Jim “Jake” Jacobs has never been one to follow the crowd. Perhaps it was his time working with Ed Roth, arguably hot rodding's greatest iconoclast, that instilled in Jake the fixation to zig when others zag. One of our hobby’s most influential players – he’s the
This column frequently focuses on the personalities who set in motion the post-World War II hot rod movement – those heroic G.I.s who returned stateside yearning to unleash their pent-up need for speed. But a handful of SoCal racers were skimming over the arid lakebeds
World War II G.I.s were a resourceful, forward-thinking lot. For enlisted men who had an interest in race cars prior to the war, scouting military hardware for goodies that might boost automotive performance became a sideline pursuit. One such G.I. was Bill Burke. While on active
Any sobriquet that includes the word “fat” would be, in polite company, considered less than complimentary. But the late hot rodder Jack Robinson wore the moniker of "Fat Jack" proudly, for the descriptor wasn’t aimed at Robinson's physique but, rather, at his talent at building
Duffy Livingstone was one of America’s – and the world’s – unsung motorsports innovators. In 1958 Duffy, a resident of Pasadena, California, created the original Go-Kart brand, the first commercially available racing kart. At the time competitive karting didn’t exist. Go-Kart’s popularity set in motion
For this month’s Legends column, our editors aimed our way-back machine to the early days of the 20th Century, a time when automobiles — and motor racing — were in their infancy. A time when a high-school dropout from a small Midwestern town would go
Nike has its swoosh. The NBA its Jerry West silhouette. Target its red bullseye. Apple its, well, Apple. And the Goodguys logo? None other than the screaming yellow 1932 Ford Tudor sedan of Goodguys’ founder, the late Gary Meadors. Meadors came of age during the 1950s,
In publishing this column the past five years, we have profiled nearly every significant hot rodder we could think of. But we missed one: Pete Eastwood, the peerless behind-the-scenes craftsman who helped pull together some of the most notable rides ever created. Peter Eastwood was born
Darryl Starbird is an automotive customizer who, along with peers like Gene Winfield and George Barris, helped popularize the custom car during the 1950s and ’60s, when customs became a widespread part of American culture. He opened his Star Kustom Shop in Wichita, Kansas, in
The list of hot rod luminaries that roamed SoCal’s sunny landscape – many profiled in this column – helped define what we know today as “hot rod culture.” And every once in a while, a handful of such legends join forces to create a special
