hot rod

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T-bucket with early hemi. The aluminum radiator (rather than brass), rectangular headlights, and five-spokes (rather than motorcycle wheels) mark this as a later incarnation. Three-window Deuce coupé on '32 frame rails. '32 3-window with a classic-style[1] flame job and Moon tank, very reminiscent of Chapouris' California Kid.

Hot rods are typically American cars with large engines modified for linear speed. Nobody knows for sure the origin of the term "hot rod." One explanation is that the term is a contraction of "hot roadster," meaning a roadster that was modified for speed. Another explanation is that the mufflers were exposed and thus there was a "hot rod" or hot muffler neck when the vehicle was running. Open roadsters were the cars of choice to modify because they were light. Hot Rod may also refer to the connecting rods, cam, or pushrods inside the engine or to the exposed frame rails of such an automobile. It has also been noted that burning out the connecting rod bearings was a very common failure mode for souped up four-cylinder Fords, particularly the Model T, and "hot rod" could refer to that phenomenon. It was adopted in the 1930s or 1940s as the name of a car that had been "hopped up" by modifying the engine in various ways to achieve higher performance.

The term can also apply to other items that are "souped up" for a particular purpose, such as "hot-rodded amplifier".

History

Late 1930s-1950s early days

The term seems first to have appeared in the late 1930s in southern California, where people would race their modified cars on the vast, empty dry lake beds northeast of Los Angeles under the rules of the Southern California Timing Association. The activity increased in popularity after World War II, particularly in California, due to returning soldiers, many of whom had been given technical training in the service. The original hot rods were old cars (most often Fords, typically Model Ts, Model As 1928-31, 1932-34 Model Bs, or V-8s) that had been modified to reduce weight and improve aerodynamics. Typical modifications were removal of convertible tops, hood, bumpers, windshields, and/or fenders); lowering the chassis; and modifying the engine by tuning and/or replacing with a more powerful type. Wheels and tires were changed for improved traction and handling. "Hot Rod" was sometimes a term used in the 1950s as a derogatory term for any car that did not fit into the mainstream. Hot rodder's modifications were considered to improve the appearance as well, leading to show cars in the 1960s replicating these same modifications along with a distinctive paint job.

Post WWII origins of organized rodding

1949 Mercury

Ford Popular

Rodded prewar British Rover 10

After World War II there were many small military airports throughout the country that were either abandoned or very rarely used that allowed Hot Rodders across the country to race on marked courses. Originally Drag Racing had tracks that may have been as long as one mile or more, and included up to four lanes of racing at the same time. As hot rodding became more popular in the 1950s, magazines and associations catering to Hot Rodders were started. As Hot Rodders began to race on the street in addition to drag strips, a need arose for an organization to promote the images of Hot Rodders. Hot rodders including Wally Parks created the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) to bring racing off the streets and onto the tracks. They created rules based on safety and entertainment, and allowed Hot Rodders of any caliber the ability to race. The annual California Hot Rod Reunion and National Hot Rod Reunion are held to honor pioneers in the sport. The Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum houses the roots of hot rodding.

1970s rise of the street rod

As automobiles offered from the major automakers began increasing performance, the lure of Hot Rods began to wane. It was no longer necessary to put a Cadillac engine in a Ford roadster to be fast. It was now possible to buy a Muscle Car that outperformed just about any Hot Rod, with more passenger room, and without having to expend the effort of building and tuning the car oneself. After the 1973 Oil Crisis, the public called on automakers to offer safety and fuel efficiency over performance. The resulting decrease in an average car's performance led to a resurgence of Hot Rodding, although the focus was on driving Hot Rods over racing so the term 'Street Rod' was coined to denote a vehicle manufactured prior to 1949, often with a more reliable late model drivetrain. Street Rodding as it was now known was a different phenomenon than Hot Rodding, as Street Rodding was mainly family oriented. National events were hosted by the National Street Rod Association (NSRA), which also stressed safety as the NHRA did 20 years before, but this was safety for the street as opposed to on the race track. Each NSRA event has a 'Safety Inspection Team' that performs a 23 points inspection process that goes beyond what normal State Safety Inspections Require.

Modern rodding

Ford Model T altered for drag racing

1936 Chevrolet street rod

1956 Chevy Bel Air-based gasser

Chevrolet Malibu

There is still a vibrant Hot Rod culture worldwide, especially in the United States, The United Kingdom, Australia and Sweden. The hot rod community has now been subdivided into two main groups: hot rodders and street rodders. Hot rodders build their cars using a lot of original, old parts, and follow the styles that were popular from the 1940s through the 1960s. Street rodders build cars (or have them built for them) using primarily new parts.

Nowadays one thing in common is the wish by their owners for hot rods to make them noticeable. There are many different sects of Hot Rodding now, there are (amongst others):-

• Street Rods (These are a very popular branch of 'hot rodding'. Contrary to the implications of the term hot rod, street rods are a peculiar mix of hot rods, custom cars, and modern Detroit cars. Emphasis is on high end custom paint jobs, luxury leather interiors with all the amenities, modern engines and running gear. They are actually far removed from the power-is-everything genesis of classic hot rods. In fact, many of these cars have difficulty making their tires churp, let alone generate billows of smoke when the drivers 'show off' their power.)
• Pro-Street Rods (a branch of street rodding featuring mildly customized sedan and coupe models that one would not normally associate with hot rodding that have monster engines and huge rear tires inside the fender wells. They retain all the other luxury features of Street Rods.)
• Billet Rods (street rods noted by many items being machined from Billet aluminum),
• Traditional Rods (those that built according to a particular point in time and stick to those build techniques and materials),
• Rat rods (those that are pieced together to look like old time jalopies, although some times they require more work than a show rod), and
• Show Rods (Hot Rods created to compete in National Car Shows such as AMBR (America's Most Beautiful Roadster), and the Detroit Autorama).

