Free access to all Hot Rod Magazine issues 1948-2021 online!

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Just now, Plowboy said:

Revell did a kit of the Matt Hay T-Bird. I bought and built it as soon as it came out! No longer have it. But, I used the chassis from them under a '64 Fairlane and a '49 Ford. I also have a really old project with that chassis under a '56 Fairlane. Revell also did the Rick Dobbertin Pontiac J-2000. 

Great information to have. I'm going to look for the T-bird for sure. And that J-2000 was obviously rather famous, as I keep seeing it pop up from issue to issue.

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Winners of the 3rd Annual Hot Rod Magazine National Model Car Contest. HRM March 1989

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"Folsom Flash" '55 Chevy studly shoebox. HRM May 1989

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'58 Fury "Christine" shoebox. Now THAT'S scary!  

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'69 Camaro pro-stock racer. Tuxedo black and chrome gorgeousness! HRM June 1989

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Great article debuting "Cadzilla". Seeing the before and after shot is amazing! HRM July 1989

I can't believe the major manufacturers never made a scale model of Cadzilla. Am I wrong, because all I can find are resin bodies here and there?

For those okay with just buying a diecast, the Hot Wheels Legends series did make an awesome version of this car in 1:24 and 1:64 scale. 

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This small blurb caught my attention in HRM August 1989

Cool car!

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And the scale modelers relationship with HRM was apparently growing wings, as this article showcased the 1st Hot Rod Magazine Model Car Nationals.

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'49 Ford Business Coupe racer. HRM October 1989 

[Plowboy]

I remember Cole Cutler's '49 Ford! IIRC, it has the 429 Boss engine that was in his '34 Ford that he crashed. 

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2 hours ago, Plowboy said:

I remember Cole Cutler's '49 Ford! IIRC, it has the 429 Boss engine that was in his '34 Ford that he crashed. 

Such interesting history there! For me at least, that '34 coupe is the very definition of ultimate Hot Rod! Thank you for sharing

Apparently, the car has gone on to have another life too, now owned by Scott Rogers...

Edited December 18, 2022 by ea0863

[ea0863]

And thus we reached the end of the 80's. Petersen Publishing had roughly 17 magazines in print in 1980, and by 1990 was up to about 80. The idea was that creating magazines for specific tastes would net greater profits. Hot Rod Magazine had gone from $2.00 an issue at the beginning of the decade, and only risen to $2.95 by the end - owing largely to a greater readership. Their coverage too had become more focused on the hot rod scene, and generally segued away from motorcycles, off-roading, racing boats, etc.

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The early 90's brought a flurry of high-tech cars from Japan. One of the first I recall was the Nissan 300ZX. Beautiful and unique IMHO. HRM February 1990

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Another offering came from Mitsubishi in the way of the 3000GT VR4, and Dodge Stealth RT/TT. These were beautiful cars in their own right, but never quite caught on like some of the others. HRM April 1990

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It so happened that HRM April 1990 was also the annual Swimsuit Issue. Why do I mention this? Because there were not one, but two cool cars used as backdrops to the fairer sex. The first one was called the Ermie Immerso track roadster. I had not noticed it before in previous issues, but sure loved that engine!

 

Edited December 18, 2022 by ea0863

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The second car in HRM April 1990 was interesting in its own right. Chuck Lombardo essentially took a C4 Corvette ZR1 and re-envisioned it as a roadster. Thus, the engine and tranny is ZR-1, the suspension is Corvette, as are the brakes and rolling stock. I couldn't find a photo of it online, thus the chopped and channeled thing you see here  

p.s. HRM June 1990 did a write-up on this car as well to discuss its driveability. 

Edited December 19, 2022 by ea0863

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Oh, the 2nd generation Toyota MR2 - how much I pined to buy this car, but alas could not afford the insurance costs for the turbo model! 

HRM May 1990

Edited December 18, 2022 by ea0863

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There was an ad for a company called Crystalite Engineering which apparently did body kits for El Caminos to make them look like a Camaro "IROC-SS" UTE. I have no idea how well these were executed, but sure did make for an interesting mash-up of two body types.

Here is one with "SS" badging alone.

And while I was looking, I ran across a Monte Carlo SS / El Camino...

...and a Buick Grand National / El Camino

Apparently, you can take any car and put it together with an El Camino and it will look great!

Okay, almost everything  

[ea0863]

HRM June 1990 also had coverage of their annual Hot Rod Magazine Model Car Nationals

I wonder if any names pop up in these articles that are known to our membership, or better yet - are part of our membership. Don't be shy, speak up  

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Somebody send me a link please! Shoebox cars, Pro mods, Pro street, gasser, fuelie, altered, etc. etc. There must be a dictionary for this stuff somewhere  

[stitchdup]

5 minutes ago, ea0863 said:

Somebody send me a link please! Shoebox cars, Pro mods, Pro street, gasser, fuelie, altered, etc. etc. There must be a dictionary for this stuff somewhere  

https://wwtraceway.com/drag-race-101/

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Charlie Edwards '29 highboy. HRM July 1990

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HRM July 1990. Announcement regarding the movie "Days of Thunder". Made me think it'd be fun to do one or two of the cars in the movie...

Turns out @modelcarcrazy had this idea too, and a great job he did of it! Well done Sir

 

Edited December 19, 2022 by ea0863

[espo]

12 hours ago, ea0863 said:

HRM July 1990. Announcement regarding the movie "Days of Thunder". Made me think it'd be fun to do one or two of the cars in the movie...

Turns out @modelcarcrazy had this idea too, and a great job he did of it! Well done Sir

 

Kits of all of the race cars in the movie were produced just one time to the best of my memory. They were all based on the Chevy Lumina body and those kits are around. Finding the originals may be a challenge.  

[iamsuperdan]

16 hours ago, ea0863 said:

 

 

And while I was looking, I ran across a Monte Carlo SS / El Camino...

 

 

 

These were actually sort of a factory offering.

https://www.hagerty.com/media/automotive-history/choo-choo-customs-helped-chevy-deliver-a-proper-looking-el-camino-ss/

 

And AMT made a kit that is readily available. It's been reissued a few times.