Safety- Randy Curran

I just saw a post on the Hamb http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/rebuilding-after-the-crash.991650/ about an accident that really messed up a nice hot rod. He was only going 35 mph but its still scary how much damage can happen at a relatively slow speed but it is just metal so it can be repaired and fortunately the driver walked away with just a concussion. Now we all build hot rods and customs to the best of our abilities, we're not rat rodders for god sakes, but no matter how well built our cars are, the unexpected can happen. Now this car was very well built, best of everything, it was even raced so it had to pass tech inspection but it still hit hard and really moved some things around. The engine shifted, the frame was tweaked, its a mess but again the driver was OK. We all need to remember the safety factor when were building. No matter how cool something might look, it has to be able to put up with the rigors of the road or the track. Light might be right but overbuilding certain parts is way better.

An example at the moment is my Dad's '41 Plymouth. The suspension is stock as are the brakes, so it has drums all the way around. Drums can be setup fine but my Dad is older and sooner or later my kids will be driving it too, so we thought about it and decided that a disc brake kit would be perfect. My oldest (he's twelve) is apparently wise beyond his years and said 'would you rather pay for the disc brake kit now or hospital bills later'. I do believe he's right.

So what do you say people, do we bring safety back into the equation? Speed is great but wouldn't it be fun to be able to share it with our kids too? That would really be hard to do when your dead. Build it strong or don't build it at all.

Yuck.  Its being rebuilt and on Nitro!

Pat Ganahl Interview- Randy Curran

Pat Ganahl is the greatest hot rod/custom writer ever. Too much you say? Ha! From his work at Rod and Custom(still that magazines best era), to the Rodders Journal, Pat tells all. And he does it exactly how it should be. This is Part 1 of the interview so stay tuned for more!

1. What is the greatest invention/product in the hot rodding world?

The hot rod itself. It is the quintessence of do-it-yourself American invention. I don't think there's any argument there. If I had to pick one product, I think it would be the Roots-style supercharger. That hot rodders could take these off GMC 2-stroke diesels and do with them what they have done is phenomenal. And the fact that Detroit/Europe is finally realizing that these types of blowers are simpler and work better than turbos is something hot rodders could have told them several decades ago.

2. Should a hot rod be built or bought?

Yes. As I just mentioned, hot rodding is built on doing it yourself. But if a hot rod is bought, someone still has to build it, and hopefully that person knows what he/she is doing and likes it...and gets paid. To me, a more important criterion is whether the buyer/owner of a hot rod is
involved in the pastime and its culture/history. Bruce Meyer doesn't turn wrenches on his rods or race cars, but he is very much involved in hot rodding--supremely. But some of his car-collecting buddies that he tells "You need a hot rod in your collection," don't and shouldn't,
because they don't know what they are or appreciate them. Bottom line, the more people who buy hot rods, the better, because that allows builders to build them. But I don't care much for "Rolex Rodders."

3. What is your greatest achievement while you were with Rod and Custom Magazine?

Getting it going again and making it a good rod and custom magazine. I can't take credit for bringing it back in '88. When I begged them to do it before that, they said no. I don't really know who finally said yes. But when I heard it was coming back, I had to beg them to let me do it. They finally did; just me. My wife, Anna gets a lot of credit for helping to get it back on its feet. Any of you who came by the R&C booth at the Nats or other events know her. She was the one selling subs and T-shirts, while I was out covering the event and photographing cars. She did this as a volunteer. She also did an entire P.R. campaign for the relaunch of the mag, and got articles about it in several big newspapers and so on. Even as a bi-monthly, in less than a year we got the circulation within 10% of Street Rodder's. If we hadn't, Petersen would have killed it again. I'm pretty proud of the whole R&C package between '88 and '93.

4. Are VW's hot rods?

I've always thought of VWs as VWs; and by that I mean, specifically, Bugs. I've always liked them--they're very intriguing, mechanically, and they're easy to work on, plus they're cheap (which is probably really why I like them so much). When my '48 Chevy broke for the umpteenth time when I was in grad school, I bought a used '62 bug and drove it 14,000 miles across the US that summer to see America for the first time. Later, I bought a '60 bug for $100 and tried to do "hot rod" stuff to it: louvers, nerf bars, rake, pipes, chrome wheels, big-n-littles,
dechroming, etc. I even put '39 Ford taillights on it. But I never thought of it as a hot rod, per se. Surprisingly, my son, Bill, is just finishing a very similar small-window bug for himself as a daily driver, like mine was for 15 years.