There are hundreds of local car clubs supporting the hot rod/street rod community. The National Street Rod Association (NSRA) is the largest club in the world and sponsors many local events including the Street Rod Nationals which serve as a showplaces for the majority of the hot-rodding and street-rodding world to display their cars and to find nearly any part needed to complete them. Collectively they are all referred to as Hot Rods.

Debates within the car community

Hot rods are part of American culture, although there is growing controversy within the automotive hobby over an increasing trend towards the acquisition and irreversible modification of surviving historic - some even very rare - vehicles rather than the traditional hot rodding concept of the salvage and remanufacture of reusable junked parts.

New "retro Inspired" steel bodies

As the supply of original steel bodies dwindles to nothing, those who reject fiberglass replicas can buy new reproduction bodies. They are not actual antiques, but often are superior in some aspects such as build quality to original hot rod bodies. The best bodies can command a price of US $10,000 or more.

In modern culture

Lifestyle

There is a contemporary movement of traditional hot rod builders, car clubs and artists who have returned to the roots of hot rodding as a lifestyle. This current traditional hot rod culture is exemplified in a whole new breed of traditional hot rod builders, artists and styles, as well as classic style car clubs like The Road Devils, The Deacons, The Shifters, and The Dragoons. Events like Viva Las Vegas, and GreaseOrama showcase this return to traditional hot rods and the greaser lifestyle. Underground magazines like Garage, Smokin Shutdown, Ol' Skool Rodz, Car Kulture Deluxe, Gearhead, Rolls & Pleats and BurnOut showcase this return to traditional hot rods by covering events and people around the world. There are number of independently released DVDs featuring this traditional hot rod revival with names such as Mad Fabricators, Hot Rod Surf ‘All Steel All Real’, and Hot Rod Havoc.

In the media

Author Tom Wolfe was one of the first to recognize the importance of hot rodding in popular culture and brought it to mainstream attention in his book The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby.

There are many magazines that feature real hot rods, including The Rodders Journal, Hot Rod Magazine, Rod and Custom Magazine, Street Rodder, RebelRodz, Amusin' Kruisin', and Popular Hot Rodding. There are also television shows such as My Classic Car, and Horsepower TV.

Street rod builder Boyd Coddington starred in American Hot Rod, a documentary series on Discovery channel until his death in 2008.

The Discovery Channel airs several shows dealing with modern interpretations of Kustom Kulture such as Monster Garage, American Hot Rod, and Overhaulin'.

Juxtapoz Magazine, founded by the artist Robert Williams, has thrived as a recent extrapolation of Kustom Kulture art. It has also begun to garner respect as an exhibitor of contemporary artistic talent that transcends Kustom Kulture's bounds.

In Sweden

Swedish hot rodders with 1960s American car at Power Big Meet

The culture is vibrant in Sweden where there are many automobile enthusiasts. Meetings like Power Big Meet and clubs such as Wheels and Wings in Varberg, Sweden have established themselves in Swedish Hot Rod culture. Since there is very little "vintage tin" the hot rods in Sweden are generally made with a home made chassis (usually a Ford model T or A replica), with a Jaguar (or Volvo 240) rear axle, a small block V8, and fiberglass tub, but some have been built using for instance a Volvo Duett chassis. Because the Swedish regulations required a crash test even for custom-built passenger cars between 1969 and 1982 the Duett option was often used since it was considered a rebodied Duett rather than a new vehicle.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Some 1950s and 1960s cars are also hot rodded, like Morris Minor, Ford Anglia, Volvo Amazon, Ford Cortina, '57 Chevy, to name but a few. These are known as Custom cars (sometimes spelled Kustom).

Gallery

The iconic T-bucket. Also features dropped tube axle, transverse front leaf spring, and front disc brakes.	"Deuce" roadster with chrome dropped tube axle and tube shocks. Note Model A frame rails (extended frame horns), disc brakes, sprint car[2] pipes.	"Deuce" roadster with dropped axle, disc brakes, and coilovers. Note the contrast with the much more stock Deuce on A rails.	"Rat rod" "Deuce" coupe with a later model Ford V8.
Fiat Topolino.	Ghost flames, a contemporary concept	3 deuces closeup	A "puke" can
A 392 Hemi in a "rat rod".	Rat rod	Volksrod based on a Type 1.	'32 Bantam roadster

See also

• Automotive restoration
• Custom car
• Cutdown
• Hot hatch
• Import scene
• Kustom (cars)
• Leadsled or Lead sled
• Lowrider
• Muscle car
• Plymouth Prowler - a modern take on the "hot rod" concept
• Pro Street
• Rat rod
• Three window coupe - one of the classic hot rod styles
• Volvo T6 - a Volvo concept car with obvious hot rod inspiration
• Volksrod

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Hot rods

• National Hot Rod Association
• National Street Rod Association (NSRA)