When he was a kid, Vinny Skandunas' grandfather would regale him with stories of when the family migrated from Milwaukee to California in the 1920s in their brand-new Model T Ford. Vinny was mesmerized when grandpa would tell him about rattling along plank roads and
Ed “Big Daddy” Roth had a flair for the dramatic. Perhaps best known for his rascally rodent, Rat Fink, which served as the unofficial mascot of early-’60s hot rodding, Roth crafted a series of edgy and over-the-top customs that shook the hot rod world to
California Kid. Pierson Coupe. Doane Spencer roadster. Eliminator coupe. HogZZilla Harley. So-Cal lakester. Rides that peg the legend meter and linked by a common thread – the genius of Pete Chapouris. One of hot rodding’s premier talents, Chapouris not only transformed street rod culture, but
A while back the Gazette featured camshaft guru Ed Iskenderian as a Legend of Hot Rodding. Baron of the bumpstick, we called him. Today, Isky is 99 years old, with the century mark coming up fast. So, it seemed appropriate to feature another Isky contribution
Goodguys works with our fair share of police departments across America. Communication with the local police is vital. Road closures and traffic flow are the main areas of focus. Our alliances with the police departments are 99-percent seamless and fruitful. In rare cases, a few
Imagine if there was a movement to construct a hot rod version of Mt. Rushmore. A hot debate would surely follow on who is worthy of having their countenance chiseled in stone, say, in the hills overlooking the Bonneville Salt Flats. Wally Parks would be one
As Neil Young once wrote, rust never sleeps. It’s this immutable law of nature that drove a divide in the development of post-WWII hot rodding. The warm, sun-dappled roads of California meant the Model Ts and Deuce coupes of the 1920s and ’30s were waiting, rust
Although they have been in the scene for decades, hot rodding’s next generation are still connected to a youth movement that got going around the turn of the Millennium. The staff here at Goodguys has taken great pride in watching hot rodding’s youthful torch bearers
It’s not surprising Goodguys President Marc Meadors found drag racing as a primary hobby. He grew up riding in his father Gary’s ’23 T-bucket while going to racing events throughout the West. Dragstrips like Fremont, Bakersfield, Sacramento and even down to Pomona were a regular
LeRoi “Tex” Smith was one of hot rodding’s most influential and iconoclastic figures. He joined NHRA’s Safety Safari and the Hot Rod magaine staff in 1953, helped launch Rod Action and Street Rodder, and co-created the Street Rod Nationals with Tom Medley and Rod &
