Automotive
Hot Rod
Two Atmospheres
How Much Boost Will a 6.0L EngineTake? We Blow One Apart to Find Out
4 min |
July 2021
Hot Rod
VINTAGE SUPERCHARGED AND INJECTED 1956 CHEVY SLEEPER
The man posing next to the plain-Jane ’56 Chevy Bel Air is John Bandimere. That would be the same John Bandimere who, about a year after these photos were taken in April 1956, chose a parcel of land on the west side of Denver that he would transform into a place where local hot shots—including his own son, John Jr.—could race safely off the streets. “Thunder Mountain” still bears the name of its founder, and Bandimere Speedway is still running strong six decades later
2 min |
July 2021
Hot Rod
TUBE CHASSIS GROCERY GETTER
This 1969 Camaro Is a Race Car Built for the Street
6 min |
July 2021
Hot Rod
WOLF IN FOX CLOTHING
This 1993 Mustang LX Was Reborn From the Wreckage of an Eighth-Mile Mistake
5 min |
July 2021
Hot Rod
More Mayhem, Please!
I bought back the General Mayhem ’68 Dodge Charger! If you’ve watched my Roadkill show (on MotorTrend cable TV or on the MotorTrend app), then you know why this is a big deal to me. Not only did I get my hands back on one of today’s most unaffordable body styles, but also on a car that meant a lot to my career and that provided some of the best days ever on the show. Here’s the story
4 min |
July 2021
Hot Rod
Flathead Gulch
We Visit a Rare Parts Treasure Trove and Spot a Caddy-Powered ’32 Ford Stashed in Arkansas
8 min |
July 2021
Hot Rod
Route It Right
Muscle Car Exhaust Selection and Install Tips
9 min |
July 2021
Hot Rod
From Hog House to Hog Heaven
This Is a Real 1971 Camaro Z28, and It Was Pulled from a Barn
2 min |
July 2021
Hot Rod
Battle of the Boost
Turbo vs. Blower: Which One Is Best?
8 min |
July 2021
Hot Rod
THE IN-BETWEENER
This Budget-Built Nova Turned Into a Pro Touring Terror.
3 min |
March 2021
Hot Rod
The Shirt Off Your Back
Ed Iskenderian is credited with inventing the branded T-shirt, handing them out to promote Isky cams in the ’50s.
3 min |
March 2021
Hot Rod
Sexy Thing
DENNIS MARIANI’S BRIZIO-BUILT 1941 WILLYS
3 min |
March 2021
Hot Rod
ROLE MODEL
Dad’s 1931 Model A Coupe Inspires Son to Build His Dream Roadster
9 min |
March 2021
Hot Rod
Pushrod Length: To Spring or Not to Spring
Pushrod Length: To Spring or Not to Spring
2 min |
March 2021
Hot Rod
LABOR OF LOVE
This 1970 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 Gets Show-Winning Restoration
3 min |
March 2021
Hot Rod
Does Your Mopar Need Bigger Brakes? Big Power Says Yes, You Do!
With the gentrification of old cars that began in the 1980s and continues today, many vehicles that were considered junk before are now—because of their affordability—are seeing the performance spotlight.
7 min |
March 2021
Hot Rod
Get High on Cranking: Car Battery Specs StickerNumbers Explained
Car battery specs conform to standards developed by the Battery Council International (BCI) and the SAE.
3 min |
March 2021
Hot Rod
Cheap Insurance
Build Fail-Safe LS Rocker Arms With This Needle Bearing Upgrade Kit.
2 min |
March 2021
Hot Rod
Dress it Up
HOW TO MAKE AN LS ENGINE LOOK AND PERFORM BETTER
5 min |
February 2021
Hot Rod
Solid & Striped
The Lokar/Street Rodder ’34 Ford 3-Window Coupe 25th in a Long Line of Road Tour Hot Rods
9 min |
February 2021
Hot Rod
Is It Better to Change Oil Hot or Cold?
It seems intuitive that if time is not a factor, the most thorough way to change engine oil is by letting the car sit overnight, then next morning allowing the oil to drain out of the sump for several hours.
1 min |
February 2021
Hot Rod
EBONY ICON
Alloway’s Hot Rod Shop Builds the Ultimate LSX-Powered Chevelle
4 min |
February 2021
Hot Rod
WHEN CHEVROLET INTRODUCED THE “ALL NEW” 1958 IMPALA, IT REALLY WAS!
We take a look back at the introduction—and road test—of the 1958 Chevy Impala.
3 min |
February 2021
Hot Rod
Classic Car Rust Prevention: How to Seal the Floor Pan of Your Ride with POR-15
So, you bought a “new to you” project car and want to start the build right. That means tearing out the interior and making sure the floor pans are sealed and rust free. If you find Swiss cheese, check out “How to Fabricate and Install Replacement Floor Pans” on hotrod.com on how to replace your floor pans. If you find minor surface rust and the occasional pinhole, keep reading and we’ll show you everything you need to know about classic car rust prevention.
1 min |
February 2021
Hot Rod
COYOTE COUPE
This 1967 Mustang Is the Perfect Blueprint for an Engine Swap
4 min |
February 2021
Hot Rod
California Coastal Road Trip
Like many people around the country, we have had little occasion to travel this year. With car shows and events like the Power Tour and Drag Week postponed and rescheduled due to the coronavirus, we’ve mostly been stuck at home. I recently had occasion to travel to Santa Rosa, California, for a photo shoot with Scott Birdsall, owner/builder of Old Smokey, the Cummins-powered Ford F1 that beat the diesel-engine record at the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb. Motor Trend’s William Walker was the shooter, with me serving as assistant and camera car driver. It seemed like as good excuse as any to make a trip out of it.
2 min |
February 2021
Hot Rod
25 Years of the Crusher Camaro
I’m gonna tell the story of the Crusher Camaro because it’s celebrating 25 years as a project and because it’s presented me with a fresh dilemma. The story begins in 1994 when California law allowed gasoline companies to crush older cars in exchange for smog credits that allowed continued polluting from wells and refineries.
4 min |
February 2021
Hot Rod
What Is Cylinder Head Swirl and Tumble, and Why Is It Important?
We think of electronic engine management systems and multiport electronic fuel injection (EFI) as primarily responsible for the improved air/fuel distribution and performance as Detroit clawed its way back in the mid 1980s, but—good as they were for that day—initially the new electronics were just Band-Aids grafted onto carryover engine designs. The big change started in the 1990s, when the OEs started tinkering with cylinder head design to induce swirl and tumble in internal combustion engines.
4 min |
January 2021
Hot Rod
SECOND TIME AROUND
After a shady shop pulled a huge scam restoring his 1969 Camaro, the owner ended up building the car of his dreams
6 min |
January 2021
Hot Rod
Racing Success Story
On the midst of what can technically be called a pretty bad year, it’s encouraging to see professional motorsports persevering, which in this year should be seen as a raging success. Initially many NASCAR and Indy Car events were canceled or rescheduled, but as the year has progressed, it seems that those organizations have gotten pretty clever in how to complete their schedule by combining events at the same track on the same weekend or running double-header races.
2 min |