Hot Rod Mechanic Skeleton Socks
Description: R.A. and F.D. Stranahan are essentially the founders of Champion Spark Plug Company. Sort of. At the very least, they ended up with the patent on the Champion name which they legally and wisely used to eventually create the largest spark plug manufacturing company in the world. But it certainly didn’t start out that way. More than 20 thousand dollars in debt, and with a company that was fledgling along at best, the brothers had little choice but to move to Toledo when Willys-Overland Motor Company offered R.A. and F.D. a contract under which Champion would become the exclusive spark plug of automobiles manufactured at Willys-Overland. The deal came with the stipulation that the Stranahans must make Toledo their home.
Description: J.C. Whitney & Co. began in 1915 as The Warshawsky Company, a scrap metal yard on the South Side of Chicago, founded by Lithuanian immigrant Israel Warshawsky. Israel’s son Roy come onboard, and his first contribution was to create a catalog, advertising it in national magazines. For 25-cents, customers would receive their catalog, chock-full of parts to help them work on and customize their cars. Response to the ad was overwhelming, and the company soon began shipping more parts through the mail than over their Chicago sales counter. The name changed to J.C. Whitney & Co. to give it a more American sound. Post WWII was an incredibly profitable time for J.C. Whitney as returning G.I.s got the hot rod bug, and needed parts in droves.
Description: You are a Mechanic or a Cars Guy and you love Hot Rods than this product is the right for you or your Grandpa. The best patriotic Hot Rod Granpa product in the USA. Just a nice gift for your Dad wich loves fast cars. A present for your Dad, Grandpa, Father, Brother for Christmas, Birthday, Fathers Day or every other day.
Description: Frank McGurk was a race car driver in the '30s and '40s, but had so many innovative ideas for pulling more performance out of engines, he became an engineer to implement them himself. While his work started earlier after his service during WWII, he formally founded McGurk Engineering in 1950 in Gardena, California. Designing everything from cams and manifolds to heads and rocker assemblies, McGurk was a talented engineer who specialized in small block V8 and inline 6 bow tie mills, the latter of which were extremely popular with sprint car racers, while the V8s were the hot ticket for drag racers and hot rodders. McGurk worked until 1969 when he sold the company, but remained active in the racing community until is death in 1982.
Description: Blackheart Rod and Kustom of Austin, Texas specializes in high-power, low-fi hot rods that are meant to be driven. No trailer queens here. This design reflects their low-fi aesthetics with a simple three color motif and an authentic vintage treatment to give it a look like it's seen plenty of wrench turning.
Description: Back in the late '50s, hot rodders were increasingly attracted to newer cars making their way into junkyards, or more specifically, the OHV V8 engines they brought with them. An engine that made more power than their flathead V8's, was all too enticing, though the swap wasn't exactly straight forward. Of course, hot rodders were an ingenious bunch, and came up with all kinds of mounting solutions, but none of them were exactly great (or safe). Seeing a need, Hurst came out with their Adjusta-Torque engine conversion mount in 1960, promising a true bolt on solution for OHV engine swaps.
Description: Action-packed vintage hot rod and lowbrow cartoon illustration featuring a fearless rat mechanic pulling a wild wheelie in a classic stripped-down rat rod coupe. Geared up in an orange racing jumpsuit, boots, and a retro striped helmet while triumphantly waving a steel wrench high in the air. Accented with smoking rear burnout tires, an exposed detailed engine, and flames popping from side exhaust pipes. A gritty, energetic graphic design perfect for hot rod builders, drag racing fans, automotive mechanics, garage toolbox stickers, and classic car culture apparel.
Description: The Judson Research and Manufacturing Company of Pennsylvania got their start way back in 1880. Specializing in mechanical and electrical engineering, Judson developed products for farm equipment to improve performance.In the early '50s, the sons of the latest generation of Judsons were hot rod enthusiasts and began toying with sliding vane style superchargers. First created for the British sports cars and the venerable flathead V8, these bolt on supercharger kits quickly became popular with hobbyists and sold steadily. In 1956, the brothers designed a new kit for an increasingly popular German import that took the stock air cooled engine and doubled the horsepower. This is the product that changed the trajectory of Judson forever.
Description: High-octane vintage hot rod and lowbrow cartoon illustration featuring a wild rat mechanic speeding down the track in a roaring rat rod pickup. Wearing an orange mechanic jumpsuit, leather gloves, and a skull-decorated racing helmet while triumphantly raising a wrench into the air. Complete with flames blasting from open exhaust headers, smoking drag slicks, an exposed supercharged engine, and a skull grille. Accented by fiery retro typography reading "RAT ROD MECHANIC" across the bottom. A gritty and energetic graphic tailored for hot rod builders, rat rod enthusiasts, automotive mechanics, garage toolboxes, and classic car culture t-shirts.
Description: Founded in 1964 in Columbus, Ohio, Nationwise was a chain of auto parts stores in the United States with a loveable mascot known as 'Motor Earl.' In 1974, Nationwise partnered with Columbus-based engine builders, The Rod Shop, sponsoring a series of highly successful drag racecars. In stores, a Rod Shop section was created as kind of a speed shop inside of a parts store. In addition to go fast goodies from all the big names, Nationwise also sold Rod Shop branded performance parts. These parts were typically embossed with NRS (Nationwise Rod Shop), making them easy to identify by collectors, even decades later. The partnership ended in 1987, and less than a decade later, Nationwise became insolvent, and closed all stores on October 15, 1995.
Description: Ed Iskenderian was a Southern California hot rodder in the years leading up to WWII, working to make his roadster go faster. Post war, a high demand for parts from returning GIs eager to get back to hot rodding was so great that Iskenderian was faced with a long wait for a cam he wanted for his own car. Figuring he could do just as well himself, he bought a surplus cylindrical grinder, converted it into a cam-grinding machine, and went to work. He wasn’t just making a similar cam to those available at the time – he made them better. His cams made big power, and a business grew on the strength of that reputation that would succeed for decades to come, rightfully earning the title of America's fastest racing cams.
