When a group of hot rodders hung out in a hotel parking lot on Thanksgiving Day in the mid-Seventies it was just that. Five decades later, though, that little event has grown into a massive car show, swap meet, and car corral that fills the entire in

Most hot rodders see an old car and instantly think about what a great hot rod they could build with it. They'll think about the overall look of the car, what engine and drivetrain they'd use, which wheels would look best, and so on. It only takes a

I received an interesting email from a longtime reader with questions about the early days of my Photojournalism career. Mike Edwards thought it might make an interesting editorial, so here goes. WHAT AND WHERE WAS YOUR FIRST PROFESSIONAL PHOTO SHOOT

Dave Vogt of Cold Spring, MN became interested in this make and year of truck as a kid in the early 60s while riding with his grandpa in his '36 Chevy. He took them everywhere, picking nuts and berries in the fall, sled riding in the winter, and pick

Mark Herz first saw this Dave Lane (FastLane Hot Rods) 1934 Ford Coupe in person at Steve's Auto Restorations in Portland, Oregon in 2020 when he dropped off his '56 Chevy Nomad (see pages 28-36) for its restoration. He'd seen photos of the 2013 Good

Now in its 32nd year, the Mooneyes Hot Rod Custom Show is the largest such car show in Japan as well as one of the best in that part of the world. Based in Yokohama (about a 30-mile ride South of Tokyo) the show has steadily grown and spread its infl

In 1974 my mom was 9 months pregnant with me and my dad bought a 1956 Nomad from State Farm Insurance. It was wrecked on the left rear while sitting in the street in Lexington, Nebraska so the insurance company totaled it. They hitched up a trailer b

Today, the purpose of a chopped top on a hot rod is mostly to make a visual statement, but that wasn't always the case. In the late 1930s, roadsters were considered to be real hot rods, while sedans and coupes were not considered to be race cars. Ove

Denny Cissell of Lake Havasu, AZ grew up and was a business owner in Southern California. Denny is a long-time hot rodder and thirty years ago he decided to purchase a black, 1994 Chevrolet SS Impala. He enjoyed the car but couldn't stand the orange

Rick Bales is finally getting around to building the Deuce three-window coupe that he bought in 1985. He has sound reasons for not getting to it until now, but he now has a good reason to get it completed. In the past, Rick had a '26 Model T sedan th

Larry Weber has had the sweet sickness, and the love of cars, most of his life, which he has passed on to his son Brian. A recent one, before this very nice '37 coupe, was a '33 Ford Tudor. It was a cool car but had little space for luggage when he a

I'm seeing less and less satin-finished billet parts on rods built today, but there was a time when if you didn't have a multitude of billet accessories, your rod was out of touch. Paul Martinez, our publisher's ‘34 Ford Coupe, was an excellent examp

The 2024 SEMA Show brought together over 2,400 exhibitors, including 580 first-time exhibitors, and attracted more than 160,000 attendees from 140 countries attending events throughout SEMA Week. Held at the Las Vegas Convention Center from November

Reasons for building and/or owning a hot rod are as varied as the hot rods themselves. Some people are reliving their youth by driving the dreams of their childhood. Others thoroughly enjoy the building process, selling a car soon after it is built,

From the first time Tim Case saw a 1938 Ford Coupe, he wanted one. People would tell him to find a 1937, ‘39, or ‘40 because they all thought that of the Fat Fender cars, the ‘38 was the “ugly duckling” of them all. Jim Simpson, a friend, had one, bu

ARTIST: ROY JONES ARTWORK COURTESY OF BOB DRAKE REPRODUCTIONS■

I bought my ’40 Ford Coupe in 1965 from Garnett’s DX, a gas station/garage just South of Louisville, KY, while attending an electronic school (UEL) in Shively after graduating high school in my hometown of South Bend, IN. The car was in decent shape

PHOTO: DICK RACZUK■

When I was 15 years old, I was a guy who wanted a car. I found a ’31 Ford Model A Coupe up the road from our house. Not running, but okay, I thought. I told my mom about what I had found and asked if I could buy it. She said yes, with conditions. Pay

Many little boys spend lots of time playing with cars and trucks. Being a second-generation hot rodder, Kenny Pollman is still doing that. By day, he drives a dump truck to make a living. His dad has a 1933 Ford Three-Window Coupe and a 1934 Ford Roa

The Triple Crown of Rodding Show hit another home run with their encore performance held at the Nashville Superspeedway on September 6-7, 2024. The car count nearly doubled from 2024, with over 3,300 high-quality custom vehicles through 1972 and Amer