| Hot rods |
Last updated on April 16, 2008 |
Some related pages on Roadsters.com:
Traditional hot rods
One of the neat things about hot rods is that they can be designed and built just about any way you want. But most
hot rods fall into one of two categories: traditional hot rods; and street rods. Most of us can appreciate both
styles of cars to some degree but prefer one style of car over the other.
Tommy Otis designed and built the outstanding
"L.A. Highboy" shown here. This car is a perfect example of using classic hot rod parts parts to build a superb,
traditional hot rod.
We'll get back to discussing traditional hot rods after we take a look at street rods.
A street rod could be defined as being a car that resembles a hot rod, but it was built with all new parts.
Essentially, you buy all your new parts and put the car together; or as is more often the case with a street rod,
you pay people to put it together for you.
Street rods are almost always built with radial tires. Look inside one and you'll often see a tilt steering
column, modern seat, and sometimes digital instruments.
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High-tech street rodders define the cutting edge of street rodding by using exotic, hand-formed bodywork, and
custom-machined parts that often include independent suspension, trick paint, and billet aluminum wheels with
low-profile radials.
These cars are almost never built by their owners. As far as cost goes, a modern, high-tech, turn-key street rod
can range from around a-hundred-thousand to as high as a million dollars. If you're trying to set a new standard,
in
show competition against the most exotic,
handbuilt show cars in the world, there is really no upper limit to what you can spend.
Now let's get back to traditional hot rods.
A traditional hot rod is put together to look like it was built (or could have been built) decades ago, by using
as many parts as possible that were made no later than the Fifties or the Sixties at the latest.
The first step in planning a project car is to decide on what you want to end up with when the car is finished.
The goal is to pick a theme for the car and stay with it. My taste in hot rods leans toward cars that were built
(or look they were built) between the early 1950s and the late '60s, especially in northern California.
Roadsters, phaetons, cabriolets, coupes, sedans, sedan deliveries, and even pickups are all good candidates; but
the "phantom" body styles that are often seen on street rods could be considered to be out-of-place on a
traditional car.
Whatever era of car you're building, once you have picked a theme for it, it's important to stay within that time
frame. For example, a '50s car would have had a generator, not an alternator. To do it right, you're going to have
to use bias-ply
tires instead of radials. If you're building a car
with a '50s or '60s (or even a '70s) theme, you'll want to avoid using parts like small block Chevy center-bolt
valve covers, or any other parts that weren't available at the time. Hence the term "period correct". It's easy to
miss the point in the eyes of purists. You have to stay with the theme.
More than any other parts on a hot rod, it's the
wheels that set the theme for the car. Here's a brief
overview of some of the wheels that have been popular on hot rods over the years.
Going all the way back to the birth of hot rodding and oval track racing in the 1920s, most hot rods were early
Fords that used early Ford steel wheels that were stock or modified. By the early '50s, Ted Halibrand's magnesium
wheels became the standard choice on Indy cars, sprint cars, and midget racers. Some, but not many, of his wheels
were also run on the street. Chrome steel wheels and spun aluminum Moon discs were introduced later in the
1950s.
In the early '60s, the magnesium Halibrand Sprint provided the inspiration for the aluminum Ansen Sprint, which
looked similar to the magnesium Halibrand but with a fully-machined face that eliminated the raised lips around
the slots. The early '60s also saw the introduction of the aluminum American Racing Torq-Thrust five-spoke, and
the Cragar S/S composite steel and aluminum five-spoke. In the mid-'60s, these were followed by the American
Racing Torq-Thrust "D" for new '65 Corvettes with disc brakes. The late '60s saw the introduction of the E-T III.
These are some of the wheels that are discussed in more detail on this site's page about
classic racing wheels.
If you're building a traditional early Ford hot rod, especially a '40s or '50s car with a flathead, Mike Bishop
and Vern Tardel have written an excellent book that shows what's involved in selecting parts and getting them to
work together. The book lists for $24.95, and the ISBN is 0-7603-0900-0.
The sites that follow have been selected as being representative of a growing trend in hot rodding: a return to
rodding's roots, with cars being built by using a lot of original parts, and built by their owners, they way they
were decades ago. And unless they're on their way to the drag strip or the salt flats, you won't see them on
trailers. These cars are built to be driven and enjoyed.
