The advertising art of the American custom car and hot rod scene from the 1950s to 1970s, driven by brands like Cragar, Holley, Hurst, Iskendarian, and Schiefer, was a vibrant reflection of a cultural obsession with speed, power, and individuality. Americans were serious about competition, they took their fun seriously too - and winning was a lot more fun than losing. Whole industries sprang up around what started out as a youthful past time - drag racing, speed runs on salt flats, and customizing old cars.
The brands that sprung up to service these new interests quickly became central to the aftermarket performance industry, produced bold, eye-catching visuals that captured the energy and creativity of the era’s automotive subculture. Their advertisements, often featured in magazines like Hot Rod, Car Craft, and Popular Hot Rodding, blended technical prowess with artistic flair, creating an enduring aesthetic that continues to resonate with enthusiasts decades later.
A 1960s drag racer ready to unleash hell from his front-mounted, supercharged Chrysler hemi V8 pumping out well over 1,000 horsepower. Drag racing became serious business by the 1960s - with a host of brands providing all the hardware needed to become a winner on the track.
In the 1950s, an economic boom and the rise of youth culture fuelled the hot rod movement. Brands like Sun Instruments became synonymous with American drag racing and hot rod culture during the 1960s. Known for precision, durability, and a sleek, functional design, Sun tachs were a staple on the dashboards of everything from backyard-built street machines to NHRA dragsters. Taglines like “Sun tells you when!”, “The choice of champions”, and “Keep your eye on the Sun” captured the brand's appeal—delivering vital engine data at a glance when every tenth of a second mattered. Meanwhile Iskendarian (Isky Cams) adverts showcased camshafts with technical diagrams alongside dynamic images of engines or cars in motion, appealing to gearheads who prized precision engineering.
By the 1960s, the custom car scene exploded with vibrant, psychedelic influences. Holley, a leader in carburetors and spark plugs, embraced this shift with ads that paired clean, professional layouts with vivid imagery. Their iconic double-pumper carburetor was often depicted in cutaway drawings, highlighting internal components, while the background might feature a candy-painted hot rod or a drag strip burnout. These ads were for people in the know - and there were plenty of them. Hurst, synonymous with shifters, took a bolder approach, using high-contrast black-and-white photos of drivers slamming gears, overlaid with their iconic red, white, and gold logo. The Hurst ads exuded a sense of urgency, with taglines like “Shift for Yourself!” capturing the DIY spirit of the scene.
Champion spark plugs became the name in spark plugs
The 1970s brought a gritty, rebellious edge to hot rod advertising even as factory muscle cars faded from the scene. The Big Three from Detroit were leaving performance to the do-it-yourself crowd, who relied on the aftermarket products to bring their cars up to speed - literally. Cragar became the wheel of choice for top-tier muscle and race cars. Introduced in 1964, the Cragar S/S wheel was often referred to as the "World’s Most Famous Wheels." Its distinctive five-spoke design and combination of cast aluminum center with a rolled steel rim set it apart from competitors, making it a staple in the hot rod and muscle car scenes throughout the '60s and '70s. Meanwhile, the advertising grew more photographic, with airbrushed touches adding a glamorous sheen. Typography became chunkier, with fonts like Impact or custom hand-lettering amplifying the in-your-face attitude.
Drag racers had the chance to show how good their car actually was, at famous strips like Lions in Los Angeles. It was at such meets that impressionable youngsters got up close to both the cars and their heroes - the drivers. And they got to see Cragar S/S wheels, Hurst shifters and all the other cool brands forever associated with the American muscle car scene of the ‘60s and ‘70s.
These brands became more than just parts and accessories; their advertising art sold a lifestyle of freedom, rebellion, and mechanical excellence. The visuals—whether hand-drawn, airbrushed, or photographed—celebrated the hot rodder’s craft, from garage-built dragsters to show-stopping custom cars and chop top lowriders. Even today, the bold logos, dynamic compositions, and sheer fun aspect of these ads remain iconic, immortalizing the golden age of American automotive culture.
The Cragar name has become synonymous with American custom car culture for it’s cool chrome mag wheels and other offerings such as extractors.
Click on the above to see our new youtube short honouring some of the iconic American automotive brands. Tunnel Ram has also got a new range of t-shirts with authentic brands and logos from the past - check out the shop range below: