Art & Inspiration The iconic hot rod of all hot rods!

What's your opinion? 32 Ford because of the first year of the flathead V8? 57 Chevy? We all have an opinion, personally i think of the Model A Ford. It's my favorite. Seems to me that the 32 Ford and the 57 Chevrolet get the vote for Ford and Chevrolet, but what about Mopar? What's the traditional icon for Dodge, Chrysler, and Plymouth? Or is your example of an iconic hot rod an orphan? Just sitting here thinking about the 32 and the 57, and was wondering what the Dodge brothers sat around dreaming about....

 

I own two 32 Fords and have owned/built six, so I guess that is my number one. I do think Model A's are right up there as far as iconic hot rods go. I have also owned four 55 Chevy's

 

I agree, the 32 Ford and the 57 Chevy are iconic. I personally think that the 34 Dodge coupe is iconic for the Mopar version. Stick a hemi in it and its perfect!

 

33-34 Ford

 

Me, the 28/29 Model A. Very affordable and the many build styles.

 

If it's built kool as fuck and draws you closer.

If we have to itemize I think the best "hot rod" MOPAR is the early 60s SS or HEMI cars. You might make a case for Chrysler 300 too (earlier).

Olds? Of course the 49 Rocket 88

Pontiac? Do I have to use the 3 letters?

 

'39 Deluxe, all '40's, and '41 Ford pickups

 

Mopartony,
Now that is cool,,,really !

Tommy

 

I wouldn't walk across the street to look at another '32 Ford, been wanting to say that for years so there I said it.............................................................................................

 

So were you trying to make that HHR feel better about itself, @Moriarity

 

They are sweet for sure, just wish they were mine. I have looked for one for a few years, would love to put my 331 hemi in one with a blower.

 

For iconic choice in the grand scheme of things, don't we have to go back to the T?

 

Willys,then a line forming behind.

 

Enough Said!

 

Gotta stir THAT pot again.....

Pre 1949 modified vehicle: Hot Rod

Post 1948 modified vehicle; Custom, Lead Sled, Muscle Car, Street Machine, Resto-Mod etc. depending on genre.

The pre '49 "definition of a Hot Rod" has been in affect for 50 years and 10s of thousands NSRA members adhere to it.

You can "hot rod" (verb) a '55 Chevy. But that '55 Chevy does not meet the definition of a (noun) "hot rod"

 

Well if you learned hot rods from a book or the internet you would know that the Deuce is the quintessential hot rod.

For the '30s bodies I am a model 40 (33/34) guy coupe pf course. I am a big fan of the 5 window but I could learn to like a 3 window.

I like '40 ford coupes too.

After that its a crap shoot. LOL I like '50s stuff a lot, tri five stuff for damned sure but I lean toward fords or pickup truck as opposed to tri five chebby cars.

Into the '60s I am a fan of the '63 Impala and the '64 Chevelle most.

 

To me, the most iconic hot rod is a Deuce coupe. I wouldn't call a tri 5 Chevy a hot rod although you can hot rod the crap out of one and have a "bitchin' " car, they ain't hot rods.
I prefer a '33/'34 coupe over a Deuce (as I own one) just because I like the looks better but I don't think they are as iconic as a Deuce.
There are iconic OT Mopars (Sperbird/Daytona Chargers, Hemi Cuda's, etc) but not Mopar hot rods. Same for Chevy's.
There are tons of cool A Bones, sedans, etc. but I guess it goes back to the great debate of what defines a hot rod but to me, a hot rod is a fenderless early car with a hot engine and the quintessential hot rod is a Deuce coupe.

 

As far as Mopar's go it would have to be either a 64' Sport Fury or a 64' Polara like i'm building now ( I may be a little bias).

 

The first image in my mind when I see or hear the term "hot rod" is a fenderless, hoodless roadster with a modified engine.

 

I think this car launched more young people into rodding that any car ever built.

I grew up around rods and other things fast. If I had to say what car got me going when I was actually old enough to have a car of my own it was a metallic blue SBC powered '40 Ford coupe that motored around town when I was in high school. It was not fancy as cars go, chrome reverse, down in the snout and a mild rumble.

 

Look at my Avatar.

My ranking: '34 3 window/five window/roadster it doesn't matter.

'33 3 window/five window/ it doesn't matter.
roadster
'32 3 window/five window/ roadster it doesn't matter
.
'40 Deluxe

'57 Chev. Bel Air

This question has been asked a million times on HAMB, even once by me. I never get tired of answering it.

 

I'm late to the party but my obsession started when I was 12 when I bought my first car, a 1932 Ford 5 window coupe, since that time I have had a lot of what I consider desirable hot rods, most of them Fords, Model A's & 39/40 and a plethora of other Fords.

I have owned a total of 10 Deuces so I'm going out on a limb and saying they are my favorites.

I honestly think the most iconic cars can be traced to the early days of hot rodding and the cars were roadsters, hopped up Model A's, Model A's on 32 frames and stripped down Deuces.

For me, the Doane Spencer IS the iconic Deuce. HRP

 

Sweet! I'll go home from work in the morning and take the fenders and hood off of my 57 I'm not talking about what makes a hot rod, i was saying that the 32 is apparently the choice when you talk about Ford's iconic car, and the 57 seems to be the iconic Chevrolet, so what is the icon for the other car manufacturers? Looking at Moriarty's reply, I'm a fan of the 40 Ford, coupe or sedan. I own a 57 Chevy, but my favorite Chevy is a 59 or 60. I know all about the Mopar muscle cars, but what about mopar as far as the hamb era? And thumbs up on the Willys, my wife asked about them last year at the races, she had noticed how many willys gassers there was.

 

T

 

So why are all of the essential "hotrods" a Ford? They wasn't factory built hotrods. Was it because there was so many of them? Thoughts?

 

The '32 PB Plymouth coupes makes a pretty nice hot rod, my pal Rene' had one for many years and a lot of people thought it was a 1932 Ford with a chopped top, they have a factory chopped top look and suicide doors.

I've never owned a tri 5 although I have always liked the' 55 post cars.HRP

 

I would not consider a 57 Chevy a Hot Rod, more a Street Machine. Iconic, yes, although I would argue for the 55, as chevrolets first V8 . The 36 Plymouth is pretty, but I have seen very few done. I would say the Superstock Dodge Is the Iconic Mopar. Although I prefer the 33-34 Ford, the 32 is in my eyes The Iconic Hot Rod of all makes.

 

My assumption on that would be the fact the fords had factory v8s. Same reason Bonnie and Clyde and John Dillinger picked them, factory V8 and easy to hot rod back in the day.