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Build your dream
Time after time we see examples of people spending a great deal of time, energy, and money on a car that is not
what they really wanted, but what they were able to afford. When someone does that a few times, they may realize
that if they hadn't, they could have had built their dream car.
At any big rod run, you're bound to see a few "oddball" cars. These are cars that wouldn't make the top ten of
anyone's list of dream cars, but their owners probably bought them because they found them at the right price, and
decided that they would do until they were able to afford something closer to their ideal. Whether it's a '33
Plymouth four-door, or a four-door '38 Buick doesn't matter. Many of us simply consider cars like this to be
diversions from people's dreams.
In 2002, someone had put a 1924 Buick roadster body up for auction on eBayMotors. He mentioned that only a few of
them were known to exist, and that he had searched for several years and traveled cross-country to find this one.
It may well have been the nicest one in the country, and needed very little work to get it ready for paint. When
the auction ended, it didn't meet the reserve, and only went up to around four-hundred bucks. The lesson here is
that while there are thousands of us that are searching for nice, steel roadster bodies, hardly anyone cared about
this one, because it was a 1924 Buick. People build early Ford hot rods because that's what most of us have always
liked, understood, built, rodded, and raced.
I once worked with a sixteen-year-old that had just started his first job, and the prospective paychecks had his
head spinning. He told me about a Ford Falcon that he was looking forward to buying and fixing up. The plan was to
buy the car right away and tear it apart, and then use as much money as he possibly could afford to buy parts for
it. It was slated to get a new engine and transmission, a rear end swap, suspension upgrades, bodywork, paint, a
new interior, and a set of wheels and tires. I asked him what kind of car he would like to have if he could afford
anything. Without hesitating, he said that it would be an early Mustang. I pointed out that instead of getting
distracted with the Falcon, he could save up and before too long he'd be able to buy the car that he really
wanted. He said that he didn't want to wait. I told him that even if he put a Ford Cammer engine, a Lenco
transmission, and full tube chassis in that Falcon, when it was all done, nobody would care, because no matter how
much money he threw at it, it would still be a Ford Falcon. Ultimately, I reasoned, the Falcon would just be a
distraction that kept him from reaching his goal of having the early Mustang that he really wanted. And while it
seemed unattainable to him at the time, the goal was actally quite reasonable.
In April of 2004, someone on the HAMB message board mentioned that he had the chance to buy a chassis from a 1978
Chevy Malibu, and was asking people what other bodies would fit it. This wasn't going to be his first project. He
already had a 1959 Mercury, a 1964 Ford Fairlane that was done up along the lines of a Thunderbolt drag car, an
all-original '64 1/2 Mustang, and a 1970 Ford F-100 pickup that he was converting to four-wheel-drive. It seemed
like he had no real need for the Malibu chassis, and was considering buying it because it was easily-available and
reasonably-priced. In his second post on the subject, he mentioned that his Fairlane Thunderbolt clone ran in the
15s, and he'd like it to be quicker.
There are two possible scenarios here. In the first, he gets started on another project, based around the '78
Malibu chassis. Considerable time, energy, and money are spent installing another body on it, with the likely
result being something that had more compromises than any of his existing projects. The second option would be for
him to forget about taking on yet another project, and instead take the same amount of time, energy, and money and
putting it into improving the performance of the Thunderbolt project. Starting with a 460 out of a '69 Lincoln, it
wouldn't be too much work to get that car to run in the low 13s. Given some good engineering and workmanship, the
result could be a really neat car.
Over the years, while discussing possible project cars, a number of people have advised me to pick the one car
that I'd like to have more than anything, and work toward that goal, without compromising or getting distracted by
something less that happened to come along. Cars like that are always showing up, and you can learn a lot from
working on them, but they would ultimately prevent us from building our dream. It's good advice.