5. Name the greatest hot rod and greatest custom, in your opinion and tell why.

That's impossible. I couldn't even begin to tell you my favorites. I have said in print that the Hirohata Merc is the most famous custom. The American Graffiti coupe is likely the most famous rod. But that obviously doesn't make it the best, or greatest. I have tons of favorites, past and present. One question I thought would make a good article for Hot Rod mag is who is the greatest hot rodder of all time(so far)? I settled on Micky Thompson, because he excelled (very creatively) in so many different arenas. Frieburger agreed. But the fun would be selecting the next 10 or 20.

6. You were a stay at home dad for awhile. What was that like and did you get any grief from other anyone? That is, since you're a man you should be out working in the real world not diapering babies.

I don't think men or women should be categorized like that. Anna and I are both "career" people, but we have traded off working full time. When I was home with Billy I was freelancing to several magazines and writing books. Anna was starting her first job. Now I am at home freelancing once again. Changing diapers doesn't have much to do with it. Unfortunately, neither does making much money.

7. Your one of the few writers/editors who actually 'walked the walk'. You championed nostalgia drags and ran an altered. You preached buying and driving a '50's car and you did that too. Why do you think that is?

That's a big question I could write a book answering. I got into hot rodding as a kid in the '50s: modifying my bicycles, building models, reading the mags, and working on older friends' cars. During that time, the guys writing the mags--Wally, Medley, Ray Brock, Spence, Francisco, Bill Burke, Rickman and so on--did the stuff they wrote about. But hot rodding was my hobby. When I decided to make writing my career, I had no idea I'd end up writing about hot rods. I've never bought a new car, and see no reason to do so. It's much more fun to drive something that
you've built. And, actually, working at the mags has allowed me to do things, such as running an Altered and a Top Fuel dragster (with my hero, Gene Adams), that I probably would never have been able to do if I were working at some other job.

8. Would you ever run a nitro car again?


I was totally in the right place at the right time as far as the nostalgia drags stuff went. Today's "nostalgia drags" are semi-pro. I can't begin to afford to play in that field. I've got the Iacono 12-port dragster, which I was hoping to drive, myself, at the nostalgia digs('cause it'll go slow enough for me to drive). But now I don't see where I can even run it, for exhibition. We'll see what happens. Cackle fest is not my thing, though.

9. What is your impression of rat rods? And do you think that term is accurate?

My car was about six colors of paint and primer all through high school. That wasn't cool. I painted it and even upholstered it (bit by bit) as I could afford it. The only reason to run a car in primer, then, was because it was not finished. So the idea of building a "finished" car in suede is foreign to me. But I love the whole rat rod thing. I've never cared for the name, but I can’t really think of a better one. "Beaters" is the only one that seems appropriate. I love the look of the rods and customs--like Roth shirts come to life. But things like iffy tack welds, no floors/firewalls, loose batteries and gas tanks, and so on don't cut it, especially knowing how these cars are inevitably going to be driven(as all hot rods are, right?). My personal impulse is to polish a car that's patina'd; fix it up. And I've got no time for faux patina. As Baskerville (and my wife) would say: "No mo faux."

10. Are the auction shows on TV good or bad for the hobby?

Watching auctions on TV is worse than watching golf. It ranks right there with watching paint dry. I don't go to auctions. I also don't do EBay for much the same reason, I guess. I'd rather go to the swap meet or run an ad in Recycler and hand the part to someone who pays the asking price. As far as some of these auction prices being paid, it's very indicative of a large problem in our country now: a small number of people have way too much money. That's not good. That they spend it on cars--let alone hot rods--is hard for me to comprehend. I kind of ignore it. It doesn't seem to really affect the type of hot rodding I do.

