Hot rods and rock ’n’ roll have been symbiotic forces in American pop culture since the 1950s. They go together like wide whites and steelies, guitars and wah-wah pedals. The most famous guitar is even named after a car part — Fender. And the songs? Who
The lowly Model T, Henry Ford’s gift to mass-produced transportation, launched millions of affordable automobiles, but it didn’t take long for hotted-up versions to appear. The early prewar days of motor racing were populated with all manner of modified Ts – lakes runners and dirt
Ed “Big Daddy” Roth had a flair for the dramatic. Perhaps best known for his rascally rodent, Rat Fink, which served as the unofficial mascot of early-’60s hot rodding, Roth crafted a series of edgy and over-the-top customs that shook the hot rod world to
California Kid. Pierson Coupe. Doane Spencer roadster. Eliminator coupe. HogZZilla Harley. So-Cal lakester. Rides that peg the legend meter and linked by a common thread – the genius of Pete Chapouris. One of hot rodding’s premier talents, Chapouris not only transformed street rod culture, but
A while back the Gazette featured camshaft guru Ed Iskenderian as a Legend of Hot Rodding. Baron of the bumpstick, we called him. Today, Isky is 99 years old, with the century mark coming up fast. So, it seemed appropriate to feature another Isky contribution
Imagine if there was a movement to construct a hot rod version of Mt. Rushmore. A hot debate would surely follow on who is worthy of having their countenance chiseled in stone, say, in the hills overlooking the Bonneville Salt Flats. Wally Parks would be one
As Neil Young once wrote, rust never sleeps. It’s this immutable law of nature that drove a divide in the development of post-WWII hot rodding. The warm, sun-dappled roads of California meant the Model Ts and Deuce coupes of the 1920s and ’30s were waiting, rust
LeRoi “Tex” Smith was one of hot rodding’s most influential and iconoclastic figures. He joined NHRA’s Safety Safari and the Hot Rod magaine staff in 1953, helped launch Rod Action and Street Rodder, and co-created the Street Rod Nationals with Tom Medley and Rod &
The cauldron of car-guy creativity that bubbled throughout Southern California post World War II spit out more legendary racers, hot rodders, and customizers than you can shake an acetylene torch at. And this Legends column has had the privilege of showcasing many of them. [caption id="attachment_71345"
In the 1970s, California was a breeding ground for standout hot rods, ground fertilized by a convergence of factors, most notably the popularity of the Street Rod Nationals, a resurgent Rod & Custom magazine, and an explosion of aftermarket parts suppliers. Out of
