Hot Rod How To Articles

1971 Buick GS - Dash Restoration

Learn to fully restore your musclecar's vinyl dashpad. more

How To Apply Epoxy Coating To Your Garage Floor

Applying a Professional-Grade Epoxy Floor Coating Has Never Been More Straightforward Than With the UCoat It System. more

How To Weld

The Bare-Bones Basics On Getting Started With An Affordable Mig Welder. more

How to Heat Shrink Metal - The Incredible Shrinking Bead

A lot of people think sheetmetal work is the hot rodding equivalent of rocket science. And forget about shrinking metal; that's alchemy. A Ph.D. in mechanical engineering or medieval chemistry would come in handy but are not necessary. In fact, heat-shrinking more

How to Install Independent Rear Suspension in Musclecars

Forget Custom-Fabbed Jaguar and Corvette Setups; Bolt-in Independent Rear Suspensions for Musclecars Are Now a Phone Call Away. more

NASCAR Mechanic School - How To Become a NASCAR Mechanic

We Know You Guys Can Spin Wrenches And Bend Metal With The Best Of Them. Maybe You'd Like To Do It In The Big Show For Glory And Big Bucks In Nascar. Here's How You Can Break In. more

Air To Be Different - Understanding Air Suspension

Air Suspensions Have Hit Mainstream Hot Rodding. We Explain Everything You Need To Know About Them. more

All About A/C

Ready To Put Some Sub-Ambient Air In Your Ride? Here's Everything You Need To Know About Air Conditioning And What's Out There For Your Car. more

Engine Swap - Ford 4.6 Dohc Into Fox-Body

Mark Sanchez's '83 Mustang convertible has been around the block and then some. Serving as a test mule for Advanced Engineering West, Sanchez's high-tech Ford engine swap and ECM reprogramming business, the well-worn ride has seen everything from carbureted 5. more

1955 Chevrolet Tri Five - Peaking Your Nose - Rod and Custom

The hood of a '55 Chevy somewhat resembles a huge tarmac, so it's not surprising that the design team at GM bolted a gigantic chrome plane to it. Fifty years later, it seems almost sacrilegious to alter a stock-bodied Tri-Five Chevy, but the hood ornament has to go if you want to build a hot rod or more

The Ultimate Paint and Body Guide Part 2 - How To Strip Paint

It's time to reach beneith the surface to see what is really hiding under that old paint on your ride. Find out which method is best for you as we delve into the many methods you can do to take it down to bare metal. more

Steering Column On Hot Rod and Custom - Anchoring Your Column

Installing a GM tilt steering column in a hot rod or custom is not a new concept. New columns and installation kits have been making it easier for years. The ididit kit is easy to install and works quite well, but the lower mount needs a little help if you're more

How to Swap a Mopar 5.7L Hemi

How To Drop A 5.7L Hemi Crate Motor And An A-518 Overdrive Automatic Into A Classica-Body. more

Engine Swap - LS7 in a 1969

Finding Out What It Takes To Stuff An LS7 Crate Motor In An Early Camaro, Dry-Sump And All. more

Ultimate Paint and Body Guide Part 6 - Material Concerns

In part 6 of Hot Rod's Ultimate Get to Paint and Body we show you the correct way to sand, prime and pick the best paint for your car. more

Chevy Impala Color Sanding - There's The Rub

The tough part is over. Last month's installment in our Paint & Body series covered the application of topcoats-color, clear, special effects-over prepped and primered sheetmetal. Getting the right results from the spray gun is probably the job that intimidate more

Getting Framed - Building Your Own Chassis: Part II

Jim Aust shows us how to build your own chassis in Rod and Custom Magazine. more

1949-1952 Chevrolet Windsheild Replacement - Glass Class

1949-1952 Chevrolet Windsheild Replacement from an Oldsmobile presented by Rod and Custom Online. I wasn't planning to change the windshield in my '52 Chevy. I'd rather not talk about it. All I'll say is that if you take the hood latch to the chrome shop early in the morning, don't try to drive the more

Hot Rod's Ultimate Guide to Paint and Bodywork Part 1

This is the first of a ten part series that we'll be covering over the next few months. We'll go through it all. In this installment we as the tough questions that you need to ask yourself. more

Ultimate Paint and Body Guide Part 3 - Got Dents?

Part 3 of Hot Rod Magazine's Ultimate Guide to Paint and Body. This time, we go over dent removal and how to manipulate metal. more

Ultimate Paint and Body Guide Part 4 - The War Against Rust

In part 4 of Hot Rod's Ultimate Paint and Body Guide, we're waging war on rust! more

Ultimate Paint and Body Guide Part 5 - Panel Alignment

Part 5 of Hot Rod's Ultimate Guide to Paint and Body: Building a Better Body Through Proper Panel Alignment. more

1973 Pontiac Ventura Rusty Floorboards

Freiburger figured he'd won the lottery when he scored a nearly mint, rust-free '73 Ventura parts car for 300 skins. Other than a heavy shunt in the rear that totaled this once-fine ride, the original V-8 Pontiac represented the mother lode of parts and pieces more

Coker Vintage Tires - Aftermarket Insider

How They Make It: Coker TiresHarold Coker started Coker Tire Co. in 1958 with the goal of providing rare and obsolete vintage tires to antique car collectors. By 1974, it had evolved into primarily a BFGoodrich dealership with a small division for the vintag more

How to Build a Cobra From Scratch

You Really Can Build a Cobra From Scratch. Factory Five and Muscle Car Restorations Shows How. more