Hot rodding has always been about taking something that Detroit built and making it leaner and faster. At the epicenter of the movement was a cast of driven men who designed and manufactured the parts that made it all possible. This book takes an appreciative look back at the early hot rodders who worked out of their garages, basements, and backyards, and the “speed equipment” they developed. In this mammoth volume, Paul Smith examines the stories behind two dozen speed equipment manufacturers and the go-fast goodies they designed, developed, and sold. Drawing upon hundreds of hours of interviews conducted with these founding fathers of hot rodding, Smith details the work of industry icons such as Iskenderian, Edelbrock, Evans, Hilborn, Navarro, Offenhauser, Sharp, Weiand, Ansen, and Kong. Illustrated with more than 200 period photos and filled with firsthand accounts of the birth of hot rodding—and the automotive aftermarket industry—this book is a truly fitting celebration of the names that became synonymous with speed.

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UK  Merchants of Speed: The Men Who Built America’s Performance Industry
US : Merchants of Speed: The Men Who Built America?s Performance Industry

Just Customz Review

This book is for budding automotive historians everywhere and describes how the all majority of the big names in performance parts came into existance. This is a very big book packed with pictures from the various companies founders private collections showing the small garages and workshops where it all began.

Through the book many of the founders tell their tales of the relentless quest to go faster and the lengths they went to to achive this, sometimes leading to the inevitable accident.

The following big-names are listed in the book without whom the hot-rodding world maybe a very different (and slower) place:

• Ansen
• Braje
• Crane
• Edelbrock
• Engle
• Evans
• Herbert
• Hilborn
• Howards
• Iskenderian
• McGurk
• Navarro
• Offenhauser
• Potvin
• Scott
• Sharp
• Spalding
• Tattersfield-Baron
• Thickstun
• Wayne
• Weber
• Weiand
• Wilson

You can see the entire review of ‘Merchants of Speed: The Men Who Built America’s Performance Industry‘ by clicking here.

About The Author

A longtime hot rod and drag racing enthusiast, Paul D. Smith split his time between Southern California and his native Canada while writing and researching this, his first book. Today he resides in Orillia, Ontario.

Dodge and Plymouth have produced some of the most iconic muscle cars ever built in America. This lavishly illustrated work conducts readers through the fifty-plus-year history of Mopar performance, from the first Hemi V-8 offered to the public in 1951 through today’s fire-breathing, world-beating Chargers, Challengers, and Vipers. The Complete Book of Dodge and Plymouth Muscle offers an in-depth look at the specialty packages for street and competition driving that have made Mopar performance a living automotive legend for more than half a century. With extensive details, specs, and spectacular photographs, this book is the ultimate resource on America’s muscle car.

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UK : The Complete Book of Dodge and Plymouth
US : The Complete Book of Dodge and Plymouth Muscle (Complete Book Series)

Just Customz Review

If you are a fan of classic American muscle cars then this book will definately appeal to you! It is packed from cover to cover with pictorial history of the Dodge and Plymouth cars from 1960 through to 1974. If it was build by Dodge or Plymouth then you’ll find it in this book.

The book is divided into 10 sections each one giving detailed information on a specific model. As well as pictures of pristine examples of each car there are lots of statistics such as wheelbase, original cost, compression ratio, horse power etc and there is also information about the history and development of that model during the years.

At the beginning of the book is an introduction which gives lots of interesting information about the development of the famous Hemi engine which is still a popular choice in many customised vehicles.

You can see the entire review and pictures of ‘The Complete Book Of Dodge And Plymouth Muscle‘ by clicking here.

Ken Gross received a GOLD AWARD at the 2008 International Automotive Media Awards for Excellence for this title.

The best hot rods are art on four wheels, and this book is nothing less than a gallery of the best of American hot rods. Profiling top builders and featuring studio portraits of their most outstanding custom creations, this book celebrates the uniquely American marriage of mechanical know-how and an inspired sense of style and design. Built from the ground up, pieced together from salvaged parts, rebuilt with classic looks and futuristic technology–these are automotive works of art, as powerful on the page as they are on the street.

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UK : Art of the Hot Rod
US : Art of the Hot Rod

Just Customz Review

There aren’t many books that everyone that sees it wants to borrow it but this is definately one of them! It is packed from cover to cover with hundreds of high-quality glossy pictures that will have any hot-rod enthusiast drooling!

