Hot Rod December 2023

What does your eBay watchlist say about you? That’s the question that occurred to me after a recent, late-night session scouring the online auction’s website. Before closing my browser, I paused to review my watchlist and was amused by how eclectic, yet predictable, it is. It’s an interesting case study, for sure; a window into the soul. My watchlist is utterly predictable, of course. It’s mostly cars, car parts, motorcycles, motorcycle parts, and tools. There is the occasional watch or two. Every now and then I look for old pocket watches, though I’ve never bought any. I’m not sure what that says about me. What is interesting is that my watchlist contains items that reflect both my long-term and short-term interests—a slice of life if you will. One of my…

EDITORIAL Network Director Michael Galimi Editor-in-Chief John McGann Managing Editor Rusty Kurtz Senior Editor KJ Jones Features Editor Timothy Bernsau Technical Editor Johnny Hunkins Technical Editor Steven Rupp Social Media Editor Cyril Soliman HOT ROD Garage Hosts Lucky Costa, Alex Taylor Contributors Wes Allison, Dominick Damato, Kevin DiOssi, Drew Hardin, Rob Kinnan, Scotty Lachenauer Jordon Scott ART DIRECTION & DESIGN Design Director Markas Platt ADVERTISING Advertising Sales Director, Aftermarket Michael Essex; 863.860.6023 Chicago: 180 N. Stetson Avenue, Suite 3300, Chicago, IL 60601 Tel: 312.470.3441 Mason Alwan Detroit: 4327 Delemere Court, Royal Oak, MI 48073 Tel: 248.594.5999 Luke Strobl Los Angeles: 831 S. Douglas Street, El Segundo, CA 90245 Tel: 310.469.4715 Cody Busch, Adrian Pierce, Jay Tien New York: 30 Hudson Yards, 500 W. 33rd Street New York, NY 10001 Tel:…

20 Years Ago December 2003: 114 pages, $3.99 Competing with the “How to Turbo Any Engine” main blurb were models Lana Kinnear (seen here), Candice Michelle, and Valerie Baber, who appeared on three different “collectible covers.” Each was vying for reader votes to become Miss Hot Rod 2004 along with candidates Linda O’Neil and Tiffany Lang featured inside the issue. (All were photographed by Wes Allison.) This issue also included a poster of the eBay Motors “FastForward Fastback” 1967 Mustang, which was built by Troy Trepanier’s Rad Rides by Troy. The cover blurb referred to “HOT ROD’s Guide to the Ultimate Power Adder” compiled by Senior Technical Editor Marlan Davis. This being the year-end issue, the HRM staff chose the Top 10 hot rods of the year, including the Hot…

One of the most innovative places on earth is the Bonneville Salt Flats—or, more accurately, the shops and garages of competitors getting ready to test their ideas on that hallowed ground. The quest for speed has inspired designs ranging from the sublime to the just plain weird. Howard Johansen’s twin-tank streamliners may not fall into either of those extremes, but they were definitely unusual and eye-catching. We can’t call them unique, because some Internet research showed there have been at least five land-speed-record contenders utilizing the twin-tank design. Johansen built two of those, one in 1949 and a second one he built in 1954. He brought the first twin-tank car to the SCTA’s very first Bonneville gathering in 1949. HOT ROD’s coverage of the event, in the October 1949 issue,…

There’s no doubt that one of the hottest things in the street car world is the proliferation of drag-and-drive events. Started by HOT ROD’s own Drag Week in 2005, that style of competition has exploded in popularity recently. A part of the visual impact of Drag Week and its spinoff events is seeing a Pro Mod-style race car on the highway pulling a small trailer behind it. The real superstars of these events are the cars and the drivers behind the wheel. The recently organized drag-and-drive events, like Rocky Mountain Race Week and Tom Bailey’s Sick Week, draw packed stands and a lot of attention online and on social media. Sick Week recently finished its 2023 event and one of the stars of this year’s drag-and-drive race was the bright…

Emilee Ballard is no stranger to drag racing, as her father was often at the tracks around her Chicago-area home, mostly running a series of bracket cars. She was usually there with him, for the most part just watching and being around to see what was going on. Seeing her growing interest in the drag racing scene, her dad tried to stick her in a Junior Dragster in her younger days, but that didn’t fly—as Emilee said, “It didn’t scare me, I just didn’t like it.” A dragster, if you’ve never driven one, can be a bit claustrophobic at times, so we get it. No, the dragster wasn’t her style; she wanted to be in a door car if she was going to be racing. So, in 2014 her dad…