The first year of Hot Rod Magazine was humble. They pretty much published the magazine by the book – taking few risks that would alienate the publication from the dime store news racks. Hot Rodding had yet to garner the 100% clean cut image promoted later by Wally Parks, but they were putting forth an [...]
Parts With Appeal
Posted on February 28th, 2011 by Ryan
Filed under: History
Filed under: History
The Gary Howard Fire… Spare a dime?
I’ve written about Gary Howard quite a bit in the past. I’ve followed him as a customizer since I was a kid and now call him a good friend. I just love the man. He’s quiet. He’s unassuming. He’s genuine. He’s everything that a fella should be when he is on top of his game. [...]
The Reprinting of Felsen’s “Hot Rod”
About a year ago, a buddy of mine sent me all of the Henry Gregor Felsen books. They were old editions and had been flipped through countless times. As I read them, I fantasized about all of the kids that had flipped each page before me. Undoubtedly, these very books that I held in my [...]
Stopping at the Shoe Tree…
I just read that the old Shoe Tree on Highway 50 in Nevada got cut down by some dirtbags around Christmas time. What does a weird old cottonwood tree full of dirty shoes have to do with hot rods? Well, that tree was the traditional stopping point for us before heading east to Austin, Nevada [...]
Killed Myself When I Was Young
It’s very rare to find any film footage pre-1960 with actual sound attached as the technology wasn’t easily obtainable in the day. As such, much of the vintage film compilations that are sent to me leave me wishing for more. Sound is a very important dimension in hot rodding. One of the most important really. [...]
Rest in Peace Tommy Sparks
Bruce Meyer sent me an e-mail last week about the passing of hot rod pioneer Tommy Sparks. If you’ve even seen the Tony Nancy Roadster, or Sparks & Bonney racing team, you know who he was. A legend. A meticulous West Hollywood engine expert and tuner, who trained with Eddie Meyer Engineering and first made [...]
Italian Body, American Bones.
The Fina Sport was a limited run, totally custom coupe and convertible made by Perry Fina of New York from 1953 to 1955. The idea was simple: Start with a modified 115 inch Ford chassis, add a 210 hp or 300 hp (2 x 4bbl) Cadillac 331 v-8 coupled to a bulletproof Hydramatic. Next step [...]
National Championship Drag Racing
Another day, another video from Terry Cook… This one came to me silent and features racing action from the 1955 Great Bend, 1956 Kansas City, and 1957 Oklahoma City events. While watching, I was struck by how similar each event feels to our own H.A.M.B. Drag Nationals. There are no huge corporate banners, giant teams [...]
I Miss My Cosmo
Ryan’s great post about his ’65 Riviera reminded me of the iconic old car I had to finally sell, but still remember quite fondly as well. She was my first custom car, and I too bought her right around my college years, when I didn’t have much money to my name. For $1500 I bought [...]
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:
-
Tom Cobbs
The story of Tom Cobbs, his legacy, and his hot rod roadster. Read: Part 1, Part 2, or Part 3.
-
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.
-
The Ferrari Shoot
Comparing and contrasting three very different cars with three very different purposes in life. Read It >>
-
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.
-
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 >>