THROTTLE MERCHANTS | SO CAL’S PRE- 1940s FORD HOTRODS & VINTAGE BIKES

Throttle Merchants Magazine is the photobook project of Matt Porter & Aileen Aquino. Their passion is shooting SoCal’s amazingly rich Hot Rod culture, focusing primarily on pre-’40s Fords, and vintage motorcycles. Looking at the images of these incredibly crafted machines and their unique creators, one is impressed that this no hobby. This is what they live for. To that point, Matt and Aileen are big on keeping the pages of Throttle Merchants all about the stories being told through the photography, and have strayed away from ads & sponsor revenue. Check out their website here to see how you can help support their vision. The much anticipated Issue 4 will be available on 8/24, kicking-off that night with a release party at Old Crow Speed Shop in Burbank. Check it out.

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Bobby Green — Photography by Matt Porter and Aileen Aquino © Throttle Merchants Magazine

“A friend of ours recently called Throttle Merchants Magazine a “passion project”—and with that we would totally agree. We started photographing the hot rod culture back in 2008 and have self-published four magazines since then as a side-project. The term magazine can be somewhat confusing to people— none of our work contains articles, advertisements, or editorials. There are no staff writers, nor do we have a creative director. We simply take collections of our own images and let them tell a story. All photographs in each magazine are shot by us (Matt Porter and Aileen Aquino), and are then laid out by us before being sent to press. We’ve been nursing our latest work for a couple of years until now. To finally have the finished project—a tangible compilation to share with everyone—has set our minds at ease. Volume 4 includes Lucky Burton, Bobby Green, Billy Branch, Robert Lomas, Chris Casny, Jack Carroll, Jose Gonzalez, and more.”  –Aileen Aquino

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Billy Branch  —  Photography by Matt Porter and Aileen Aquino © Throttle Merchants Magazine

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“Can’t Stay” Jose  —  Photography by Matt Porter and Aileen Aquino © Throttle Merchants Magazine

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Jack Carroll’s Hot Rod  —  Photo by Matt Porter and Aileen Aquino © Throttle Merchants Magazine

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Billy Branch  —  Photography by Matt Porter and Aileen Aquino © Throttle Merchants Magazine

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Lucky Burton’s Hot Rod  —  Photo by Matt Porter and Aileen Aquino © Throttle Merchants Magazine

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Nick Osborne’s Hot Rod  —  Photo by Matt Porter and Aileen Aquino © Throttle Merchants Magazine

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Marion Bledsoe  —  Photography by Matt Porter and Aileen Aquino © Throttle Merchants Magazine

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Nick Osborne’s Hot Rod  —  Photo by Matt Porter and Aileen Aquino © Throttle Merchants Magazine

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Brian Law  —  Photography by Matt Porter and Aileen Aquino © Throttle Merchants Magazine

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Robert Lomas  —  Photography by Matt Porter and Aileen Aquino © Throttle Merchants Magazine

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Mike Kelley’s Hot Rod  —  Photo by Matt Porter and Aileen Aquino © Throttle Merchants Magazine

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Lucky Burton  —  Photography by Matt Porter and Aileen Aquino © Throttle Merchants Magazine

Throttle Merchants’ website

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9 thoughts on “THROTTLE MERCHANTS | SO CAL’S PRE- 1940s FORD HOTRODS & VINTAGE BIKES

  1. JP- You have an artist’s perspective. To recognize the beauty in the the eye of others is a unique talent. Plus, you always turn me on to stuff I never knew of in my own back yard. How many places – even on the net – can I see a chopped and channeled rod? Or a lightened, dropped front axle? Priceless. Thanks.

    • Oh … only about a 1001 and one places on any given day Mr P . Seriously ….. though this stuff isn’t bad its a case of SSDD exemplified . Want more ? Take your pick . Websites – Magazines – MiniMags – ( not so real ) reality TV series … and on and on and on . This kind of thing is rampant these days can be easily found . So …. this new project might be interesting to some …. but there’s nothing new , unique or different about it . As far as being ‘ Art ‘ ?A reasonable level of Craft perhaps …. but definitely not ‘ Art ‘

      • Guitarslinger ~ Happy Sunday to you too. Seriously. I’m glad you’ve found a platform for your piss ant negativity here on TSY, but I’m afraid it’s about to come to an end. Why don’t you go pay a visit to Lucky Burton’s or Old Crow Speed Shop and see the work, and while you’re at it, run that mouth of yours too. I’m sure you’ll impress them with your vast knowledge and expertise on building rods.

        Happy trails,

        JP

      • Dave,

        Thanks for the comment. Yeah, it’s cool to see all the inspiring craft happening these days, lot’s of it in our own backyard. I’m glad TSY is able to turn you on to some of it, and the people behind it.

        Best,

        JP

  2. Nice – Burbank is just down the road from me. I’ll pop along to that. The two pics of Billy Branch and his wheels are fantastic.

  3. Nice, but too far for me to attend. Love that 4 banger in the lead photo.

    Not to open the whole can of worms, but many rat rods or patinated rods or whatever look forced, or fake in some way to me. These look real, they’re not trying too hard to look like they’re not trying too hard…

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