Automotive
Hot Rod
Hot Rod's First Primered Cover Car
It was a bold move to put a primered car on the cover of HOT ROD in 1982. That prime piece of car magazine real estate was supposed to be reserved for the hobby’s brightest, most pristine stars. Cars with nice paint, anyway—like a 1972 ’Cuda with a retina-sizzling color combination. But check out the other car on HRM’s cover from November 1982.
2 min |
September 2020
Hot Rod
ON THE SCENE Quarantine Car Weekly Cruise in SoCal draws nearly 1,500 cars!
Like many good ideas, it started out of boredom.
1 min |
September 2020
Hot Rod
DEFCON 3
This Rusted Out 1963 Chevy II Becomes An Epic ProTouring Ride.
5 min |
September 2020
Hot Rod
Inspired by Greatness
This Pro Street 1978 Mercury Zephyr is a Gen-Xer’s Missing Link
3 min |
September 2020
Hot Rod
What Is Octane Creep?
New engines on the dyno and regularly refreshed race engines run OK with higher static compression ratios compared to otherwise similar, regularly driven, identically-fueled street engines.
2 min |
September 2020
Hot Rod
CANDY APPLE CHIEF
Hot Rodding A 1955 Pontiac Chieftain
3 min |
September 2020
Hot Rod
Contemplating the Gen III Hemi Swap
I received a press release a few days ago that sparked an interesting line of thought. Holley recently announced a new line of products for Gen III Hemi swaps into older vehicles, namely D100/D150 pickups and 1966 to 1972 B–Body cars.
3 min |
September 2020
Hot Rod
The Lokar/Street Rodder Road Tour '34 Ford
Precision Hot Rods Builds A Three-Window Coupe For the 2020 Road Tour
4 min |
August 2020
Hot Rod
The HOT ROD Archives
20 YEARS AGO August 2000: 154 pages, $3.99
2 min |
August 2020
Hot Rod
Shop Talk Project Car Update
As this is written, we are all stuck at home, hiding out from the coronavirus, and if there is an upside to be found in all this, it’s that we have some extra time to work on personal projects.
4 min |
August 2020
Hot Rod
FLASHBACK 1964
This was an exciting time, as the speed equipment aftermarket’s penetration of Motor City really began to take off. The classic example is Hurst, whose floor shift-conversion business exploded after Pontiac anointed the four-speed shifter as standard equipment on 1961 Super Duty Catalinas. Not coincidentally, cofounder George Hurst worked harder at self-promotion and was better at it than any of his peers.
1 min |
August 2020
Hot Rod
Three Mopar Survivor Cars Back on the Road: Two Have Hemis the Other is a 6BBL!
Plymouth technician Ted Robinson owned these drag race, day two Plymouths. His daughter and family friend got them running again.
8 min |
August 2020
Hot Rod
SCARLETT NOIR
This Stunning Corvette Rides on a Handmade and High-Tech Tube Chassis
6 min |
August 2020
Hot Rod
LOOKING FORWARD
Last month, I wrote about ways people can cope under a quarantine situation, and it’s my hope that all who read this are safe and well. This is a very difficult time, and it’s impossible to see what the outcome will be.
2 min |
August 2020
Hot Rod
FAST & FURIOUS
Behind the Wheel With NHRA Funny Car Champion “Fast Jack” Beckman
4 min |
August 2020
Hot Rod
Wrap Your Ass in Fiberglass
I love fiberglass—it’s easy to work with and it smells really good. I’m okay as a steel fabricator, but when it comes to gluing a car together, my experience goes back to 1960 when I was 8 years old and built AMT’s 1⁄25 scale 1932 Ford 3-in-1 kit as a fenderless highboy with a blown 392 Chrysler for power— Hemi Firepower that is.
3 min |
August 2020
Hot Rod
Cadillac Rescue
Reviving a ’60s 390 Cadillac Engine
5 min |
August 2020
Hot Rod
HIDDEN & FORGOTTEN
Hidden since 1974, Ronnie Belletieri’s 1969 Dodge Daytona is set to undergo a full OE restoration.
5 min |
July 2020
Hot Rod
MUROC 1940
In the early days of California’s hot rod culture, serious racing was done at a small group of dry lake beds in the Mojave Desert named Rosamond, Harper, El Mirage, and Rogers.
1 min |
July 2020
Hot Rod
SUPERMAN
The Last Unshackled American Muscle Car
4 min |
July 2020
Hot Rod
The Great Garage Clean Out
I’m writing this on April 15, 2020—perhaps significantly, as it’s the anniversary of the Titanic sinking and that seems allegorical of humanity these days.
3 min |
July 2020
Hot Rod
COOKIE'S 32
When he was a kid, William Lind would often sneak out of his house to a bakery across the alley and ask if he could have a cookie. The little guy did it so often the bakers nicknamed him Little Cookie.
5 min |
July 2020
Hot Rod
PERSEVERE!
This is a tough one to write. More than a month into quarantine from this virus that threatens to crash the world’s economy, what could I possibly say to help, inspire, or support anyone who is struggling?
2 min |
July 2020
Hot Rod
Hammer Time
LEARNING HOT ROD BUILDING FROM MASTER CUSTOMIZER GENE WINFIELD
3 min |
July 2020
Hot Rod
DODGE STORIES
The Ever-Evolving Chase for the Story Behind This Very Rare Mr. Norm–Built 1965 Dodge Coronet 500
4 min |
July 2020
Hot Rod
Bolt-On Boost
A FEW POUNDS OF PROCHARGER-INDUCED AIRFLOW DELIVER 177 REAR-WHEEL HORSEPOWER FOR THE SIXTH-GEN CAMARO SS
2 min |
July 2020
Hot Rod
How Do I Prevent Low-Speed Overheating on a 500HP, GM LS3-Powered Datsun 240Z on 110-Degree Summer Days?
Mike Mileski from Tucson, Arizona Asks…
9 min |
June 2020
Hot Rod
The Homeless Hemi, Part 1
WE ADOPT A MOPAR IN NEED AND FEED IT SOME SPEED
5 min |
June 2020
Hot Rod
Take Five: John Hotchkis
THE PERFORMANCE SUSPENSION PIONEER DISCUSSES HIS ROOTS IN DESIGN, RACING, AND THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF THE PERFORMANCE AFTERMARKET
9 min |
June 2020
Hot Rod
Shop Talk: How to Check Piston to Valve Clearance
In all but the most mild engine builds, taking extra time to check piston-to-valve clearance is good insurance. In any four-cycle gasoline engine, there is one point in the combustion event where the piston and valves can be very close to each other—at top dead center (TDC) of the exhaust stroke.
2 min |