ea0863
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So, back to our regularly scheduled programming. HRM April 1987 seems to have been a watershed event for Hot Rod Magazine, as they had their first "Swimsuit issue". To commemorate this occasion, here is one I hope you will enjoy: Pat Ganahl in a little tongue-in-cheek editorial entitled "Are we having fun yet?"
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By the way all, I promise not to get too sappy, but I want to share a little something with you all. I lost my dad in September, and I have felt it more than I thought I would as he was quite elderly and had a full life. But, he and I had also spent tons of time together from my pre-teen years on working various projects. He is the one who taught me how to rebuild the 283 on my Belair station wagon, the 400 on my Pontiac Catalina, do the body work on my Audi 100LS, and on and on and on. So, working on this little project with Hot Rod Magazine has been a threefold blessing for me; it has been keeping me busy learning new things, allowing me to make new friends online, and allowing me to engage in a bit of nostalgia as well. So thank you all for being there for me, even though you didn't even know it. Here's a picture of me and my dad at the 2007 Detroit Auto Show - just like all of us enthusiasts, he loved anything with wheels on it!
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Yeah! Two thumbs way up!
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And an even smaller picture yet (blown up here for your pleasure); A few keystrokes later, and we learn it is still kicking around in all its glory.
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Otherwise, inspiration sometimes comes in a little picture stuffed into an article about 50's themed car gatherings. In this case, I saw this photo and wondered what the heck this cool thing was... Google didn't let me down. Turns out it's called the Les Dunham Scorpion. I'll bet there is a great story in there somewhere, but the car itself is just rad! HRM March 1987
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The main article in HRM March 1987 that inspired me was the Olds Aerotech. Looking every bit the part of a spaceship, I remember being quite fascinated by all its technology at the time. To build one in scale would be fun, and this article a good place to start since it had lots of photos and details of the car.
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HRM February 1987 had to be a tremendously anticipated issue for hot rodders and scale model builders alike. Finally, the judging was concluded for the first Hot Rod National Model Contest! And boy, the entries certainly did not disappoint. I cannot believe the creativity and variety in these winning entries. A pop-top '34 3 window coupe, and a roadster - both with Ferrari engines in the back! How about a Firebird/Mustang/Charger exotic? Or a Nomad with an '84 Camaro rear clip. Crazy stuff! Why not an Ed Roth inspired Mysterion "Rat Fink Under Glass" Or a modern interpretation of the "Outlaw". And one guy decided to do the ZZ Top Afterburner car by mating it to a space shuttle (I wonder if this was the first time this was done, as I've seen a few renditions of this idea since?) How about a '57 Chevy with gullwing doors, or a '34 Chevy monster truck! This must have been so much fun. I only wish they had shown these cars in color. I'll see if I can find them elsewhere and add them later. This one was for you @JJ Deuce
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From out in left field, McBurnie Coachcraft (the guys who made the faux-ferrari in Miami Vice) decided to get into racing. Kind of a cool look, if you ask me. HRM October 1986
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HRM October 1986 listed some more Hot Rod series cars from Revell
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Then I saw the Chrisman Bonneville racer, and decided the rest of my night will be spent looking for a model of this car! I can't believe I wasn't crazy over this car the first time I saw it on the cover of HRM February 1953 Found it! It was just listed on ebay as a resin Bonneville racer 1:25 scale, but it's definitely the right car.
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HRM September 1986 had an article on how to photograph your scale model for the upcoming competition.
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Oh well, at least the first ever Hot Rod International Model Car Contest is going to be coming up in a few months... HRM July 1986
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It's July 1986, and since you can't take your date to the movie in your Nissan Sentra, you shop the ads in the back of HRM and debate which of these two cars to buy; The '71 Cuda 440 six-pack convertible with the 4 speed will run you $25k (about $68k today). It'll be fun to drive, and might even appreciate in value over the years... Or if you want something a little flashier, maybe Tom Prufer's Track-T award winner for $35k (about $95k today) But you can't make up your mind, so you decide to plink a couple grand on a new Alpine stereo system for your Sentra, and stick a scoop on the hood for show
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Read about Sly Stallone's new movie "Cobra", and his '50 Mercury that stole the show. HRM June 1986 But who cares about the acting right? It's got action, and that '50 Merc!
