Anyone have this little book from 1968?

A friend of mine who knows I like books says he found it in a store. They are holding it until tomorrow. I think it's like 5 bucks.
If it's worth it- I'll have him pick it up. I don't know if this is a teen story, history, or what.

If you have it- I'd like to know about it & possibly some page shots. Did a search here & internet & didn't find much.

 

I have it but its been years and I cant remember whats inside.

 

it's 5 bucks i would snag it

 

Probably can't go wrong for $5.00

 

I seen one on e-bay like 2yrs ago for $25.00

 

It probably is lame. But I'd rather have it on the shelf for 5 bucks than last months HRM.

 

There are a few dozen on the internet, prices from $2 to $13 plus shipping.
Picture cover hardcover, illustrated by Harvey Kidder, 210 pages.
I don't know what the story is, undoubtedly hot rods, looks like a nice display item if nothing else.

 

It is a book written for teens and published by Whitman Publishing. It is about two 16 year old twin brothers, one a nerdy cl***ical muscian and the other a hot rodder. The hot rodder starts out with a 55 Chevy for his first car and makes a g***er out of it. He gets framed by car strippers and helps the police try to break up their ring. Along the way he sells the 55 and builds a FED with a blown 427 Ford SOHC (the cover art shows a hemi in his rail and that always pissed me off!). I got this book in 1968 when it was first published for my 10th birthday. I still have it and probably read it a couple of times every year. I have lots of teen hot rod story books that my dad gave me over the years. Let me know if anyone wants to know what a specific book is about and I will see if I have it.

 

same price as a new magazine. the cover art makes it worth the 5 bucks.

 

Cover art is very cool. Story a bit iffy though. I saw one on EBAY just now but since my friend went to the trouble of holding it- he'll pick it up tomorrow & mail to me.
Thanks for the help.

 

Ok, I'll test you. When I was in grade school in the '70's I read a book that was either called "The Jeep" or "The Year of The Jeep", I can't remember which. It was about a kid who is freinds with a guy with (I think) a blown '40 Willys drag car and the kid finds an abandoned Jeep that he resurrects. I seem to remember it being very good, but then again I was about 12 when I read it.

 

Hey Zookeeper- this it?



Another kids story type book, published in 1968- hardcover.

 

The cover of mine looked different, but I think it's the same book. Guess now it's off to Amazon to see if I can snag one. Thanks!

 

Okay, another test. Two brothers, either a midget or sprint car. A season or two of racing.
Thanks, RJP

 

Sounds like it could be "Dirt Track Summer". Brothers Skip and Tom Ludlow buy an old sprint dirt car with a Meyer-Drake (Offy) engine and try running the dirt circuit for a summer.

 

I have it.....good shelf item for the garage......Carl Henry Rathjen was sort of a Junior Varsity version of the more popular writer, Henry Gregor Felsen....

CB

 

I have one. Great cover art. Displays well. You can't find much real, old, hot rod related art for $5. Buy it. I certainly wouldn't sell my copy for $5!

 

I had Hot Rod Road as a kid, remember the cover vividly. I wonder it survived in the box of stuff I have from my parents old house. I still have "The Year of the Jeep" on my book shelf, one of my favorite books as a kid.

There's another teenage hot rod story I remember where kids play "auto-tag" without lights at night, the main character's mantra was something like "more speed will get you out of anything" until a younger kid gets behind a wheel and "more speeds" himself into a bridge or something. Seem to recall a pink 40 Ford in the story with br*** trim. That ring a bell with anyone?

 

I think that guys name, Felson, is on my HOT ROD movie case/sleeve. I think he wrote the book.

 

Auto-tag at night and speed will get you out of trouble was Hot Rod, by Henry Gregor Felsen. The pink coupe with copper trim was Street Rod, also by Felsen

 

I have it. Cool book. Grab it.

 

$5 won't buy two gallons gas or a six pack-(or Street Rodder)-buy it!

 

Some cool little books for teens coming out of this thread. On with the hunt! I have 3 small grandsons- this will be fun!!!

 

Thanks, should have known someone here would know it. I guess I have a bunch of those storie jumbled up in my memory. I probably read every car book our school library had.

 

I think i got from when we were in grade school, we would order books

 

Or it could be Speedway Challenge by William Campbell Gault from 1956 . Brothers Johnny and Steve Mallot decide to give open wheel dirt racing a try for the summer.

 

It was Dirt Track Summer. Thanks. My quest has begun.

 

I know this is an old post but I just found it. Does anyone remember a book from the sixties about a kid who builds a hot rod, tries to run from the police and gets caught? I can still remember my excitement at reading the chase seen! I remember that the car quits for some reason and he tries to coast up a hill and out of town but doesn't quite make it. I thought I recalled that it was called "Hot rod summer" but I can find no trace of it anywhere on the web or at my library's on-line card catalog.

 

I remember a novel I read as a kid, probably around '68 called Four Wheel Drift. Also I bought one of those Scholastic Book Club books called Dragging and Driving. It was a book about the basics of driving, and drag racing. Very informative and interesting (to a seventh grader anyway)

There were others, but I can't remember the ***les just now.

 

Steve, theres one on Ebay for $13, buy it now...here's the description

This is a Vintage HOT ROD ROAD book by Carl Henry Rathjen! This is a teen / young adult type book with occasional illustration. A perfect gift for your little gear head, greaser, kustom kulture, rockabilly hoodlum! Please see images below.