According to several American sources, the hot rod is effectively any pre-1948 vehicle that has been adapted to look, feel and sound much better than the original.
Hot rods are typically Fords or Chevrolets that can be either built from the ground up or as modifications on any preserved part of an original car.
There tends to be no rules for tinkering to build one as they all gravitate towards the low-lying and well-throttled style that we recognise easily and love to hear start up.
But judging at hot rod shows is serious business.
The unveiling of a car at an event allows it to be judged in higher categories and in some US shows all cars need to be ‘unveiled’ as a prerequisite for entry.
Jim Wolstencroft from Deluxe Rod Shop said the nearest thing he could think of was a debutante ball.
“It needs to be the first public viewing in order to qualify,” Jim said.
And the judging can go even further down the finicky path.
“In some events, the angle that every bolt faces needs to be the same; they’ll even take a bolt out and count the number of threads on it to make sure they’re all identical,” he said.
“It’s a serious competition.”
The history of hot rods is as varied and interesting as the cars themselves.
Although the “street rod” became popular after the 1940s, they were designed for family use.
The ‘hot rod’ builders became a more rebellious counterculture.
And the origin of the name seems to be contentious.
‘Rod’ is thought to be named after the connecting rods of the engines, or else a shortening of the word ‘roadster’ which was an early name for two-door cars often used as a starting point for construction.
The word ‘hot’ has been attributed to either the heat that engines require to produce such high power, or else that the original cars were often stolen.
Either way, it’s a recognisable name suited to an equally recognisable style of car.
25°C