Rodders Journal

New Issue Teaser

The Rodder's Journal — Thu, 15 May 2008 17:21:39 +0000

Issue #40 has recently been complete, and is scheduled to mail the first of June. You may have seen some advanced copies floating around, and if you have, you know that you must purchase a copy. We have the full story of the newly restored Ala Kart, which is one of my favorite articles in any of the TRJ issues. If you don’t like the Ala Kart, we also included lots of customs, Part 2 of the Ayala story, a Deuce Roadster, the completed Barnstormer and more. Let me know if you want more info, or would like to order some copies.

Jerry
TRJ
customerservice@roddersjournal.com

Swap Meet This Weekend

The Rodder's Journal — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 18:24:59 +0000

For all of you Bay Area residents not flying to the NSRA Knoxville show this weekend, I have an alternative for you. Jim Palmer and the Golden Gate V-8 Car Club is hosting a Swap Meet this weekend in Hayward, CA.

Where: Cal State East Bay, Hayward.
When: Saturday May 3rd. 6AM until whenever.
What: Featured car is the ‘33 Ford.

I’ll see you there,

Jerry

TRJ

NSRA Bakersfield

The Rodder's Journal — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 18:17:20 +0000

This past weekend, the National Street Rod Association (NSRA) hosted it’s “Western Nationals” at the Kern County Fairgrounds in Bakersfield, CA. It was open to pre ‘49 Rods and Customs. The Rodder’s Journal had a booth in the main hall, signing people up for subscriptions and socializing with our customers. If you haven’t visited us at a show, come by our both to say Hi, or pick out a new T-shirt. We have been known to have show specials, so you might get a good deal. We will be at another NSRA show in Knoxville, TN this weekend. If you live in the area, we expect to see you there. Pictures from Bakersfield are below. (The yellow Pickup is a ‘38).

Issue #39 has been mailed…

The Rodder's Journal — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 01:18:44 +0000

Hello TRJ readers!

Our latest issue #39 is definitely one you don’t want to miss! I just wanted to inform you that they were mailed out to our subscribers last Wednesday, February 20th. We ask that you please allow some time for the postal service to get your copy if you haven’t received it already. If you’re not a subscriber and want to get your hands on a copy, you can order online or feel free to give one of our customer service reps a call and order over the phone. This issue has amazing photos and articles, so get yours today!

–Ashley

New Issue Coming Soon (#39)

The Rodder's Journal — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 02:53:21 +0000

Our new issue, #39, will be on sale in about 2 weeks. Here are some teaser shots of the new covers. The ‘34 Ford is the subscriber cover, and the fire spitting Fuel Altered Fiat is the newsstand cover. The previous few issues have sold out is record time due to increased demand. If you want advanced information on what’s inside, or would like to order one, or numerous copies, send me an email: customerservice@roddersjournal.com

-Jerry-TRJ

Roadsters Don’t Melt: Continued. . .

The Rodder's Journal — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 06:54:18 +0000

It has been a little over a week since the 2008 Grand National Roadster Show (GNRS), and it was another good one. However, a few things did put a damper in the weekend; constant rain, snow shutting down local freeways, and the main exhibition hall catching fire. There was no damage in the fire, but the fire department did evacuate the hall for a couple of hours.

Publisher Steve Coonan and Editorial Associate Geoff Miles drove the TRJ Deuce Roadster to the event in Southern California, and it rained the whole way. They said the rain stopped for about 10 of the 400 miles. Steve earned the much deserved “Street Driven” award at the show for their journey. I posted pictures below of their departure.

The 2008 GNRS lacked the “75 Deuces” that appeared last year, but this year had it’s share of cars that stopped me dead in my tracks. Three Barris cars were shown in the main hall; The Sam Barris Merc, The Aztec, and the newly restored Ala Kart. There was much discussion during the show about whether or not the Ala Kart would be crowned America’s Most Beautiful Roadster for a third time. Everybody knew the Ala Kart wasn’t going to have the most points on the judges scorecards, but we hoped that the unmatched history of the car would prevail. In the end, it didn’t. A Champagne colored ‘32 Ford called “Undisputed” took home the trophy, which was probably more deserving anyways.

The pictures below are of Steve and Geoff departing on their journey, and a couple of my favorite cars from the show.

Roadsters Don’t Melt

The Rodder's Journal — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 18:25:11 +0000

This weekend is “The Grand Daddy of Them All,” The Grand National Roadster Show (GNRS). It’s arguably the best show of the year, with the possible exception of Detroit’s Autorama. Traditionalists still call it the Oakland Roadster Show, although that title is fading since it has been quite some time since the show was actually held in Oakland. It will be tough to top last year’s show, which featured 58 of the 75 Most Significant 1932 Fords, voted on by industry experts. What I am looking forward to the most this weekend is the debut of the fully restored Ala Kart, originally built by George Barris. This Kustom ‘29 Pickup is one of the few cars that has been awarded America’s Most Beautiful Roadster twice in the past.

The Rodder’s Journal has entered it’s ‘32 Ford Roadster into the GNRS this year, and publisher Steve Coonan and Editoral Associate Geoff Miles are driving it from San Francisco to the show in the LA area today. It should be a fun road trip except for one thing: it’s pouring rain. For those of you unfamiliar with the area, it’s about a 7 hour drive from here to the GNRS. It’s true Roadsters don’t melt, although the occupants of that roadster do become extremely cold.

I will update you on the situation, and try to get some pictures of their departure from TRJ Headquarters in the rain.

-Jerry

TRJ

After Holiday Sales!!

