CAR SHOW Rodriguez hopes fancy '76 Cutlass appeals to others

Area car buffs will show customized vehicles in the Show and Shine Division.
BY JOHN KOVACH
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- Andre Rodriguez of Youngstown has owned his 1976 Cutlass Supreme for seven years and never had entered it in any kind of show competition.
But the Warren steelworker, a 1992 graduate of South High, has put a lot of tender love and care and money into customizing his classic car, and decided that it was time to see just how appealing it has become to other people.
So he entered the Cutlass Supreme in the Falken Tire Ohio Import & amp; Truck Bash this weekend at Quaker City raceway and will be competing in the Show and Shine Division.
Rodriguez is one of several area entries to pre-register for the Bash. He will join Jerry Dixey in the Show and Shine Division, while two other area entries are drag racers Ryan Martino and Chris Tatarka.
Wants to compare car
"It was something that I would like to do. I like the year and body style," said Rodriguez of his decision to match his car against other entries for beauty and style to see how it stacks up in other people's eyes.
He retained virtually the entire original engine, but modified the interior and exterior, having most of the work done at area shops.
He said the interior was done by Auto Trim design, the exterior painting and body work by Meridian Auto Body and Sharp Auto Body and the chrome by H & amp;R Plate in Brookfield.
"The interior is an off-white cream color. The [exterior] is painted a darker blue [but] looks black at night," said Rodriguez, who has invested a sizable sum in the vehicle over seven years.
But, "Spread out over the years, [the money spent] is not bad; but one year, it will be like buying the car."
Learning experience
Tatarka, a senior at YSU from Austintown Fitch High, has learned a lot and spent a lot customizing and souping-up his 1996 Ford Mustang Cobra.
"It's been an expense, but I do most of the [work] myself. I tend to do 90 percent on my own, and I have learned a lot," said Tatarka, who is majoring in electrical engineering technology and will graduate in five weeks.
He has been drag racing for four years , including the last two at Quaker City, and this is his second car.
"I had a 1994 Mustang but it wasn't nearly as souped up as the one I have now," said Tatarka, who isn't sure what drag-racing division he will be in for the Bash.
"They probably will put me in a Ford category, if not a Mustang category," he said.
And he hopes to cover the quarter-mile distance "in the 13-14 second range."
Featured in magazine
Dixey, owner of Ohio Van and Truck Supply in Austintown, will show a customized 1994 Cavalier that was featured in the December issue of Hot Rod Magazine.
"We have it done hot-rod style," said Dixie of the 'hot-rod' Cavalier, which he is displaying to promote his business and General Motors in Lordstown and American-made cars in general.
He said his company is "expanding into the custom vans, and we [also] wanted to break into the sport-compact market."
Dixey also has been a photojournalist for Street Rodder Magazine for nine years, and travels around the nation covering car shows and street rod events.