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Bill Wendt’s Replication of the 1959 Indy 500 Winner Is Meant for Bonneville
The Indy Offy Land-Speed Mash-Up There are no rules in hot rodding, so you can build anything you want—even an exact replica of the 1959 Indy 500–winning AJ Watson Indy roadster so you can race it at...
View ArticleFreak Show Friday: One of the Original Freaks
One of the original freaks was Bill Everett’s “Half-Breed” 1962 Plymouth. Well, at least the back half is ’62 Plymouth. It ran in B/Gas with an injected 413 wedge. In the mid-1960s Bill got drafted,...
View ArticleThrowback Tuesday: A look Inside Carroll Shelby’s Then-New Shop
Carroll Shelby needed a facility in 1962 to construct his Cobras, just as the feds were closing in on Lance Reventlow and his racecar operation at 1042 Princeton Drive, in Venice, California. Reventlow...
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Dodge Drops NHRA Pro Stock
We are sorry to report that Dodge is out of NHRA Pro Stock racing. Mopar chief, Pietro Gorlier, said Mopar will continue sponsoring Don Schumacher Racing and will be expanding their Sportsman presence,...
View ArticleThe First Woman to Win an NHRA Event In a Pro Class Is Only Part of Her Story
Shirley Shahan is the first woman to win an NHRA event in a pro class. While that’s a drag racing milestone and represents a legendary accomplishment, especially in 1965 when drag racing was completely...
View ArticleFreak Show Friday: About Having, Wanting, Trying, and Needing
The Stones said, “You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes you’ll get what you need.” This guy obviously had something—a Ford Explorer. What he wanted was a 1956 Ford truck of some...
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In 1960 You Could Buy a Mail-Order, 1,300HP Rocket Engine!
The Insane Turbonique Tale of Magic Bullet Madness There once was a magic bullet for extra speed. It was a bolt-on device. Bolt it onto your rear axle and you instantly had 1,300 hp at the press of a...
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Not Just a Rumor: Chrysler Looking to Return to NASCAR!
FCA Chief Sergio Marchionne Discussed with Jim France and Lesa France Kennedy More than just a rumor, Fiat Chrysler Chief Sergio Marchionne is reported to have had dinner with both NASCAR Vice-Chairman...
View ArticleThrowback Tuesday: “Fast Eddie” Schartman
1967 “Fast Eddie” Schartman getting a little out of shape at the newly opened Orange County International Raceway in 1967. The Air Lift Rattler Funny Car was one of four built that year with a Logghe...
View ArticleTwin-Engine Tremendousness With the Freight Train and Motes & Williams Dragsters
Duel of the Duals Hail to twin-engine tremendousness! You know the hot rod credo is that bigger is better and two is better than one. To celebrate one of the hot rodder’s Ten Commandments, here’s the...
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Arlen Kurtis Has Died
Arlen Kurtis, son of fabled Indycar builder Frank Kurtis has died. Besides Kurtis’ prolific string of hundreds of Indy 500 roadsters, Champ dirt cars, quarter midgets, three-quarter midgets, Bonneville...
View ArticleFreak Show Friday: What To Do With An Import
We at HOT ROD tend to shy away from the import side of modified cars, but when something as dramatic as this early 1970s Datsun 240 Z comes along, we gotta give it some love. Or not. This build...
View ArticleThrowback Tuesday: The Magwinder Dragster
1960 What could be considered one of the most exotic early dragsters was the sideways/rear-engine “Magwinder” built by Kent Fuller, owned by Chuck Jones, and driven by Jack Chrisman. Besides the engine...
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Drag Racing’s Twilight Zone – Streamline Dragsters
A 60-Year History of Drag Racing’s Attempt to Harness the Wind You’re traveling through another dimension—a dimension not only of sight and sound, but of atmosphere. It is an invisible dimension strong...
View ArticleThrowback Tuesday: Tex Smith and Bill Neuman
Within the last couple of years we have lost both of these magazine alums. Tex Smith with the screwdriver, was a HOT ROD staffer for years before venturing out on his own, to help start both Street...
View ArticleFreak Show Friday: Bring on the Zombies and Aliens
A Hot Rod for the Coming Apocalypse The coming apocalypse is no reason to abandon your hot rodding passions; just alter your concept of “modification” to be more like you see here. This started as a...
View ArticleThrowback Tuesday: Trojan Horses
1972 Unpredictable and dramatic burnouts were all in a day’s work for the Doheny and Fullerton Trojan Horse. Becoming NHRA World Champion in 1972, other noteworthy Larry Fullerton Horses included a...
View ArticleFreak Show Friday: What Happened To This 1939 Plymouth?
A Thousand Fathers You know that saying, “A winner has a thousand fathers but a loser is an orphan?” Well, this winner we assume has quite a few involved in its build based on how many have signed...
View ArticleFormer HOT ROD Tech Editor and Motor Trend Editor Eric Dahlquist Has Died
A key figure from HOT ROD Magazine’s past has died. Former HOT ROD Tech Editor Eric Dahlquist, who held that position in the mid-1960s before becoming editor of Motor Trend, died December 29, 2016....
View ArticleRacing Titan, Nick Arias Jr., Has Died
One of the titans of hot rodding, Nick Arias Jr., has died. Arias is synonymous with racing—especially drag racing. His 498ci Arias Hemi, based on the Chevy big block design with his own Hemi head, was...
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