Hot Rods So what do you call it?

My fat fender has a flat windshield, does that make it a hot rod?

Depends.

Stock, no. Modified, maybe.

John Force calls his funny car a hot rod, is it?

To him it is.

I think the term can be loosely applied to any car of any year that has been modified for increased speed or better performance. When you start adding qualifiers such as hot, traditional, street, rat, tuner, whatever, the word rod takes on a different meaning with each qualifier. So, they all can be rods, the hot qualifier is up to each individual to interpret as they see fit. What's hot for one isn't for someone else.

 

When I read split window my mind goes to the 63 vette.

 

On my C series 55 Fargo ( C series 1st with curved windshield).
At first I had a flathead 6 dual carbs exhaust, then went LA 318/904.
Made this farm truck a hotrod, a whole lot faster then it was. Much nicer and a pleasure to drive.

 

I thought of a '49 Chevy, swap an Olds windshield in and- BAM! hot rod!

 

I've never understood the propensity to name things other than car , truck ,or maybe fast car ....pigeon holing stuff is simply an exercise ...I used to chuckle at guys at car shows discussing , at length , what class to enter their car in , silliness , one of many reason I don't attend car shows.

 

My '39 p/u has a split windshield and a basically stock 8ba. Doesn't meet most definitions of a "hot rod" but I do have coffee with a bunch of guys with real hot rods on Saturday morning. Does that make me a wanna be? So I guess I'll just call old "Rusty" a beater daily driver and leave it at that.

 

You can hotrod anything from bicycles to valve covers and you can race anything including two leaves in a creek. Everything under the sun has been raced including the very early cars. Street driven hotrod cars pretty much started with the Model T, because Fords were inexpensive. Model As have always been hot rodded. The flathead V8 cemented the Ford brand as traditional hotrods until overhead valve engines appeared.The overhead valve engines became common about 1949 and for many many years the dividing line was 1948/49. Traditional hotrods were defined as Fords made before 1949. Cars that were manufactured after 1949 and hotrodded were called street machines until about 1963 when muscle cars showed up. Then about 1971 streetrods appeared. Not long after that oddrods (cars there were not Fords) began to be acceptable to streetrodders. Again, anything can be hotrodded but traditional street driven hotrods were always Fords until the internet came along and some young guys began trying to rewrite history with oddball stuff like International trucks.

 

As much as I like thumbing through magazines from every era of the hobby I hate to admit it but truthfully the 1970s weren't the greatest era in hot rodding for my money. Not to mention the fact that the 1970s were now half a century ago.

 

I love custom paint and body work and I love big cubes, big and little tires and great handling brakes and suspension. Now after 50 years of building things that can cover everything from a 23T to one of my late model trucks. Although I think I am a hot rodder I guess I am really a CUSTOM RODDER ! So that means I can build ANYTHING! lol But since I respect Ryan's vision of this place I do not post things that I think are off topic. Larry

 

When it comes to hot rods I like to think it’s up to the owner as to if his/her windshield is split ( I prefer banana splits myself )


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I utter the words Hotrod much more loosely than others...I also like to use Hybrid as many Customs and Trucks have the evil, wicked, mean and nasty side as well...I don't believe for a minute there weren't Customs with power to unleash under the hood.

1948 seems to be a year tossed around as an end for OEM Hotrod material and many would argue earlier than that...but I've seen many post 48 Cars and Trucks that challenge the definition and come out on top in my opinion...

So Beaner go ahead and build a Rip Snorting Beast and Call it a Hotrod...The Hokey Ass Forum is there for the Others...

I can't wait to see what you have brewing in your Hotrod Mind...

 

Well, OK, I just happen to have an official copy of a 1990 Webster's New World Dictionary here on my desk. According to it, "hot rod (Slang) an automobile, often an old one, whose engine has been supercharged."
Guess that eliminates a lot of automobiles previously thought to be hot rods, not many were supercharged.

I have a much more open definition of a hot rod. A car or truck that has been modified to go faster, handle better, or brake better, then originally built. Gene

 

