Subscribe Today!
The Rodder's Journal Issue #35
Issue #35 of The Rodder's Journal is set to arrive in early February. This issue will bring your customers over 200 pages of the finest new hot rods, the best in rod and custom history, and interesting examinations of hot rod culture.
A pair of newly completed Ford Victoria sedans appears in Issue #35. Heavily influenced by Corvettes and built with an eye towards elegance, the Pagan Gold 1933 Vicky that graces our "B" cover is the realized dream of Paulette Zaragoza, who blended elegance and performance in her first hot rod. We follow that up with a look at a '32 Vicky just built by Eric Clapton. This Deuce is Clapton's version of a "gentleman's hot rod," a well-mannered sedan with enough room for his whole family, but one that still packs over 500 horsepower in the form of a Roush smallblock.
Classic customizing appears in the reborn "Polynesian" 1950 Oldsmobile. We use TRJ #35 to take a look at the history of Valley Custom Shop and the excellent restoration this landmark custom received. Current owner Gene Blackford restored the car himself, almost fifty years after he first saw and fell in love with the purple, sectioned coupe.
George Lange keeps two completely different Deuces, an AMBR winner and a record setting 996-horsepower street roadster, in his St. Louis garage. The pair is shown together in Issue #35. Ronnie Bergstrom's Deuce roadster also makes an appearance all the way from Sweden. This one mixes rare early Indy parts and an Ardun overhead with the convenience of today's aftermarket. The result is a wild but well-crafted roadster sure to grab your attention.
Barney Navarro's '27 T Modified Roadster has been restored to perfection, complete with its blown and destroked flathead engine. Its feature allows us to examine the life of Barney Navarro, one of the most ingenious figures in a sport defined by innovation. We also look to the past with a second round of colorized photography from Amsterdam's Rik Hoving. This time, Rik has focused on early street rods. Some of them are well known, like Lynn Yakel's Deuce five-window, while others are sure to surprise. Rik's attention to detail, eye for color, and talent are so impressive we used one of his images on our "A" cover.
A huge pictorial displays the power and diversity of the NHRA's Hot Rod Reunions. The next best thing to being trackside during the Golden Age of drag racing is attending a reunion, and our feature will convince readers of that claim. We also offer a bare metal feature on an all-aluminum Willys, one created by students with almost no previous metalworking experience. It's the product of Lars "Lazze" Jannson's metalshaping school and his unique approach to forming panels.
Also, we look at the cultural side of hot rodding. First, we have an examination of the roles played by early Japanese American hot rodders and how the events of World War II altered their lives and the course of hot rodding. TRJ #35 also looks into Rockin' Down the Highway, a book from music historian Paul Grushkin that reveals the intertwined paths of car culture and rock n' roll.
As always, there's much more inside the covers of TRJ #35. We have updates on Kent Fuller's quest to shatter records at Bonneville and the progress of the Sam Barris Merc's exacting restoration. Two new columns highlight the latest in hot rod books and clothing, and still there is much more. Thanks for your continued support of The Rodder's Journal: we're sure Issue #35 will make every hot rod and custom fan happy.
The TRJ Staff
