I just got told by my Step Dad that all his magazine collection from 1953-1968 is mine for the taking. There are 12 full boxes of Hop Up, Hotrod, Cars, and a bunch of other ones. Looks like I am going to be busy reading for the next few years. I can only fit about 6 boxes this trip. Each box weighs over 100 lbs!!!! The articles are sooooo cool and so are the ads.
There are actually 13 big boxes and go back to 1951!!! Just thumbing through a few of them and the ads are incredible. All the rare parts of today are the new parts of these ads!! I will be scanning as I read.
You lucky dog, If your into period customs look thru the boxes for issues of Car Craft. It was one of the best magazines on the stand.
6 months? Did you miss where he said there are thirteen boxes that all weight over 100? If I were in his shoes, by the time I come out of the bathroom, I'll be well into my retirement years. I just turned 24 a couple months ago too.. Congrats on getting them! Lucky he never thought to throw them out because of the space they were taking up..
NICE! I have a few years of Hot Rod Magazine, 1953 and 1955 I believe... its always fun to look through.
How about Motor Life that was also part of Hop Up Magazine. I just got home with our Jaguar looking like a tail dragger with the 6 boxes in the back seat and trunk, my 125 lb lab and all my wifes and my stuff packed into this poor car. Boy was it stuffed. I am just going through some of the books and man it is sooooo cool. There's alot of brochures from Edelbrock, Holley, Ansen etc with the books. I'll start posting some of the ads and covers once I get settled back home. And when I said that the boxes were 100lbs, I think I was on the shy side. These books seem to be made out of lead!!!!!! I just looked at a 1954 book with George Barris changing up a show car from the 1953 circuit. There are alot of books that I haven't even heard of but really cool. Theres also every Motor Trend from 1951-1954, another cool mag called Auto Age, Car Craft, Popular Hotrodding, Hot Rod, Car Craft, Custom builder, then a bunch of small Hot Rod books called Annuals.
I love old hot rod magazines and like you find the ads interesting as hell. I also like the ads in the back where people are selling their cars and you see something like a 32 coupe with Olds engine, tuck and roll interior, first $ 400! The tech articles are cool too and show that most of the modifications were done with a gas axe and not much concern for neatness. I have some articles on swapping engines and the workmanship is not what we would consider quality today , but it got the job done. Don
Well my Step Dad and Mom came down for her 72nd Birthday. My Step Dad is 76. He just trailored 13 more boxes 400 miles to me and I think I just received the motherload!!!!! There is a full box of the small pocket book magazines. Honk, Hop Up, Rod and custom, Rods Illistrated, Rod Builder and Customizer, Custom Rodder, etc etc etc! I lost count of these small books at 155!!! I pulled out the Honk 1952 August issue and said to myself. I better stop counting and reading these cool little magazines!!! How cool is this!!!!!!! So the total count of boxes are 19!!!!!!!!!! Unfortunately the first 2 years of magazines he had, he lent to a friend back in 1950 and his Mom burned them all. Otherwise this is a complete collection with just a few issues throughout the years are missing.
Oh and I just got through Hotrod from 1950-1959 and Big Daddy Don Garlits just hit 183 MPH in the 1/4!!!!!! I haven't even started into the hundreds of Car Craft, Rod and Custom and all the other orphan magazines!!! So I have read just over 1 box since my first post!!
What a great gift! Now you have to deside how to store them. Hope they have all been keep in a dry place and no silverfish or other thinks have attacked them. I'm sure some HAMB members will have advice for you. Bob
Geeza! I started having flash backs,when i was a kid my GrandPa said i could have all his car books (little did i know his stuff went back to the 40's) It took 2 trailer loads to get em all here! so i have just about every Hot rod from #1 to 2009 along with CAR CRAFT ROD &CUSTOM ROD & RESTYLING CUSTOM ILLUSTRATED CAR speed & style CUSTOM CARS <NOBR>AUTO</NOBR> AGE Speed Mechanic Circle Track and about a dozen other Magazine names from the 50-60's.....After about 2-3 weeks of trying to put em in order i gave up! ( hey wow look at this build~or hey nice tect article or I would love to build that) It's fun when you read something on a build back then & hear on here how it's NOT traditional! ya wanna bet? I still have boxes & boxes to go through (mostly 70's & up)
You are very lucky to get all that handed to you! Took me years to get my collection of old mags together, but they are an invaluable source of info if you are into building traditional hot rods.
This index isn't going to cover all of the magazines that you got, but will for many. http://hotrodindex.150m.com/
Nothing better than good old car magazines but they are damn heavy in quantity. Mine usually get read until they fall apart. Still have a complete set of Hot Rod from the 6th issue of 1948 through the end of 1958. I do have the reprints of the first six issues that were done full size some 30 years ago.
Hey FalconGeorge, did your Dad belong to BCCCA in the 50s? My Step Dad was Number 58(?) give or take a few.
The cool thing about old car magazines is how much content they contained compared to today. They were full of how to stuff and interesting stories and pictures. Today they are full of advertisements and have very little content. I recently was offered a deal on a very well known car hot rod magazine for only about .54 cents a copy and after reading the past few magazines they have sent me I see why it was only .54 cents a copy. Anyone paying the full retail price to read advertisements is crazy in my view. Just my opinion Jimbo
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii281/sixt8bird/Old%20Magazines/2012-05-2 [URL=http://s267.photobucket.com/user/sixt8bird/media/Old%20Magazines/2012-05-27_12-06-00_724_zpsa65987fa.jpg.html][IMG]http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii281/sixt8bird/Old%20Magazines/2012-05-27_12-06-00_724_zpsa65987fa.jpg7_12-07-15_851_zpsb11d3ff4.jpg[/IMG][/URL] http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii281/sixt8bird/Old% [URL=http://s267.photobucket.com/user/sixt8bird/media/Old%20Magazines/2012-05-26_13-50-56_845_zps256da83d.jpg.html][IMG]http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii281/sixt8bird/Old%20Magazines/2012-05-26_13-50-56_845_zps256da83d.jpg20Magazines/IMG_20130413_234903_065_zpscef882da.jpg[/IMG][/URL] It's sort of overwhelming having 20 boxes of these magazines. I have only read 1 1/2 boxes so far!!!
You will have hours and hours of fun going through that collection! And you will get a lot of information about how things were done back in the day.
The Jalopy Journal
