In case it hasn't been mentioned, I offer sad news on the passing of THE Hot Rod technical editor, Marlan Davis due to pancreatic cancer. He was read by millions of HR readers and probably more that a few SAAC forum readers.
IMHO, there were two Marlans. One was socially awkward. There was never a Mrs. and in conversation he could express non-PC opinions. Never in malice, but just his opinion.
The other Marlan was the automotive technical editor, which was his raison dˈ être. In almost 40 years of monthly output, he covered cars from the tire contact patches to the roof and from stock to full on race cars.
He wasn't a know it all. His MO was research, research, and research with technical sources he trusted ranging from small shops to OEM sources. People in the aftermarket no doubt have stories about his information gathering intensity.
He was intense with his own projects. Back in the '90s, he had a body-off C3 Corvette project where he powder coated the frame and safety wired all the aircraft grade fasteners. All of them. One source recalled him calling in search of a 20-foot length of aircraft grade stainless steel tubing. Why 20 instead of two 10-foot sections? He didn't want a splice in it.
Readers were rewarded with concise, informative, well written (with a pinch of wit) tech stories and columns. That was reinforced by his excellent tech photography and charts summarizing details.
Not too long ago, he did We're Gonna Fix It stories, where he would choose a reader's car that had engine or brake or drivetrain issues that went unsolved. Employing trusted sources, they worked through the issues, correcting problems other mechanics had missed.
Want to know about valve springs? He wrote a multi-part story on their design characteristics from stock to performance applications. He even included spring details for class 8 diesel truck engines.
He may be gone but thank goodness for the tech content he created.
Agreed on everything you wrote. I never worked directly with Marlan at Petersen Publishing, but the colorful stories about him were well known.
A couple I heard:
Every year, for his two-week vacation, he'd choose several reader letters at random, and then road trip to visit those people.
Marlan was such a Snap-On tool fanatic that, one day, another Hot Rod staffer told him that he just saw a Snap-On tool truck flipped over on the Sunset Blvd. off-ramp of the freeway, and tools were spilling out everywhere. Marlan got so excited that he raced out of the building to get some for himself. Of course, that was a prank. Ironically, Marlan's dad later became a Snap-On dealer.
An urban legend (or probably true) was that he had memorized every part number of every component it took to build a SB Chevy, and could recite them, savant-like.
Sad news for sure . I think Marlan had me on speed dial. We worked on many projects over the last 30 years. He and his friend Norm Brandes kept me busy with tech questions. Guys like Marlin are rare these days . RIP my friend
As a 50+ year subscriber to Hot Rod Magazine, this is sad news. You could depend on learning something just by reading any technical article from Marlan. Didn't matter what brand it was about. Always a good reference.
R. I. P.