WORLD’S MOST FAMOUS HOT ROD

Posted on March 18, 2023 by MartynL

Bruce Meyer donates the WORLD’S MOST FAMOUS HOT ROD – ’32 Ford McGee Roadster – to the Petersen Automotive Museum. “The McGee Roadster is so much more than just a car. It is the symbol of an entire era and generation of innovative hot rodders,” said Terry Karges, right, executive director of the Petersen. “We are honored by Bruce’s donation and proud to preserve this piece of history.” Constructed by noted hot rod builder Bob McGee, the McGee Roadster introduced an aesthetic that qui...

ORIGINAL ’32 FORD V-8 COUPE!

Posted on December 13, 2021December 13, 2021 by MartynL

No one car celebrates hot-rodding more than the ’32 Ford. And this preserved, not restored, classic Deuce coupe powered by its original Buick V-8 deserves to be the ‘poster’ car for hot rod history. ‘Best Preserved’ is how Rod & Custom historian Pat Ganahl describes this ORIGINAL ’32 FORD V-8 COUPE! There’s no better word for it. I looked in the Thesaurus. Of all the hot rods I’ve seen – and that’s a lot – I’ve never seen any better preserved in its original condition than this one....

STUDE-A-SHAKER: IT’S A GAS-GAS-GAS!

Posted on May 11, 2021May 12, 2021 by MartynL

Tony LaPolla channeled his 1960s Gasser heroes – Stone, Woods & Cook – when he built the STUDE-A-SHAKER: IT'S A GAS-GAS-GAS! Koufax, Clemente & Mays: Baseball legends who were heroes to legions of young guys in the 1960s – but not Tony LaPolla. It wasn't the crack of the bat that made his heart race, but rather the crackle of the supercharged 448-inch Oldsmobile motor powering a wicked '41 Willys Gasser – owned and campaigned by barnstorming drag racers Stone, Woods & Cook. The lege...

SAILOR BOB: ANATOMY OF A MODEL T

Posted on June 29, 2020June 29, 2020 by MartynL

Injecting new life into an iconic hot rod built in the 1950s and featured in Car Craft and Hot Rod, documented here by Pat Ganahl: SAILOR BOB: ANATOMY OF A MODEL T. Pat Ganal documents all the twists and turns involved in finding an abandoned classic hot rod that was featured in popular car magazines back in the day, and then bringing it back to life. It’s an ongoing saga of an iconic T-roadster that we brought you some details of @ http://carguychronicles.com/pat-ganahl-old-school-hot-rods/ ...

HOT RODS: SPEED OF SAND

Posted on April 17, 2020 by MartynL

More than 100 automotive icons, including HOT RODS: SPEED OF SAND, will be showcased in classes from The Pursuit of Speed to The Era of the Hypercar, at the London Concours 2020. The London Concours, presented by Montres Breguet, will be hosting a unique celebration of Hot Rod culture during its 2020 event. The Speed of Sand class, presented by the Ace Café (famous for its Hot Rod evenings) and the VHRA (Vintage Hot Rod Association), celebrates pre-1949 American Hot Rods and their annual pilgri...

CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’: ’32 FORD

Posted on January 25, 2020January 25, 2020 by MartynL

In 1965 Larry Jaworske was building car models, mowing lawns and learning about building drag cars from neighbors and his older brother, Gary. And, he couldn’t get enough of the Mamas and Papas Grammy-winning rendition of California Dreamin’. Unlike the narrative of the hit song that deals with escaping the cold to head to warmer climes, Larry’s interest had little to do with weather. It had everything to do with hot rods and muscle cars. More than anything he wanted to cruise around Southern ...

ROLLING BONES: HOT RODS @ AMELIA!

Posted on November 23, 2019November 23, 2019 by MartynL

Coupes and roadsters honoring the origins of American hot rodding will be showcased at 25th anniversary Amelia Island Concours in 2020. Rolling Bones is a school of rodding that strips away the glitz to present the earthy glamor of the earliest rods to slash across the dry lakes and salt flats on the weekends, yet serve as everyday transportation. For the folks who have created Rolling Bones hot rods in Greenfield Center, NY in 1999, it always goes back to racing, power and speed. Next year they...

HOT ROD HEAVEN: 54th ANNUAL LA ROADSTER SHOW!

Posted on April 12, 2018 by MartynL

Hundreds of hot rods, customs and classics will be on display alongside the event’s historic swap meet on June 15 & 16. The LA Roadster Show produced by the LA Roadsters car club, America’s premier showcase for pre-1936 hot rods and customs, car, returns to the Fairplex in Pomona, CA on Father’s Day weekend, June 15-16, 2018. One of the longest-running roadster exhibitions in the world, the event will feature the world’s largest gathering of pre-1936 hot rods as well as its historic swap me...

WILD-EYED & REVVED-UP: RODS AND ROSES!

Posted on July 6, 2017July 6, 2017 by MartynL

It's become a tradition: The High Noon Engine Rev at the Rods & Roses Car Show in Carpinteria, CA. The show celebrated its 20 Anniversary on July 1st – and the roar of the engines this year was a loud salute to local automotive legend, Andy Granetelli. There were over 150 wicked, wonderful and wild-eyed customs, classics and musclecars lining Linden Avenue, Carpinteria's main thoroughfare that delivers you to the "World's Safest Beach" on the Pacific. Proceeds from this always-enjoyable sho...

BOOK REVIEW: KENSINGTON MD’S GASOLINE ALLEY!

Posted on July 1, 2017 by MartynL

Our Mike Matune reviews Cynthia Lee Monroe’s unique historical book about the car culture in suburban Washington, D.C. Cindy Monroe’s impressive volume, KENSINGTON MARYLAND’S GASOLINE ALLEY, began life, as of all things, a crime novel. Fortunately for historic motorsports aficionados, Monroe changed direction after a trip to a local historical society revealed there was a story even more intriguing. The book is about a place on the map in suburban Washington, D.C. that hid behind its humble app...