The book covers 20 of the top hot-rod artisans whose attention to detail and quality is extremely high. Each chapter has a small amount of text introducing the person behind the cars and detailing what motivates them and where they get their inspiration. The following builders are each covered by the book;

• Dave Simard
• Jim Lowery Jnr.
• Rolling Bones
• Ken ‘Posies’ Fencial
• Alan Johnson
• Bobby Alloway
• Troy Trepanier
• Barry Lobeck
• Rick Dore
• Dave Crouse
• Donn Lowe
• Steve Frisbie
• Don Orosco
• Richard Graves
• Kennedy Brothers
• Pete Chapouris
• Zane Cullen
• Steve Moal
• Roy Brizio
• Vern Tardel

If you want to read the whole review and see some of the pictures from Art of the Hot Rod book then click here.

When it comes to building your hot rod, you’re faced with choices for everything from which go-fast goodies to slap on your mill to what paint and other eye candy might define your rod more than anything else. And when it comes to a hot rod, parts aren’t just parts; it’s all in how they come together–either it works or it doesn’t. This new Motorbooks Idea Book covers every system of a traditional hot rod—be it roadster, coupe, or tub—illustrating with hundreds of color photos the various options for frame rails, suspension, steering, brakes, wheels and tires, drivetrain, electrics, cooling, body, interior, and paint. Looking through this book, you’ll be able to assess which choices fit your aesthetic sensibility as well as how they suit your plan to use your hot rod. You’ll also get the “big picture”–a clear idea of how some choices work together and others just don’t mesh in the same car. Whether you’re looking for inspiration or practical answers, this book will guide you from off-the-shelf, fabricated, and even found parts and pieces to the finished hot rod of your dreams.

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UK : Hot Rods (Idea Books)
US : Hot Rods: Roadsters, Coupes, Customs (Idea Book)

Just Customz Review

This is another great book from the Idea Book series following the same format as the others. The book has hundreds of high-quality photos with minimal text. The pictures are broken down into 4 main categories which are Body Types and Styles, Body Treatments, Interiors, Drivetrains and Paint and Graphics.

The first section on Body Types and Styles features lots of pictures of Roadsters, Convertibles, Phaetons, Coupes, Sedans, Woodies, Trucks and Cabriolets that have been modifed. The main category is broken down into several smaller sub-categories with some fantasic pictures providing anyone with lots of idea for their next big project.

All the subsequent sections are dealt with in a similar manner where the main category is broken down into several smaller sub-categories.

This book is a superb source of ideas and is one of those books you can just pick up and flick through when you have 5 minutes to spare and just feel inspired!

About the Author
Dain Gingerelli is a well-known automotive journalist whose work has appeared in magazines like Street Rodder, Rod & Custom, Old Skool Rodz and Motor Trends. He has written several books on hot rods for Motorbooks, inlcuding Ford Hot Rods, Hot Rod Milestones, and Hot Rod Roots. He lives in Mission Viejo, California.

For years, VW Bugs were simply cheap transportation: fuel efficient, easy to work on, a boon to young families and college students. Then something about the quirky little car caught the imagination of a generation, and the low-cost, utilitarian Bug was suddenly sporting a custom paint job and fancy wheels–and tricked-out engines.

This book provides a fantastic overview of customized Bugs. It shows the scene from which the demon bug emerged, and focuses on specific styles, from the mild to the wild. Cruisers and dragsters, sleepers and monsters–all are captured by Stephan Szantai’s unmatched photography.

Accompanying these remarkable pictures is the how and why of each cars build. Painted, re-equipped, modified to taste, these are the Bugs of a generations dreams, a most humble vehicle suddenly and magnificently transformed.

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: Demon Bugs: VW Customs and Cruisers
US : Demon Bugs: VW Customs and Cruisers

Just Customz Review

Demon Bugs by Stephan Szantai is a great book that will appeal all the aircooled loving petrols heads out there. It consists of 11 chapters each dedicated to a particular genre of customisation of the much beloved Volkswagen Beetle and Camper. Each chapter has just the right ratio of pictures to text – the pictures are plentiful and the text is short and concise which just the right information.

The first chapter deals wih how the scene developed from the 1960′s to the present day. It is intersting to see many of the cars that adorned the pages of magazines like Rod & Custom and eventually, in 1975, Hot VWs – its a real blast from the past!

The next 10 chapters deal with each genre in turn from the Resto Customs with their subtle detailing and period parts through to the Monster Power bugs that are used for drag racing. Some of the monster power ‘dubs are capable of over 300 BHP and running low 10 and high 9 second ETs on the drag strip. The final chapter features a few select vehicles that have gone the extra mile where the attention to detail is phenominal and would probably be overlooked by most people. An example is in Darrell Baker’s 1958 Sunroof Beetle where the ribbing in the firewall follows the contour of the fan-housing.

