Hot Rods & Custom Cars

This brand new 255-page hardbound book offers a glimpse into the rapidly developing hobby from LeRoi “Tex” Smith’s point of view. Tex, a diehard hot rodder, spent more than half a century building, driving and writing about all types of vintage tin. He was a member of the Hot Rod Magazine editorial staff during the ’60s, worked for the NHRA, won the AMBR with his experimental “XR-6” in 1963, and helped found Street Rodder, Rod Action as well as the Street Rod Nationals in the early ’70s. His style was unforgettable far from politically correct but always honest. 54 chapters with background of Tex's life inside and outside the publishing world of hot rodding in the USA.

To tell the life story of Ed "Isky" Iskenderian is to tell the history of hot rodding in America. Ed was there from the very beginning. Born in 1921 to first-generation Armenian immigrants, Ed's first hobby was ham radio, but like many young men in the years before World War II, his interest turned to automobiles, especially hot rods. Ed had natural skills in metal working and machining that were developed in high school. He wanted to further develop those skills, so he joined the Air Corps to continue his education and flew with Air Transport Command. By the time Ed mustered out of the service, the California hot rod scene was in full bloom, with tens of thousands of vets who had the desire to make cars go fast. Isky: Ed Iskenderian and the History of Hot Rodding, tells the whole story, from his pre-war Lake Muroc and car club activities, his service in the military, starting a small business fabricating parts and making cams in the back of a rented shop, and then selling cams to other rodders. It covers how he grew a business from a single cam grinder and became the leading cam authority in barely 10 years. Ed was a gifted machinist, and he also had a natural knack for promotion. He purchased an ad in the second issue of Hot Rod magazine, sensing something big; his instincts, as always, were right. He was also the first to use T-shirts and uniforms as promotion. Not only was he an early pioneer in the industry for print adverting and catalogs, he was also among the first to understand the value of having successful race cars using his cams in their engines and wearing his decals on their fenders. The biggest names in the racing industry were running Isky cams, and Ed made sure the world knew it. Ed's company name went on to become one of the household names in the performance community. His continued success is an entertaining tale of mingling with industry icons, insight into the business of hot rodding, great stories of yesterday and today, and a life very well lived. You will enjoy the stories recorded here as much as Ed "Isky" Iskenderian seems to enjoy telling them.

Von Dutch (real name Kenneth Howard) is one of the most interesting characters in hot rod and popular culture history. Considered the founder of "modern" pinstriping, he was a prominent character in many of the rodding magazines of the late 1950s, and his fame endured long after he apparently tired of it. In addition to being a striper, he was a gifted artist and machinist, as well as a gunsmith and knifesmith. Using stories and quotes culled from interviews, vintage photos, and images of the art and other works he left behind, this book chronicles Von Dutch's life from pinstriping beatnik to bus-dwelling hermit. Where it can, this book sets the record straight on Von Dutch the man, but in many cases conflicting stories will serve to illustrate the contrary, colorful, and sometimes difficult nature of Von Dutch the legend. This book is a must-have for fans of hot rodding and hot rod culture!