Mini Truckin was my fav back in the day. I think the advancement in pick ups in general, may have had a major impact on the mini truck scene. It's funny, I caught an episode of Roadkill, I saw Finnegan and was like why do I know him? Oh yeah, from Mini Truckin! Another mag from the late eighties was Transworld Skateboard Magazine, the first issue I had in my hands was the thickest magazine I had even seen. I must have went thru it front to back hundreds of times. This is when skateboarding was really heating up. I just wonder how much of an impact of younger people not getting or being able to afford (pick your genre) cars is affecting the decisions to shut down automotive magazines. I still have magazines I bought as a kid. Love going to the store at the beginning of the month to see if the new magazine was out yet. There's something more gratifying to me seeking them out or going to the mail box, than having it a click away. No offense, love The Hamb.
My Street Rodder sub is still going but only because I found it dirt cheap somewhere. It is due to expire in less than a year. It'll be a race to see which one expires first. I have had the Rodder's Journal since the beginning I just subscribed to Rodding USA because......................drum roll, They published a photo of my Sedan at Louisville at the Nats. I took a second look at their product and subscribed for a year.
I teach a shop class and kids are still modifying stuff just not stuff you see here. Not in my class anyway. One showed up today with a new set of headers he wanted to install. Another drove up in a square S10 he just bought. Lowered and rough as a cob. Kid was as proud of it as I was my 57 f100 I lad in HS. Several are into tuners or lifted trucks. The good thing is kids are still building, the bad is they cant build what see here due to economics This generation doesn’t need a magazine to check out parts or get ideas like we did. This is probably the main reason for the demise.
Gotta find my "Bring Back Rod & Custom" T-shirt. On the other hand, killing Low Rider is a step forward for civilization
The old school ads are pretty cool, they didn't exactly have a shortage of them back in the day, either. Generally speaking though the writing seemed better, more in depth, with an emphasis on DIY, whether hobby electronics or DIY home repair projects, auto mechanics the authors and editors were say, Car Guys first, and writers second. Somewhere along the way all that stuff got turned around.
Just got a typical call on the cellphone just now, like most, didn’t recognize the number, it was from Virginia. Nothing better to do, I answered it. Surprise, it’s The Rodder’s Journal calling about my order from Black Friday. So, being a Lifetime Subscriber, I asked the guy how long “Lifetime” is. He laughed and said that I’m good to issue #200, then they’ll renew me for another Lifetime! I thanked him, and then asked him to also thank Mr. Coonan for publishing such a beautiful magazine. He replied that Steve was standing right in front of him and that he’d pass on my praise. That is why The Rodder’s Journal is so good, it’s a labor of love, the boss is right there making sure that we will love every issue!
....back to history pictures and the HAMB look how many photos were lost due to Photobucket screwing alll thier customers.. at least lost on here. I have all mine on the computer still.... one bad porn link could take those as well
Every word written here on the threads subject is true. Having been raised in Seattle since 1942 and witnessing what a cesspool it has become since Microsoft and Amazon moved in, in terms of money and buy outs, life in general for the working class and the demise of many things treasured, I offer the following. Nothing is sacred, (simply worthy of awe and respect and I would add, socially untouchable , . ...( Sacred is an adjective used to describe a person or thing.) Money at all levels and only money is what it is all about. You good folks from the eastern border of Washington to the western border of New York and all points in between and south have no idea of the corruption we working class are seeing on both coasts. And so just count this loss as another loss due to the love of money. Timothy 6:10 King James Version (KJV) For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Every form of media has a life cycle. I have been on here for 20 years almost. Gotta wonder what is coming down the pipe... I have stacks of 50's-60's little books and mags. When I build cars now, they almost always fall into those old styles found in those mags. I have a very hard time leaving my comfort zone.
Well said Larry. As a guy born in Ballard in the mid 60s, the change is awesome (not in a good way). I left for the Air Force in 1987. I came back in 2019. In between I made the obligatory returns for holidays, birthdays, reunions, rest and relaxation, and unfortunately funerals. Through it all I kept seeing the place go further and further down the shitter until I didn’t even recognize it; it’s as if they spoke a new language. Over those 30+ years my entire extended family, as well as the wife’s, slowly moved east of the cascades until upon our return, only my wife’s middle sister and family still lived on the west side. Literally, 50+ people made the decision on their own and moved when they couldn’t take it anymore. Good luck. I couldn’t move back to where I grew up.
I have been lucky enough to be here in the " FRELARD " section of Ballard and Fremont, here in Seattle for 41 years, I will soon be 67, I am also lucky enough to be a newly retired Teamster as well, so you wont hear any complaints from me about working conditions or wages. How ever the homeless situation, and I am sure its the same all over the country, is something I was not raised with and its appalling how out of control it is right now. Can you imagine trying to get a job with out having access to a computer, to try to find a job, the days of looking through the classified section of a local newspaper are way long gone, there isn't even a card catalog in the library's anymore, its all computer search. Its amazing how spot on ERIC BLAIR was, ( George Orwell ) to those that have read 1984. If you haven't read it, I suggest getting a copy of it and read it ! What a novel concept, actually reading a book !
Be happy so many people have followed and enjoyed your body of work. If that's too much to expect then... so what, you did it to yourself by being yourself. Sorry for poking the bear, so to speak. Hope I get the chance to shake your hand someday. Thanks for all the hard work you've put in and enjoy retirement. -Dave
Not quite a hot rod magazine related but in a similar vain. Got this and few other similar manuals from a former supervisor who was a Major in the Canadian military many moons ago. I just couldn't throw it out earlier this year when doing some cleaning. The military (Army) were all taught basic automotive mechanical skills, but this is all but lost today. It is actually having a huge impact, as once we used to design entire ships in house, and now everything must be subcontracted out to industry. This is going to come back to haunt us in a big way.
