The trend of "suede" paint on hot rods and custom cars has become more accepted in the last 20 years. At one time the look was regarded as a fad by some people—and a disagreeable fad by a few others.

To celebrate HOT ROD's 75th anniversary, we teamed up with CASTROL GTX to bring you some of the stories that exemplify the core of what HOT ROD is and reflect the brand's influence on America's car ...