As a kid I read all kinds of magazines (still do…not sure if that is OK to admit!) and can remember loving all kinds of feature trucks in 4-Wheel and Off Road, muscle cars, hot rods, and drag cars in Hot Rod, all kinds of freaked out and fast Pontiacs from whichever Poncho magazine my dad subscribed to, and oogling over pro stock cars in National Dragster. There are a few that really stick out for me.
The first is down below in the form of Phil Cool’s ’32 Ford. I picked up an old copy of Hot Rod at the house when I was about 10 and saw this cover for the first time. Between the color, the tires, ALL that blower, and the general look of the car, I was in love. I had to have read that story and studied those photos a hundred times before putting the magazine away for safe keeping (it is now part of an embarrassingly massive magazine collection I have). I remember Dobbertin’s J2000 as being one that I loved, anything Nunzi’s Automotive built and tuned in the Pontiac mags was cool, and yes, I did have a few automotive crushes on show trucks with chrome shocks when I was a kid. Hey, it was the 1980s and that was the going deal. Now I like ’em down a dirty, but when you are a little guy shiny stuff makes a difference! Oddly, I loved Hot Rod’s brief “Fat Attack” era where post war cars were highlighted in various forms. I may have been the only one because that seemed like a short lived situation.
That’s just my experience and I’m sure everyone out there has their own opinion on stuff that they saw and loved, so let’s hear it!
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MAGAZINE FEATURE CAR OF ALL TIME?
Without a doubt, Matt Kings SuperNova. The best of low buck hall ass project, back when CarCraft had attitude and some balls.
Before that it was PHR’s Project X, but eventually that got totally pussifide by soft woozy do-gooders!
Hero status cars are pretty rare now days.
Rick Voegelin’s Super Modified ’67 Camaro featured (though not officially sanctioned [read financed] by the magazine) in Car Craft.
Not to be outdone, east coast rival Super Stock and Drag Illustrated (a vastly superior magazine from a strictly drag racing point of view) featured a S/M Maverick built and campaigned by Arlen Fadely.
Both cars were serious efforts and quite successful, although I don’t recall how successful Fadely’s Maverick was. I do remember that the Camaro, driven by Norm Mayerson, dominated the class in Division 7 including several class wins at the Winternationals.
For pure longevity, including changing hands among more than a couple publications, Popular Hot Rodding’s Project X ’57 Chevy is probably the most recognizable magazine project car. Over several generations I think the only thing on the car that didn’t change was the BRIGHT yellow paint.
That was fun, great question, Brian.
Sudden Death. That Mustang II was as badass as they came, 505 ci of pure music. How I can remember Joe Ruggirello’s name and forget where I was yesterday is beyond me….
Easy, The Crusher Camaro. My dad and I always had HOT ROD ,CAR CRAFT, and other various titles around the house but it really wasn’t until that car showed up in my early teens did something really stick. I was able to see it in person at a Power Tour stop a few years ago, it wasn’t nearly as nice as it appears on tv and in the mag but I was in heaven.
Hmmm . . . you wrote feature, I read project. I’ll have to get back to you on that, although I can’t argue with Ted on either of his points, I even remember that Sudden Death was built by Jack Roush.
Lotta brain cells invested in this kinda stuff, I’m 68 years old and started reading Hot Rod when I was 6. Added SS&DI, Car Craft, PHR and National Dragster as time went on and haven’t missed more than a few issues of Hot Rod and Car Craft (too bad about that) in all that time.
Bill Jenkins’ ’70 Camaro on the Hot Rod cover, partly ’cause I was ten and a fledgling serious car nut when it came out and I thought that was just “it”. A friend gave me the issue a while back so I have it again.
Several cars come to mind but one stands out on top and it wasn’t even the nicest of the bunch. Runner ups: Scott Sullivan’s 67 Nova, Phil Cool’s 32 Ford, a 1970 Challenger featured in the 80’s with a wild panel paint job and a Chevy 302 out of a 69 Z-28 (can’t recall the owner), a 61 Ford Starliner with a 427 SOHC featured in the “Cruisin USA” Detroit article in Car Craft (can’t recall the owner on this car either but seeing a SOHC in a street car in the 80’s was memorable).
Top feature car in my mind was a white 1956 Chevy that had a 413 Chrysler wedge, a 4 speed, and a 150 shot NOS nitrous system. It was just an average street machine but seeing someone with the audacity to stick a 413 wedge with nitrous into a shoebox during the 80’s was beyond cool. The car ran 11’s too, which during the 80’s was pretty stinking fast. Can’t recall what magazine it was featured in.. Hot Rod, Car Craft or Cars Illustrated.
My mistake, it was Hi-Performance Cars and the guys were Martyn Schorr, Cliff Gromer, Roger Huntington, Joe Oldham and Tony Defeo among others. Great magazine!
A couple other honorable mentions: Cars Illustrated ran a feature on a brand new orange 1969 Firebird with a Ram Air IV that had been loaned to them by Pontiac for a week. They took it street racing around New York for a weekend, a good insight into the car culture of the time. Cliff Gromer, Steve Schneider, Roger Hunnington and Tony DeFeo put out a great magazine called Cars Illustrated for several years, wish I had all the back issues.
I think it was Popular Hot Rodding or Car Craft but they took a new 1969 GTO Judge with a Ram Air III engine, and over a series of articles continued to fine tune and race it until they got the time down to low 12’s or high 11’s with the car being almost all factory stock except for slicks. Loved reading car magazines as a kid and have never quit.
Steve Mag’s Wilshire Shaker and Bad Seed!
Super Stock & Drag Illustrated’s SS/DA Cuda.
Junkyard Dog Oldsmobile project in Hot Rod (I think)…I was a kid in High School with my first car, 71 Olds Cutlass Supreme. I couldn’t hardly wait for the next issue to arrive.
I remember this car! They were on a budget and instead of boring it and buying new pistons they knurled the factory cast piston skirts(!) and honed the block. Great car and article!