I read through that TM several times when I was a kid...I think a neighbor gave it to us some time in the late 60s. This was the fellow who worked at Firestone, and drove a Land Cruiser with a small block Chevy. Which is surprising that I remember, because we moved away when I was 7 or 8. I still have the book.
5 years ago I was notified by my 16 year old Son that magazines were dead (and I was a dinosaur). It was via a casual, unrelated conversation on a Sunday morning; Dad (me): "Whatcha got going today"? Son: "Gonna pay my friend Damien a visit." Dad: "Just going to hang out at his place and play video games"? Son: "No, at the hospital. He's in the hospital." Dad: "Holy crap, is he ok"? Son: "I guess he's in for gall bladder surgery or something"? Dad: "Good Man for visiting. I hate hospitals. That place is a Bear to park at. I've got some errands to run. I can drop you off, run errands then pick you up in a few hours." Son: "Nah, I'll drive myself". Dad: "The food sucks and so does the TV channel lineup, he's probably bored out of his mind. There's a huge Barnes & Noble bookstore across the street (with about 50' rack of magazines). You should stop in there and buy a couple of magazines for him". Son: "Magazines???? MAGAZINES!!!!! How old ARE you"!!!??? He had this ultra puzzled look on his face. I just laughed my ass off. In my younger days a hospital visit for a buddy customarily included the latest copy of Hot Rod and Playboy, and sometimes a smuggled in fast food burger with a tall Malt Liquor.
Hey you guys...great time to support Luke and subscribe to Kustoms Illustrated...only all Kustom magazine there is.... www.kustomsillustrated.com Buy a T shirt while your there... Support the little guy....
Some of the problems "they" brought upon themselves. Street Rodder should have been retitled Show Rodder. They had morphed into show rods being photographed in front of drapes. Sometimes there were more street rods in the ads then in the magazine it seemed. I had already not renewed my subscription (I was going to do it last year but it was a automatic renewal & this year I caught it in time). The show rods all looked like they had the same interior out of a new Buick. They should have stuck with Street Rods as the title implied. The bean counters also went with the thinnest paper weight which felt cheap. Next, Hot Rod Deluxe had real rods in it. But - they decided to gouge you if you wanted to buy that magazine (they lost sales on that). "They" helped drive themselves into the ditch - did you ever look at all of the management positions listed inside the magazines? You have a small handful of workers supporting a busload of management. Anyway, that's all folks.
I have nothing to add, it seems to have all been said in the last 145 posts. I very rarely looked at the mags I do get and when I did I was just left numb with the lack of substance and the overwhelming amounts of ads. Seems they were geared towards old guys (ED ads and such) but the content was geared towards younger guys. I'm nether so I just didn't get it. TRJ is still good for me, I have the life time sub, but how long will that last? Time marches on!
In the late fifties and early sixties, Petersen employed a lot of retired English teachers and librarians to edit copy. I had to submit a double spaced typed copy of a feature and someone would use a blue pencil to edit and then return it it to me for corrections. I learned to outline my material so that only minor corrections were necessary. When you figure that using the mail both ways was time consuming, material had to be in at least 90 days before the publication date. Ryan and I have debated the pros and cons of typewriters vs. computers. I maintain that a well thought out typed story flows better than a cut and paste computer job.
Not to mention Street Rodder feeling they had an obligation to show every car that attended every event with a postage size stamp picture obviously aimed and subscriptions and filler fodder.
And you did a damn fine job with it when you were there! Thanks Pat! And I enjoy your blog now! Everybody here on the HAMB should subscribe to it!
I Should have done this long ago. I'm buying all the back issues I don't have today, plus getting a sub. Thanks for bringing this up
AIM/FAR... that's some good bedtime reading material right there, though just slightly out of date... ;-)
Coincidentally Street Rodder , Feb, 2020 was in my mail yesterday. I let my subscription run out this month purposely as have a majority of subscribers. I,m thinking this shut down came as a complete surprise to all that worked to put this out on the market each month. Brian Brennan writes "For Starters" as if nothing along these lines is about to happen. Included with in the pages is the customary "subscription" pull out cards also. The cover shows a extremely nice 30 candy apple red with contrasting scallops in contrasting c.a red. Chev. blown SB, solid chromed solid wheels. It is featured on page 16 with four pages. On page 56 is precisely why SR has failed to retain readers in the last 10 or more years. A (4) door, "66 Dodge Polara (stock appearing) station wagon. The only thing special about it is the new generation 392 Hemi, but otherwise it is exactly like the one my kids grandfather took to the milk barn. My five year old daughter named it "supper pickel". Sure dose not rate at level to be in SR, of previous years anyway. Then comes page 62 and more reason for the demise. A '66 Fairlane. Nicely done car I'll admit, but for my money any thing newer than '55 for the most part is not what I subscribed and bought SR to see. On page 84 is a '57 Chev. DelRay post. Blown 5.3L LS 1., and bagged it also is very nice ride. Still its post '55 so my bias for me at least and (not for everyone) says keep it out of Street RODDER . In addition to the cover 30 A, it features a '33 Ford sedan on page 68. A real nice ride and one that I can get into. There are 106 pages total. I don't know, wondering if I should keep this as it might be the last issue. I do find it some what interesting that I in mid summer decided, that come Dec. I pull my subscription and not resubscribe after so many years and stop SR, and coincidentally it went down the tube with 18 others. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
You are correct sir, you have a discerning eye for the totally useless information from those years! By the way, I used to live in the Fairhaven district of Bellingham, back when Georgia Pacific was in operation, all that is dust now except for the acid ball and some of the older tanks. Amazing how Bellingham has changed over the years.