Back in 1987, my search for a stock muscle car culminated in this 1967 GTO. Its paint was faded and the wrong color, there was front fender and bumper damage, a rusted trunk, and the quarter panels a...
The lower section of the left-front fender on my 1955 TR2 needs to be replaced, but with six spare left-side front fenders on hand, it will allow that damaged fender to be repaired with authentic Tri...
The personality of any hot rod, at some point, is gonna come down to the choices made around the exhaust system. All photos by the author and Tim Conder/Conder Custom, unless otherwise noted. If you’...
Le Mans Blue adorns this concours-restored ’69 427 Corvette convertible. Photography by the author. Have you ever noticed that certain exterior colors draw you in and command your attention more than...
In probably not the most shocking news, we’re doing something a little less expected for the seats of the Stoner T. All photos by Tim Conder/Conder Custom, unless otherwise noted. When I was a young ...
All photos by Tim Conder/Conder Custom, unless otherwise noted. Look, I want you good people to understand one thing about custom shops: you have no idea. You have no idea, no real understanding of t...
The fuel gauge on my Ford A/B speedster is from a World War II P-51-B Mustang fighter plane. Unfortunately, it stopped working just in time for the car’s maiden run. When you’re building cars—especia...
The car when we first got the Gotelli 392 Hemi located in its perch. “Although this is a Muncie M-21 trans with the stock bellhousing,” Conder explains, “you can see how the 392 (now mounted nearly 2...
Ted Gotelli passing the time between rounds in one of the earliest versions of his Fuller-chassis-ed fueler in the early ’60s. Dig those weedburners… Photo: Sherm Porter. All remaining photos by the ...
You can’t beat the old Sears catalogs as reference material. Photos by the author. One of the neatest references for everyday-material culture of the past is a Sears, Roebuck and Company Catalog. Sea...
A pair of cruddy Vans and a vintage “Traction By Hurst” T-shirt graphic, along with a mocked-up rolled pan-slash-air scoop: a modern-day hot rod still life. All photos by the author, unless otherwise...
My T coupe and all its influences. When I look at this collection of cars that I’ve loved for the entirety of my own consciousness, I pause and just marvel at what this purely American phenomenon has...
When we realized we only had one headlight, Conder took it all in stride. This is the sketch on a piece of chipboard that he keeps piles of, deep inside Conder Custom, that finally solved the problem...
Getting there. They say that it takes 90 percent of the time to do 10 percent of the work and vice-versa. “They” say a lot, don’t they? All photos by the author, unless otherwise noted. Warhol claime...
One of the four mysterious photos Joe Gotelli – grandson of Ted “The Goat” Gotelli – dug out of a filing cabinet for me. While I had to find out what cosmic forces brought these elements together in ...
The car with the motor in it, as we size-up what it might’ve looked like with a 6-71 roots-type supercharger and an Enderle “bugcatcher” mechanical fuel injection setup. All photos by the author unle...
All photos by the author, unless otherwise noted. Know what one of the best things about a hot rod is? The motor, son. “Of course,” right? But the decisions that are made around the engine for a hot ...
The car at Conder Custom, its body hanging above itself, looking down like when you die and have one of those out-of-body experiences, but then come back to life and write a book about your experienc...
The car at Conder Custom in Sonoma, California. This is what it looked like before we conjured the exhaust setup. Can you dig it?!? All photos by the author, unless otherwise noted. Hot rodding has r...
The original sketch Tim Conder, of Conder Custom, made after we talked about life, love, cars, art, dragsters, the Munster’s Koach , the Phonebooth T , Ed Roth, Garbage Pail Kids, Krofft Superstars, ...
Santa brought the writer a 1923 Ford touring car body, which has been dubbed “Tilly,” thanks to the original plan to use a pair of Tillotson down-draft carburetors on the engine. The Tillotsons are n...
My first sketches of what I thought my 1928 Model A coupe hot rod should look like. The exhaust headers were the focal point, as I was trying to develop some dramatic elements of the car. All photos ...
My ’31 Ford speedster often gets neglected during the cold, dark winter months, but this time will be different. Here it is with its hood and radiator removed to make it quicker and easier for me to ...
Photos by author. Many of us can attest to the fact that vintage cars require periodic attention or they begin to slip into a permanent state of rest that impedes future cruising enjoyment. And since...
Photo by author. I have a confession to make: I am a tool hoarder. Were I loyal to one brand of automobile or motorcycle, or even a single nationality, this would pose less of a problem, but over the...