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Or the tasteful evolution of the '33 Ford Roadster as documented by Gray Baskerville.
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And checking out "Chrisman's Comet" 1965 Cyclone Funny Car like a centerfold photoshoot.
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Oh to be back in August 1986, and reading the new issue of HRM! On the cover, the new breed of 4 cylinder engines putting out V8 kind of horsepower - and looking good in their own right.
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Yellow '66 Olds Cutlass. HRM July 1986
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And as promised, HRM kicked off the scale model series with a wonderful article from Pat Ganahl. I did not know Mr. Ganahl, however it is obvious from the posts regarding his recent passing that he was beloved by Hot Rodders, scale modelers, and writers alike. For those of you who have felt his passing, my sincerest condolences. A good place to share seems to have developed with the following thread (among others):
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An article on the changing shape of the Hot Rod landscape had lots of great lead sleds, including what we would probably refer to as a "tribute" to the Hirohata '51 Mercury. HRM June 1986
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HRM June 1986 did a spread on kit cars, and one blurb was about a company called Kougar America The car on the left was obviously cool, but check out the one on the right!
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Okay, I lied - - -I went down the rabbit hole Here is what I'm assuming is only a partial coverage of the Hot Rod Magazine Series of scale models. There seems to have been various scales, three-packs, re-issues, and maybe even an MPC model besides the Revells (?)
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Thanks Richard! I had found the Fujimi model rather uninspiring with no engine or undercarriage detail, however the Bandai Piazza in 1:20 scale will definitely do the trick!
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HRM April 1986 did an article showcasing the new cars that were hitting the market. So many of them brought back memories for me, and reminded me of the cool stuff that was coming from overseas. The Porsche 944 may have looked like just a 924 update, but an all aluminum one-piece body, together with 50/50 weight distribution made it a track star. Still a beautiful car in my humble opinion, and worthy of building in scale. Mine would have to be aluminum colored... Funky even then, Subaru brought the XT Turbo coupe to the US. Its claim to fame of course was AWD fun. Totally flying under the radar, Ford of Europe brought their German Sierra to the US as the Merkur XR4Ti and sold it through their Mercury dealers (which turned out to be a total misfire). I remember driving one of these and being very impressed by its handling, if not its styling. Done up as a rally racer, this car would still be fun one to commemorate in plastic. If the XR4Ti flew under the radar, one literally needed sonar to pick up the signature of the Isuzu Impulse . It was actually designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro to be the successor to his first generation Scirocco, but when VW decided to do a redesign in-house, his rendition went to Isuzu (and its cozy American relative - General Motors). For those who like JDM builds (myself included), this one is a fun bit of history. The only question is; does anyone make it in scale? Another JDM that didn't get a ton of airtime was the Mitsubishi Starion. It was actually a wonderfully emotion-inducing car - from its widebody stance, to its engine and suspension, and even its "bad boy" reputation. What it seemed to suffer from, as with many imports of that era, was an identity crisis that came with attempting to market foreign cars in makeshift dealer networks. In this case, Chrysler shoppers did not want to buy a Mitsubishi, and Mitsubishi enthusiasts did not like going to a Chrysler dealership. All that having been said, it was an awesome looking car! And speaking of cool stuff coming from overseas, the Ford Mustang SVO! Lest you think I'm totally crazy, you have to know that this bad boy may have been all American on the outside, but it was all Teutonic techno-wizardry under the hood. When most of us were chasing after the rock band character of the 5.0, it turns out there was also a symphony orchestra to be had in the SVO.
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