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Hot rod builders
Attebury Street Rods — Morgan Hill, CA
http://www.atteburystreetrods.com/
Autosport & Performance — CA
http://www.autosportcenter.com/
B2 Design Group — CA
http://www.b2designgroup.com/
Bennett Coachworks — Milwaukie, WI
http://www.hotrodbuilders.com/
Bill's Rod & Custom — Springfield, OH
http://www.billsrodandcustomshop.com/
Roy Brizio Street Rods — South San Francisco, CA
http://www.roybriziostreetrods.com/
Chopper Lance — Burbank, CA
http://www.chopperlance.com/
Circle City Hot Rods — Orange, CA
http://www.circlecityhotrods.com/
The Cobbler's Shop — Apache Junction, AZ
http://www.cobblersshop.com/
Cornhusker Rod & Custom, Inc. — Alexandria, NB
http://www.cornhuskerrodandcustom.net/
Creative Concepts — Santa Rosa, CA
http://www.creativeconcepts4u.com/
Custom Automotive Restoration — Portland, OR
http://www.customautomotive.com/
Don's Kustoms — Fort Bragg, CA
http://www.donskustoms.com/
Extreme Metal & Paint — Anacortes, WA
http://www.extrememetalpaint.com/
FastLane Rod Shop — Donohue, IA
http://www.fastlanerodshop.com/
Finishline Auto Restoration — Lincoln, NB
http://www.finishlineautorestoration.com/
GMT Metal — Huntington Beach, CA
http://www.gmtmetal.com/
Bill Hall Body & Frame — Portland, OR
http://www.billhallbodyandframe.com/
Hot Rods & Custom Stuff — Escondido, CA
http://www.hotrodscustomstuff.com/
Hot Rods by Dean — Phoenix, AZ
http://www.hotrodsbydean.com/
Ionia Hot Rod Shop — Iona, MI
http://www.ioniahotrods.com/
JB Street Rods
http://www.jbstreetrods.com/
Johnson's Hot Rod Shop — Gadsden, AL
http://www.johnsonshotrodshop.com/
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Kemps Rod and Restoration, Inc. — MI
http://www.kempsrodandrestoration.com/
Lance Hot Rods & Customs — Burbank, CA
http://www.lancehotrods.com/
LimeWorks Speed Shop — Whittier, CA
http://www.limeworksspeedshop.com/
Loboy's Rod & Custom — Baldur, Manitoba
http://www.loboys.com/
Midwest Hot Rods — Plainfield, IL
http://www.midwesthotrods.com/
Posies — Hummelstown, PA
http://www.posiesrodsandcustoms.com/
Quality Restoration Street Rods — Port Orchard, WA
http://www.qrsr.com/
Radical Engineering — Greensboro, NC
http://www.radicalengineering.com/
Retro Rides by Rich — Archdale, NC
http://www.retroridesbyrich.com/
Rhodes Custom Auto Works — Townsend, DE
http://www.rhodescustomauto.com/
Rick's Hot Rods — El Paso, TX
http://www.rickshotrodshop.com/
Salinas Boys — Salinas, CA
http://www.salinasboys.com/
Scott's Hot Rods and Customs — Ventura, CA
http://www.scottshotrods.com/
Smoky Hill Restoration — Granbury, TX
http://www.smokyhillrestoration.com/
SO-CAL Speed Shop — AZ, CA, CO, UT, and TX
http://www.so-calspeedshop.com/
Southtown Street Rods — South Coffeyville, OK
http://www.southtownstreetrods.com/
Joe Souza Roadsters — Yuba City, CA
http://www.jsroadsters.com/
Strange Motion — Cambridge, IL
http://www.strangemotion.com/
Street Rods by Michael — TN
http://www.srbymichael.com/
Tucci Engineering — Marcy, NY
http://www.tuccihotrods.com/
Vintage Hammer Garage — Yucaipa, CA
http://www.vintagehammergarage.com/
Barry White's Street Rod Repair Co. — Placentia, CA
http://www.barrywhitesrrc.com/
Ziggy's Hot Rods — Australia
http://www.ziggyshotrods.com/
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Clubs and associations
