THEHOTRODARCHIVES

20 Years Ago

April 2003: 116 pages, $3.99

Fifteen years before, then Editor Pat Ganahl came up with the idea for a HOT ROD swimsuit issue as an April Fools spoof of the SportsIllustratedspecials. He had no idea the concept would be such a strong newsstand seller that it continued for the better part of a decade. Editor Ro McGonegal brought the models back to HOT ROD in 2001 in retro pin-up style, and the concept was, once again, a big seller. By 2003, the combination of a Miss HOT ROD fold-out poster and a paint-and-body editorial section was an April issue tradition. Randy Lorentzen photographed Mishel Thrope in front of Ryan Murphy’s ’55 Chevy 210 for the cover; inside, the paint section included tips for first-time painters, a tutorial on how to paint flames, and bodywork tips on a fat-fendered ’40 Chevy owned by Associate Publisher Ed Zinke. Elsewhere in the issue McGonegal covered the installation of the Crusher Camaro’s driveline; Senior Technical Editor Marlan Davis fueled the Anvil small-block Chevy project engine with a brew of nitromethane and alcohol (with plenty of charts and graphs and info on the properties of the fuels); Tech Editor Steve Magnante reported on Edelbrock’s new Thunder AVS carburetor; and Steve Dulcich built “The Little Mopar That Could,” a junkyard 318 that produced 400 hp for less than $1,500.

40 Years Ago

April 1983: 132 pages, $1.75

Pat Brollier photographed George Boskovich’s ’69 and ’70 Boss Mustangs for the cover and Senior Editor Gray Baskerville wrote up the coverage of the modified ponies in “2 Bad.” The 71-year-old Boskovich was a fixture in SoCal’s cruising and street racing scene, and his ’69 Boss—the first one sold in Southern California—had long ago lost its semi-hemi mill for a 427 high-riser. When he retired, Boskovich decided to swap that engine for a built 472-inch Cammer. The ’70 was still Boss-powered, though the engine was bored and stroked to 508 inches and highly modified by Earl Wade. The “Street Machine of the Year” story featured the 10 “baddestquickestnastiestfastestmostoutrageous” feature cars from 1982, with Rick Dobbertin’s “eye-popping” twin-turbocharged and supercharged ’65 Nova earning top honors. Technical Editor Marlan Davis offered street and strip tuning tips for Holley 4150/4160 carburetors; Pat Ganahl lowered the suspension on his Z26 project Camaro; Executive Editor John Baechtel looked inside a Buick V6 drag race engine; David Kimble rendered a detailed cutaway view of Richard Petty’s NASCAR Pontiac; and a busy Baskerville looked at independent front suspension systems for street rods, road tested Vince Granatelli’s Paxton-blown ’72 Nova (12.21 @ 115.68 in the quarter on slicks), and introduced a lakes modified roadster project to be built by Lil John Buttera and Fat Jack Robinson and given away at the HOT ROD Supernationals.

60 Years Ago

April 1963: 118 pages, 50 cents

Eric Rickman photographed what has become one of the most significant ’32 Fords in hot rodding history, Tom McMullen’s flamed highboy roadster. When Rickman wrote the feature, McMullen was an electronics technician at Beckman Industries; his role as a magazine publisher (and prolific competitor to Petersen Publishing) was in his future. Powered by a ’62 327-inch small-block topped by a 4-71 GMC blower, the daily-driven roadster had exceeded 150 mph on the dry lakes. Technical Editor Ray Brock covered Dan Gurney’s win at the MotorTrend-sponsored NASCAR Riverside 500, and the magazine also profiled Bill Stroppe’s Mercury stock car team. While the racing coverage wouldn’t appear for another month, Rickman shot the Winternationals custom car and hot rod show, where Bill Cushenbery’s Silhouette, Bob Tindle’s Orange Crate, and Chuck Krikorian’s Emperor took top honors. Associate Editor LeRoi Smith road tested stock and D/Stock drag-prepped versions of the Rambler Ambassador, and he also looked into a Corvair handling packaged designed by Don Hellwig. This issue marked a major milestone: Longtime Editor and Editorial Director Wally Parks was leaving Petersen Publishing to devote his full attention to the NHRA, which he formed in 1951 “for the betterment of the hot rod sport.” As Editor Bob Greene said in his column, “better it he has—better yet he will.”

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