Every car guy older than 30 knows (or should know) the name Offy. It’s shorthand for Offenhauser, the last name of Fred H. Offenhauser, and the moniker of the all-conquering four-cylinder engine that dominated the Indianapolis 500 during the mid-20th Century. Among the many legendary
The story of hot rodding in America cannot be told without telling the story of George Barris, the most well-known kustom kar kraftsman of his, or any other, era. Author Tom Wolfe, astute chronicler of art and culture, chose Barris as the focus of his
She’s been feted by Congress, immortalized by Hollywood, and awarded slot number five on NHRA’s 50 Greatest Drivers List. She blew open racing’s gender barrier, survived life-threatening injuries, and landed in the same honorary society as Eleanor Roosevelt. She won nearly 20 NHRA events and
Up to this point, our Legends of Hot Rodding have all been members of the four-wheel community – you know, hot rodders. But occasionally a talent from the two-wheel world is so renowned that they crossover into hot-rod legend status. Such is the case with
Ed Pink is a study in contrasts. Slight in stature and soft spoken, words escape from between his graying mustache and goatee with a humble gentleness. This understated manner belies the volume sounded by his accomplishments, for Pink, now 88, is perhaps the most renowned
Foose. It’s a name as essential to the history of hot rodding as Parks, Petersen, Roth, Shelby, Barris, and dozens more. It’s the purpose of this column to chronicle these giants, the icons who created the hobby we enjoy today. Foose is just such a
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
