This is a love story of sorts. Project X is the 1957 Chevy 210 two-door sedan that Popular Hot Rodding (PHR) magazine bought in 1965 for $250 with the intent of modifying it in accordance with readers' wishes. The love story part is complicated, as many things in life are. Popular Hot Rodding readers loved it, and by all accounts, so did the original staff of PHR. The magazine had started only three years prior, in 1962, as a competitor to cross-town rival, HOT ROD, and what the magazine needed was an affordable project on which to try various new speed products that were being developed by folks like Hedman, Edelbrock, and Alston. Although building a reader-centric project car today sounds corny and a bit threadbare, Popular Hot Rodding was a leader in this area at the time, and readers became empowered overnight, flooding the mailroom at PHR with suggestions and encouragement.
I say this is a love story because it was my honor to serve as the editor of Popular Hot Rodding and principal photographer of the Project X 57 Chevy for 11 years between 2003 and 2014, and during those years I spent a lot of time with Project X, but by design, none of it in the driver's seat. The of sorts part is a deliberate asterisk; I never wanted to drive Project X because by the time I landed in the editorial seat of Popular Hot Rodding the '57 Chevy was already famous and had become worth too much money to too many people to risk driving it. In those days, I was never more I than two bad decisions away from selling kitchen appliances; if I had a mishap with everyone's favorite Tri-Five, I probably wouldn't have lost my job, but I opted not to have the sword of Damocles hanging over my neck at every turn of the wheel.
This story is from the May 2022 edition of Hot Rod.
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This story is from the May 2022 edition of Hot Rod.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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Making Connections
Project T-top Coupe: We install a Terminator X Max for big power.
LET IT BREATHE!
Project X’s new ZZ632 big-block needed to breathe, and this do-ityourself stainless exhaust kit was just the ticket to make it happen.
TUNING OPTIMIZED
VARIABLES WITHIN FUEL-INJECTOR CONSTRUCTION CAN LEAD TO POOR ENGINE OPERATION. HERE'S HOW TO TUNE YOUR FUEL INJECTORS.
Re-Flange It!
We check out the fab skills needed to run a flat hood on a 1970 Mustang with a very unique and too-tall engine.
THE TRIBUTE FOR THE WIN
Ron Capps wins the NHRA U.S. Nationals driving a Don Prudhomme-Hot Wheels tribute Funny Car.
So Close
Following a nearly flawless performance, a pít lane penalty kept the C8.R off the top of the podium in the IMSA Sportscar Weekend.
A RADICAL SHIFT
When you're a teenager and the police know you by name, it's not usually because of your volunteer work or class-topping GPA. Not at all. That was especially true for Jeff Kainz when he was behind the wheel of his 1975 Camaro. In the '80s, while cruising his hometown in North Dakota, his buddies with police scanners often heard the police tell one another: \"Kainz is out on Main Street.\"
WILD MASH-UP
Built to long-haul the 2023 HOT ROD Power Tour, this 1984 Monte Carlo’s facade hides a performance secret!
6 TIMER!
Tom Bailey captures his 6th HOT ROD Drag Week Unlimited/Overall title with his Sick Seconds 1.0 Camaro.
JIM MCFARLAND'S INFLUENCE WENT WAY BEYOND HOT ROD MAGAZINE.
Jim McFarland, the multitalented, multifaceted Texan who enjoyed several careers in the automotive performance industry, passed away in October 2023 at the age of 88.