HOT ROD Deluxe is Back and On Sale Now - Check Out a Preview
The Comeback Issue
Here's an old name in a new wrapper: HOT ROD Deluxe. In 1999, ourcompany published two issues of HRD before the corporate Death Starexploded the mag due to lack of ad sales. Nearly eight years later,newsstands are overflowing with kustom kulture pubs, and our publishingcompany has changed hands three times. It's now HOT ROD's 60thanniversary, and the suits asked us HOT ROD editors why we don't have atitle in the retro marketplace. We've finally been given the freedom tocreate from scratch a magazine all about the ethic we love most, andhere it is, presented for your input and direction.
It's our goal to deliver a vintage-themed mag that doesn't simply panderwith rat rods and tattooed broads--though we've got a pinch of both--butthat's really about the cars. It's also about keeping alive all theheros, the glories, and the styles of retro rodding and of vintageAmericana. We'll celebrate the flavor, the patina, the details, and thelife around the edges of the swap meets, the garages, and the roads.
Our focus will be on the character of the '40s, '50s, and '60s, thoughwe think there's room to include the occasional piece about the veryearly '70s as that era gains allure. We're not going to bond ourselvesto a delineation of era, style, or budget. HRD will cover high-end andlow-buck, rods and customs, drag cars and lakes racers. We'll includemusclecar-era body styles when they show themselves as retro-styledearly-'60s drag cars and never as mainstream street machines. We're notgoing to worry too much about absolute authenticity of era, so you mightoccasionally see disc brakes, radial tires, or airbag suspensions aslong as they're applied to a car that reeks of character and retro cues.This issue's straight-axle Vette feature is an example: Discs, radials,HEI ignition, modern Torq-Thrusts, and a new tach all erode the purity,but there's enough vibe that we couldn't dismiss the entire car. Mostrods on the scene are caricatures of traditional styles, anyway, andyou'll see them here, right alongside absolutely correct examples ofrestored vintage cars.
We're going to leverage the power of the HOT ROD magazine archives,sharing much of our vintage photography to spawn awe, to celebrate thepast, and to give you ideas for your future projects. Throughout themagazine we've put an emphasis on rich photography.
This issue is a prototype designed to elicit your reactions. If we hadto critique it ourselves, we'd say that we need more '60s-style customs,and we wish we had a bodywork or paint how-to story. But the opinionthat matters is yours. Within each editorial department we've describedthe type of content we intend to provide in future issues, but that'sflexible depending on your input, so let us know what you think. Roddin'@ Random is a photo collage of various elements of the retro life. Is ittoo much, or just right? For cars, do you want more restorations of real'50s rods or more current-build retro-rods? This issue has a story ondoing a '65-drag-style altered wheelbase and solid axle. Is that cool,or would you prefer not to see muscle-era cars like that? Everythinghere is newly created with the exception of a few photos in the Roddin'@ Random section and the 12-page "Flattie Power" story that wasoriginally printed in HOT ROD's Nov. '05 issue, but that was worthrepeating here to show you the type of vintage tech we plan to execute.If you want similar stories on other engines, tell us.
Finally, pardon the capitalism, but you've got to vote with yourdollars. The company plans to publish HOT ROD Deluxe quarterly in 2008,but that could change if this issue tanks. If you dig it, make sure totell your friends. A huge sales success means we might be able to talkmanagement into printing HRD bimonthly, which would be cool. If thathappens, we'll also need keyed-in freelancers and perhaps even staffeditors, so if you think you've got what it takes, e-mail us.
Enjoy the issue, tell us what you think (email us atHOTROD@sourceinterlink.com), and spread the word! -- David Freiburger
HOT ROD DELUXE, WINTER 2007 Table of Contents
Click Here For a Look at What You'll See Inside HOT ROD Deluxe.
FLAG MAN
Introducing the comeback issue. Do you dig?
WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
Selections from the HOT ROD magazine archives.
RODDIN' @ RANDOM
A pictorial overview of the retro life, in color!
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
Reminiscing with the heros. This month, Eric Rickman.
LOST & FOUND
Wherein fantastic garage finds are discovered.
THEN & NOW
The coolest vintage people, places, and things... today!
30/'34 CAD-ROD
Our freakish cover car is called Headskratcher.
STRAIGHT-AXLE VETTE
How this guy built it tall and cheap.
THE TRUE RPU
This '29 rings truth through and through.
MORE OF THE SAME
'50s mag feature cars revisited with "new" old photos.
PARTS WITH APPEAL
Girls. Parts. Girl parts.
ALTERED-WHEELBASE MADNESS
Do your own straight-axle and AWB for the drag look, '65 style.
SPRAY-BOMB WHEEL TREATMENTS
Look cool for cheap with homegrown tips and hues.
ULTIMATE GUIDE TO FLATHEAD POWER
12 pages of info and sources for rodding's favorite mill.
SCRAPBOOK
Readers' old photos and new projects.
TROPHY GIRL
This month's hottie of the past.

Photo Gallery: HOT ROD Deluxe is Back and On Sale Now - Hot Rod Magazine



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