n the early days of car books, they were all-inclusive, covering a myriad of topics. Then, as magazines became more popular, especially in the 1980s, the books became highly specific (industry term, “vertical”) in their approach. We had books on Ford, Chevy, and Corvette, and it became a very targeted market. That was great for the enthusiast.

However, that eventually led to the downfall of all the magazines; there were too many, and the industry couldn’t support all—readers’ choices regarding how they got their information changed. The electronic age changed that. Now we have websites devoted to whatever topic you want to discuss.

We talk about the evolution of our hot rods, but what about the evolution of early car magazines? Heck, all of us read them. Over the decades, we watched as our earliest hot rod projects became increasingly sophisticated, with breathtaking design and craftsmanship and the use of the latest materials and tools (e.g., lots of aluminum, carbon fiber, computers, and CNC equipment), but never forget the core of rod building begins with the two-drawer hand-carried toolbox filled with an assortment of tools gathered over a lifetime.

While researching this editorial, I checked online at H.A.M.B., as there is always a lot of good reading. Of course, when I want to research something truly old, I turn to fellow scribe, hot rod builder, and a really old guy Ron Ceridono, as he always comes through since he’s older than I.

The first issue of Street Rodder alongside a current issue of Modern Rodding, all serve as a backdrop for the Little Books or Little Pages, depending on your preference. The books started small, then grew, shrinking just before many were canceled. Nowadays, modern car magazines are the largest they have ever been. That is a good sign.

But what got me going this time was a package from a fellow hot rodder, Barry Shaw, out of NorCal. Barry sends me old car magazines to “feed” my habit of reading and looking at the pictures. Barry recently sent me a few dozen books from the 1950s to the mid 1960s. In this “stack of gold” were a handful of the “Little Books,” sometimes called the “Little Pages.” I never thought of myself as collecting a lot of old car magazines until I started to store and organize them. Yikes, I’ve turned into my mom. I am officially a magazine hoarder. Since I am in a “full disclosure mode,” I should point out that I also collect all the old B-movies and television shows on VHS. I have some 200 or so movies from the 1950s and 1960s. I also have a collection of CDs of many popular cars used on a radio or TV series going way back.

If you are wondering about the Little Books, I carried them around religiously. The Little Books, and what I called the Little Pages, to me was Rod & Custom. R&C came onto the scene in May 1953 and remained a Little Book until July 1961. It was August when R&C went fullsize and happened to have the Neal East 1932 Ford roadster on the cover. The Little Books, while maybe not as much information as the larger format, were ideal to bring to school and place between the pages of my history or biology books. My head was always down and the teacher(s) thought I was studying away. There might have been a modicum of learning, but it was primarily geared to all things, well, “geared.” Of course, now and then Sister Mary Bust-Your-Knuckles would catch me, and away went the book, and my knuckles received the proverbial wap from the 12-inch ruler she so masterfully manipulated.

Other Little Books included the likes of Hop Up (July 1951, 1953 became Motor Life), Honk (May 1953 through November 1953 when it became Car Craft), Car Craft (December 1953 through June 1959 when it became fullsized), Custom Cars (September 1957 through August 1960), Rod Builder & Customizer (January 1956), Custom Rodder (May 1957), Car Speed & Style (December 1957), Rodding & Restyling (April 1955), Customs Illustrated (July 1958), and Rods Illustrated (June) were all “fair game” for furthering my education.

If you like looking at old magazines, here is a link to Richard Carroll’s website, which displays covers and a brief history of car magazines from 1945 until the 2020s: http://99wspeedshop.com/.

If you like looking at all sorts of car magazines and want to add them to your collection visit: Nitroactive.net. (Nick Licata also buys magazine collections occasionally and offers vintage decals, some new old stock, and cool hot rod T-shirts.)

Well, it’s about time that I sit down, mellow out, and enjoy some reading from the mid-1960s or go over the latest issue of Modern Rodding. It’s a great way to dream of the best years of a rodder’s life.