This “eBay” guitar belongs to Josh Blair, who souped up the semi-hollow alder body with a Stetsbar Pro II, GFS Retrotron pickups with coil taps, a 3-way switch, a Mighty Mite Tele neck, and Schaller tuners. Blair had only one thing to say about his hot-rod guitar: “Boom!” (Spoken in a Christopher Walken voice.)

Throughout the year we collect stories and photos of guitar-mod projects created by you, our beloved readers. Some of these guitars are so inspiring we’re compelled to share them with everyone in this annual Hot Rod issue. As always, you don’t disappoint. And by using fetching racecar flame designs, several readers even revealed their devotion to the original “hot rod” culture!

We couldn’t fit all of your mod submissions here, but look for more stories in our “Hot-Rod Gallery – Reader’s Edition” online next month.