Hot Rod Reference Books

Many years ago I wrote a Jalopy article titled “Hot Rod and Custom Books: The Essentials” about the core books that I recommended any HAMB faithful should own. To go a bit further, I tend to break my hot rod car books down into two larger categories: Coffee Table or Photo Reference. The coffee table books are the pretty ones that are typically hard bound, beautiful photography, and often feature newer, color photos of current-built, period-correct cars. The vintage photo ref. books are my grittier workhorses that capture how things were really built and used in the 1940s and 50s, often through grainy black & white or early Kodachrome snapshots on the dry lake beds and in the driveways of Southern California and around the country. These are the books that I will go back to over and over again to study the details, stance, accessories, and bodywork of any particular car. I already recommended Don Montgomery’s fantastic “Scrapbook” series and the Barris Custom Techniques Vol. 1 – 4 set in that previous post, but here’s a few more of these essential ‘study guides’ I highly recommend to grab if you haven’t done so yet:

1. Kustomland- The Custom Car Photography of James Potter 1955-1959 (Thom Taylor). There is no better color documentation of late 50s Southern LA Kustoms that I know of. This book specifically targets the cars built in this particular hot bed of customizing in a very specific window of time, and it’s really well done.

2. The Birth of Hot Rodding- The Story of the Dry Lakes Era (Genat and Cox). Amazing documentation with lots of early color images taken casually at the Lakes in the late 40s. WWII veteran, racer and photographer Don Cox walking along the staging areas snapping pure gold in the most casual way possible. The photos are large, detailed and full of life, much like Don was. Grab the hardbound edition if you can swing it…

3. Hot Rods of the 1950s/ Custom Cars of the 1950s (Southard and Thacker). Andy Southard Jr. lived the hot rod movement of  the 50s and 60s, and lucky for us he did a great job documenting the cars he owned, build, and just saw on the streets during all those years.

4. So-Cal Speed Shop- The Fast Tale of the California Racers who Made Hot Rod History (Christensen). This is really a dual purpose book on my list- A large, hard-bound, coffee table book that happens to be full of great Bonneville and Dry Lakes racing car reference. If you want period belly tankers and streamliners in glorious black & white high res. detail, this is your book.

5. Hot Rod and Custom Cars: Vintage Speed Graphics (Shinomiya/ Thacker). A great little Taschen paperback chock full of period car magazine photos, typography and graphics of vintage hot rods. If you geek out on old ads and water transfer decals, this one is worth picking up.