The Birth Of Hot Rodding

Ford V8s, surplus wing tanks, weird fuels, treated tires, and anything-goes ingenuity created the California hot-rod culture on the dry lakes and salt flats in the 1930s. Author Robert Genat covers the hot rodding phenomenon including wildcatters on the salt flats and organized class racing of the Southern California Timing Association (1938) and up through the present day. Genat's insider view, illustrated with rare photographs (some never before published) of the SoCal scene in the 30s and 40s, puts the people and cars of the time and place into historical perspective and even includes the reopening of Edwards Air Force Base's flats to hot-rodders.

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.

A deserving tribute to the American muscle of the hot rod, this edition is filled with eye popping photography, gatefolds, and four prints to hang.

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.

In its sixty-plus years of existence, Hot Rod magazine has featured hundreds of cars on its cover. This book showcases each cover in full color, along with images of the cover car from select issues.

In the best-selling original book, Hot Rod Gallery: A Nostalgic Look at Hot Rodding’s Golden Years: 1930-1960, author and historian Pat Ganahl opened his archives and shared 192 pages and 350 photos of "some" of the most interesting and best photos of his collection. Filled with fascinating images of some of the coolest cars and builders, long-forgotten car clubs, and great shots of the dry lakes, nostalgia fans flocked to grab a piece of hot rodding history all in one convenient package. Well, if some is good, more is better, right?" In Hot Rod Gallery II: More Great Photos and Stories from Hot Rodding's Golden Years, Ganahl dug deeper into his massive archive for even cooler and more never-before-seen photos in both color and black and white to provide another album of great hot rodding photos. He was pleasantly surprised to find that he had more great stuff in old files and folders, hidden away for decades. In this edition are even more dry lakes shots, post-war rods, lead sleds, show circuit cars, and a chapter on marvelous mills. He even dug a little deeper into the early 1960s. If you liked the first edition of Hot Rod Gallery by Pat Ganahl: A Nostalgic Look at Hot Rodding's Golden Years: 1930-1960, you may like this one even more. Ganahl guarantees that it is filled with images you have never seen, and he offers his commentary and a lifetime of expertise in this selection of fantastic images from his expansive archive. You can spend hours looking at all the details and soaking in the history in these images, and we know you’ll enjoy this book as much as you did the first.

Bud Crayne was proud to be the wildest, most reckless driver on the road. Then came a horrible accident and a lesson learned much too late.