Hot Rod November 2022

20 Years Ago November 2002: 100 pages, $3.99 “We tell you every trick in the book” promised the “More Power from Any Engine” cover blurb, supported by a story by Steve Magnante and David Freiburger that offered “brand-indifferent techniques you can do.” You can, that is, if you’re a machinist or engine builder, as these tips and tricks were machine-shop oriented. On the cover was of the new Chevy ZL1 crate engine, which Marlan Davis examined in fine detail. GM dyno tested the new mill with Hooker Chevelle headers and 93-octane fuel and saw 510.3 net hp at 5,750 rpm and 492.9 net lb-ft of peak torque at 4,250. Another noteworthy engine in the issue was the new, third-generation 5.7-liter Hemi, which cutaway artist David Kimble rendered in his visually exacting style.…

Richard Petty began the 1975 NASCAR racing season defending his 1974 Winston Cup championship. Richard Petty also started the 1975 season by hitting the wall at Riverside during the Winston Western 500. That’s an incident he’d likely rather forget, but through an accident of timing, that brief brush with an immovable object was recorded and published in HOT ROD, where it lives forever in our photo archives and countless magazine collections. The cover of the April 1975 issue of HOT ROD featured Petty, his brother Maurice, and cousin Dale Inman with Petty’s STP-liveried Dodge Charger, all posing in front of a Carolina tobacco barn with a dog and some chickens. Inside was a seven-page tribute to The King, his family, and his cars. As luck would have it, the issue was in production…

If HOT ROD Power Tour 2022 was your first, then you know it can be summed up in one word beginning with the letter “H”. Hospitable. It gave a whole new understanding of the welcoming, friendly, southern lifestyle and a new appreciation for ice-cold sweet tea. Though if hot and humid came to your mind first, we would not blame you. This was a year that left you dripping every single day, whether your car was living the luxurious life of air conditioning or not. Despite high heat, the enthusiasm radiated among participants and spectators. In five days, thousands drove a variety of cars for nearly 1,000 miles on roads lined with towering greenery. Power Tour creates experiences that are often overlooked with our modern means of transportation. The current…

Each year, we are amazed at the number of people who long-haul the Power Tour. Those are the people who make the entire journey from start to finish. It’s not cheap, and sometimes it can be a grind—traffic jams at the venues and inclement weather are two of the most common issues we deal with each year. Thankfully, there were no hurricanes or tornadoes this year (unlike in the past), and this year’s long-haul car count crested 5,000. We were impressed and deeply grateful for everyone who took the time to join us on the Power Tour, but a special thanks goes to the Long Haulers. Here, in no particular order, are some who opted to have their cars photographed by the tour bus on the way out of Atlanta…

When you’re the chief design officer of a world-wide car manufacturer, and that manufacturer happens to be Stellantis—the international umbrella containing the beloved Dodge brand—being a car guy brings with it a gravitas that is a magnitude greater than anything mere mortals can imagine. As much as we’d like to think we have influence over the world of hot rods, we’ll never actually make high-performance production cars leap off the page and onto dealership lots like Ralph Gilles does. It’s his world and we’re just lucky to live in it. Ralph Gilles, like so many of us, grew up admiring Mopar’s muscle car performers and watching Dodge Chargers in movies like Bullitt and TV shows like Dukes of Hazzard. The Dodge Charger, specifically the 1968 model, had captured Gilles’ imagination for…

More than three years ago, while straining to absorb the Detroit area’s mammoth Woodward Dream Cruise, we spied something familiar: a blown 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 with a serious ’70s rake and multicolor graphics that were as period-correct as a satin baseball jacket with a fondue stain on the sleeve. There was a time, of course, when a 6-71 GMC blower poking through the hood of a first-gen Camaro was as common as today’s LS swaps, but this one stood out for more than its classic street-machine stance. It’s because we’d seen it before. We saw it in November 1979, to be exact. That was the issue of HOT ROD on which it graced the cover. It looked identical, four decades later, to the vision Tim Marshall and the godfather Gray…