Thread: Do you know the differance between a Hot Rod and a Street Rod?

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So would the truck that we are building be a hotrod or a streetrod? It is a 51' Ford F1 with a 429, I "think" it has just over 400hp at the shaft. (I think we need to beef it up, a lot, but not my money or truck) leaf springs in back, but has disc brakes in front, is getting power brakes, power steering and probably aircon (Fresno in the summer you know). I always call it a hotrod, am I right?

Red

I go with hotrods being lightened and as many body parts off as possible. A street rod being in full factory form but modernized .

Thanks everyone for the replies. Again, thanks to this forum, you can lay it out there and get some really honest and great feedback.
Ken

Those that are afraid to/hate to go fast drive street rods. Those who want to change the rotation of the world tend to like hot rods. I'd agree with others that street rods have mannors where hot rods can be rather impolite

i learned the meaning yesterday. the local cruiser club here had a small show and they are a club consisting of very drivable cars not much in the way of speed. i went anyway with my hot rod,(the only one) and people spent more time looking at my car and asking questions about it then anybody elses, except the judges that were club members, they walked past my car and did not even look at it. trophy time came around and out of 50 cars with 25 trophys, i did not even place, there was a 60 something falcon that had duct tape for bondo, really a whole roll. the car puked a gallon of antifreeze when he pulled it in, it was worth a hundred bucks tops, he got a trophy. i was not mad but i sure thought youve got to be kidding, duct tape man got one before me. i am sure being a club member had its perks there. it was a good time anyway i met a lot of nice people! so now i think a street rod is practical in driving standards and a hot rod is a radical design built with speed in mind.

I don't mind being thought of as "the obnoxious, rude bastard in that red car" because once I shut it off and you really get to know me, I'm just like any other "Street Rodder"
Ken

Originally Posted by mooneye777

i learned the meaning yesterday. the local cruiser club here had a small show and they are a club consisting of very drivable cars not much in the way of speed. i went anyway with my hot rod,(the only one) and people spent more time looking at my car and asking questions about it then anybody elses, except the judges that were club members, they walked past my car and did not even look at it. trophy time came around and out of 50 cars with 25 trophys, i did not even place, there was a 60 something falcon that had duct tape for bondo, really a whole roll. the car puked a gallon of antifreeze when he pulled it in, it was worth a hundred bucks tops, he got a trophy. i was not mad but i sure thought youve got to be kidding, duct tape man got one before me. i am sure being a club member had its perks there. it was a good time anyway i met a lot of nice people! so now i think a street rod is practical in driving standards and a hot rod is a radical design built with speed in mind.

Well, I guess if I had been to a similar show and didn't get a trophy I would go home knowing that I won!!!!

I don't understand the discontent and BS concerning billet/non-billet stuff on the outside of the engine. If you like it, you like it. If you don't, you don't. I certainly don't see why it should be the defining difference. IMO a Hot Rod is for go, a Street Rod is for show. However, about 15 years ago I built a '34 Ford coupe that won 2 Best of Show awards at ISCA shows in the winter, then in April it made it's first pass at Thunder Valley Dragways, Marion SD and layed down a 9.90 with a 3 @144mph for it's best pass of the day. If you want, you can have lots of bling and lots of zing all in the same package!!!! Generally, I hate rules, classifications, catagories, and stereotyping. I build my cars my way and could really give a hoot less what anyone calls it or calls me. What I call it is MINE!!!!!! Sometimes it's driven to a destination and sometimes it rides in the trailer. Seems whichever mode I choose, when I get there I wish I would have used the other!!!! The way I see it, people who use trailers use them because they have them, and people who don't use trailers tend to be an "I drove mine" snob because they don't have a trailer!!!! None of this makes any sense, nor is it intended too. All this catagory and classification stuff IMO is a bunch of BS instigated by people who are really bored and love to argue just for the sake of arguing. It just doesn't matter at all to the genuine hot rodders who are involved because they love cars, and never have and never will consider anything for a hobby other then Hot Rodding!!!!

I like to think of my 48 DeSoto as a HotRod, cause that's the original term I grew up with in the 50's and 60's. I think HotRods are driven and not into trophys, and StreetRod is another name for 'Trailer Queen' in seek of show trophys.

For those who remember back in the days of HotRods, they were NEVER trailered. Never, NEVER.

Jack

Once somebody jams a label on it, I lose interest in them.
Why is it that every forum has a thread about labels...
Just build it well, drive the snot out of it, and enjoy it.
This is a hobby for enthusiasts, not whiners.
Let's hit the road and have some fun...
Jeff

A street rod is what I walk past to go look at a hot rod. Oh, and the only billet parts used on a hot rod will be in the engine, not on it. Minimal bling and traditional all the way. Built with skill, ingenuity and lots of blood, sweat and tears, not with a big check book. My 450 HP daily driver '95 Corvette is hot-rodded but it's not a hot rod. It is a fun, fast, comfortable cruiser and part-time racer. My '30 A will be a hot rod all the way. Fenders? I gave them away as soon as I bought the car....
One hot-rodder's (not intended to be humble) opinion.

Define me........define me...........................have I said that before?

since going thu my first vehicle inspection in b.c. back in 2002,i remember the hoops i had to jump thru! no peep mirrors, keep the fenders! which was
more of a regional thing. side reflectors etc etc

creature comforts you say?, after 4 years driving the 29'er in some pretty nasty weather,yeh i put a heater in it., (was already mandated to have some
form of windshield defroster!)

i consider my machine a hot rod even though whats in a name?
i drive the wheels off of it,i don't trailer it, i even pack tools on the back seat,
mainly cause i got no trunk what a blast,what a rush,
damn are we ever in the (collective) right hobby

About 80,000 dollars