People are as interesting in painting and customizing now, as they were when this material was first created, in the 1950s. Everyone wants to know how to do a flame job, or how to run a pair of pinstripes straight down the side of their car. In this book George Barris explains how he and brother Sam did their custom painting and early flame jobs in the 1950s. No one can tell this story as well as George Barris, a fine photographer and the man who built many of the cars shown in the book. This particular book, Volume 4, contains more than just the photos and words of George Barris. This volume contains first-person side-bars by legendary painters and builders like Dean Jeffries and Larry Watson, describing how they developed their talents and what it was like to customize cars in those days.

Car culture - pinstriping, customising and cartooning - is nearly synonymous with Southern California culture. Kustom Kulture tells the story of the revved-up legends of the custom car cult of the 1950s, 60s and 70s in Los Angeles. Features art work by Robert Williams, Von Dutch and Ed |Big Daddy| Roth. Hot rod art at its best by three masters of the form.

Here are hot rodding's true pioneers--the guys who raced the lakes in the mid-century, the ones who broke the records, and those who, through sheer ingenuity, transformed discarded car bodies, flathead V-8s, and four-bangers into the stuff of myth. In essays by some of the most respected journalists in hot rodding today, these icons of the early days come to life, and the history of hot rodding unfolds in all its gritty glory. Featured throughout are rare photographs drawn from the archives of the American Hot Rod Foundation, an institution dedicated to preserving, promoting, and celebrating the history of hot rodding. Compiled by noted hot rod author Dain Gingerelli, the essays in Hot Rod Roots take up topics crucial to the development of hot rodding from the 1920s to the early 60s: Robert Genat explores the symbiotic relationship between hot rodders and the U.S. military during World War II; Pat Ganahl delves into the birth of the belly tank and its lasting effects on the sport; Greg Sharp tracks hot rodding's impact on the development of circle-track racing; Gingerelli explains how the sanctioning of quarter-mile drag racing accelerated hot roddings growth; Ken Gross documents the effect of enthusiast magazines and car shows; and Mark Morton shows how hot rodding's early roots will always remain a part of the sport. This book also includes a foreword by So-Cal Speed Shop founder and dry lakes pioneer Alex Xydias.

The history of hot rodding is filled with stories of cars that were lost for a wide variety of reasons. Some were crashed, others lost in accidents, and others simply faded away. Its the third group that Lost Hot Rods II focuses on. Many great hot rods that were once famous were simply hidden away. Some of them have been tracked down and are now found once again. As a solid follow-up to the success of the original Lost Hot Rods, this book continues the fun of discovering whatever happened to many of the great rods and customs built in the early days of the sport. Lost Hot Rods II shares the full story of each car, including how it was originally built, when it dropped off the radar, and how it was ultimately found. Photos from the past and present are included to showcase the story behind each and every one of these great cars. Industry veteran and celebrated historian Pat Ganahl once again opens the archives and pounds the pavement in order to bring you the stories on some of the coolest cars ever to appear in shows or grace the pages of automotive magazines. A perfect companion to the best-selling Lost Hot Rods: Remarkable Stories of How They Were Found.