Hot Rods On Muroc Dry Lake 1938 [Paperback]

William Carroll (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2, 1991

Muroc Dry Lake, now known as NASA's Edwards Air Force Base, was the site of hot-roddings first major lakes event. In 1938 Ernie McAfee's record-breaking four-cylinder Ford with a Winfield cylinder head ran 136.33 miles an hour. The body was torpedo shaped, there was no suspension and exhaust headers and pipes were enclosed within the body. By the end of 1939 only 29 cars had passed the 100 mile a hour mark but by 1948 the average speed was more than 130 miles an hour.

The book, Muroc, is full of previously unpublished pictures of the 1938 SCTA event, copies of programs, maps and a most unusual set of low-level aerial views showing what lakes racing was all about. This is what hot rodding really was.

The 80-page, coffee-table format, 11 by 8-1/2-inch book has been so popular it is now in its third printing.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Here is a wealth of original photographs of this historic event of the Hot Rod culture. Arial views of the races, timing stands and cars and cars and cars. Even a California Highway Patrolman in his six-cylinder Plymouth sedan that was good for all of 65 miles an hour. This is a historic treasure for all automobile enthusiasts. --William Carroll

From the Back Cover

Twelve photographs of the best cars of early-hotrodding from the car clubs of Southern California: Glendale Sidewinders, Mobilers, Ernie McAfee, Pasadena Night Flyers, Albata, Hollywood Throttlers, The Walkers, Rattlers of Burbank, Los Angeles Idlers, Road Runners and Long Beach Dolphins

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Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Auto Book Pr; 1 edition (January 2, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0910390304
• ISBN-13: 978-0910390309
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #698,320 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pioneering and wonderful!, September 20, 2007

By 

J. Shiptoski "MSJ" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hot Rods On Muroc Dry Lake 1938 (Paperback)

There are very few books that are able to give the reader an insight into the early history of man and machine, their bond and intermingling like a separate species of creation. We look into the past and we faint shallow of understanding,...close but not close enough. Photography can say much more than any words penned by any man or woman of any day or age, to give attest to the wonders of the pioneers that paved the way in the world of hot rodding. Sadly, the world of hot rodding came to an end in the 1950s, with the advent of the drag cars, and show cars. Now our ears burn at the very mention of "Rat rods" and "street rods",..terms that had come of age far away in a time of automobile molestation! True hot rodding was and will always be about the ability to make an average jalopy do unimaginable things that it shouldnt be able to do....not how rusty and fragile or how much paint one can mix and make shine like the cosmos!

William Carrol is one of the most important pieces to the puzzle of the world of hot rodding,..true hot rodding!

Thank you for giving us a past to look upon and study,..a feast for the eyes and a fire in our bellies to savor more history with every page!