What do you all think about the new layout of Hot Rod Magazine? I pitched the last two issues I got. In my opinion they have ruined it, they focus way too much on high dollar car's / builds. What happened to helping out the little guy? The only magazine left in print and it's not even worth reading. It's not meant for the average person anymore, in fact I don't think that the track in Madison ill has test n tune anymore or the Friday night run what ya brung. It's all about the big bucks. And they wonder why kids race on the street. Even street outlaws is big money. Just my opinion, nothing more.
Hot Rod Magazine
- Thread starter Dan the man
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MOPAROFFICIAL
If it has tits, it's a liabilititty.
Do you have a car yet?
Oldiron440
Big blocks rule small blocks drool!
If you go back to the beginning of HotRod or at least the mid fifties the magazine quickly became about promoting its advertising partners. New Speed parts and the trends that use them. I wasn’t aware that HotRod was in print again…
toplscuda
Well-Known Member
Madison still has friday night races for any street legal vehicle. cost $40
DionR
Well-Known Member
The problem is, people seem to go to FB and the internet for info on hopping their cars up (not that it is good info) so magazines can't sell enough paper to stay solvent. If HR sticks around, it is only because they are offering something you can't get on the internet like a high quality picture book you can put on your coffee table.
If you want more, start going to the swap meets and buying used magazines and build a collection. Printed material has passed away. Not that I like it, I miss magazines, but it's the reality we live in.
If you want more, start going to the swap meets and buying used magazines and build a collection. Printed material has passed away. Not that I like it, I miss magazines, but it's the reality we live in.
4spdragtop
Well-Known Member
HR was for bowtie lovers anyway, no loss.
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I haven't looked at a new Hot Rod magazine in 10 years and barely any others. I have a ton of old ones though. I used to read them in the library when I was younger and could not afford them.
FB is where I go when I'm feeling dumb, to remember that there are much much MUCH dumber people than me in the world. FB makes me feel good that the world is pretty much full of idiots, and I'm smarter than most of them. For example, when someone lists a tire for sale with one photo of the tread, and the description says "tire for sale"....
Never read Hotrod magazine. See post #6, I rebuilt too many Chevy's. I used to read Car Craft in the 70's till I started talking to a friend who ran a Super Stock class car. Found out the magazines were full of BS. Then I used to read Mopar Action till they died. Not much to read anymore, everything has turned to Junk. I just enjoy my 66 Barracuda and 96 ACR Neon. Either is good enough for me...
Turbo440Dart
crank runner over-er
They throw us little guys a bone here and there. Been MANY years since I’ve had a subscription to any magazine though.
Demonic
Well-Known Member
Hot Rod had 125 pages when Freiburger & Dulcich were running things 8-10 years ago. Sales & ad money fell and it was 85 pages. Now it's a quarterly mag. The publishing industry is on life support. Marketing, advertising is changed. So is this hobby as we age.
Restoring a car from scratch is HARD WORK. Start right now.
Restoring a car from scratch is HARD WORK. Start right now.
JDMopar
Well-Known Member
When my current subscription to Hot Rod runs out.....I'm out! 
What are they supposed to do? Tell you to go hit a junkyard for classic car parts? Not sure if you've noticed, but the "old" cars in most junkyards are now from the 90's. Wrench on your stuff in your own garage with homemade tools? Oh, crap, someone got hurt actually doing what we wrote about and is suing us now.
And if you are doing those kind of articles, well, you're competing with dozens and dozens of YouTube channels and influencers doing cheap sketchy crap on the internet for clicks. And they're gonna win over the same thing in a magazine article.
This hobby went and got pretty darn expensive. Even "low buck" builds have $10k+ into most of them. Probably why you haven't bought a car yet?
Honestly there was always lots of questionable information in the magazines too. Sure, on FB or forums or the internet in general you probably get more outlandishly incorrect information, but, you also get some information that's better than what was in a lot of the magazines.
I mean, Ehrenbergs article on FMJ spindles was full of absolutely made up BS, but because it also had good interchange information that was a huge magazine article and hangs around to this day despite the fact that he was completely in his own *** about the FMJ spindle geometry. And there's plenty of magazine articles like that. Or ones that just basically are ads for their sponsors. "Whatever magazine highlights a coil over swap on a Mopar, check out who paid us to write this and make unsubstantiated claims! But boy does it look cool! Don't run that old Mopar suspension that dates back to within days of the MustangII's 'modern' design!"
340six
King Of Bling
I agree. I have lots of old magazines. I think it was 90s Car Craft did a project car. Was Plum Crazy Vert Challenger. Completely scratch built. everything was Free. Just Dashes redid dash and door panels. Ect, ect.
I had Car Craft ( was normally Chevy Craft) and Hot Rod delivery.
Dulcich had some good info. He got something free and added it to his wife's car. Think it was Diplomat hot rodded but nice street car.
Was always hit and miss though on all magazines for Mopar content
i used to read the rags for the writing... and then, that went away. i can only stomach so many cookie cutter nova 2 and fast back mustang articles that are straight boiler plate. pair that with the astroturfing, spurious dyno claims or just poor data and limited mopar content... then the pivot to online/video.
no thanks
no thanks
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I was at my cousins house around ‘82 and I was 13, he collected them and I would get his hand me downs!
