Building Hot Rods: 30 Years of Advice from Fatman Fabrication's Brent VanDervort (Hot Rod Basics)

Absolutely one of the best books for anyone building a hot rod from scratch. Brent is both a very experienced builder and an engineer. He has the unique ability to explain complex topics in plain, understandable language. As a guy who has been building hot rods since the 1970's, I still learned many details to make my next build better, quicker, and more enjoyable. Highly recommend anyone building a hot rod, low rider, or lifted truck read this book twice or three times to understand suspension before they make a major mistake or highly unsafe decision. Lastly, Brent makes some very pity recommendations on tools, suppliers (some who are his competitors), and basics which will save you thousands in a quality build. There are additional books on one facet or the other about building a hot rod or race car which can enhance your knowledge of specific areas of a build, but it is unlikely you will find a better solid foundation for building a hot rod than this book.

This is a well organized collection of Brent's articles from a monthly magazine I've never read. Some of the info is probably a little dated, other areas are either updated or timeless. I was looking for more info on suspension (so I bought his other book), but this book is good overview of the whole building process, with enough detail to point you in the right direction. Really stresses the importance of having a plan early; a vision of what you want the end result to be.

From the title I thought the book would be a more versatile guide to building hot rods, and while it does explain and help overcome most hot rodders will encounter, it does not explain in great detail the building of a hot rod, rather just problem solving a few situations during a build. Some might find it useful if your encountering those specific problems, but for me it was just ok.

Advice from a true expert is always needed and appreciated. Although the advice did not always correspond with what has become to be considered traditional, the reasons given support the advice and make it more believable. This book is a "must have" for a person considering building their first custom car.

You'll learn things reading this book. I'm no wrench but I bought a '65 Chevy Impala and needed to figure some things out. This book helps out a lot.

This book is not another picture how-to book but rather instructional text with appropriate photos solving specific problems we all encounter in Hot Rod building. While many of the topics will not apply to every build those that do will save many hours and provide a better finished ride. I quickly found a couple of sections specific to my current build that only could have been learned by years of experience. A valuable resource for the Hot Rod, Street Rod and stock restorer alike.

Ive built several rods through the years, this reference will be a great help in explaining to the grand kids what they will need to consider

Good info

Disappointed. Very light on detail. Superficial short articles on a broad range of topics but completely inadequate as a serious guide to any of them.

Lots of good up to date information.