Altamont Cruisers — Livermore, California
http://www.altamontcruisers.com/
Bay Area Roadsters — Northern California
http://www.bayarearoadsters.com/
Beach Barons — Washington
http://www.beachbarons.com/
British Columbia Hot Rod Association
http://www.bchra.org/
Canadian Street Rod Association
http://www.csra.ca/
Chrome Czars Motor Club — in Chicago, IL
http://www.chromeczars.com/
Early Ford V-8 Club Of America
http://www.earlyfordv8.org/
Early Times
http://www.earlytimes-socal.com/
East Coast Timing Association
http://www.ecta-lsr.com/
Foothills Street Rod Association
http://www.fsra.org/
Goodguys Rod and Custom Association
http://www.good-guys.com/
Inliners International — for inline-engine enthusiasts
http://www.inliners.org/
The Kontinentals
http://www.kontinentals.com/
Kustoms of America
http://www.kustomsofamerica.com/
The L.A. Roadsters
http://www.laroadsters.com/
Majestics Car Club — Regina, Saskatchewan
http://www.majesticscarclub.com/
Michigan Hot Rod Association
http://www.mhraonline.org/
Mid-America Willys Club
http://www.gassermagazine.com/
Minnesota Street Rod Association
http://www.msra.com/
Multnomah Hot Rod Council — Portland, Oregon
http://www.portlandroadstershow.com/
National T Bucket Alliance
http://www.nationaltbucketalliance.com/
Over The Hill Gang — San Diego
http://www.overthehillgang.com/
Pacific International Street Rod Association
http://www.pisra.com/
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Philadelphia Modifiers — Pennsylvania
http://www.philadelphiamodifiers.com/
Prowlers — San Diego
http://www.prowlers.org/
Relics & Rods — Lake Havasu City, Arizona
http://www.relicsandrods.com/
Remember When Cruise Association — Phoenix, Arizona
http://www.rememberwhencruise.com/
Right Coast Association
http://www.rightcoastcars.com/
The Road Agents — Connecticut
http://www.theroadagents.com/
Road Angels — Portland, Oregon
http://www.donpennington.com/
Road Kings — Atlanta, Georgia
http://www.theroadkings.com/
Road Zombies
http://www.roadzombies.org/
Rodfathers — Southern California
http://www.rodfathers.com/
Rodmasters Car Club — Ontario, Canada
http://www.rodmasters.com/
Rogue Valley Street Rods
http://www.roguevalleystreetrods.com/
Sacred Karts of San Diego
http://www.sacredkarts.com/
SCTA — Southern California Timing Association
http://www.scta-bni.org/
The Spares — San Diego
http://www.7-13.com/
Street Rods Unlimited — Southern California
http://www.streetrodsunlimited.com/
Tulsa Roadsters — Oklahoma
http://www.tulsaroadsters.com/
Umqua Flatheads — Roseburg, Oregon early Ford V-8 club
http://flathead.rosenet.net/
United Street Rods of Idaho
http://www.usri.org/
Utah Salt Flats Racing Association
http://www.saltflats.com/
Vintage Memories So Cal
http://www.vintagememoriessocal.com/
Vultures Car Club — in northern California
http://www.vulturescc.com/
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Hot rod events
Americruise
http://www.americruisetour.com/
Back to the Fifties
http://www.msra.com/
Barrett Jackson
http://www.barret-jackson.com/
Big 3 Parts Exchange — in San Diego
http://www.big3partsexchange.com/
Billetproof — in Antioch, CA
http://www.billetproof.com/
California Hot Rod Reunion — in Bakersfield
http://www.nhra.com/reunion/
Car Shows in the New Jersey Area
http://www.njcarshow.com/
Cars at Carlisle
http://www.carsatcarlisle.com/
Championship Auto Shows, Inc.
