Remembering the Ford Custom Car Caravan, 1962-65
In the ’60s. Ford tapped directly into the exploding hot rod and custom scene with its Custom Car Caravan. 1963 Ford Astro by Bill Cushenberry As baby boomers came of age in the early ’60s, they...
View ArticleThe 1965 Kaehni Ignition Mystery
In 1965, hot rodders were baffled by this ignition system with just one spark-plug wire to fire all eight plugs. How could that ever work? It did, and here’s how. Readers of Hot Rod magazine in June,...
View ArticleVideo: The 1963 NHRA Winternationals Custom Car Show
Join us for a quick tour of the colorful 1963 Winternationals car show, a major event on the classic rod & custom scene. In the early years of the National Hot Rod Association, the sanctioning...
View ArticleEd Wood’s Legendary Allison V12-Powered ’64 Chevelle
The ’60s and ’70s saw some wild street machines, but none were wilder than Ed Wood’s ’64 Chevelle powered by an an Allison V12 aircraft engine. Ed Wood passed away in 2009, and his wild Allison...
View Article’60s Style Setter: A Quick History of the Cragar S/S Wheel
The Cragar S/S was by far the most popular custom wheel on the hot rod and muscle car scene all through the ’60s and ’70s. Let’s check out its history. With its line of Cragar speed equipment, Bell...
View ArticleThe Schaller Double-Lobe Camshaft
Here’s another wildly creative idea from the early years of hot rodding: The Schaller Quarter-Speed Double-Lobe camshaft. How does it work? Read on. Harold G. “Bus” Schaller was a well-regarded...
View ArticleHot Rod Oddity: The 1958 Oberhausen Electric Supercharger
The early years of hot rodding produced some wild and wonderful ideas, for example the Oberhausen electric supercharger. The golden age of hot rodding was a trial-and-error enterprise. The...
View ArticleA Video Biograhy of Robert E. Petersen, Hot Rod Pioneer
As much as any single person, Robert E. Petersen launched the sport of hot rodding as a national movement when he created Hot Rod magazine. Here’s a brief video tribute. In the late 1940s, hot...
View ArticleThe Real Star of American Graffiti: Milner’s ’32 Ford Coupe
The yellow coupe that starred in the 1973 film American Graffiti isn’t the nicest Deuce hot rod ever built, but it may well be the most beloved. The 1973 George Lucas breakout film American Graffiti...
View ArticleMCG Executive Briefing for March 8, 2021
This 1968 Ferrari 330 GTC was among the top 10 sellers at the RM Sotheby’s Open Road online auction, bringing $454,349. Get all the latest auto industry news in the Executive Briefing. Today’s...
View ArticleVideo: An Electric Small-Block Chevy V8?
Chris Webb of Webb Motorworks has done the unfathomable: He’s converted the beloved small-block Chevy V8 into an all-electric vehicle propulsion module. This flabbergasting project is the work of...
View ArticleHot Rod Girl — Watch the Full Movie Here
Watch the Hollywood B-movie classic Hot Rod Girl in its entirety and free of charge right here at Mac’s Motor City Garage. Thanks to our unlimited production budget here at Mac’s Motor City Garage,...
View ArticleHistory-Making Hot Rod: The Dick Williams ’27 Ford Roadster
Named America’s Most Beautiful Roadster way back in 1953, the Dick Williams ’27 Ford Model T roadster is a true pioneer among American hot rods. Here today, gone tomorrow. In hot rodding, history can...
View ArticleVideo Walk-Through: Impression, Chip Foose’s Award-Winning ’36 Ford
Impression, the reimagined ’36 Ford roadster built by Chip Foose, is the finest hot rod ever built, some will say. In this video, Chip points out its amazing details. “You’re only as good as your...
View ArticleVideo: Don Garlits Tells His Favorite Slingshot Dragster Story
Few racers can tell a story better than Don Garlits, and fewer still have such great stories to tell. Big Daddy calls this one his favorite story about the front-engine dragster era. As many of you...
View ArticleFive Carburetors: Why Not?
One V8 hot-rodding trick of the ’50s that never quite caught on was the 5×2 carburetor setup. But you know, it’s not such a terrible idea. The photos we’re sharing here have made a few laps around...
View ArticleVideo: Chip Foose Explains What Makes the 1932 Ford So Great
What makes the 1932 Ford the world’s favorite hot rod? Noted designer and builder Chip Foose breaks it down for us. Among the gearheads of the English-speaking world, Chip Foose hardly requires an...
View ArticleVideo: The 1965 New York Hot Rod & Custom Show
Live from the golden age of hot rodding, here’s an awesome Universal Newsreel feature on the 1965 National Hot Rod & Custom Show in New York. From the Munsters Koach to the Surfite, see the hot rod...
View ArticleZingers!
Like monster T-shirts come to life, the wild and whimsical Zingers have been entertaining hot rodders of all ages for nearly half a century now. We were too young to be taking notes at the time,...
View ArticleVideo: Drag Racing Action at the 1962 NHRA Winternationals
From Pomona, California, here’s a great film vintage film report on the 1962 NHRA Winternationals. The more things change, the more they stay the same—so goes the old saying. The drag strip on...
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