I'm sure someone has already posted something about this new Hop Up issue, but if not, you gotta get it! That little rag is SO good. The article on the Miller 122 race car from the 20'-30's is real cool, man Miller was a cool cat. I can't even imagine all the machine work he put into that 122 race car, amazing!
Yeah, it was great that the editors got next to a Miller Special when it was apart. Amazing cars- ten years later the lakes boys were narrowing their Ts and fabbin noses like that...Millers had a huge influence on hot rodding. The man who drew the 122 motor, Leo Gossen, was the only person in the US employed full-time designing racing motors from the twenties until he drew the Ford DOHC V-8 Indy motor in the sixties. So many details to look at in that story- great issue
PS...a rant...some time ago there was a thread here, "Who are the great influences on hot rodding...well Harry A Miller was one. I was showin my grandson my Colt 45 one day, he was of course fascinated by the LOOKS of it. I told him, "These things look like this because of three words "fitness for purpose" They weren't designed by a "stylist" or "consumer research board" Well the best hot rods also had "fitness for purpose" Harry Miller sat up late at night...he would hold a part he had made and ask himself, "How can I make this lighter, stronger, more efficient for it's purpose?" Just like the best hot rod builders in the back garages of the US today. Go to the library and get one of the Miller books. I tried to look at every part of my Triumph Bonneville and use the "fitness for purpose" philosophy on it. Massage every piece, lighter material, better load paths, stronger...
Once again... I find myself wanting a cool new issue of a cool car mag, and I can't find a place in Tracy that sells the damn thing anywhere. Blah.
For a major Miller read, beg, borrow, or steal a copy of "The Miller Dynasty" by Mark Dees. It's a large landscape-format book filled with archival photos of Miller's work from the beginning of his carburetor work, right on through the decades to the last of the Indy Offys. Leo Goosen's impeccable drawings are worth the price of the book, which is a hefty $150. I've read my copy (it was a gift) twice and will read it again as soon as I wrestle it away from a pal I lent it to. Here's a sample of what you'll find in the book --a Goosen drawing of a Miller Ascot.
Frank Lockhart in the cockpit of his Miller in front of one of Miller's Los Angeles shops. Dapper Harry is the fellow on the right.
awesome, thanks for the info on that book! I will begin my search now, with any luck I'll snag a copy. I was just so impressed with all the metal work, all the pieces on that car are works of art in metal. I'm not much for metal work so it just blows me away. Kind of like watching a pro skate board video....i can't skate for crap, but it's unbelievable to me what those guys do on them tiny boards. Guys like Gene Winfield do the same thing for me, the build up of a traditional kustom sled is radical. What a lot of work and it is worth it too. Miller is a new name to me (i'm serious) and I am super inspired by what a guy from the 20's-30's did more so than by ANY new car that Japan or Detroit are putting out on the streets. That's why I love the old iron, the way it was done back then was right on, and guys are doing it that way today, guys and gals right here on the Hamb! Gotta love it!
The Jalopy Journal
