WATT UP: Hemi Powered ’55 Chevy
January 31, 2025
THE AUTO BUILDER
Featured
ELECTRIFYING TWIN-TURBO 5.0-LITER
“From the very beginning, I’ve always raced this car,” Iida says. “In the past 11 years, I’ve put 10,000 miles on the odometer a quarter mile at a time.” Like most weekend warriors, Iida’s 5.0-liter Mustang started out life 100 percent bone stock. But with help from friends such as Honolulu Ford’s performance advisor Henry Tabios (a well-known island 5.0-liter racer in his own right), members of the Hawaii Ford Performance Club, Dillingham Automotive’s Glenn Aarake and Alan “Naka” Nakamura, Iida’s ghost-flamed Mustang GT has been transformed into a 9-second, street-legal twin-turbo terror, recording a best of 9.94 seconds at nearby Hawaii Raceway Park.
HIDING NOT FAR FROM HOME
Back in the days of hand-writing letters and lickin’ stamps, opening the mail at RODDER’S DIGEST was always interesting. In December of 1998 we received this letter and three photos of one very cool ’38 Ford Standard Coupe. While it is a great hot rod, the history of this coupe makes it even more compelling. Enjoy…
ONE OF ONE
If there was ever a time of automotive wonderment and absolute freedom among designers and enthusiasts alike, it was the early 1950s. This was a special time when automobile manufacturers were exploring new territory previously held by the foremost automakers of Europe, and the Americans were going all out to stake their own claims to greatness.
Spotlighter
HOT ROD POWER FEST TAKES OVER ATLANTA
A Weekend of Drag Racing, Autocross and High-Octane Fun at EchoPark Speedway
Author
The Auto Builder Staff
Photography by Scott Killeen & Charlie Leach
HOT ROD brought the Power Fest name back for 2026, filling Atlanta’s EchoPark Speedway with a weekend of fast cars, cool builds and nonstop action.
Held August 28–29, Power Fest transformed the NASCAR facility into a giant automotive playground with drag racing on pit road, an autocross course, a huge car show and a manufacturer midway. Classic muscle, traditional hot rods, modern performance cars, trucks and homebuilt street machines were all part of the mix.
The Weekend Gets Rolling
Power Fest kicked off with the Show ’n’ Shine, racer registration and tech inspection. Competitors also got their first taste of the courses during drag-racing and autocross test sessions.
It was a chance for racers to dial in their combinations, learn the surfaces and make a few adjustments. Meanwhile, spectators could check out the cars, visit the vendors and watch the weekend’s action begin to build.
The weekend also included a 50-mile cruise through the back roads near the speedway. Approximately 100 cars joined the drive, led by Angie and David Hurt of AnD Hot Rod Shop in “Sid,” their well-traveled 1939 Chevrolet sedan.
Plenty of Action
Drag racers battled in Small Tire, Daily Driver and Stick Shift classes, bringing out everything from turbocharged Mustangs to a nitrous-fed GMC S15. On the autocross course, drivers pushed an equally varied group of cars and trucks through the cones.
When one part of the speedway went quiet, something else was firing up nearby. Fans could watch a pair of cars blast down pit road, catch the autocross action and then walk through rows of cars in the show field.
Plenty to See Around the Speedway
The car show was every bit as diverse as the racing. Novas, Chevelles, classic pickups, full-size cruisers and more unusual builds filled the grounds and NASCAR garages.
That variety was a big part of the event’s appeal. Power Fest wasn’t limited to one style, make or era. Some cars were polished showpieces, others were built to race, and plenty landed somewhere in between.
Familiar faces from across the hot-rodding world were also on hand, but the real stars were the cars and the people who came out to enjoy them.
Built to Be Enjoyed
Power Fest had a laid-back atmosphere, but there was still plenty of serious competition. Owners could cruise their cars, race them, throw them around the autocross or simply park and enjoy the show.
That combination made the return of HOT ROD Power Fest feel like more than another car show. It was a full weekend celebrating the many different ways people build, drive and enjoy performance cars—and one big excuse to spend a couple of days surrounded by horsepower.
