Synopses & Reviews
Welcome to the garages and shops of eighteen modern street rod, hot rod, and custom car builders, as presented by bestselling hot rod photographer and author Peter Vincent. From the state-of-the-art setups of street rod giants to the private lairs of old-school hot rodders, these are the hallowed grounds where countless hours are spent machining, wrenching, welding, and shaping—and where likeminded friends entertain one another while they bring their visions rumbling to life. Featured are:
Roy Brizio
Pete Eastwood
Cole Foster
Pat Foster
Cam Grant
John Gunsaulis
Gary Harms
Terry Hegman
Ron Jolliffe
Bob Lick
Steve Moal
Dick Page
The Rolling Bones
Don Small
Cal Tanaka
Vern & Keith Tardel
Billy Vinther
Dale Withers
Throughout, Vincent depicts these builders and their cars in the context of their workspaces, in the process showing how their garages inform their art. The result is the next best thing to being there—an exquisitely presented book that distills the varying nature of hot rod garages and the cars created within.
Review
Bangshift.com, Review May 4, 2009 "Some books you buy for the words and some you buy for the pictures. Hot Rod Garages by Peter Vincent has words, but the incredible photography tells the stories that the book is trying to tell. This is an awesome look into the workshops of some of the most talented car builders, fabricators, and hot rod shops in the country.There is an honestly and feel to the photography in this book that is unique, in my experience, to the genre. Normally the photos are just too posed, too unnatural, and give the vibe that the guy shooting them was totally interrupting the work of the guys in the shop. This book’s pictures have a comfortable fly on the wall appeal that gives the reader the impression that they are an old friend, or at minimum a welcome guest.There are big name builders, like Roy Brizio, and Pete Eastwood, as well as guys like the late Pat Foster (who did amazing work restoring or recreating old drag cars) shown along with several builders whose names rang a bell, but aren’t household names like the other guys.Each chapter has an introduction about the person about to be featured. By the final chapter we found it more fun to use the photography as an initial guide, form an opinion on who we thought the builder was through there work, and then read the intro back to see how our perception met up. These guys all build world class cars. This is the ream team of car building, especially for high end type hot rods. If you love great photography and learning about the guys behind the cars you see winning all the major shows, you need this book as it provides a rare personal glance into the places that these fellows are most comfortable, their shops. The shops are a great testament to the balance between raw skill and machinery. These are not bling filled caverns. Instead they are to these guys what a nice little studio is to an artist, a place to make their magic and see their vision come to fruition."
Review
Jalopnik.com, Review April 26, 2009"For those of you who like to get your 90-weight-coated paws on some car-themed reading material, we're continuing with this book-review thing. Today we're checking out a weighty slab of a coffee-table book. Hot Rod Garages poses something of a dilemma for the intended audience, because it really ought to live in the garage, where you can thumb through it while digging deep for motivation to work on that rusty '61 DKW Munga Hell Project… but you'd feel a twinge of guilt the first time you dropped a torque converter on its snazzy three-dimensional cover (the windows in the cover's garage illustration are actual holes cut through the cover, an effect that doesn't show up so well in photographs but is pretty cool in person). The concept behind the book is quite simple: Vincent visited the garages and workshops of 18 builders of vehicles that fall within the hot rod and/or custom tradition and documented what he found. Some are big names and some aren't; all create some pretty serious machinery, and their shops range from primitive to palatial. I cracked open this book hoping to see hundreds of obsessive closeups of battered tools and weird engine parts on scarred workbenches, which wasn't what I found; most of the photographs show entire cars, many of which aren't parked in the garages in which they were created. That's not really a problem, however, because plenty of the non-garage photos were shot on the Bonneville salt flats and just about all the cars are serious gearhead pr0n.You get a generous helping of text for a coffee-table book, including interviews of car builders and the author's reminisces of his experiences with them. Best of all is the fascinating history of the Moal family's operations in East Oakland, written by Michael Dobrin, and the extensively documented buildup- practically a how-to guide- of the Rolling Bones' George Poteet '34 coupe.The verdict: a Three Rod Jalopnik book rating. An enjoyable book for the average car geek, a big improvement over the tedious stuff that sits on most coffee tables… and pure un-stepped-on crack for those hooked on the traditional hot rod aesthetic. Murilee says check it out!"
Synopsis
You’ve seen the hot rods and custom rides, even looked into the hot rodding lifestyle, but what about where it all starts—in the garages humble or grand where countless hours of machining and wrenching, welding and shaping, elbow grease and inspiration bring a hot rodder’s vision to life. In this book, acclaimed hot rod photographer Peter Vincent takes readers into the shops and garages of more than two dozen rod and custom builders across the U.S. From individuals crafting the cars of their dreams to prominent shops turning out cool rides for top dollar, these are the builders in their element.
For the hot rod builder, a working environment takes on a whole new meaning; and here, in fascinating pictures and words, readers learn how shops and garages inform and reflect each custom creation. The book offers an intimate look into the garages of legends like Pete Eastwood and shop such as Rolling Bones; celebrated builders-for-hire like Vern Tardel, and Cole Foster; and top-of-the-line shops such as Brizio Street Rods and Steve Moal’s operation. The result is the next best thing to being there—a book that vividly summons the nature of these spaces and the cars they produce.
Synopsis
An intimate look into the garages that produce great hot rods and custom cars, with a view on how each space informs the builder's creations.
Synopsis
Acclaimed hot rod photographer Peter Vincent takes readers into the shops and garages of more than two dozen rod and custom builders across the U.S. Hot Rod Garages shows how these work spaces inform and reflect each custom creation, whether of individuals crafting the cars of their dreams or prominent shops turning out cool rides for top dollar. The book offers an intimate look into the garages of legends like Pete Eastwood and shops such as Rolling Bones; celebrated builders-for-hire like Vern Tardel, and Cole Foster; and top-of-the-line shops such as Brizio Street Rods and Steve Moal’s operation.
Synopsis
In Hot Rod Garages, acclaimed hot rod photographer Peter Vincent takes readers inside the shops and garages of more than two dozen of the United States’ most renowned rod and custom builders.
About the Author
Peter Vincent’s work has been featured in more than 20 galleries around the United States and has been published in The Rodder’s Journal, American Rodder, Hop Up, Street Rodder, and Rod and Custom. Vincent, is the author and photographer of Motorbooks’ Hot Rod: An American Original and Hot Rod: The Photography of Peter Vincent, lives in Moscow, Idaho.
Table of Contents
Foreword By Phil LinharesPreface and AcknowledgmentsChapter 1 Roy BrizioChapter 2 Cole FosterChapter 3 Pat FosterChapter 4 Cam GrantChapter 5 John GunsaulisChapter 6 Gary HarmsChapter 7 Ron JolliffeChapter 8 “The L.A. Group”Pete EastwoodTerry HegmanDon SmallCal TanakaBilly VintherChapter 9 Bob LickChapter 10 Steve MoalChapter 11 Dick PageChapter 12 The Rolling BonesChapter 13 Vern & Keith TardelChapter 14 Dale WithersIndex