About the Author
Stephan has always loved cars since he was a young boy living in France travelling in the back seat of his auntie’s Beetle. In 1979, at the age of 12, he started reading an obscure magazine featuring many hot-rods and custom cars. He eventually moved to Southern California where he hooked up with the local VW enthusiasts belonging to the high-performance VW club. It was around that time that he started writing freelance articles for various VW magazines. This book was born out of some of the pictures that he has collected through the years.

Inside, its personal. The interior – perhaps more than any other aspect of a vehicle lends itself to customization, to the expression of a character, a desire, a conviction. The question is, how far to go? How different, how comfortable, how functional, how wild? Whatever the answer might be, this book will help you get there. With images of an incredible assortment of custom interiors from the ultimate in luxury to the totally high-tech, from race-inspired minimalism to retro hot rod styling, from suede to tuck n roll, inlaid wood to engine-turned metal–Automotive Custom Interiors gives you the means to make your dream interior a reality.

The book covers every aspect of design–seat and upholstery, dashboards and gauges, door panels and armrests, consoles, steering wheels, pedals, shifters, knobs and hardware, floor coverings and headliners, audio and high-tech accessories, and cargo areas and trunks. With hundreds of color photos and thorough descriptions of a wide variety of parts and accessories, this is the ultimate resource for anyone contemplating a custom interior.

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US : Automotive Custom Interiors (Idea Book)

Just Customz Review

If you are looking for inspiration for you latest creation then look no further! This book is packed with ideas and features over 650 colour photos spread across 160 pages. The text in this book is brief and to the point (its all about the pictures) and is broken down into the following chapters;

Custom Looks
Seats and Upholstery
Dashboards and Gauges
Door Panels
Consoles
Hardware
Floor Coverings and Headliners
Trunks and Cargo Areas
Audio and High-Tech Accessories
From Ideas to Reality

The full-length console acts as a central spine in the Jeep Trailhawk conceptThe book contains images from all genre of interiors such as tuck and roll, bare metal, traditional, race inspired and many more. The pictures from this book definately say more about the book that this text ever could so a few examples have been listed below.

Some Rockford Fosgate speakers mounted neatly into this LexusAbout The Author
Sue Elliot has been a writer and editor for automotive magazines and websites for 21 years now, covering the full range of hobby, from hot rods to new cars and restored cars to race cars.

Sue was the first female editor of a hands-on, how-to car magazine (High Performance Pontiac, back in 1990-92). She helped launch Muscle Mustangs & Fast Fords, Bracket Racing USA and Street Performance Compact magazines.

Since then, she has been the editor and editorial director of such publications as The Barrett-Jackson Experience (about collector car auctions), Overhaulin’: The Magazine (based on the popular Discovery Channel TV show) and CollectorCarNet.com.

Chip Foose and a team of customizers perform a complete automotive makeover, transforming a driveway junker into a work of art in double-time. This book documents a dozens cars that have been overhauled by Foose and the gang. It presents the behind-the-scenes for each car’s renovation. Each build is chronicled through design sketches, photos of the work in progress, and beauty shots of the finished creations.




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UK : The Cars of Overhaulin’ with Chip Foose
US : The Cars of Overhaulin’ with Chip Foose

Just Customz Review

This book is based on the television series Overhaulin which is presented by Chip Foose. Chip takes an active role in the rebuild and design or each project and his passion for cars is clear in the high-quality results. Overhaulin is always about the people that own the car and the story they have to tell and this book tries to combine both the story of the owner and the build of the project itself.

A typical example is when they visited WyoTech and stitched up Dale Eslinger by telling him that the auto shop had to be fumigated whilst stealing a recently donated 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air. They left Dale sweating with the police the team set about converting the 4 door car into a 2 door speedster. You can see the results after a week with Chip and his A-team in the photos below;

The finished 1956 Chevrolet Bel AirIf you are a fan of the Overhaulin series then you will like this book as it covers many of the cars from the first 3 series.

About The Author
Dain Gingerelli is a long-time automotive and motorcycle writer and photographer. Since the early 1970s Dain’s byline has graced numerous magazine mastheads including Street Rodder, American Rodder, Hot Bike, and IronWorks. His writing and photography have been featured in hundreds of magazine articles as well as books