Chinatown Confidential: The Motor Underground

San Francisco has plenty of hot rod history—you just have to know where to look for it. Luckily for us, Dan Stoner and the team at Hemmings are taking a deep, deep dive into the good, the not-so-good, and the space in between in the latest from the Motor Underground: Chinatown Confidential.

This is the third season, and it’s shaping up to be their best one yet. After the premiere at the Great Star Theater—complete with choppers, hot rods, and a group of Tri-Five drag cars—earlier this month, Hemmings uploaded the first episodes to YouTube. This week, I finally was able to cue them up and see what they’re all about.

At a high-level, this is the story of a hunt for “The Underdog,” a mysterious ’56 Chevy that roamed the streets of San Francisco’s Chinatown. After watching the first episode, it becomes clear that car is part of a much bigger picture.

In the world hot rodding, context is of the utmost importance. Dan and his crew went to great lengths to talk to the right people and visit the right places to paint the full picture of San Francisco during the mid-’60s. There’s a lot more to say, but I’ll let the episodes fill in the rest. As far as I know, the next installments will be uploaded soon, so be on the lookout!

—Joey Ukrop