The American Speed Shop

The history of hot rodding and performance cars has been well chronicled through the years. Books and magazines have covered the cars, builders, pioneers, engineers, early racers, muscle cars, street racers, etc. Most take a nostalgic and fun look at the cars that many have loved their entire lives. Some even cover the lifestyle, the hobby as it involves people, and the effort, time, and commitment people put into it. It is more than just a hobby to most, and to many, a certain wave of nostalgia comes over them when remembering what the car scene was like "back in the day." The local speed shop is an important element of the nostalgic feeling that people have when fondly remembering their hot rodding youth. Speed shops were not just parts stores, they were a communal gathering place for car guys wanting to talk smart, bench race, and catch up on the local scene, as well as to solicit the expert advice from the owner or staff behind the counter. Here, longtime hot rodder and industry veteran Bob McClurg brings you the story of the era and the culture of speed shops as told through individual shop's histories and compelling vintage photography. He covers the birth of the industry, racing versus hot rodding, mail-order, and advertising wars. You learn about the performance boom of the 1960s and 1970s, lost speed shops as well as survivors, and a overview of the giant mail-order speed shops of today.

2009 Outstanding Academic Title, Choice Since the mass production of Henry Ford’s Model T, car enthusiasts have been redesigning, rebuilding, and reengineering their vehicles for increased speed and technical efficiency. They purchase aftermarket parts, reconstruct engines, and enhance body designs, all in an effort to personalize and improve their vehicles. Why do these car enthusiasts modify their cars and where do they get their aftermarket parts? Here, David N. Lucsko provides the first scholarly history of America’s hot rod business. Lucsko examines the evolution of performance tuning through the lens of the $34-billion speed equipment industry that supports it. As early as 1910, dozens of small shops across the United States designed, manufactured, and sold add-on parts to consumers eager to employ new technologies as they tinkered with their cars. Operating for much of the twentieth century in the shadow of the Big Three automobile manufacturers—General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler—these businesses grew at an impressive rate, supplying young and old hot rodders with thousands of performance-boosting gadgets. Lucsko offers a rich and heretofore untold account of the culture and technology of the high-performance automotive aftermarket in the United States, offering a fresh perspective on the history of the automobile in America.

It is the dream of many to own the world’s most beautifully designed automobiles, but most often only a handful of collectors ever come close. Now, The Impossible Collection of Cars makes that dream come true, showcasing the one hundred most exceptional cars of the twentieth century in ASSOULINE's third volume in the Impossible Collection series. Each luxury automobile—from the 1909 Blitzen Benz to a 1996 McLaren F1—was chosen for its revolutionary engineering, magnificent lines, and head-turning capabilities. Assouline is pleased to announce this exquisite tome, which features cars owned by celebrities like Marlene Dietrich, Ralph Lauren, Greta Garbo, Pablo Picasso, and Elvis Presley. This Impossible Collection volume is presented on cotton paper in a beautiful black rubber clamshell box with a cutout metal plate.

This book features savvy experiements with transitions from the virtual to the physical: USB sticks embedded into walls, buildings, curbs; giant real-life versions of Google's red map markers positioned in public spaces; portraits generated from search results.

Here are hot rodding's true pioneers--the guys who raced the lakes in the mid-century, the ones who broke the records, and those who, through sheer ingenuity, transformed discarded car bodies, flathead V-8s, and four-bangers into the stuff of myth. In essays by some of the most respected journalists in hot rodding today, these icons of the early days come to life, and the history of hot rodding unfolds in all its gritty glory. Featured throughout are rare photographs drawn from the archives of the American Hot Rod Foundation, an institution dedicated to preserving, promoting, and celebrating the history of hot rodding. Compiled by noted hot rod author Dain Gingerelli, the essays in Hot Rod Roots take up topics crucial to the development of hot rodding from the 1920s to the early 60s: Robert Genat explores the symbiotic relationship between hot rodders and the U.S. military during World War II; Pat Ganahl delves into the birth of the belly tank and its lasting effects on the sport; Greg Sharp tracks hot rodding's impact on the development of circle-track racing; Gingerelli explains how the sanctioning of quarter-mile drag racing accelerated hot roddings growth; Ken Gross documents the effect of enthusiast magazines and car shows; and Mark Morton shows how hot rodding's early roots will always remain a part of the sport. This book also includes a foreword by So-Cal Speed Shop founder and dry lakes pioneer Alex Xydias.