Innehållsförteckning för December 1953 från Hot Rod

When Hot Rod Magazine unleashed its corps of photographers on Utah’s Bonneville salt flats recently, they literally left no particle of salt unturned. As a result, our files are loaded with photos showing jewelly cars, engines, people and happenings at the Bonneville National Speed Trials. This year’s event was highlighted by the fact that so many different areas and states were represented in competition, thus verifying, by the very nature of the equipment itself, that the hot rod sport has come into its own all over the nation. In our endeavor to credit those who took part in the event, we present herewith a two-page pictorial, showing a small fraction of the total cars and crews. In addition, we’ll be sprinkling car features throughout the coming year’s issues with plenty…

Take a former navy machinist’s mate, a noted speed car designer. a hot rodder and a talented engine expert. Toss in a few more specialists: sheet metal, plastic and paint men; set them up in an old suburban back yard garage and establish a drawing account of at least $13,000 in the nearest bank and you’ve got the makin’s for a world’s speed record contender. We’re speaking of the Hooper-Brown “Shadoff Chrysler” streamliner. Ex-sailor Mai Hooper of Los Angeles started a chain reaction when he and designer Dean Batchelor drew first scale plans of the car. It was to incorporate all of the best that they had gained from experience plus several “secrets” gleaned from the pages of a rare book on the Auto Union and other German cars. Early…

Doctor Young is a specialist in getting the most from the least. He got into the racing game just after the war as the owner-driver of an outboard powered Three/Quarter midget in the San Joaquin Valley circuits. The T/Q being a little too much on the “least” side, Doc decided to stretch it out a little, with the following results. The car is a hybrid of T/Q and regular midget with a few Austin, Willys, MG, Ford and motorcycle parts thrown in. Chrome moly and angle iron, liberally sprinkled with lightening holes, constitutes the chassis. Front suspension is from a leaf spring, using a stretched midget axle. The rear is carried by Kurtis midget torsion bars. Steering is also borrowed from the midget. The body is hand formed aluminum with…

Okay, shake it!” shouted Edward Losinski to his two-man pit crew as he pulled the goggles down over his eyes and readied his Class B roadster for a run through the speed traps at the Santa Ana drag strip. His crew grasped the arch of the steel roll bar and began shaking the car violently from side to side. The little bronze speed wagon pitched and rocked as the crowd laughed at the humorous sight of the small man behind the wheel wobbling from side to side with each pitch of the car. But 30 seconds later their laughter changed to cheers for the slender driver and his car as the public address system boomed out with. “Losinski has just set a new track record for a Class B roadster.…

Requirements of “Hot Rod Mart” are: limit of 25 words per ad, not including name and address. Ads will be placed in this column on a first come, first served basis. We reserve the right to edit ads when necessary. We are not responsible for the accuracy of description, but we will reject any obviously misleading statements. No ads will be knowingly accepted from commercial firms. A charge of $2.00 per ad will be made and must accompany each ad. Only one car may be listed in any one ad. This limitation will not apply to parts or equipment, however. Send to Hot Rod Mart, 5959 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles 28, Calif. SELL—Ardun Overhead Valve racing conversion, complete with racing cam, and pistons. Best offer. Write A. Halvajian, 281 Highwood…

TOOL TENDER Sturdily built of aluminum alloy, this newest tool box is as versatile as you make it. Perforated panels hold moveable metal clips that can be positioned to hold your own individual tools in any position. Eliminates lost time searching through jumbled tools, makes it instantly possible to spot “borrowed” tools. Box weighs only 8 pounds, is 12” high, 12” wide, 22” long, is equipped with 3/4” Acme ball bearing casters. Manufactured by Nuttie’s Inc., Joplin, Missouri. SPRED-LOK TIRE SPREADER No more banged fingers. Inexpensive, lightweight, safe, easy to use. Insert Spred-Lok in the casing, press down and the tire spreads wide; locks into position and really holds. Clinching fingers grasp inside bead of tire and hold tight. Allows full 10” square, safe inside working area. Constructed of steel…

Each month, this page will carry a selection of new and interesting automotive specialties, plus a few of the old favorites from the enormous stockrooms of the world’s largest distributors of high performance auto parts. Naturally, only a few items can be shown in each issue—so whatever your need may be, in power, speed, custom or economy equipment—any item—any brand—for any car, if you don’t see it here, order from the address below—Enclose only 20% deposit on C.O.D. orders—item will be mailed immediately. Built like a power house transformer! From England comes the Runbaken OilCoil, which engineers acclaim the hottest coil in the world! 30,000 volts output compared to ordinary coils’ 10-12,000 volts. Gives quicker starts, more pulling power and acceleration, better mileage. Features unbreakable transparent case with visible windings…

Imagine mating a Hawker airplane with an armoured car! That’s just what Ted Lloyd-Jones of Birmingham, England, did. The result turned out to be the most powerful sprint and hill-climb special in Britain today. Starting with model making, Ted has worked his way up from where at 17 he made his first runabout — a three-wheeler with a wheel width narrow enough to be able to park it in the parlor — to this latest bomb that has yet to have its ultimate maximum speed recorded. Through the years dozens of others have been built or modified and this experience has meant that nothing on wheels is impossible to this engineering genius. When he saw a V12-cylinder Rolls Royce Kestrel engine for sale as war surplus, it was only natural…

YOU’RE SO DISGUSTINGLY RIGHT Sirs: In regards to your article “Dignified and Fast,” in the October ’53 issue, the automobile pictured looks more like a 1950 Caddy ’61 than a 1952 Coupe de Ville. Tell me. did I call this one wrong or are my tired ol’ eyes failing me? Andy ZayicCollinsville. Ill. P.S. The Caddy does have a 1950 front bumper. Oops! We slipped on that one and were easily fooled when Tommy Baker put 1952 trim on his 1950 Cad ’61. At least twelve readers caught our error and when we called Tommy to check, he confused matters even more by telling us that he has since changed to 1953 grille and bumpers. Just can’t keep up with that guy!—ED. IT GETS LONESOME IN UXBRIDGE Sirs: Enclosed is…

Unquestionably the world’s most famous and critical hill climb, the annual conquest of Pike’s Peak has been a consuming challenge to the country’s best car builders and leading drivers from 1916. Ever since Lt. Zebulon M. Pike first conquered the hill in 1806, man has tried to better his time from its verdant base to its cold rocky crest by foot, by train and—at one time, to settle a wager—a peanut race was held; the contestants actually rolling peanuts to the summit with their noses. However, the battle that auto enthusiasts looked forward to this year was the thirty-first AAA-sponsored race for gold, glory and the Penrose Trophy. “The Peak,” as the mountain is called by the people living in the towns and cities at its base, wages eternal combat…

What will the ’54 models look like? Pretty wild, brother but it will still be a while yet before they catch up with a certain custom model back in Ohio! The car’s owner could just as easily have had the most expensive dreamboat in America, but that would have been a pretty common move, sort of like “keeping up with the Joneses.” No, there was a much better way — turn the car, a new ’51 Chevy, and a blank check over to George Barris, top-notch California customizer. According to pattern, Barris submitted six prospective sketches to the customer, mainly showing variations in grille, sidepanel and rear fender treatment. The owner wanted quite a few alterations to the car, $3,000 worth, to be exact, and Barris started hammering and burning…