In one of them was a couple of local guys that had their cars featured and even at 13 years old I could tell these were full blown show cars, because back then, there was so much Chrome everywhere you thought there would eventually be a Nickel shortage!
In the article it said that they were “Daily Drivers” and the guys lived right down the road from my cousin and he said, that’s impossible, they don’t have any rods or pistons in them, they only have a crank so they can mount the pulleys for the 671 Blower, it’s all for Show!
Right then I started to take everything they printed with a grain of salt!
However, Looking back, that was our Internet and Google that inspired us to go out and work on cars and hope one day that we would have something that could possibly be magazine worthy.
Today, we have FABO and other forums to inspire us, borrow ideas and make things happen, because at the end of the day, everyone is proud of their car, no matter what shape it’s in, whether it’s a Beater, Daily Driver or a Full Blown Show Car, we all like to stand back and say, I built that with my own two hands!
Even now in my ‘50’s, there’s still nothing like the sound when your Motor busts off for the first time and you’re praying to the Lifter Gods that they don’t fail!
In one of them was a couple of local guys that had their cars featured and even at 13 years old I could tell these were full blown show cars, because back then, there was so much Chrome everywhere you thought there would eventually be a Nickel shortage!
In the article it said that they were “Daily Drivers” and the guys lived right down the road from my cousin and he said, that’s impossible, they don’t have any rods or pistons in them, they only have a crank so they can mount the pulleys for the 671 Blower, it’s all for Show!
Right then I started to take everything they printed with a grain of salt!
However, Looking back, that was our Internet and Google that inspired us to go out and work on cars and hope one day that we would have something that could possibly be magazine worthy.
Today, we have FABO and other forums to inspire us, borrow ideas and make things happen, because at the end of the day, everyone is proud of their car, no matter what shape it’s in, whether it’s a Beater, Daily Driver or a Full Blown Show Car, we all like to stand back and say, I built that with my own two hands!
Even now in my ‘50’s, there’s still nothing like the sound when your Motor busts off for the first time and you’re praying to the Lifter Gods that they don’t fail!
340six
King Of Bling
My buddy had a body shop (still does) he did tons of Kandy and Airbrush. Still does lots of Kandy Yes I know it's Candy paint but House Of Color calls it Kandy. Easy to use base, a tint added to clear and clear. Great for 70s stripes on candy base paint. Plus he used to do hand layied wide bodies, custom scoops/spoilers. I worked many hours doing so helping. My wife is much younger than I and missed the 70-80s street scene but wanted a build like that so it was cheap Real 340 (H Code) Nose Car for the Win in the Happy Wife category.
My old *** sleeps in a water bed and I have a lava lamp too.
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The gentleman that painted the scene on Snowman’s Truck from Smokey and the Bandit was friends with John K who started HOC…he told me that John used the K because of his last name, they used to do paint workshops together in the ‘70-80’s.
I have used HOC Kandies and he does have a great product!
Yeah, I loved going to the World of Wheels Car Shows in the 70’s and 80’s and seeing all the Street Machines and studying them to see if you can figure out how they laid all those stripes and graphics down!
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That's the far
I think that air brush work is awesome
I understand Dan's sentiments, but like said, the day of print car mags and affordable too is bout gone, as are the boneyards with 60s,70s or even 80s cars! I have subscribed to Hemmings forever, but they cut their 2 mags (Muscle Cars, Classic cars) and combined it into the big Hemmings. Food for thought while at the "thinking room"! I enjoy reading about cars I love and even tho 
se I never want to own. Call me strange!
Yea, HotRod mag now has a "big" quarterly issues, they call it fancy coffee table mag. Like Dan, I dropped their subscription, costly for what it gave me.
One day, the puter will be full of AI generated BS and BS pics!!???!!!!!!
se I never want to own. Call me strange!Yea, HotRod mag now has a "big" quarterly issues, they call it fancy coffee table mag. Like Dan, I dropped their subscription, costly for what it gave me.
One day, the puter will be full of AI generated BS and BS pics!!???!!!!!!
And its quarterly. I still receive HR even though I haven't subscribed in years. Its a waste of paper. As you said, just high end builds with no depth to the writing.
The two magazines I miss are Mopar Action and Hemmings Muscle Machines.
AJ/FormS
68 Formua-S fastback clone 367/A833/GVod/3.55s
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Every time one of you says;
"have you got a car yet",
I am reminded of why I don't come here much anymore.
You guys are like wolves, tearing a man's heart out. You are turning this forum into a chit and abuse site, that nobody wants to come back to.
"have you got a car yet",
I am reminded of why I don't come here much anymore.
You guys are like wolves, tearing a man's heart out. You are turning this forum into a chit and abuse site, that nobody wants to come back to.
MOPAROFFICIAL
If it has tits, it's a liabilititty.
They closed the wrecking yard we had in town... Maybe it's just California..
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