Anyone with even a passing interest in drag racing has heard the name Keith Black. He is arguably the most famous non-driver in quarter-mile racing history. Yet there’s irony in that descriptor, for he learned his early engine-building chops tuning powerful Ford Flatheads for speed
Fuel injection isn’t new. Inventors of the internal combustion engine began toying with the concept in the late 1890s, and by the 1920s fuel injection had become common in diesel truck engines. During WW1 and WWII, aircraft engines employed mechanical fuel injection, as it was
(Editor’s Note: This profile was assigned to a special guest columnist, the esteemed Stroker McGurk himself.) Wow, Tom Medley. Where to start? I knew the guy from the very beginning. We go way back – back to 1948 when Tom Medley joined Hot Rod magazine. You could
In Southern California, rods and customs enjoy a symbiotic relationship with the film industry. Movie directors are drawn to automobiles as cinematic and graphic devices. At the same time, a host of SoCal customizers have thrived crafting unique vehicles for the silver screen. One such
When one thinks of Hershey, Pennsylvania, ground-breaking rods and customs are probably not the first things that come to mind. Chocolate, of course, is the immediate connection, and the biggest automotive car swap meet on the planet comes next. But for in-the-know hot rodders, the
Dean Moon, founder of Mooneyes, accomplishments are like a bright yellow thread that weaves through the tapestry of hot rod history, from the pre-WW2 era through the 1970s. What teen motorhead in the Sixties didn’t have a Moon Eyes sticker on his high school Pee-Chee
Sure, Southern California gets all the ink, but Northern California has written a few chapters of hot rod history as well. Just ask acknowledged hot rod legend Andy Brizio — aka the Rodfather — one of the most influential Nor-Cal rodders of all time. Born in
If hot rodding and racing could claim a true Renaissance man, Mickey Thompson would have been it. From racer to marketeer, innovator to promoter, Thompson’s influence touched nearly every corner of the motorsports realm. By the time of his tragic death in 1988, his curriculum
When no less a literary light than Tom Wolfe — thought by many to be the most perceptive chronicler of modern American culture — made it a point to track down and interview Edward Roth in 1963, it was apparent that Big Daddy was more
Southern California kustom legend Bill Hines, a man short in stature but large in kustom car circles and long on talent passed away yesterday. He was 94. We always admired Bill for his humble nature and his true grit not to mention his “no excuses”
