Like I mentioned in the first part of the Black Tar story, a good hot rod really is the sum of its parts. And I had started collecting the stuff I really wanted for this car as soon as I found that T body at Tardel’s place. One idea that I’d been kicking around for [...]

If you’ve been going to swap meets as long as we have, you start going more to hang with your buddies more than serious parts hauling. For example: Kirk Jones in a “special” helmet…

See? This stuff has been going on for a long time…

  
The last time I was down at Cole Foster’s place, Jason Jessee showed up in his latest: a sharp, black Crown Vic “Police Interceptor” package. Don’t even ask how he got this thing.
 
So, as he’s telling us how this cop pulled him over on Route 101 and how pissed he got when he walked past [...]

A big part of what we do is based on community. What I mean is, we rely on our friends to help get our car projects done. We look for advice on shops and parts and how to tackle a chop or how to order a new cam. And if you’re lucky, there’ll be [...]

 One of my favorite parts of this job – and there are many – is each issue’s cover shoot. It’s the culmination of our love of cars, beautiful women, the search for the perfect location to put both of them in and then – and this is one of the most important parts –bringing a [...]

The whole idea of giving a name to a car probably has something to do with becoming attached to it, right? I’ve had more than a few cars over the years and while I haven’t given names to all of them, they each had personalities of their own and certainly deserved a name as I’d talk to them while pulling their motors or coaxing them by pure will and mere vapors to the gas station lights I could see up ahead. Hey, we’ve all been there, right?

A few years ago, I got the hot rod bug and that pang hit me (you know that feeling when you see a car you just know you’re gonna drag home sooner or later?) when I saw a Model T coupe body at Keith Tardel’s shop. I ended up with that body and Keith helped me start collecting parts – which, I have to say, is one of the best things about building a hot rod compared to a custom: you build it from the ground up with exactly the parts you want. And I think that process just naturally attaches you to a hot rod more than other types of car builds – you have to think about each and every inch of the car and make a decision about them or it won’t be a complete, self-powered animal. Pretty neat process to put yourself through and I think everyone should do it at least once.