Ford History Articles

'70s And '80s Musclecars - Street Machines!

The late '70s and early '80s are hip again, especially as they apply to street machine styling. Here are examples of the era. more

High-Performance Mustangs - Ford's Ultimate Supercars

We discuss high-performance Ford Mustangs with Bob Tasca of Tasca Ford more

The Drag Safari - Dawn Of The Drags!

In 1954, HOT ROD editor Wally Parks sent a team of men on the road to teach car clubs how to hold a safe drag race. They were called the Drag Safari, and 50 years later, this is their story. more

1968 Mustang Cobra Jet - The Jet Set

We take a look at the 1968 Ford Mustang Cobra Jet more

Top Fuel Burnout on Hollywood Blvd - Where It All Began

Selections From The Hot Rod Magazine Archives more

Bob & Rob Ida's Hemi Healey - Where It All Began

Hemi HealeyThis shot has everything going for it. It's the '69 NHRA Nationals at Indy; witness the dapper Buster Couch, NHRA's omnipresent starter from about 1964 through 1995, and the cool old Indianapolis Raceway Park logo on the bridge. Then there's that more

Craig Naff Hot Rod Builder - The Quiet Craftsman

The white cinder-block building where Craig Naff crafts his metal masterpieces sits beside a two-lane country road that slices below Little North Mountain on the western edge of the Shenandoah Valley just outside Woodstock, Virginia. The shop is spacious enou more

2007 Ford Shelby GT500 Mustang Review - Fang Stang

It's no secret that the mood around Detroit these days is grim; huge financial and union problems have Ford and GM letting people go and canceling nonessential (in the minds of the bean counters anyway) programs. We always knew the Ford GT supercar was intenti more

May 1976 Hot Rod Cover Story Street Freaks - Where It All Began

Freak ShowNo one asks for this. No one even discusses it. Guys neither plea for a comeback nor demand that we never print anything like it again. Street Freaks are the forgotten fad. more

1969 Ford Mustang Chaffey College Project - Where It All Began

This month's photo is an outtake from Eric Rickman's coverage of Bonneville in 1970. The kids in the groovy threads (we'd love a pair of those Moon-Equipped sneakers) were students from Southern California's Chaffey College actually earning school credits by r more

Mickey Thompson's Funny Pinto F/C - Where It All Began 1971

Selections From The Hot Rod Magazine Archives more

1964 Hot Rod Magazine Drags - Where It All Began

check out the history of Hot Rod Drags in this month's issue of Hot Rod Magazine. more

Just Too Bitchin' - Tribute to Hot Rod's Gray Baskerville

I remember very well the two times that Gray cried unabashedly in front of me. One of those times, I was told to tell him to stay out of the photo more

Don Hardy NHRA 1932 Ford Roadster - The Quiet Man

Let's step back in the alley a little bit. It's the Pre-Vega Era, and our hero Don Hardy is busy winning the NHRA Division IV points race with his B/Gas '32 Ford. Hardy had made recon expeditions to Southern California in search of the right stuff for his hot- more

1923 Ardun T - Scotty's '23 Skidoo

Cub Barnett, one of San Francisco’s better-known hot rodders and engine-builders, began his career many years ago working for Charles Scott, owner of Scotty’s Muffler Service in San Bernardino, California. Scott—who remembers seeing his first ho more