I think the bike and rod-building shows have had more impact, in the large sense. An awful lot of people seem to watch those things (I don't). It sure makes a ton of people aware of rodding, and must make some want to get involved in it, who wouldn't know what it was otherwise. None of us knew what a Pandora's Box the first Jesse James show was going to be. The high point, just recently, I think, was Chip Foose getting on the Leno show. It was a big boost for hot rodding, and for Hot Rod magazine, surely (with Jay holding up the issue with Chip's car on the cover). Chip has been an excellent emissary for our hobby/sport/business. It will be very interesting to see where it goes from here.

Period Correct?- Randy Curran

Is this period correct?  Does it have to be?

What the hell does period correct mean? Is it hot rodding during that time of the month? That phrase and the term ‘traditional’ get said more than in the hot rod community lately than billet sucks. Which it still does but that‘s for another column. It’s fun to watch the argument about what is traditional. I got into hot rodding because you could do whatever you want. FREEDOM! Now I find that I can’t run radial tires or air bags or certain types of mags! Because that’s not how they did it back in the day is the reply I get most. Well guess what it’s not that ‘day’ anymore!

How’s this for an example. Do you think Don Garlits would have shunned wrinkle wall slicks when he started because those hard slicks were how they always did it? Heck no! When Big Daddy came up with the rear engine dragster he wasn’t concerned about how they did it, he was doing it NOW! Also consider this, I like my cars low. The easiest way to do that and have some adjustability is bags. Just because they weren’t around in the 40’s or 50’s doesn’t really matter. I bet Barris and Winfield would have used them if the technology existed.

I agree some parts just work visually and functionally. Bias ply tires on fenderless vehicles, Halibrand mags, Strombergs, tuck and roll, chrome reverse wheels, floating grills, A bodies on Deuce frames, Caddy hubcaps, flathead’s, hemi’s, Bonneville-style chopped coupes, etc. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t any good ideas that haven’t been thought of yet.  The world didn’t stop in ‘55 or ‘60 or ‘65.

The big name builders ‘back in the day’ gave us some of the most magnificent cars of our or anybody’s time. The Hirohata Merc, Ohio George’s ‘33 Willys, the Neikamp roadster, Pure Hell, the Mantraga Merc, the Beatnik Bandit, etc. To me they gave me a lesson on form and function. TO BUILD ON! I’m pretty sure they didn’t want me to stop there. Take it farther than you found it. When Sam Barris chopped the first Merc do you think he said ‘well that’s it for me, I’m done’. No he refined his craft, he kept moving forward. They did a lot of the homework for me. I can go back and pick up an old ‘zine and go oh that’s how you do it. Instead of screwing something up and spending hours and hours on it, I can save myself a lot of time and money. Unless you’ve been living under a rock you may have noticed some car shows are having criteria posted before your car can enter. The Hunnert Car Pileup (RIP) and Billetproof to name a few are the leaders so to speak. The rules are meant to be ‘traditional’ and some examples are: pre-64, no billet, no modern wheels, no IFS on open fender cars, yada yada. If you don’t meet these rules, or at least the spirit of them you don’t get in. It keeps the cars a similar style, era or whathaveyou.

Basically it means if you like whitewalls on a custom and a flathead in your roadster you don’t have wade through a sea of tweed and glass. And it works. But it also pisses people off. You mean my Downs bodied, crate motored ‘37 can’t get in? No. But it also raises the argument of what is traditional or period correct.

I love traditional or period correct cars. Somebody picks an era and sticks to the parts available in those years to build their car. You hear ‘nothing newer than ‘60 on here’. That’s damn neat. But it can also get pricey and take a lot longer to build. Old parts are getting harder and harder to find. So needless to say the prices are going up. I can’t afford that. I’m a magazine guy and a musician so I can’t afford anything (send donations to...). Life is too short and I want to drive! I’m sick of garage art, which my ‘39 has been for way too long. When my sedan is done it may not be period correct but it will have that feel, that soul that I love. There is more than one way to skin a cat. Which is awesome. Not for the cat but for us.

So what is traditional or period correct? I have no idea but I know it when I see it. But who cares, go build it, buy it or however you need to do it. But DO IT!