Fifteenth Anniversary Special Edition
The first issue of the year celebrates our fifteenth anniversary here at The
Rodder’s Journal and we’ve devoted the entire issue to a look back
at the very special cars we have been fortunate enough to feature over the years.
Included are customs such as the Hirohata and Sam Barris Mercs, The Moonglow
and Kirk Hammett’s ’36 Ford coupe. Hot rods like the McMullen Deuce
highboy roadster, the Doyle Gammell Deuce coupe and Norm Grabowski’s “Lightnin’ Bug” and “Kookie
T.” We also included some of the most iconic and famous racecar’s
of all time such as the Orange Crate, Pierson Bros. coupe, So-Cal coupe and belly
tank, both versions of the Stone, Woods & Cook Willys gasser and a bunch
more.
The subscriber cover (cover A) this issue shows one of the most famous Deuce
highboy roadsters of all time, the Pete Henderson roadster. The car’s significance
increased almost immediately after a race in which it beat a horse back in the
early ’40s. It was restored by Chuck and Mike Longley of Deland, Florida
and currently resides in the collection of Ralph Whitworth. The newsstand cover
(cover B) shows off one of the most iconic ’36 Ford coupes from the last
50 years. Built by Cole Foster and his Salinas Boys Customs for Metallica guitarist
Kirk Hammett it originally appeared in issue #27.
Jimmy Shine's 1934 Ford pickup, TRJ #15
Also featured inside is a look at the black & white photography from a wide
span of our baremetal studio shoots, most of which are previously unpublished.
This 18-page article includes the very first baremetal feature from TRJ #1, Mike
O’Neill’s chopped ’32 Ford 3-window coupe. We also show some
of our most popular baremetal feature from over the years including Jimmy Shine’s ’34
Ford pickup, the Howerton Indy Special roadster, and Thayne Jensen’s ’37
Chevy.
Ardun engine history feature, TRJ #25
TRJ has also been known to have full features on complete engines. In this issue
we reexamine some of the bitchin’ engines we have showcased. Included in
this article is Bob Robe’s jewel-like blown 392 Hemi from TRJ #25 along
with an excerpt of an interview with “Big Daddy” Don Garlits. Also
in the article and shown here is a pair of Arduns. The one on the left is now
in John Mumford’s chopped and channeled ’33 coupe as featured in TRJ
#45, and on the right is the Ardun built by Tom Senter that appeared on the cover
of Rod & Custom in June of 1971.
The Matranga Merc, TRJ #4
Dick Flint's 1929 Ford roadster, TRJ #16
As we’ve already mentioned this issue is the only place you’ll see
a gathering of the most historically signifacant rods and customs. In TRJ #47,
we’ve put together the Hall of Fame including some of the most noteworthy
cars we featured over the years. This article is almost like a who’s who
in the history of hot rodding with names like Barris, Hirohata, Ivo, Prudhomme,
McMullen, McGee and many more.
Mike Young's 1960 Chevy Impala, Jimmie Vaughan's 1951 Chevy Fleetline and 1963
Buick Riviera, TRJ #3
Alan Button's 1932 Ford roadster, TRJ #27
There have been so many favorites over the years, that it was extremely difficult
to narrow down our top choices for this issue. However, after much deliberation
throughout our office we have filled 51 pages with cars that even thought they
are not part of the Hall of Fame, they are completely worthy of a second look
in this issue. Some of these greats include John and Jake Babcock’s ’40
Merc convertible, Richard Glymph’s ’60 Ford Thunderbird, Alan Button’s ’32
Ford coupe, Pat Lash’s ’29 Ford roadster, Dan Webb’s Golden
Submarine and so many more.
We have only printed a limited supply of what we expect to become an instant
collectable that will sell out fast.
We hope you enjoy TRJ #47.
