Popular Mechanics 1947 – Racing The Hot Rods

Popular Mechanics used to be the go to magazine for everything from building a lathe at home to the Sci-Fi future of space transportation. Travel back with me if you will, to the glorious early post-war years in America when the economy was booming and we were building cool stuff here in the USA! This 1947 PM article titled “Racing the Hot Rods” gives great insight on the foundational years of the SCTA and exactly how dry lakes racing in Southern California was run. I love the illustrations for the Roadster, Modified, Streamliner, and Unlimited racing classes. Also, you’ll get a smile from the tons of 40s era slang terminology for the cars (both good and bad ones), and at the prices racers paid for hop up parts back then. Enjoy…

Note: Please accept my apology if this article has appeared on the HAMB before- It’s mighty hard to get the scoop on anything cool around here!