Classified Information

We interrupt this brightly colored, month-long mid-’60s hot rod retrospective to take a glimpse at one of my favorite magazine departments—the classifieds. Today we have the highlights of the Hot Rod Mart from August 1967 and yes, I’ll tell you what, it’s filled with rods and customs and street machines and competition machines and vehicles with two wheels and four wheels and…well, we’ll get there.

The rules of Hot Rod Mart were simple. Ten bucks would get you twenty-five words—including your contact information—and an extra five would score you a small, often awkwardly cropped, photo to accompany your text. Short, sweet and to the point.

Ths. oftn. resltd. in chppy. & brief caps tht. were jamd. w/ info. Rdstrs. were chanl’d. Coupes were sect. Int. were stched. in ‘hyde. Cars were st. driven. Mint condt.! How much invest.? Too much to lst!

More than a half-century before txting and Tweeting and ’Gramming, it was all happening in the Hot Rod Mart. By ’67 the times really were a-changin’, and there’s no denying that this was a particularly eclectic batch. Some you’ll know, others you won’t. They’re all worth a look.

There’s no better way to kick off the Memorial Day weekend than with a little perusing. Who knows, maybe something will catch your eye and you’ll have to follow up with a phone call for more info. If the owner picks up, hopefully he’ll give you the details—in more than 25 words.

—Joey Ukrop

P.S. Anyone have any developments on their traditional time machine project?