Von Franco told me over BBQ one night that he was obsessed with this car. He’s now built clones of it in two different iterations – both of them top notch. His latest version, the lightnin’ bug, is a clone of the car that really got Norm Grabowski started… See, it was the lightnin’ bug that Norm [...]
The Lightnin’ Bug
Tradition and Innovation: Part II
A few months ago I wrote an article on the journal about design and inspiration. The general idea behind my thinking was that traditional hot rods and customs don’t have to be stuck in a time vacuum. Traditional cars can and should have just as strong a focus on innovation as they do on historical [...]
Ed Roth & The Berry Wagon
It’s always good to see historically significant cars headed in the right direction. I’m not sure the Ed Roth painted Berry Wagon could have ended up in any better hands than Larry’s. He’s doing everything he can to preserve Roth’s strokes by carefully cleaning and polishing what is left of them. It’s almost like an old painting [...]
Steve Hendrickson
We lost Steve this morning. His wife knows that he is up there driving around in a little roadster as I type this… I’m going to miss him more than I can really type, but I’m also relieved he is done fighting. We lost a big one fellas… One of my personal heroes and inspirations… [...]
Frank Palmer
A group of us piled into my ’65 Buick Riviera to get a bite to eat after a long day at the fairgrounds in Wichita, KS. Mexican food was the answer, so we headed for a little dive on the north side of town. As we thumbed through the menu and drank our margaritas, I [...]
Henry Ford’s Hideout
“A focal point for research at Fair Lane was Henry Ford’s Experimental Laboratory. Located on the top floor of the Powerhouse, this area was used from approximately 1919-1924 as a place where work could be conducted in seclusion, away from prying eyes. The experimental labratory room was a precursor to the Ford Engineering Lab constructed [...]
The Hot Rod Revolution
Last week we announced pre-registration for the H.A.M.B. Drags. This week, we are announcing pre-registration for the first annual Hot Rod Revolution. This is going to be a very special little show in northern California… It’s one of those things that just comes together, ya know? Tardel and I were sipping margaritas and talking hot [...]
Square Birds
The late 50′s was a weird period of excess stemming from designers that were over influenced by the jet age. As a result, the cars coming out of Detroit are “love it/hate it” affairs for me. I love the ’58 Chevrolet. I can’t stand ’58 Thunderbirds… Or so I thought. Racy and stylistic below the belt line [...]
The History Of The Whitewall: Part 2!
So after writing yesterday’s little side bar on whitewalls, I decided it would be fun to post the article that spawned it (originally published in Hot Rod Deluxe Magazine). Although the writing is embarrassingly bad, it does feature some pretty neat interviews with Barris and Roth. Dig it. Cruising down the boulevard smokin’ a Lucky [...]
Through the years we’ve had some pretty amazing articles pop up here on The Jalopy Journal. The following is just a few of them:
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Tom Cobbs
The story of Tom Cobbs, his legacy, and his hot rod roadster. Read: Part 1, Part 2, or Part 3.
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The Bob Roddick Story
The story of a set of lost photos that literally take us all back into time. Read: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, or Part 4.
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The Ferrari Shoot
Comparing and contrasting three very different cars with three very different purposes in life. Read It >>
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Inspiration
This post is actually a continuation of two other posts that were written in 2006 (Part 1 & 2). The stuff you guys came up with is breathtaking.
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Gary Howard
Gary is one of my heroes and after interviewing him, I got to check off an item from my dream list. Read It >>