http://www.casionline.com/
Cruise News
http://www.cruisenight.net/
Cruisin' the Coast — on the Mississippi Gulf Coast
http://www.cruisinthecoast.com/
Goodguys Events
http://www.good-guys.com/
Grand National Roadster Show — in Pomona, CA
http://www.hotrodshows.com/
Heavy Rebel Weekender — in Winston Salem, NC
http://www.heavyrebel.net/
Hot August Nats — in Rome, KY
http://www.hotaugustnats.com/
Hot August Nights — in Reno, NV
http://www.hotaugustnights.net/
Hot Rod & Performance Trade Show — in Indianapolis, IN
http://www.hotrodshow.com/
Hot Rod and Rockabilly Rumble — in East Hartford, CT
http://www.theroadagents.com/
Hot Rod Jamboree — in Marysville, CA
http://www.hotrodjamboree.com/
Hot Rod Hoedown and Rock and Roll Rumble — in PA
http://www.hotrodhoedown.com/
Hotrod-A-Rama — in Tacoma, WA
http://www.hotrodarama.com/
The Hunnert Car Pileup — in Chicago
http://www.hunnertcarpileup.com/
ISCA — International Show Car Association
http://www.theisca.com/
Jalopy Showdown — in York Springs, PA
http://www.jalopyshowdown.com/
Kool April Nites
http://www.koolaprilnites.com/
L.A. Roadsters Fathers Day Roadster Show — in Pomona
http://www.laroadsters.com/
Land Speed Record Racing Schedule
http://www.roadsters.com/races/
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The Lonestar Round Up — in Austin, TX
http://www.lonestarroundup.com/
Long Beach Hi-Performance Swap Meet
http://www.toppingevents.com/
Michigan Car Show Events
http://www.cruisin-usa.com/
Midnight at the Oasis
http://www.caballeros.org/
National Street Rod Association Events
http://www.nsra-usa.com/annual.htm
Nostalgia Productions, Inc.
http://www.nostalgia-prod.com/
Road Kings Car Show — in Atlanta, GA
http://www.theroadkings.com/
San Francisco Rod and Custom Show
http://www.rpprodinc.com/
Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance
http://www.pebblebeachconcours.com/
Pomona Swap Meet — in Pomona, CA
http://www.pomonaswapmeet.com/
Portland Roadster Show — in Portland, OR
http://www.portlandroadstershow.com/
Portland Rod & Custom Show — in Portland, OR
http://www.hotrodshows.com/
Portland Swap Meet — in Portland, OR
http://www.geocities.com/portlandswapmeet/
Quartzsite Rock & Roll Classic Car Show — Quartzsite, AZ
http://www.quartzsitervshow.com/carshow.htm
Rat Fink Events
http://www.ratfink.org/events/
Rock n Rods — in Anaheim, CA
http://www.rocknrods.com/
Rocky Mountain Rod and Custom Car Show
http://www.greybeardpromotions.com/
Run to the Sun Car Show — in Lake Havasu City, AZ
http://www.relicsandrods.com/
Sacramento Autorama
http://www.hotrodshows.com/
Seattle Roadster Show
http://www.hotrodshows.com/
SoCal Car Culture — events listings and photo coverage
http://www.socalcarculture.com/
Syracuse Nationals
http://www.syracusenats.com/
Toyz for Totz Rod Run and Car Show
http://www.rememberwhencruise.com/
Twilight Cruise Night — at the NHRA Museum in Pomona
http://museum.nhra.com/
Viva Las Vegas — in Las Vegas
http://www.vivalasvegas.net/
Zephyr Hills Swap Meet
http://www.zephyrhillsauction.com/
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Online hot rod forums and message boards
Message boards can be a good place to share information, and make friends in the process. When you visit them,
bear in mind that hot rodders by nature have some strong opinions, and it wouldn't make sense to expect any group
of people with Type A personalities to always agree on everything.
Chevy Talk
This is the most popular online forum for exchanging information about
high-performance Chevy engines as well as just about everything related to all years
and models of Chevys. The site is large and very active.
http://www.chevytalk.org/
The HAMB — the Hokey Ass Message Board
The HAMB is by far the most active online meeting place for traditional hot rodders and custom car builders from
all over the world. Along with thousands of other hot rodders, I am on there occasionally, seeing what's new and
contributing what I can. Not all of the HAMB's content is G-rated, but Ryan Cochron's willingness to allow us
HAMBers to exercise our right to free speech helps make this the place to go. A lot of good people put a lot of
good energy into this place. If you haven't been there, there's a good chance you would be welcome if you joined
us in "spreading the gospel of traditional hot rods and kustoms to greasers worldwide."
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/
The Rodding Roundtable
RRT may not be as active or as lively as the HAMB, but it remains a popular, family-oriented and respected place
for hot rodders to exchange information. There are some good people involved with this site.
http://www.roddingroundtable.com/forums/index.php
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