The early, post-World War II hot rod culture of Southern California was awash in talent, innovators such as Ed Iskenderian, visionaries like Wally Parks, journalists like Dean Batchelor, to name but a few. Leroi "Tex" Smith would be a first-ballot member of this exclusive club. Tex
One could argue that street rodding’s popularity after the first Street Rod Nationals was propelled not by ’glass bodies, aftermarket suspension bits, or crate motors. Rather, that growth was driven by something far simpler – cool air. Air conditioning made driving a hot rod in
Over the last three decades, three cars stand out that pushed the envelope of style and substance. These are vehicles that took hot rodding to the next level. It happens a lot in this scene. We’re cruising along with incredibly cool machines then BAM –
Bill Burnham was one of hot rodding’s greatest gifts. A highboy guy through and through, Burnham had a string bitchin fenderless roadsters which spanned decades. He was a pied piper of sorts – a renaissance man who was as genuine as the day is long.
Every month, Goodguys Gazette editor Damon Lee and I kick around ideas on who will be our next Legend of Hot Rodding. This month, we agreed: Don Garlits. We were both flabbergasted that to date he had eluded our attention. It would be like a
In the quest for speed, aerodynamics has proven just as important as horsepower. The machines that hurdled across the dusty dry lakes of SoCal and the salty flats of Bonneville caught on early that reducing aero drag resulted in a boost in top speed. While the
It was a hot Friday afternoon at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. This was in the mid-’90s. A call came over the radio that an unauthorized police officer was directing event traffic at the top of Grand Ave. A few of us loaded up in golf carts
Over the course of hot rod history, journalists have played an equally important role to that of car designers, engine maestros, and metal craftsmen. And no scribe was as influential as Dean Batchelor, whose given name was prescient: He was widely recognized as the dean
The week before he passed away, I heard someone briefly mention that “Low Fat” Larry Westervelt was dealing with a health issue. Less than a week later came the dreaded call that we all get at some point in our lives. It’s shocking. You wish
Some outstanding hot rods look the part. Their brilliance is immediately apparent. Others are more muted. Parked on a fairground these rides barely merit a head-turn. But if you did peer underneath or squint under the hood, a dazzling display of style and ingenuity would
