Norm Longfield never set out to build a stunning show-winning hot rod when he began the build of his ’23 T-bucket, but by the time he’d finished he had one of the most beautiful hot rods ever built in this country and a swag of show trophies

The hot rodding was shocked when in the 1980s Lynn Arrowsmith chopped his’34 coupe, considered to be one of the most beautiful cars built in the 1960s, but as he says he had always wanted to do it, he just didn’t know how when he first built it.

Ray Charlton is known far and wide for his passion for the ’32 Ford. He has owned more than 30 ‘Deuces’ and still professes his undying passion for them. Over 50 years or more the veteran hot rodder has built, shown and raced more ’32 Fords than anyone else in this country, and shows no sign of moving into the slow lane.

Few cars have had the impact that the “Crimson Pirate’ had on Australian hot rodding. Built in the early 1960s by Joe Pirotta and Charlie Caruana the Model A bucket swept the show scene on its debut, taking a haul of trophies everywhere it went. After it finished on the show circuit it virtually vanished, until Australian Hot Rodder found it buried in Charlie Caruana’s garage and convinced him and Joe Pirotta that it should be returned to the spotlight as the cover car on our first issue.

Channelling defined hot rodding in the 1960s. Young hot rodders all over the country were using the technique to achieve a lower, sportier look for their old Fords. When John Bowker built his classic ’34 roadster in the early 1960s it was only natural that he channelled it

In early 1969 at the Sydney International Dragway Ash Marshall blasted into drag racing history when he became the first Australian to break through the 200 mph barrier. Driving ‘Scorcher’, the ex-Leland Kolb AA/FD he imported from the US in 1968, Marshall ran a 7.66s pass with a top speed of 203.16 mph. Current owner Dennis Young and chassis builder George Bukureshliev have combined to restore the classic racer to its former glory.

Ash Marshall was an early convert to drag racing, racing a variety of sports and production cars in events organised by CAMS, but it was his exploits in the AA/Fuel dragsters he imported from the US in the 1960s that made him a legend in local drag racing circles. In 1969 he became the first Australian to break through the 200 mph barrier to cement his place in the sport’s history in Australia. Now living in retirement in the US Ash talks to Australian Hot Rodder about his racing career.

Magazines have always played a pivotal part in spreading the word on hot rodding, and Australian hot rodding magazines have been a major influence on the local scene. We track the early history of some of the local magazines through the early era of the hobby.

Barry Fletcher was still a teenager when he began building his improved Model A roadster ‘Henrietta’ back in the late 1950s. A trip to America in the 1960s opened his eyes to hot rodding there and on his return he started up Flyscher Enterprises to supply local hot rodders with parts and accessories for their cars and finally built the ’32 roadster he’d always dreamt of owning.

It was only natural that after young guys built their first hot rods that they race them, on the street at first, then at more organized meetings at places like Pakenham, the first drag strip in Australia, and then at Riverside Dragway at Fishermans Bend on the banks of the Yarra River in Melbourne. From those humble beginnings drag racing spread all over the country with tracks springing up in almost every state