school, hand crafted tradition that pioneered the “wild west” of custom car building. They do not use aftermarket products as a crutch; instead, they use the latest in performance parts to push their creative design to the limits and produce a marvel of engineering that would have been impossible just a few decades ago. The result is a seamless marriage of new school technology and old school fabrication that stops people in their tracks and makes them take notice.

        The Vaughn Early Memorial Award was started in 2011 and is presented to “the vehicle that best exhibits excellence in design and fabrication”. This award represents a vehicle as a total package and places its importance on creativity, ingenuity and overcoming design obstacles. The award’s namesake, Vaughn Early, was an avid car lover and father-in-law of the nationally recognized custom car builder, Jonathan Goolsby of Goolsby Customs.

        The Southeast has some of the best builders and most beautiful cars in the country. There is no better venue to establish a perpetual award of this prestige than the Birmingham, AL O’Reilly World of Wheels. The Birmingham, AL O’Reilly World of Wheels is the largest, longest running indoor custom auto show in the Southeast. Over the past 42 years, this show has grown in size and stature to become one of the most respected custom car shows in the nation attracting the top tier of competition cars from all over the United States.

2013 Vaughn Early Memorial Award Winner

Congratulations to Phil Becker and his amazing 1932 Ford Coupe for winning the coveted 2013 Vaughn Early Memorial Award along with its $1000.00 Cash Prize. The amount of detail put into this hand built, all steel car was truely astonishing.

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Vaughn Early Memorial Award Alumni
Below are past winners of the prestegious Vaughn Early Memorial Award

	2012 Richard & Paige Udell 1932 Ford Roadster "Timeless" The 2012 recipient of the Vaughn Early Memorial Award was the beautiful, all steel 1932 Ford Roadster "Timeless" owned by Richard and Paige Udell.
	2011 Steve Chivington 1961 Chevy "Impaler" The 2011 recipient of the Vaughn Early Memorial Award was Steve Chivington's 1961 Chevy Impaler built by Bryan Fuller and Fuller Hot Rods. Hot Rod Magazine wrote a great article about this amazing custom. To read the full article at HotRod.com: CLICK HERE