A guide to the history of hot rods and custom cars, from the earliest stripped-down roadsters of the 1930s to the tuck-and-rolled beauties of the 1950s and early '60s

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.

Americans were forever changed when the edgy style and power of hot rods exploded onto their highways. This volume details nearly 300 of the most innovative rides to ever own the road. Alongside colour photographs is each car's history, options and top selling points.

Among the hardest core of American automotive enthusiasts there always exists a desire to press styling and performance a step beyond the showroom floor -- to truly craft an automobile of one's own. This photographic and cultural history examines the evolution of American custom cars from the 1930s to present, covering touchstone trends, influential builders (Barris, Roth, Coddington et al), custom shows, enthusiast magazines and regional styles. An expensive collection of rare period photography and exclusive modern shots help illustrate how Detroit informed the styling of customs (and vice versa), the explosion of the custom car scene after World War II and the factors that led to the custom's near-death in the 1960s and its resurgence in the '80s. But most of all, this chronicle is a showcase of the great cars and people who influenced the movement through the years.

Of all of the pioneering custom-car builders to come to prominence in the 1950s--Harry Westergard, George Barris, and Dean Jeffries, among others--one of the most prolific was a young man from Modesto, California, named Gene Winfield. Cutting his teeth in California's hopping postwar hot rod scene, Gene eventually gravitated toward custom cars, becoming one of the medium's preeminent and most-sought-after practitioners. For the first time, Gene's career is examined in this volume fully illustrated with photography from Gene's personal archive. Written by longtime Winfield employee David Grant, The Legendary Hot Rods and Custom Cars of Gene Winfield is culled from hours of interviews with Gene and recounts everything from his early days in Modesto and his first shop in a converted backyard chicken coop, to his role in forming the Century Toppers car club, his involvement in dry lakes and circle-track racing, the formation of Winfield's Custom Shop in 1955, and the impressive string of vehicles that followed. Cars featured include the Ford convertible that graced the second issue of Rod & Custom, the 1950 Solar Scene Mercury Coupe, the 1956 Mercury called Jade Idol, and the Ford King "T" that won the 1963 AMBR award, among dozens of others. Grant also delves into Winfield's involvement with model-maker AMT, movie and TV vehicles for such projects as The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Get Smart, and reminisces from Winfield's contemporaries.

Handcrafted, radical, and subversive, these custom cars are designed and made by a small number of specialists

Whenever hot rodders get together to bench race two questions invariably come up: "Whatever happened to such-and-such car?"; and "How can I find one of these old, abandoned hot rods?" Lost Hot Rodsanswers both questions by finding nearly 100 lost hot rods, custom cars, and a few dragsters that were famous in the 1950s and 1960s. They were featured on magazine covers or winning major car shows. Then they disappeared, or were "lost" because they weren't seen in public again. In Lost Hot Rods, we attempt to answer the questions about whatever happened to these great cars. We're not talking about vintage tin sitting in the desert or woods, or old cars parked in farm fields. Nearly all of these vintage rods and customs were found in urban or suburban garages--possibly right in your neighborhood--where they were parked years ago, maybe to save, perhaps torn apart for a rebuild, or in many cases they are projects that were started years ago and just never finished. The condition of such finds ranges from musty piles of parts, to dusty and cobwebbed originals, to pristine, still-show-quality beauties. We also show cars that have been located by others, either as-is or now in beautiful restored condition. Either way, we tell the process of finding such vehicles, giving many tips on how you can find them, too. This isn't a book about seeking these cars for profit. What's more important, and fun, is the search itself. If, when you find such a long-lost rod or custom, it turns out that it is available and you can afford to acquire it and put it back on the road and enjoy it, so much the better. But just finding them; finally answering that "Whatever happened to...'" question is the main goal. In most cases we show vintage photos of the car in its heyday, along with where and how it looks today. But what makes this venture doubly fun, and what separates this book from others, is that we are not just looking for old cars or even collector cars hidden away. Finding a vintage Corvette, or Porsche, or even a gennie Model A or Model T stashed in a garage or barn is cool. But hot rods and custom cars are very different--literally. Each one is unique. So each of these cars has its own unique story, it's own personal history, which makes Lost Hot Rodsa special collection of stories as well as "Then" and "Now" images. This is a paperback edition of the original best-selling hardcover.

Learn how to plan, budget, and build a hot street rod without going broke, with this expert practical advice for building, including chassis, engine, bodywork, painting, and upholstery. How-to photos depict major steps.