Motorheads unite!

Thousands are expected to visit the Spokane County Fair and Expo Center this weekend to spend a little quality time with their dream cars.

The Goodguys 11th Great Northwest Nationals kicks off today. The car show typically features about 1,500 muscle cars, hot rods and a variety of others from the early 1970s or earlier.

“Everything on display is (from) ’72 or older,” said event director Betsy Bennett. “Through ’72, we allow in those muscle cars and the guys with the big V-8 motors.”

Bennett anticipates that between 20,000 and 25,000 spectators will show up throughout the weekend. Goodguys staff, industry executives, car magazine editors and other judges will hand out more than 75 awards for such distinctions as the most exceptional 1932 Ford.

“This is, in my mind, the nicest one right here,” said awards director Dick Eaton, holding the chrome-plated front axle of a Ford Model T attached to a base. “That’s called the ‘Real Hot Rod Award.’ ”

Registration is open until 5 p.m. today, 3 p.m. Saturday and noon on Sunday.

Occasionally, people register cars from as early as 1915 for the event, Eaton said.

“It doesn’t matter to us what it is as long as it fits the qualifications of being an old car,” he said, and sometimes “you’ll get a bunch of antique guys show up.”

But the turnout could be even greater this year, as the organizers plan to open up registration to all years of American-made cars for the new Super Sunday Get-Together.

“So on Sunday, if you have a Dodge 2012 Charger and you want to bring it out, you can come out and register it,” Bennett said.

There will be room for upward of 100 extra cars at the event on Sunday, she said.

“It’ll be interesting to see what this market does with that,” Bennett said.

All weekend long Goodguys will host a swap meet where owners can sell cars and car parts. The event also includes a model car and pedal car show.

“We get a really good turnout of models here,” Bennett said.