Here are the hot rodders we'll worship tomorrow. Kevin Thomson and David Perry venture into the shops of all-steel apostles Cole Foster, Gary Howard, Keith Tardel, the Kennedy Brothers, Jimmy White, Mike Smith, Rudy Rodriguez, Scott Mugford, and Mercury Charlie and offer profiles of todays top hot rod and custom builders. Hot rodders themselves, Thomson and Perry get to the heart of what makes todays hot rodders go, how they think, who they are, and what makes them builders worth watching.
Here are the hot rodders we'll worship tomorrow. Kevin Thomson and David Perry venture into the shops of all-steel apostles Cole Foster, Gary Howard, Keith Tardel, the Kennedy Brothers, Jimmy White, Mike Smith, Rudy Rodriguez, Scott Mugford, and Mercury Charlie and offer profiles of todays top hot rod and custom builders. Hot rodders themselves, Thomson and Perry get to the heart of what makes todays hot rodders go, how they think, who they are, and what makes them builders worth watching.
Expanded for the occasion of ZZ Top’s 50th anniversary, Billy F Gibbons: Rock + Roll Gearhead throws wide Gibbons’ garage and studio doors for an exclusive look at his exquisite collection of cars and guitars. Love cars, guitars, and ZZ Top? This visually stunning tour through this Grade-A Texas gearhead's weird, wild life, vintage and way-out custom guitars, and influential hot rods and custom cars is mandatory education. From the near-mythical ’59 Les Paul sunburst known as “Pearly Gates” and the “Furry One” of MTV renown to cars like the Eliminator, CadZZilla, and Kopperhed, they’re all here—more than 60 guitars and 15 astounding vehicles, all expounded upon by BFG himself and shown in commissioned color and artistic black-and-white photography. Cars and guitars that have made their way to light since the book's first publication in 2005 are included: Cars: Mexican Blackbird 1958 Thunderbird Quintana ’50 Ford Custom El Camino Grocery-Getter custom Whiskey Runner '34 Ford Coupe ’51 Willys Wagon Guitars: Party Peelers John Bolin Customs Neiman Marcus BFG SG Nacho Telecaster John Bolin "Think Buck" T-style Mexican Blackbird solidbody Mojo Maker Tone Bender Zemaitis custom Marconi Lab Guitar 1929 Dixie Ukelele 1939 Rickenbacker Frying Pan …and more! While BFG’s cars ’n’ guitars are the stuff of legend, no less intriguing are the tales behind his incredible music career. From teenage Houston garage rocker to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the whole story is between these covers, told in the Good Reverend Willie G’s own words and illustrated with photos and memorabilia from his personal archive. As with many rockers, Billy F Gibbons' jones for hot rods and customs is the stuff of legend. But beyond this bona fide bluesman's mastery of the six-string and unrepentant love for internal combustion is a noted collector whose own designs have manifested themselves in hundreds of mind-bending cars and guitars. This is the definitive and official record of that genius.
Hitting its stride in the 1950s, the underground hot rod culture spawned the likes of Rat Fink, Von Dutch, and George Barris. This collection of rare photographs and ephemera should be an essential for anyone who dreams of putting the pedal to the metal.h.
DIVIn Hot Rod Garages, acclaimed hot rod photographer and author Peter Vincent gives readers an intimate look inside the shops and garages of more than two dozen rod and custom builders. Unlike most hot rod books, Vincent’s takes a strictly California-centric approach in examining shops across the United States. From individuals crafting cars for their own reward to more prominent builders turning out cool rides for paying customers, Vincent and his cameras show the builders in the context of their spaces, in the process exploring how their work environments inform their creations and vice versa. Included are individuals like Pete Eastwood who have garnered attention in the hot rod press while building mostly for themselves; builders like Vern and Keith Tardel, the Kennedy Brothers, and Cole Foster with his crew at Salinas Boyz, all currently being celebrated for the traditionally styled rides they build for consumers; and high-end shops widely considered to be the cream of the industry, like Roy Brizio’s and Steve Moal’s in the Bay Area, as well as SO-CAL Speed Shop (heir to legend Alex Xydias). The result is the next best thing to being there—an exquisitely presented book that eloquently distills the varying nature of these spaces and the cars created within, revealing the countless hours spent machining, wrenching, welding, and shaping these beautiful visions to fruition./div
Here are hot rodding's true pioneers--the guys who raced the lakes in the mid-century, the ones who broke the records, and those who, through sheer ingenuity, transformed discarded car bodies, flathead V-8s, and four-bangers into the stuff of myth. In essays by some of the most respected journalists in hot rodding today, these icons of the early days come to life, and the history of hot rodding unfolds in all its gritty glory. Featured throughout are rare photographs drawn from the archives of the American Hot Rod Foundation, an institution dedicated to preserving, promoting, and celebrating the history of hot rodding. Compiled by noted hot rod author Dain Gingerelli, the essays in Hot Rod Roots take up topics crucial to the development of hot rodding from the 1920s to the early 60s: Robert Genat explores the symbiotic relationship between hot rodders and the U.S. military during World War II; Pat Ganahl delves into the birth of the belly tank and its lasting effects on the sport; Greg Sharp tracks hot rodding's impact on the development of circle-track racing; Gingerelli explains how the sanctioning of quarter-mile drag racing accelerated hot roddings growth; Ken Gross documents the effect of enthusiast magazines and car shows; and Mark Morton shows how hot rodding's early roots will always remain a part of the sport. This book also includes a foreword by So-Cal Speed Shop founder and dry lakes pioneer Alex Xydias.
Rick works hard to be the leader in a hot-rod gang. He organizes a driving-club, wins a contest, and is becoming a responsible young adult when just one more speed challenge ends in tragedy.
From the mind of Mr. Gasser himself, with behind-the-scenes pictures from his own files, comes the story of the life and times and art of this icon of hot rodding and visionary of Kustom Kulture. Since Ed "Big Daddy" Roth first told his tale, a whole new generation has discovered the creator of Rat Fink, Beatnik Bandit, and Mysterion-and this now-classic illustrated autobiography gives new and old fans alike a look into the shop and studio. ""The Salvador Dali of the movement,"" Tom Wolfe called him, ""a surrealist in his designs, a showman by temperament, a prankster""–and Roth’s larger-than-life personality comes across here as he tells how he arrived at his famous ""plaster and fiberglass"" method of constructing his sculptures on wheels (It could be done ""by people with little or no talent and I had both,"" as he put it.) and shows off some of his more outlandish models. A fitting tribute to an outlaw legend, this book brings Big Daddy’s work to wild and wonderful life, and lets us hear the man’s incomparable voice one more time.
