Hot Rods What is a "real" hotrod?

In many circles, a lady with breast implants is a hot rod. So, a hot rod can't be stock. It has to have modifications.

 

It's a subjective term, depending on your age bracket, seems to me. When I was young, it had to have fenders outside the body and the required go fast shit to go with said portrait, But today, I was at the Logan Lake swap meet, when a trailered in piece of garbage came into the show. Not gonna mince words here, there were some very nice hot rods in the car show area, but this particular piece took center stage on the looky loo list.
30 Hudson two door on an S 10 chassis, all cut up and sorta rewelded together, sorta chopped, nice orange condemned sticker on the windshield, underneath hanging the build sheet, proudly displayed for all to peruse. An absolute piece of crap if you ever saw crap before, this would top that.
Thing is....you couldn't get close enough to take a pic, for the crowd around it. Some people think this kind of junk are indeed hot rods, meanwhile, close by are some very nice, well engineered sweat equity builds being ignored, believe me, I'm trying to be nice here. Times change, meanings change, I'm the troll, when I got the name it didn't mean what it does today, as gay meant happy once as well.

 

A production car or copy of a production car that is modified for better performance or racing.
Our idea of what a real hot rod is just may not be what their idea of what a hot rod is but it isn't worth having a stroke over.

 

Can we see some photos of the "Hoodless" Hot Rods in the 200MPH Record Club at Bonneville? Bob

 

I guess my '41 3-speed transmission keeps my car from being a hotrod ...can I count reverse to make it over the line ?

 

I'm with you Jim, hot rods are kind of radical hot rods, back in the day.

 

in the 70's when I was a kid anything pre 48 was a street rod, I like that term, somehow folks equate that to buying not building and tweed interiors etc.... my kids call it a hot rod. I call it the 36, but back in my brain it's a street rod

 

HERE IS WHAT MAKES A REAL HOT ROD.

 

What's this

 

cool as hell! something most would like to have an drive

 

A yellow 1936 Chevrolet?

 

Mine must be cuz it says so. Actually that emblem is a nod to my mother-in-law whom we lost almost 2 yrs. ago at 88 yrs. We lived next door to her, I would go over to her house after working on the car and she would always say "whatcha doing to the old hot rod?". Put them on so I would always remember her.

 

That picture completely embodies "hot rod" in my mind

And, great back story...

 

A hot rod usually has 3 pedals no computers to run the engine or auto trans (if it has one, though not likely). when you walk around it you don't see lots of catalogue parts. it can be shiny or matt finish, even have shabby factory paint and must be pre 49. though I wouldn't argue pre 40.
A street rod is usually auto, has a crate engine, built of mostly catalogue parts always shiny. often has computers to run the engine and auto and driven by old folk or those new to the sport or those that also think a vet with mags is also a hot rod.

 

This is the one car that throws it of for me, because it's a little of everything:
Factory hot rod

Hot rod

Pro street

Gasser

Custom

Just plain nice ol' Chevy


This one belongs to a Dane. And its beautiful

Just ooeses hot rod despite being a a slightly hopped up deuce with a flathead, reversed spring in the front and and steelies. It's mild but effective.

But a 32 and 55 is instant game changers, both one year models that changed the world. For hot rodders.


They don't have to be pretty to rule my world.

 

Ok then. If we are answering this thread with a picture.
again, I hope the oowner doesn't mind me using his pic.

 

I wouldn't know where to begin classifying my project/toy. I refer to it as a hot rod when describing it the general masses, but it actually has few pre-'49 parts on it (Though mostly pre '65 bits). The body is loosely based on 20's era body styles, but heavily stylized.
So here's a question: What about Ed Roth's stuff? Is the Outlaw/Excaliber a hot rod? Sure looks like one to me. So what about the Beatnik Bandit? Maybe not so clearcut? Where do you draw the line between a rod and a custom?

 

What about this one?



The star from thunder road'

A shoebox, without the ass down style and no work done to the body, with 3 cans and that awesome exhaust note!

Pure hot rod, again to me.

 

EVERYBODY knows a hot rod is a chopped and fenderless Model A. I don't need a movie to tell me otherwise........

 

I don't know if my avatar is a "Hot Rod", but I took my 6 year old Grandson to our local cruise night & when he got home he told his parents & siblings "It was the best day of my life!!"

Close enough for me.

 

As for me a real Hot Rod was a kids dream who found a old Ford maybe a 37 coupe for $ 75 .00 Then pulled the mill and searched the junk yards for a Olds. or Caddy to replace that tired flathead , found used adapter plate to mate it to the old Ford tranny and hoped it would hold up. Then found some gauges to hang under the dash and some seat covers for that ratty lookin seat. Then pulled all the chrome from hood and deck lid and primed it black painted the wheels red with white wall tires, big ones on the rear smaller at front. Then added longer shackles to springs to lower as much as possible. Then we needed the right sound, with glass or steel pacs . We often would buy race fuel from a local stock car driver so we had the right smell at the Tropical Treat Drive in. Then finding another car to race light to light till we got chased by the cops. Those were the real Hot Rod days and I lived them ! Have to add the 37 in my avatar is my Hot Rod I have since 1959 that has gone through many changes over the years , all done by myself !

 

Street rods are not hot rods (most of the time)
Rat rods are not hot rods, pretty much ever
Resto rods are not hot rods (most of the time)
Customs might be hot rods - depending on the day
Street machines are not hot rods, even though they may be faster (, have 3 pedals, etc)
Gassers might be hot rods but not always
Hot rods are the soul of the HAMB and the reason most of us are here.
Just my opinion which we all know are like arseholes.

 

The question was asked, "what is a REAL hot rod". 1968 Camaros 1955 Chevys or Datsun pickup trucks are not hot rods. A real hot rod is a flathead powered roadster that competed on the California dry lakes back in the 1940's and 1950's. Now these roadsters are real hot rods. This is a traditional hot rod site and these roadsters are as real and traditional as it gets.

 

Labels Labels! We Don't Need No Stink-en Labels!! Build Them,Drive Them! Enjoy Them!! Done!! Pete

 

Anything can be 'hotrodded' including a bicycle but traditional hotrods were Fords. End of subject.
Ramblers, Dodge cars and trucks and International trucks were never considered traditional hotrods.

Hotrods have always been divided by 1948. Cars made after 1948 were 'street machines' until Muscle cars came to be. In 1971 streetrods started at Peoria.

 

And I'd bet it's STEEL too! ( one of my personal prerequisites ).

 

When the term “hot rod” was coined, it referred generally to old cars that the “kids” were “souping up.” At the time, these were mostly prewar cars, ‘30s Fords in particular.

So the question is, what does “hot rod” mean today? Does the term still apply to any old car being souped up? Or does the term apply only to the prewar cars that first inspired it? The general public leans toward the former, many HAMB purists lean toward the latter.

As far as I’m concerned, I can’t tell you exactly what a “hot rod” is, but I know one when I see it. And I've seen some good ones in this thread.

 

I partially agree with you, but what about these:

 

I didn't start this thread as a way to put down people's builds. I mean a hopped up 55 chevy is not a hot rod to me. It is a hopped up tri-5 which is just as cool as a hot rod. A blown big block Camaro is a muscle car, and I have seen
Plenty of muscle cars that are cooler than some hot rods I've seen. I'm
Just wondering if the term hot rod has any solid rules or is it just a loose term we use to describe what we build.

 

I think you need a smiley or even a mister green in there somewhere

Because otherwise non of these would be legit: