History Off Topic: "The First 12 Issues" Hot Rod Magazine

Just got a new used book, "The First 12 Issues" of Hot Rod Magazine. No doubt at all that many are more familiar with it than me.

Really enjoyed paging through the first 12 issues of Hot Rod magazine including all the advertisements. Primary observations:

1. nearly all the advertisers were in the the Los Angeles metropolitan area
2. nearly all of the cars were roadsters
3. nearly all of the engines were flathead Ford V8's
4. the 1/4 mile wasn't a thing; the thing seemed to be top speed

Fascinating.

 

Were the first 12 issues originals or the reductions that were issued on the late 80's, early 90's ?

 

It's a 8 1/2 x 11" book, it's smaller size than the original issues. I have a copy. Published by Motorbooks, isbn 0-7603-0638-9

 

Do those 1980’s re-issued copies have any collector value?

 

To the best of my knowledge: these are reproductions and the book I bought has near zero collector value but substantial historical interest. The first issue is January 1948, the last December 1948. Sorry, thought it would be an interesting topic.

 

Don't think it's off topic... Let the Mods worry about it!...

 

Your four observations are very important.

 

If it ain't, I can't imagine why.

 

If you enjoyed that you also need the Best of Hot Rod book. I don't know when it was first published, but it's at least three decades ago.

 

Sometimes what we think is very traditional today is far from the way they did it back then.

 

Thanks For What You Posted And The Value Of Magazines And Books Is In The Reading....Appreciated..

 

It's amazing how far Hot Rod Magazine has fallen since the original issues.

 

Just try this, as I used to do every night at my Uncle's gas station.
Pick a Friday or Saturday night, stand on a busy corner, and look at what's running.
The only special rides are jacked up P/Us or popcorn poppers.
As I think back,,, Honestly I was bothered by the fact that the guys with the bucks were leaving behind their old coupes and roadsters to show off the hot big block new car of choice.

 

Because.
1. The magazine was started in Socal and Wally had to go around to freinds shops and sell the ads.
2. Again, Socal. Roadsters WERE the only hotrods raced on the lakes until the sport developed. Plus, the weather was condusive.
3. The flatty reigned. A few guys were playing with Stovebolts and Jimmys but that is a much larger can of worms.
4. Dragstrips weren't invented yet as the sport was in it's infancy.

 

Petersen, the Best of Hot Rod was published in 1981. Motorbooks, Hot Rod the first 12 issues was published in 1998. They did another book in 2003, The Best of Hot Rod Magazine 1949-1959.

 

Good observations CaliforniaDreaming. I love looking at them too. It was a very interesting time so different from now. It is hard to imagine how much activity there was in the Los Angeles area at the time. Between street driven roadsters and dry lakes racing and circle track roadster racing there was already quite an industry.

 

Hot Rod Magazine - January 1948
"World's Most Complete Hot Rod Coverage"

 

A friend gave me his collection, the first one is the only reproduction, runs through 1980. And I have the book as well. One of my late friends, contributed Roadster Racing coverage from the Northwest, in some early issues in 1948.

 

cool!

 

What amazes me is how many of the original advertisers are still in busniess , or morphed into another company that’s still in it like spalding ign is actually accell via echlin..
fabricator john
Miss you dad

 

My Father in law was part of that original Hot Rod group, straight outa WW2. They always said if a war didnt kill em certainly a car would not either!

 

Question. So are the ones in the HAMB classified reprints. For $5500. The reprints are a bit bigger in size. The second reissue had a current year in them. The earlier reprints did not from what I was told. Saw a reprint set in Hustons World of Wheels show for sale about 10 years ago. The owner was passing them off as originals.

 

I have individual reprints for 5 months and also a hard bound book of reprints for the year 1948. I think they were reprinted in the late 80's.

I have 5 of the originals from 1948 but they are so fragile I am afraid to read them. There is also a softback book which is a reprint of the originals.

Another observation from the 1948 year of Hot Rod Magazine I have:

- how prominent circle track racing of roadsters was. All up and down the west coast and also all over the US.

Good thread. Definitely not off topic.

 

Thanks for the tip; just ordered this on-line.

Yeah, they're pretty rough.

About 13 years ago I saw a TV show about the Burbank Roadsters CC(?). They're all about period correct hot rods (as many of you know far better than I do.) I decided while watching that show that I was going to own a flathead Ford. Finally bought one last year.

One of the many ideas I recall from the show, is a member saying he looked at a lot of old car magazines to see what was period correct. That's what I'm trying to do; make a period correct hot rod out of my '41 Ford flathead business coupe. Thought the first 12 would help; but because they're so rough and all about roadsters, they didn't. Enjoyed them for other reasons though.

My user ID is California Dreaming partly because I remember as a kid all of the TV show and hot rod references to California, specifically Los Angeles. (Drag Net, Adam 12, The Price is Right, Emergency) It's always seemed so cool and groovy.

Just moved to San Diego from the east coast in 2020. There will never be anything like the SoCal TV/movie/music/hot rod culture of years past but the remnants are still here.

Brad

 

This is the thing. As you have discovered, in the roots of this hobby, big cars post early roadsters were not a thing. Too fat, too heavy.

Of course people could use the same hop up parts on the engines, but...

Anyway, 41 coupes come into their own as a custom.

 

Great insight, thanks! I see how this is the case. Hot rods are all about removing weight; why would you want a roof?

 

A '41 Ford coupe or sedan was a fine car to have back in the late 40's. Hot Rod Magazine only had a smidgen of photos from the day. Remember that the automakers did not make cars between 1942 and 1945 so a 41 Ford was a desired daily driver. Here are a few pictures that I found in Don Montgomery's book. They some times had a racing or 3/4 race flathead in them. The body's were smoothed off and a nice paint job put on them in colors popular in the late 40's.

More radical customization came about in the early 50's but a clean near stock 40's style would make a nice ride in my opinion. This car was a street driven car but it also ran at the dry lakes in the late 40's.

 

i have a few of them on wally's list but now i gotta have em all lol , a reason for collecting like i need another ,,
fabricator john
miss you dad