TRJ Issue #28

Nothing to Hide
Our baremetal feature captures Royce Glader’s largely handcrafted ’29 Model A roadster pickup prior to being blown apart for paint and chrome. The roadster is heavily channeled over a custom drilled 2×4 steel frame, and incorporates a laundry list of tidy handmade, racecar-inspired details. Power comes from a Dodge Red Ram Hemi hooked to a T-5 manual transmission.

Bud’s Old Shoebox
We delve into former Rod & Custom editor Bud Bryan’s stash of photos for a look at the hot-rodding scene from the mid-’60s through 1974, when R&C ceased production for a time. From surfside photo shoots in Southern California to rod runs across the country, there’s a treasure trove of never-before-seen photos from our past.

The Cole Foster Story
Cole Foster is an extraordinary fabricator and custom car designer with an impressive portfolio of builds to his name. We feature a small handful of them, including Henry Gong’s ’56 Nomad and Cole’s ’54 Chevy shop truck and ’54 Chevy hardtop, and tell the story of his life growing up with his dad, drag racing legend Pat Foster.

Blue Ridge Rodding
While Southern California may arguably have been the epicenter of early hot rodding, by the late-’40s and ’50s the sport was rapidly gaining popularity in just about every corner of the United States. Southwestern Virginia was one of those corners, and Ken Gross explores the history of the hot rodding and racing culture that grew out of the stock car racers and moonshiners of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Jeff Allison Design
Our artist profile focuses on Pacific Northwest hot rodder and illustrator Jeff Allison. His design work has been the basis for everything from event poster and t-shirt designs (including a line of Rodder’s Journal artists tees) to concept designs for award-winning hot rods. We take a look at his work and learn a little more about his experiences in the Washington State rodding scene.

Custom Retrospective
As part of our 10th Anniversary celebration, we have dedicated a photo essay to some of our favorite customs shot in the studio and on location in our first 10 years. Among them are Jim McNeil’s restored Hirohata ’51 Merc, Dan Houck’s Junior Conway-finessed ’51 Ford coupe, Barry Mazza’s restored “Aztec” ’55 Chevy, John Babcock’s Harry Bradley-designed ’40 Merc, and plenty more.

10 Years After
The cover of TRJ #1 featured the gorgeous red, chopped ’34 three-window of Ray Bartlett, owner of Maryland’s Hot Rod Garage. For our 10th Anniversary, we revisited Ray’s coupe, which, much like The Rodder’s Journal, has been tweaked, altered, refined, and we think improved upon during the decade. It’s beautifully chopped, full-fendered body still wears a custom-mixed coat of red, and power comes from a built ’67 Chevy 327 smallblock. But changes like the custom drilled and chromed nerf bars, lower stance, and polished Halibrand Sprints and Eric Vaughn’s Real Wheels improve the coupe’s impact.

Kustom Kulture for the Masses
Graphic Designer Coco Shinomiya has a well-earned reputation for pop culture-related projects ranging from Patsy Cline and John Coltrane album packaging to Mark Morton’s Hop Up annuals. Her most recent effort is editing Hot Rods & Custom Cars–Vintage Speed Graphics, published by Taschen. It’s part of their “Icons” series and includes a brief introduction by Tony Thacker along with rod and custom-related color photography, illustrations, and advertising art from the ’50s and ’60s.

Parts is Parts: Steering Wheels
When it comes to steering wheels, it’s hard to argue with the classic simplicity of a ’40 Ford wheel. While originals are still out there ready to be restored, there are a wide range of replicas that look great. We take a look at some of the more popular ones available from Limeworks, Juliano’s, Vintique, LeCarra, and Quality Restoration.

The Other Brothers
Andy, Joe, and Vince Granatelli were the brothers behind the well-known Grancor speed and performance shop. Their hot-rodding exploits led to all sorts of speed-related innovations, from Midget and Indy car performance to the evolution of the aftermarket equipment industry itself. We examine their history.