I still don't use any so called rules. <Those seem to be more about were you were or when or what. Made up.
The time frame stated,mid 50s to mid 60s, is the very time I started building real cars,got away from just doing models.
I built a 1928A bobtailed roadster with a Ford Y-V8 for power,and built a full custom Henry J with Olds Rocket 88,with in a years of each other.
Still amazed I pulled that off with little too no $$$. I did a lot of hunting down dumped in the woods cars an trades. Help from buddy's too,finding an dragging home.
I always thought of my 28A as a hotrod an the "J" as a custom.
Both were kind of fast,the "A" much faster,but the "J" had a big rep! LOL
There was a number of very cool car mag.'s out in that time also, my "J" was even in CarCraft Jan 63.
There was a mag. I liked too,call Street Rodder<<<So the hole BS about "Street Rod" as a type of car style thing is bull shit.
And "bullet"=Well I made at home a lot of stuff by myself in the early 1960s,that most young guys call Bullet now,maybe cuz they ether don't know how,or are far to lazy to even think about a kid ,could do that,it must been payed for with big $$$$$$$$$. For most part though,I know what othere's ,younger then me ,are talking about an enjoy helping out. Some times it's a waste of time to fix there misunderstandings,other time's I try,find out there is a ear to ear rock in the way.
The best part is there are some who like knowing how things really were.
Even can read my crap spelling.
None of us need to love every car,some I only love parts of,some only the way work was done. Now and then a WOW.
Very few,there is not something cool about. The fun of knowing other car nuts *******************

 

some young guys began trying to rewrite history with oddball stuff like International trucks.[/QUOTE]
But what would you call a 55 100 IHC swb step side with a 300 hp 327,4speed and a 4:11 9 inch. That’s rubber in all 4 gears hot rod in my book

 

Looks like a hot rod to me!

 

I doubt it fits the guidelines but I hotrodded a Barbie Jeep. It was old needed a battery, the wheels and axle were tired. Found a donor, swapped in wheels, axles and side pipes, added rubber for traction, put in 2 stronger than stock batteries and a go-faster button. The kids love their hot rod! For me it means making it better than new.

 

My father would always ask " you aren't ridin is yer friends souped up jalopies are you? ". But that started about 64 or so.

 

Any flavor will do!

B en

 

That’s the “only “corvette body style for me !

 

Hey Bandit Billy,
On the cards in the spokes of the bike.
Playing cards worked OK but gave a high tinney sound.
The best were the older baseball cards, ( I think pre '57).
They were thicker and gave a more base rumble sound.
They were also the best flip cards for the game "Knockers!"
Just $.02 of bicycle history.
Beaner, please note: Nothing here to stir up drama!

 

So a hopped up 55 chevy isn't a hot rod because it didn't have a split windshield?
I guess falling trees don't make noise when there's no one to hear them?
The moon only has one side cause that's all we can see?
And I guess women aren't harder to figure out than electronic fuel injection?

Makes sense to me

 

From 54 to 64. Those are called field cars !

 

Good question! I guess it depends what car you modify... to make a hotrod out of a 55 chevy, You'd probably have to change more stuff on it than perhaps, a Model A .. for instance, take the fenders off a Model A coupe and boom, just like that, you got yourself what most people would call a HotRod.
Then you'd have to ask yourself, how much mods would a car need under the hood to be called a hotrod over a sleeper? in order to be promoted from a sleeper to a hotrod, maybe mods to something else than just the engine would be required?? wheels or tires? suspension? aerodynamics? …
personally what I think of it is.... when you see it, you'll know what to call it.

 

The general term "hot rod" conjures up many different ideas, as evidenced by the spectrum of replies here. One thing is for certain, it is a positive view of motoring for all who embrace it. I see it not as a definate description of a era or vehicle type, but more as an adjective to describe what we all love to do............. modify stuff to put our personal stamp on it. All vehicles from all eras can be "hot rodded", and who are we to judge the merit of someone elses vision and direction.

The difference comes when we add the word "traditional". This immediately changes the term to a noun, describing a certain era and style. That's ok too, if that's what you're into, but it shouldn't stop you from appreciating the other amazing "hot rodded"stuff out there. Who say's you can't enjoy it all (just maybe not here......).

 

It's funny you said that about your father. I had a friend's Model A roadster project in my garage. While I was having a yard sale an older guy with a long grey beard looked in my garage and asked if the" bug "was for sale.

 

Call it what you want, just don't call it a rat rod

 

I don’t know, that sports car racer might take exception to that moniker. JMO.

 

Interesting question. When I got my license in '70, we really didn't have named category's for cars. Nobody had anything in my crowd earlier than '55, so no what we would have probably called "hot rods",(I would have anyway)....early coupes, roadsters.Most had older Camaros, Mustangs, Barracudas,whatever. We refereed them as Fast Eddie's 55 Chev, Warren's Skylark, Mike's Mustang then Camaro, etc.
My old high school ride, '65 Skylark with chrome wheels, dual glass packs,chrome air cleaner, 3 spd stick on the floor, emblems removed, 8 track. Was it a hotrod, muscle car,light custom?
Can't really answer,we just wanted a CAR to drive and fix up.

 

Wait! You have to have a split window to be a hot rod? I guess I'm gonna have to invest in a continental kit and skirts, eh?

 

Well, we just won't ask him for his opinion.