Art & Inspiration What's up with Hot Rod Magazine lately?

If this doesn't make you want to pick a copy of Hot Rod , I don't know what will


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I like this latest issue. One big fail though. The streamliner article did not include Jocko's streamliner. You would think the once world's quickest dragster would have rated a spot in a streamliner article. WTF??

 

My kids bought me a subscription as I had let mine lapse years prior, i enjoy the Bonneville stuff and the drag race related stuff, . I agree power tour is over played but the concept and the cars that can run those numbers and drive to the next track is intriguing. Imagine my surprise when my new issue even had a Y block on the cover . I will keep on reading it.....

 

Jim, I totally agree with you. The recent issues of Hot Rod pretty much mirror those from the past that the "purists" claim to be the best. With the deals that are available on subscriptions I pay less for the magazine than for a soda from the local "Stop and Rob". I currently subscribe to a wide range of magazines;
Hot Rod
Car Craft
Drag Illustrated
Street Rodder
Rodding USA
Road and Track
Motor Trend
Car and Driver
Classic Motorsports
Grass Roots Motorsports
New Zealand Hot Rod
Hop Up
Rodders Journal
National Dragster
Roadkill

I find something of interest in each and every one and my total investment is well under a dollar a day--cheap entertainment. I especially love the more HAMB friendly titles like Hop Up but once again all of them have interesting content in some shape or form. I used to work in the OEM industry so MT and C&D keep me up to date on that sort of stuff while Classic Motorsports covers the sort of sports cars that I worked on in the early 90's.
The excellent Drag Illustrated fills me in on the drag racing news that I don't get from my mates on the locally based pro teams while Roadkill is simply entertaining because of the off the wall stuff that David and Mike do.
As you have found, Hot Rod's Drag Week is about as much fun as you can have with your clothes on and anyone who knocks it and the subsequent magazine coverage need to try it sometime.
If the purists want all old school style cars they need to step up and support the gang at Hop Up rather than bitching that the main stream magazines don't cater to their tastes.

Roo

 

Do they sell the mag in Australia?

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Just bought the Stroker Book - it's awesome!

 

Been a subscriber since the 60's. Biggest rant I have now is a few years back they made their print smaller. Now being over 65 it takes a magnifying glass to read an article.

 

^^^ I hear you there! And some magazines make it even worse by doing the small font sizes in reverse (ie white lettering) on black printed pages! Gary

 

Jim I have basically been giving you full credit for the changes...seems every since your car showed up there, other very cool vintage stuff has been showing up as well...just take a bow!

 

Nope.

 

Page 34 upper right.
Nick

 

I have no problem with the late model stuff, and I like HP. But the dyno test articles just became a complete joke a few years back, basically back to back Comp Cams/Edelbrock ads, there has always been a bit of that sort of thing, but it just became so blatantly in your face, I didn't feel like supporting it anymore.

 

Not like it was in the early days

I haven't noticed much of that lately, maybe I just learned to ignore it over the years. But there's always something for everyone to complain about, if they look long enough.

 

I agree that a person will usually find what they are looking for whether it's good, bad or ugly.

 

Too bad they used a photo of Garlits' Jocko bodied 'liner. That would have frosted Jocko's ass real good. At least the write up was about Jocko's first 'liner. Thanks for the heads up.

 

While not trying to hijack this thread, " roman" mentioned various magazines he reads and Car Craft is noted. Has anyone noticed how thin this magazine is getting? With advertising there seems to be less and less content. Hot Rod is holding it's own and has various content which makes it interesting. Car Craft in interesting also but is just getting less and less with every issue

 

Don't forget they were doing new car reviews in the 1950s. I imagine there were readers who complained about it back then, too.

A big problem for Hot Rod is there are readers who are only interested in late model stuff, and others who are only interested in nostalgia, but they have to try to publish information that will appeal to everyone. And, as the years go by the gap between the dawn of hot rodding and the present day just gets larger, so they have to cover even more and more ground.

 

They still in business?

 

well, for me, that was the main reason I bought Hot Rod over the last 15 years or so, so when those articles started to turn into Comp Cams info-mercials, for me, the magazine lost its relevance. Besides, I get far better info on Speedtalk now, and its not so skewed by payola.
Of course I know most of the guys here don't really give a crap about that stuff, so I was speaking strictly for myself.

 

Well I was excited after reading the post about how much better Hot Rod mag is getting , so I bought one for the first time in ten years, articles are a lot better but the lettering is way to small, even with glasses it's just to small. I have this mouths Street Rodder and I read it fine without straining my eyes!

 

I was wondering about the size of type, compared to the old days...I did some measuring, the type is the same size. I sure can't read it as easily as I used to. I must be getting old.

 

Our biggest honor was when Brandon and Thom stopped by our shop the first year of the Drag Week tour. Took time to look at our cars and to talk cars and the magazine a bit. Nice guys.

 

I've had a subscription to Hot Rod magazine since I was 13 years old,I have seen it in it's hayday and when it wasn't worth the subscription price but I have seen a lot of improvement lately.

Times change and the magazine has changed with the times,it has kept up with current trends and for most of us we are into the traditional styles and have felt like Hot Rod magazine has forgotten it's roots.

Revisiting the past has peeked my interest as of late and I have actually read a few articles instead of skimming the pages and toss it in the corner. HRP

 

Neither have I.

 

Type size may be the same, they just put the letters closer together. Jim, I'm sure you read just fine, but they cram more letters into each line

 

I'm pretty sure that in '63 HRM was printed on a letter press using hot type or Linotype. Digital allows them to compress copy.

 

How dare you? Outside of the hive mind even? Your face will be chiseled right off Hamb Mt Rushmore....

 

roo i didnt see nitro madness on the list. i enjoyed the turbonique article the best this month. it got me wondering if i put one on my chevelle would the car be legal for normally aspirated small block class at drag week. per the written rules everything mentioned about power adders refers to things introduced through the engines intake. the rocket axle doesn't work that way. or unlimited class has no rules so it could fit there. i know a guy that has one nos still in the box. he even has some fuel for it. things that make you go hhhmmm.

 

Remember the words of Smokey Yunick - " I had a superior reading of the rules and figured if they didn't say I couldn't do something, that I could".

 

there were some very ugly explosions with the turboniques back in the sixties that led to them being banned, I doubt there is a track in North America that would let you run one on ANYTHING.
Warner Bros totally missed the mark by never doing a Roadrunner/Wily E. Coyote episode involving a Turbonique...