The Rodder's Journal — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 00:39:25 +0000

What is better than the holiday season? All of the amazing “after holiday” sales of course!! TRJ is proud to announce that we will be having upcoming sales on our merchandise starting the weekend of January 11, 2008. This also happens to be the same weekend as the San Francisco Rod & Custom Show located at the Cow Palace arena. We will have our booth set up with all of our products so you can purchase which will save you shipping costs. We will also be able to answer any questions you may have or even set up your subscriptions to The Rodder’s Journal. We will also be at The Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona, CA from January 25-27th. At both shows, our Publisher Steve Coonan, will have his black ’32 Roadster in our booth for viewing! Definitely come check it out and say hello to us! If you’re unable to make either of the shows, take a look at our online store or have us send you a catalog of everything TRJ has to offer. You can contact us for any purchases, questions and/or concerns via email – customerservice@roddersjournal.com, telephone – (800) 750-9550, fax – (650) 246-8927 and/or our website. Keep a lookout for our upcoming sales and Happy New Year!!

–Ashley

TRJ now offering “Custom Coats”

The Rodder's Journal — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 01:22:20 +0000

We are hoping that by now most of you have taken a look at our 2007 merchandise catalog. It is 28 pages and printed in full color, so it is quite a step up from the holiday brochures that we have done in the past. We’re pretty excited about the new catalog from both a presentation as well as an expanded merchandise line point of view. If you haven’t seen the new TRJ catalog you can take a look at it on our website. It is in PDF form so you can down load it and even print it out if you would like. Or, you can email or give us a call and we’ll put one in the mail for you.

The catalog was a lot of work, but we think worth the effort. It was art director Suzi Hutsell’s last big project before she left TRJ for a job with a large advertising company. With much thanks to Suzi, and talented photographer of the photo shoot, Charlie Nucci, we now have this amazing catalog that is just the start of our development process!

Our main hot items this holiday season are all our TRJ jackets featured on page 7 in our catalog. The great thing about these jackets is that we can custom-make them just the way you’d like it! We’re able to mix and match different colors and/or logo styles to fit your preference. Basically you have the ability to “Build-Your-Own-Jacket!” We can add your name, car club name, and choose between chain stitching or embroidery to the front or back or both. Chain stitching is a hand-made process that creates a traditional chain link look to the jacket. Because of the manual labor and time constraint, it is a little more expensive. The embroidery look is made by machine and produces more of a straight-line stitch.

One of our new jackets is the car club Throttle Coat. It is 100% wool and comes in black with red writing saying “Throttle” on the back of it. “Throttle” was the very first magazine about cars and hot rods back in 1941. The production didn’t last too long, however we are extremely excited to announce that we will be making a hardbound book of the issues that were published. We proudly welcome “Throttle” in being a part of the TRJ legacy and hope you’ll enjoy it as much as we do.

Similar to the style and material of the Throttle coat, we also have the TRJ Car Coat. We carry it in a navy color with our script logo chain-stitched in white on the back of the coat. This is one of my many favorite coats. It’s warm and perfect for the winter cold, and it also has this “old-school” look about it. With a quilted lining in the inside and a 1950’s persona you’re sure to be the trendsetter at the next car show!

Another cool and very comfortable jacket is the TRJ Dickies Eisenhower. This is our only jacket that zips up, where as our others only have buttons up the front. This jacket resembles “mechanic’s” style jacket, it is the perfect fit for the everyday casual person. It is embroidered on the front with our TRJ shield logo in red. You can also find other items with our shield logo such as a hat and t-shirt to complete the look.

Last but certainly not least are the most popular, the TRJ Letterman jackets. One that has been around for a little while is our black “Classic” letterman with a wool body and leather sleeves. On the front and back is our logo embroidered in white with red detailing. The other new jacket we have is similar to the “Classic” but with a slight twist, is the TRJ Maroon Letterman. It is also embroidered but with a cream color with our TRJ “script” logo on the front only or on the front and back.

If you want to get a custom ordered jacket, we suggest that you give our customer service department a call and our representatives will gladly assist you! Please feel free to check out pictures of the jackets and other merchandise we have to offer and join the many others in keeping warm with TRJ this winter season!

Happy holidays and happy rodding!!

–Ashley

Craig Smith’s Roadsters for Sale

The Rodder's Journal — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 17:43:04 +0000

As many of you already know, fellow Hot Rodder Craig Smith died tragically this past July, in Phoenix, AZ. Craig was a helicopter pilot for the Phoenix TV Station ABC15. He was involved in an accident that took four lives, when 2 news helicopters collided covering the same police chase. Craig was an avid hot rodder, a Goodguys member, and a H.A.M.B. member. On the weekends, you could catch him proudly displaying his roadster at Phoenix area car shows.

I have been contacted by his brother, Bryan Smith, and he is looking to sell Craig’s Roadsters for his parents. The first one is a purple ‘32 with a flathead. Bryan doesn’t have a spec sheet for this car, but it did grace the cover of Rod & Custom in February of 2007. Goodguys Gazette Editor Jim Aust decribed it as “flawless and timeless.” If you would like to know the specifics, bust out your copy of R&C, I know you still have it. I also included pictures below.

The next roadster is Brookville bodied, and has a 327 Chevy Small Block. From what I can tell by the pictures and the information from Bryan, the car is 90% complete. It needs carpet, and door panels. It is painted ‘58 Olds Sea Foam Green, with an original ‘32 firewall and a ‘32 chassis. I have a little more information on this one. If you are interested in owning a new roadster, and would like to help out the family of a lost Hot Rodder, email or call me for more information. I can get you in contact with Bryan Smith

-Jerry - (800)750-9550 - jerry@roddersjournal.com

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