Turn Back Tuesday: Larry Watson’s Customized 1958 Ford Thunderbird
Larry Watson’s recently completed 1958 Thuderbird custom at the Renegades Car Club Rod and Custom Motorama at the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium in 1958. Watson was a prolific custom painter in the...
View ArticleFor Starters: How Long Does it Take to Build a Street Rod?
I am asked repeatedly by newcomers to our hobby, “How long will it take me to build a street rod?” It’s a reasonable question but the answer is anything but simple or reasonable. You wouldn’t think...
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Tech Q&A: Correct Fan Switch Location
When monitoring your cooling system, take the temperature reading at the point where the coolant is hottest; on most American V8s, this is at or near the thermostat housing. The big-block in our C10...
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Shop Talk: Thoughts From Seat 20D
The tale begins, as so many do, long before I took my place in seat 20D on the Airbus 318 bound for Nashville. Within minutes of performing the online check-in some 18 hours prior to the flight, I got...
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HOT ROD Rescue: Custom CV-joint Driveshaft Helps Fix 1971 Challenger...
Photos: Jon Dumas, Joe Kaiser, Frank Rehak The bad vibrations on Bill Maher’s 1971 Dodge Challenger started after swapping in a TKO trans. Six different garages and replacing the entire drivetrain had...
View Article140 Photos from the 2017 Eagle Field Runway Drags
A trip to Eagle Field Runway Drags is like taking a step back in time. Situated in the middle of nowhere in the heart of California’s San Joaquin Valley (nearest town is Firebaugh), Eagle Field was a...
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Family-Built 1973 Camaro Races Drag Week on a Budget
Drag Week’s Family Affair The Gear Vendors HOT ROD Drag Week, powered by Dodge, brings together families better than any therapist. Brothers Bill and Kyle Scheel hail from Utica, Michigan, and their...
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How to Rewire a 1965 Plymouth Barracuda the Painless Way
I have been toiling on my Barracuda project for the last seven years and have sworn to finish this ride before the height of the summer cruise season. Wish me luck. During the build it became obvious...
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How to Fabricate Push-Button Door Handles
Every so often, a new car will come out with fancy, seemingly new technology that, in reality, was already attempted in the ‘30s, ‘40s, or ‘50s. Take the push-button door handles from the Lincoln...
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Nothing Small About the Little 500
The Little 500: Nothing really small about this classic race. There are 33 cars on the track at the Indy 500 – no problem. There are 33 cars on the track at the Little 500 – madness. They start...
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Wrenchin’ Wednesday: Keeping New Parts Clean While Installing Them in Old...
Dirt in the wrong places can be the root of all evils. If you’ve ever worked on an oil-soaked or crusty project car before, you know how much of a pain it can be when tiny bits of dirt or rust get into...
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Heads Up—Is It Better To Rebuild Or Buy New?
Q I’m faced with a dilemma. The small-block Chevy in my street rod is about to be rebuilt. It was a used engine when I put it in my 1938 Chevy and it has worked well, but it was down on power and...
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Pavement History of Setups
Over the 35 years that Circle Track has been reporting on the technical aspects of short track racing, we have seen a lot of change take place. It is our duty and honor to present those changes in a...
View Article150 Photos of Traditional Hot Rods From the Jalopy Showdown!
On May 20th, the 15th annual Checkered Flag Jalopy Showdown took place at the EMMR Lattimore County Fairgrounds in York Springs, Pennsylvania. It’s a show that’s run each year to benefit the Eastern...
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Travelling Through Europe in a 1973 Roadrunner
A former World Champion AHRA Super Street and NHRA Super Gas drag racer with time on his hands and wanderlust led to the most unlikely outcome of road tripping through Europe in a 1973 Plymouth...
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1959 Rambler Puts New Spin on Gasser Craze
Thinking Outside The Box: High-performance ’59 Rambler wagon re-engineered to meet new challenges John Donato is a manufacturing engineer living in Plantation, FL. At age 50, he smiles when he says,...
View ArticleLarry Dixon Wins at Cavalcade of Stars in a Top Alcohol Funny Car
NHRA Top Fuel Dragster champion Larry Dixon won the Top Alcohol Funny Car class at the 11th Annual Cavalcade of Stars event May 22, 2017 at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio. Making his debut in...
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The Speedway Motors Week to Wicked Tribute Truck
Sixty-five years is a good, long stretch, especially when it comes to a committed venture such as a marriage or a family owned and run business (both of which are very much alike in many aspects!)....
View ArticleProfessor Hammer’s Metalworking Tips: Removing “rainbow discoloration on...
Welding polished stainless steel often causes a particular type of “rainbow” discoloration. This month’s column tells you how to remove this coloring. Q I am making a stainless exhaust system and I’m...
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Bill Newell’s 1972 Chevy C20 longbed converted to 1969 C10 shortbed
There are no two ways about it; there’s a cultural divide a mile wide between people who love classic trucks that lay hard, and the people who don’t. Bill Newell of Medford, Oregon, just happens to be...
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