How to Build Period Correct Hot Rods

The photos in this edition are black and white.

Vintage, retro, or classic hot rods have been an enduring element of the hot rod hobby. These vintage roadsters, sedans, and coups have become very popular because they are the bedrock of the hot rodding culture. However, many rodders have built a rod dedicated to a particular decade, era, region, flavor, or style, but these have lacked all the period correct details, and it's crucial to get all the details (ie parts) right. If some parts are not of the complementary or the package does not faithfully replicate a particular style or era, the theme of the hot rod can be ruined.

Hot rod veteran Gerry Burger explains how to identify, buy, or build the parts to create a faithful period correct hot rod--a car that you will be proud of and will gain the respect from others in the hobby. The book showcases all the parts that make a faithful and consistent hot rod of a certain era, flavor, or style. The book covers 50s and 60s style, both East Coast and West Coast. It details the wide range of stock parts and popular high-performance parts from a particular era. He discusses when they were first produced and when they were in popular use. Once you decide on the theme and time period for your hot rod build, Burger discusses how to choose the period correct engine for your chassis, valve covers, intakes, and carbs that also match the period from Edelbrock, Offenhauser, and others. Similar chapters also cover, interiors, wheels and tires, frames, suspension, and all other components.

When it comes to putting together all the pieces to create an attractive, accurate, and fun hot rod from the 50s, 60s, and 70s, no other book is a better guide than How to Build Period Correct Hot Rods.