FLATHEADS FOREVER: HISTORY OF HOT RODDING

FLATHEADS FOREVER: HISTORY OF HOT RODDING
Henry Ford’s Flathead V-8, introduced in 1932, gave power to the people. It was more than just a bigger engine: FLATHEADS FOREVER: HISTORY OF HOT RODDING, and the rodders & racers responsible for making it happen. Until the advent of modern OHV V-8 engines in 1949, Ford’s Flathead V-8 was the enthusiast’s engine of choice. It still is for traditional ‘old-school’ hot rodders, and competitors in Pre-War class road racing. It’s truly an “evergreen” story: FLATHEADS FOREVER: HISTORY OF...
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WORLD’S MOST FAMOUS HOT ROD

WORLD’S MOST FAMOUS HOT ROD
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...
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1960-1961 ROD & CUSTOM CAR SHOWS

Historian Pat Ganahl shares highlights of 1960-1961 ROD & CUSTOM CAR SHOWS from his extensive historical archives. I’ve got a lot of stuff in my “archive.” I mean a whole lotta stuff. Just in terms of photos–color, black-and-white, prints, negatives, slides, proof sheets, digital–there are 30,000-some images. No way I can count them. It’s just an estimate, and it’s probably way low. But besides those, there are magazines (most from Vol 1, No. 1), books, racing and show programs, audio tapes...
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ROD & CUSTOM: ART & THE AUTOMOBILE

https://patganahl.com/2021/07/26/unreal-auto-art/
Rod & custom archivist/historian, Pat Ganahl blogs about Charlie Smith’s ROD & CUSTOM: ART & THE AUTOMOBILE that turns as many heads as do iconic show-stoppers. I was going to title this column “The Unknown Artist,” but that’s not true at all. I’ve known Charlie Smith of Kansas City at least since the mid-1980s. I’ve published his work in Hot Rod and Rod & Custom, and you’ve seen it elsewhere. You’ve also seen cars he’s designed, though you might not know it. Just one example is...
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THE WAY IT WAS: DANGEROUS DRAGSTERS!

ROD and CUSTOM’s Pat Ganahl blogs about California drag racing pioneers and THE WAY IT WAS: DANGEROUS DRAGSTERS! Yes, I will admit to having a bit of corncob embedded in a certain portion of my anatomy. Why? I won’t go too deeply into it here. But most of you know that I was an avid and active supporter of Nostalgia Drag Racing from its beginning, participating with a Hemi-powered A/Altered and then a Top Fuel dragster, neither of which I had any desire to drive myself. After a couple of ver...
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HOT RODS & CUSTOMS: CRUISIN’ ANGELO’S

HOT RODS & CUSTOMS: CRUISIN’ ANGELO’S
Pat Ganahl digs into his archives and retrieves memories of living in Anaheim in the late-1970s, early-1980s and shooting HOT RODS & CUSTOMS: CRUISIN’ ANGELO’S for So-Cal mags. I think it was one of my Instagram readers who mentioned recently that a photo reminded him of cruising Angelo’s on State College in Anaheim. I hadn’t thought about that in quite a while. But we lived in Anaheim from 1977 to 1984 – in fact son Bill was born there – and Angelo’s was just a little more than a m...
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‘OHIO GEORGE’ MONTGOMERY: FIRST DRAG COUPE

‘OHIO GEORGE’ MONTGOMERY: FIRST DRAG COUPE
Rod and Custom’s Pat Ganahl blogs about Gasser legend ‘OHIO GEORGE’ MONTGOMERY: FIRST DRAG COUPE. We add a couple of photos of Ohio’s most iconic quarter-mile rides: Malco Willys & Mustang Gassers powered by blown Ford SOHC engines. I am going absolutely bonkers. No, it’s not from being cooped up at home for the past four-plus months. Anna and I are doing very well in that regard, thankfully. Plus I got one car finished in the garage, another to build, and I even finally got some ti...
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SAILOR BOB: ANATOMY OF A MODEL T

SAILOR BOB: ANATOMY OF A MODEL T
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/ ...
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MONTEREY MADNESS: PEBBLE & THE QUAIL!

MONTEREY MADNESS: PEBBLE & THE QUAIL!
CGC’s Jim Palam ‘captures’ 20 gems from Monterey Car Week’s lauded treasure troves. How do you do it? How do you pick just twenty cars from two of the highest-profile Monterey Car Week events – the 69th Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering – now in its 17th year? It’s a daunting task, much worse than selecting your favorite faux meat snack or all-time best action hero. But car guys do what they gotta do: MONTEREY MADNESS: PEBBLE & THE QUAIL! So I started b...
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’69 CORVETTE ZL1: TRIBUTE WITH PERSONAL TOUCHES!

’69 CORVETTE ZL1: TRIBUTE WITH PERSONAL TOUCHES!
Historical ZL1 background info plus George Haddad’s stunning alloy-engined Corvette Tribute.To understand the importance and uniqueness of George Haddad’s ‘69 Corvette ZL1 Tribute, top, you have to go back to late-1968. Hot Rod magazine broke the ZL1 Corvette story in the December 1968 issue with an unforgettable all-aluminum big-block 427 engine wearing bright yellow headers, above, on its cover. Haddad built this ZL1 Tribute at his shop, http://www.fabulousrestorations.com/ Exact production n...
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