Petersen Photo Archive

My dear friends and followers. I haven't been able to update this page recently because, due to downsizing, I do not currently have access to the wonderful treasures of the Petersen Photo Archive. I hope this is a temporary situation, but if it isn't I want to thank every one of you for your continued support of this page. I've loved working to get these images out to you through Facebook, the magazines (which are all but gone), and through the Petersen Automotive Museum website. No matter what happens, we all know that the Petersen Photo Archive Rules! Thank you again.

Who can resist a fenderless Ford Altered lifting its wheels on launch. This shot was grabbed by none other than Don Prieto, for Petersen Publishing's Book Division, at the 1969 NHRA Winternationals. While not as powerful or dramatic as Jack Ditmar's Lil Screamer '34, this one, dubbed Weekend Warrior, looked pretty good.

There are some awesome trailer queens, but aren't cars meant to be driven? This message was brought to you by a participant of the 1984 Hot Rod Super Nationals car show in Indianapolis. Photo by Kevin Boales.

February 1964 - NHRA Winternationals, Pomona, California. When you hear of the team Stone, Woods & Cook you immediately think of Willys. You probably don't think of '33 Willys though. This is Chuck Finders' car out of Arizona. You can just make out his name below SWC. Finders was no stranger to the drag strip, and has had his hands in a number of Willys gassers, the Fantasia Willys Altered, and eventually Funny Cars. According to Finders' son, this '33 was dubbed "Dark Horse", and utilized by SWC to meet previous commitments they made while their latest car was being worked on. This '33 turned in better times than the SWC's Swindler "A" in this competition. Photo by Eric Rickman, for Hot Rod magazine.

George Barris passed away four years ago. He was a friend of Mr Petersen and instrumental in putting together the Hollywood Motorama Museum, "Where the Cars are the Stars", located on Hollywood Blvd. He, and brother Sam, began a legendary legacy of custom vehicles that is still impressive today. One of the coolest was the Ala Kart. We have several images of it at Oakland and other car shows. This photo was taken by Spence Murray, for Rod & Custom in February 1958.

WWDD - What would Dracula drive? Funny you should ask. Bela Lugosi Jr, son of the famous actor, chose a unique supercharged Shelby GT350 Mustang back in 1977 as his performance piece. His car was shot by Gray Baskerville and featured in the November 1977 issue of Hot Rod. He drove it on the streets of Los Angeles and on the track with the Shelby club, back it the day. Another Mustang was his daily driver. You can see how the front license plate folds back to allow better air flow. Your Halloween ride.

When deciding which images to digitize, we might have to take the good with the bad, for the sake of history. LOL! It's hard to beat the styling of a chopped '49-'50 Merc, especially if you're the 1977 Ford Megastar concept, from the doorstop school of design. The Merc was shot by Eric Rickman in March of '77. It's an outtake from a shot of Dick Dean's Datsun-powered 5-window Deuce. The Megastar was captured at a Ford press event in March of '77 by Jim McCraw, for Motor Trend magazine.

Things I shouldn't worry about, part one: Why are the rear wheels installed backwards? This photo was snapped by Alex Xydias for Car Craft magazine in May of 1966. It's Don Gay's match race Pontiac GTO fiberglass body with rolling chassis, at Jay Howell's Automotive Engineering shop in Oak Park, MI.

1971 Dodge Super Bee 440 Magnum. It's possible, and even likely, you are not old enough to remember these cars when they were new. Just a handful of years after their introduction it seemed the whole world was shunning these "gas guzzlers". You couldn't sell these for beer money at one point. I'm sure we all have stories. The people that kept theirs had the last laugh, though. What beautiful machines the cars of this era were, with their chrome gleaming in the sunlight. The... responsive engine invited you to drop the hammer out on that new freeway that doesn't have any LEOs hiding behind the overpass yet. They were big, but beautifully big with rich interiors. Not Corinthian leather,but nice. When you looked under the hood, and you did that often...you saw...engine. Just engine...oh, and a battery. Yeah, what a simple time that was. Don't we love old cars? Yes, we do. Photo shot by Fred Enke for Motor Trend, October 1970. See more

Wishing you an enjoyable Labor Day weekend. Here are some photos of racers/mechanics/family laboring at what they love. That doesn't mean it isn't hard, dirty work, that just means they love doing it. We should all be so lucky. (Well, I AM...LOL). All but one of these were shot in the pits at the 1966 AHRA Winter Nationals held at the Irwindale Raceway in February. Bud Lang, Tech Editor for Car Craft magazine, was the photographer.

1973 NHRA Winternationals - Pomona, CA. Dandy Dick Landy's Dodge Demon Pro Stocker. Photo by John Asher.

Not the usual view of the Hurst Hemi Under Glass. This is the original 1965 HUG Barracuda putting on an exhibition at the 1965 Hot Rod Magazine Championship Drags at Riverside International Raceway in California, late June. Wild Bill Shrewsberry is at the wheel. The car's first major appearance was earlier that month at the Spring Nationals at Bristol International Dragway. Hot Rod Tech Editor, Ray Brock, shot a feature on this car at Hurst, the previous January. Photographer here, unknown.

A very Happy Birthday to the designer and driver of some of the coolest road racing cars ever, Jim Hall. This photo is from the Petersen Photo Archive and was shot at the 1965 Los Angeles Time Grand Prix at Riverside International Raceway. That's Hap Sharp driving the #65 Chaparral 2A. He would eventually win that race, after starting in 8th position. Hall's #66 was having problems prior to the start, which put him out of the race. His winged car raced Riverside the following year but this Chaparral is equally iconic.