Hot Rod Kings is an effort by the authors to portray the traditional styles of custom hot rod building. They have chosen eleven men to write about and honor. The book is a visual feast and the writing is adequate, but the readers keep asking the question, “why these custom car builders?” What is it that drew the author and photographer to these particular men? Who are they and where are they located. Perhaps the authors intended to touch just the surface and leave the discovery to us. Custom car building has been around since the first car was junked and then recovered. It changes from style to style as new men and ideas are formed and new tastes are developed. The word traditional in the full title of the book rules out rat rodders and suede builders. Traditional custom building in the sense that these cars are meant to be built and sculpted in ways that have come down to us through the history of the automotive age. Traditional in the sense that they are the best that can be done and still be a hot rod that one can drive on the streets. Don’t look for addresses, phone numbers or email addresses. The authors are giving you a visual feast, not an ad for exceptional car builders. Search the text and the photos for details if you must, but Perry and Thomson are creating a book meant to inspire, not send you out to purchase a hot rod.
