CRUZEN MAGAIZINE DONATION TO RIK & CUSTOM CAR CHRONICLE
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This week I was cleaning out a storage unit I had and sold off vintage hop up car parts, In a plastic box I found a 21 vintage CRUZEN MAGAZINES that I had stashed away.
I already have a huge collection of vintage magazines and books and even a full set of K.K.O.A. GAZETTES that Rod Powell gave me that had his name on them every time they were mailed to him….
I also own the very FIRST AND ONLY surviving ” HOT ROD BOOK ” That was hand typed in 1945 1946 on recycled WW2 paper, It was the first time for any one including a book to coin the name ” HOT ROD “. It is framed and is one on my most prized possessions…..This book was hand typed 1 year before the ” HOT ROD ” Magazine’s were produced and photos taken by Andy Southard of SALINAS C.A. And was a book completely on its own who no affiliation to the ” HOT ROD MAGAZINE.” Very few people even know this hand typed book even exists…..!!!
I discovered it in FLORIDA and was in possession of a gentleman who was part of the S.C.T.A who run GO JOBS before WW2 during the 1930’s. He also had a collection of S.C.T.A memorabilia that would be things you would see only in a museum. To secure this book I made an offer of $1000 on the spot to the people selling off the estate before they were to list it on EBAY. They took the money in a heart beat not knowing the true and full significance on the book.
After some thinking of what I already have and own,
I remembered how much Rik Hoving has personally helped me with some personal work that involved only his computer skills could achieve. I then thought of how awesome it would be to add these to my already awesome collection…..
I then realized that the right person to have these would be Rik and the C.C.C. for all to have and be shared…..
In 2003 I met New Zealand Chevrolet car nut STEVE CODE who lives in AUSTRALIA. Steve was a founding member of the now famous CRUZIN Magazine…… In 2003 I was offered to try and sell these magazines in California at car shows and boxes of them were sent to me in Salinas C.A. After doing well at the GOODGUYS ALL SUMMER GET TOGEATHER I made $500 but during the week end my wallet and the box containing the money was swiped from my stall when I was not looking and this ended the responsibility of trying to sell them.
During this time these magazines were full of customs a lot of people may have never seen before.
Now unless you were lucky enough to go to the ” VIVA LAS VEGAS ” ” PASEO ” And early shows and HOT AUGUST NIGHTS and of well known shows there is little photos graphs. This was because taking photos was still a profession and cell phones did not have cameras on them yet….. Now unless you had a camera they were still expensive… I remember paying $500 for a Panasonic DMZ 3 megapixel camera and I had to use the credit card to buy it and make payments….In 2004 ….!!!!! Unless you had a friend who took photos you would never see them other then the ones you would see in a magazine running the story….
When I attended these shows in the early 2000’s I never even thought of taking photos because I was so excited to just cruz my ride there with my pretty Mexican pin up girlfriend.
You could even meet movie starts from ” AMERICAN GRIFFITI ” And I meet Manual Padilla and got a poster off him and signed it. He even hit on my GOD DAM girlfriend….!!! And asked her over for dinner while he was at Paso….!!! SCHEECH… He died not long after that…..
The magazines are filled with few photos of these shows but gives a insight of how the early 2000’s looked in the KUSTOM CAR WORLD. You can nearly think of it as its own era as cars seemed to still be cheep to buy and many customs were offered for sale at prices we would all jump on and could afford today if there were for sale at these crazy year 2000’s prices……!!!
I am still friends with Steve Code and during these early days I would ask him to sign the magazines he would give me as my own copy. Sadly up until about issue 20 the 3 people involved in the creating of the magazine had a dispute and this lead to Steve Code leaving the company. With this I would say I have the only ISSUES ever to be signed and signed at the time the magazines were printed…..
I never knew of the magazine until issue 3. I am missing ISSUE 1 / 2 / 4 / 5. Only because when I was selling them in the California some one had begged me to sell them my issue and I reluctantly did thinking I could replace the ISSUES……But it never happened….
I have ISSUES up to number 25. And today I think you would be hard pressed to find them in pristine condition, Mine have been in storage pretty much as I would get a copy I would read it once then it went into the plastic box in storage…..
To make them even more special they are signed by STEVE CODE also who is not a member of the group any more.
They even had ads from PAUL KELLY ” SMOOTH CRUZEN ” When he was still running his shop….!!! On the bottom pages….
I was even lucky enough to work the Magazines very own kustom car ” FORD RANCH WAGON ” I did a short stint and hung the new quarter panels on there car along with the rust repairs some of the body work. Sadly tho if I can remember correctly the kustom lasted only about 4 weeks. It was at a car show and I think some one ran a red light and the kustom was completely destroyed.
I feel that because Rik is FIRST and only researcher to correctly bring us 100% correct tabulated data and correct any wrong full information , Because it is just as important to correct the information as it is to bring light on wonderfull history….On our passion of KUSTOM CARS,
Rik surely deserves these magazines to add to the Custom Car Chronicles library and I hope we can all benefit from this because its important to keep these magazines for future reference just like that old gentleman did buy keeping the First ” HOT ROD ” Magazine hidden and looked after for all those decades…..
Hope you enjoy them Rik ……. Let me know were to post them…. There yours…….
KUSTOMLAND.
I have the early issues, probably the first 15 or twenty.
I was with Steve Coade at our regular early Sunday coffee get-togethers two weeks ago.
I was talking with Gav, the current co-founder and editor of the mag only this morning at another of our regular Sunday morning things.
Small world.
Tony maybe you can donate the 4 copy’s missing to complete this collection for the C.C.C…….???
KUSTOMLAND
Tony maybe you can donate the 4 copy’s missing to complete this collection for the C.C.C…….???
KUSTOMLAND
HA HA HA HA HA , Q your makin like a comic…..lol…. That exactly right……
I just thought because tony posted his post literally 30 seconds after I made the topic , He would of got back to us with a offer, But he may be going to have a coffie meeting over it on sunday with steve code and the gentleman he called gav so he can work something out to fill in the gaps…!! I understand I was a little in patient…. I just got a little excited finding the magazines and giving them to Rik, Sorry Tony for the rush….. Is that tony for realz in that photo Q…???? I thought tony may be Spanish / puerto rican as I thought I saw a flag in the back ground on one of the photo…???
Q when I was going through the magazines to pick the photos of the cars I thought were awesome, I saw the CADDY and thought of you and that’s why I took that pick….!! I thought you would like it and maybe have seen it ????
KUSTOMLAND
Gday Luke, The (now) maroon 47 belongs to good Barons friends of mine here in Brisbane, Mal and Lisl. In fact I did a swap of that front bumper and that front bumper in the pic is the one I sectioned for my 39 rear one. I’ve been at Mal to chop the 47. . . But I think Lisl might give him the chop if he does.
I used to hang out with Gasser Gav a little in his pre Cruisin years.
Perhaps I can see if he has any spares to fill in the blanks.
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