The best Hot Rod magazine cover of the first decade?

1955

 

1956

 

1957

 

1958

 

They're all great, but Dec '50 is my fave. Old timey B&W except for the bright red car and masthead. Jimmy B gave me a copy of that one a couple of years ago, thanks again Jimmy.

 

Wow Payne....thanks a whole lot for posting the first 10 years of Hot Rod!!!!

 

Awesome! Oct '50, and March '51 are my 2 favorites

 

its cool you did not have to have half a million bucks to have your car on the cover.. and look at all them T's.. great stuff.
chris.

 

What I'm noticing in the hot rods is the hieght of the cars. Especially the frontends. When I was planning my bucket, someone talked me out of doing it that way. I guess the "in the weeds" look came later. I actually like the old style better.

 

Wha...? Is that a Chevy engine going in a Ford!?

 

my fav as well, have a framed print hanging in my lounge room.

 

X 3 on the April 1950 cover, hands down my fav!!!

 

My all time favorite cover has always been Nov '49. Great car and even though she's probably 80, that's a right pretty girl with the movie star smile.... I always liked that "look"...

 

Guess I caused a bit of a stir! Yes it is photoshop'd. It was a cover i made for my design proposal for my senior design project. Check out my build thread if you are interested. Dirty Dug - thanks for the comment about the rust bucket, now that you mentioned it, it does look out of place, given the time period. I will have to fix that.

 

Couldnt make up my mind ... Still a work in progress.

 

So many great and historical cover photos, but none are as original and iconic as the Dick Flint Roadster, May of 1952.

 

Not that the pic is that artistic in any way maybe, but I love the feel of Nowember 1950. Takes me straight in to Daydream Modus.

Waiting for a signal to go down the track...... Love it.

Paul

 

June 1963.
It was the first "Hot Rod" I ever bought.
I still have it and enjoy it!
I like the headline. "Can a hot rod win at Indy?"

 

I couldn't pick just one single issue as my favorite, so here's my top five:
1. February '58 (quarter midgets cover)
2. July '51 (flathead v-8 drawing)
3. November '49 (Calori Coupe)
4. May '52 (Dick Flint Roadster at crosswalk)
5. Oct. '50 (Kenz Twin-Ford Special, the So-Cal Special, and the Tornado Special at Bonnevile)

If I had to choose an era it would be the Jan '48 - March '51 large single image black & white covers.

 

I like the one showing the guy welding on a ford front suspension, don,t know exactly the date. But in your comments about the first issue being in 48 I guess I was there!
We moved to 80th and Figeuroa, around 1947, and I recall us kids riding our bikes to the L.A. Coloseum area to see the hot rod show. As I recall there were some rods outside that we could look at and we peeked in a doorway and saw some more in there.
So that must have been 1948, and I was 10. We moved to LA in 44 and I saw many rods back then, I think thats where and when I caught the desease. Used to read HR and othe mags at the drugstore, thats how I learned to read. No wonder I talk funny. But I could spell pretty good, not no mo tho

 

Oct 48, forever a classic!

 

November 1949..

 

One from the color.. It's real hard, they are all masterpieces!

 

I like all of the 49 & 50 covers!

 

this would be some bitchen wall paper..

 

oct 57-hands down. thanks payne for all those pics

 

Really like this one .. which depicts the 50s era. Sports & chicks were important as well .

 

this one gets my vote. Love the car so so so so much!!!!

 

anyone know what these back tires are and if they repop them?i want them.

 

Don't know who made the tires, but the cross grooves look to be hand cut, maybe with a grooving iron, or a saw. That was quite common during that era.