Pat Ganahl is the greatest hot rod/custom writer ever. Too much you say? Ha! From his work at Rod and Custom(still that magazines best era), to the Rodders Journal, Pat tells all. And he does it exactly how it should be. This is Part 1 of the interview so stay tuned for more!
1. What is the greatest invention/product in the hot rodding world?
The hot rod itself. It is the quintessence of do-it-yourself American invention. I don't think there's any argument there. If I had to pick one product, I think it would be the Roots-style supercharger. That hot rodders could take these off GMC 2-stroke diesels and do with them what they have done is phenomenal. And the fact that Detroit/Europe is finally realizing that these types of blowers are simpler and work better than turbos is something hot rodders could have told them several decades ago.
2. Should a hot rod be built or bought?
Yes. As I just mentioned, hot rodding is built on doing it yourself. But if a hot rod is bought, someone still has to build it, and hopefully that person knows what he/she is doing and likes it...and gets paid. To me, a more important criterion is whether the buyer/owner of a hot rod is
involved in the pastime and its culture/history. Bruce Meyer doesn't turn wrenches on his rods or race cars, but he is very much involved in hot rodding--supremely. But some of his car-collecting buddies that he tells "You need a hot rod in your collection," don't and shouldn't,
because they don't know what they are or appreciate them. Bottom line, the more people who buy hot rods, the better, because that allows builders to build them. But I don't care much for "Rolex Rodders."
3. What is your greatest achievement while you were with Rod and Custom Magazine?
Getting it going again and making it a good rod and custom magazine. I can't take credit for bringing it back in '88. When I begged them to do it before that, they said no. I don't really know who finally said yes. But when I heard it was coming back, I had to beg them to let me do it. They finally did; just me. My wife, Anna gets a lot of credit for helping to get it back on its feet. Any of you who came by the R&C booth at the Nats or other events know her. She was the one selling subs and T-shirts, while I was out covering the event and photographing cars. She did this as a volunteer. She also did an entire P.R. campaign for the relaunch of the mag, and got articles about it in several big newspapers and so on. Even as a bi-monthly, in less than a year we got the circulation within 10% of Street Rodder's. If we hadn't, Petersen would have killed it again. I'm pretty proud of the whole R&C package between '88 and '93.
4. Are VW's hot rods?
I've always thought of VWs as VWs; and by that I mean, specifically, Bugs. I've always liked them--they're very intriguing, mechanically, and they're easy to work on, plus they're cheap (which is probably really why I like them so much). When my '48 Chevy broke for the umpteenth time when I was in grad school, I bought a used '62 bug and drove it 14,000 miles across the US that summer to see America for the first time. Later, I bought a '60 bug for $100 and tried to do "hot rod" stuff to it: louvers, nerf bars, rake, pipes, chrome wheels, big-n-littles,
dechroming, etc. I even put '39 Ford taillights on it. But I never thought of it as a hot rod, per se. Surprisingly, my son, Bill, is just finishing a very similar small-window bug for himself as a daily driver, like mine was for 15 years.
5. Name the greatest hot rod and greatest custom, in your opinion and tell why.
That's impossible. I couldn't even begin to tell you my favorites. I have said in print that the Hirohata Merc is the most famous custom. The American Graffiti coupe is likely the most famous rod. But that obviously doesn't make it the best, or greatest. I have tons of favorites, past and present. One question I thought would make a good article for Hot Rod mag is who is the greatest hot rodder of all time(so far)? I settled on Micky Thompson, because he excelled (very creatively) in so many different arenas. Frieburger agreed. But the fun would be selecting the next 10 or 20.
6. You were a stay at home dad for awhile. What was that like and did you get any grief from other anyone? That is, since you're a man you should be out working in the real world not diapering babies.
I don't think men or women should be categorized like that. Anna and I are both "career" people, but we have traded off working full time. When I was home with Billy I was freelancing to several magazines and writing books. Anna was starting her first job. Now I am at home freelancing once again. Changing diapers doesn't have much to do with it. Unfortunately, neither does making much money.
7. Your one of the few writers/editors who actually 'walked the walk'. You championed nostalgia drags and ran an altered. You preached buying and driving a '50's car and you did that too. Why do you think that is?
That's a big question I could write a book answering. I got into hot rodding as a kid in the '50s: modifying my bicycles, building models, reading the mags, and working on older friends' cars. During that time, the guys writing the mags--Wally, Medley, Ray Brock, Spence, Francisco, Bill Burke, Rickman and so on--did the stuff they wrote about. But hot rodding was my hobby. When I decided to make writing my career, I had no idea I'd end up writing about hot rods. I've never bought a new car, and see no reason to do so. It's much more fun to drive something that
you've built. And, actually, working at the mags has allowed me to do things, such as running an Altered and a Top Fuel dragster (with my hero, Gene Adams), that I probably would never have been able to do if I were working at some other job.
8. Would you ever run a nitro car again?
I was totally in the right place at the right time as far as the nostalgia drags stuff went. Today's "nostalgia drags" are semi-pro. I can't begin to afford to play in that field. I've got the Iacono 12-port dragster, which I was hoping to drive, myself, at the nostalgia digs('cause it'll go slow enough for me to drive). But now I don't see where I can even run it, for exhibition. We'll see what happens. Cackle fest is not my thing, though.
9. What is your impression of rat rods? And do you think that term is accurate?
My car was about six colors of paint and primer all through high school. That wasn't cool. I painted it and even upholstered it (bit by bit) as I could afford it. The only reason to run a car in primer, then, was because it was not finished. So the idea of building a "finished" car in suede is foreign to me. But I love the whole rat rod thing. I've never cared for the name, but I can’t really think of a better one. "Beaters" is the only one that seems appropriate. I love the look of the rods and customs--like Roth shirts come to life. But things like iffy tack welds, no floors/firewalls, loose batteries and gas tanks, and so on don't cut it, especially knowing how these cars are inevitably going to be driven(as all hot rods are, right?). My personal impulse is to polish a car that's patina'd; fix it up. And I've got no time for faux patina. As Baskerville (and my wife) would say: "No mo faux."
10. Are the auction shows on TV good or bad for the hobby?
Watching auctions on TV is worse than watching golf. It ranks right there with watching paint dry. I don't go to auctions. I also don't do EBay for much the same reason, I guess. I'd rather go to the swap meet or run an ad in Recycler and hand the part to someone who pays the asking price. As far as some of these auction prices being paid, it's very indicative of a large problem in our country now: a small number of people have way too much money. That's not good. That they spend it on cars--let alone hot rods--is hard for me to comprehend. I kind of ignore it. It doesn't seem to really affect the type of hot rodding I do.
I think the bike and rod-building shows have had more impact, in the large sense. An awful lot of people seem to watch those things (I don't). It sure makes a ton of people aware of rodding, and must make some want to get involved in it, who wouldn't know what it was otherwise. None of us knew what a Pandora's Box the first Jesse James show was going to be. The high point, just recently, I think, was Chip Foose getting on the Leno show. It was a big boost for hot rodding, and for Hot Rod magazine, surely (with Jay holding up the issue with Chip's car on the cover). Chip has been an excellent emissary for our hobby/sport/business. It will be very interesting to see where it goes from here.
