Is a HOTROD pre 1948?

A lot of talk about "bracketing" of vehicles has got me to thinking as to what year defines a Hot Rod? A few clubs I have been in have limited member cars to pre48. This in my opinion works quite well. Sort of cuts it between fendered and slab sides. Another problem some of the "early" clubs encountered was if they had an open ended year (car year) for membership, they would get an influx of late model vehicles and car shows would look like the local shopping centre car park. Some may say that limiting to pre 48 is suicidal to the HOTROD fraternity, what do you guys think?

Webby.

A "Hot Rod" is what ya build to go fast and go cruizin in. Why does the year matter?? John Force calls his funny car a Hot Rod, Mike Waltrip calls his chebbie a hot rod, if the term fits what these guys drive then it should apply to most everything American built that has 4 wheels and is redesigned by the owner. Just my opinion, people or clubs limiting "Hot Rods" to pre-whatever year is just another form of snobbery. The world of Hot Rodding should be open to all years, and welcome anybody new with open arms.

I'm with ya, Dave!! The snobbery issue is valid, and, I believe destructive. I finally got used to not being able to call anything built after '48 a "street rod", and now that bunch thinks they have sole right to use the term "hot rod", as well. I don't buy it. A "hot rod" is a car (or whatever) modified to make it run faster, period. I refuse to pigeon-hole people & their cars. My '56 Plymouth isn't going to be a "street machine" to me. It'll be my car, and if I feel like it, I might even call it a hot rod. If the posers and snobs don't like it, they can walk away.:LOL:

It just depends on the people, When I first met my wife her "hot rod" was a bone stock 3 cylender Metro:LOL: I'm not kiddin she raced a jag in it once. In my mind a hot rod is what ever the person wants it to be AS LONG AS IT'S AMERICAN. Others feel imports can be hot rod's it just depneds, if yer tryin to get in a club and they wont let you in cause yer car doesnt meet there Ideals of a hot rod you dont want to be part of that group. Thats my 2 cents

Otto

This discussion will go on "forever". It comes down to each person's frame of reference. While I agree mostly with Dave's comment, I'm not sure it's entirely snobbery (Lord knows I've railed against that enough around here)..................I would see that more as attitude rather than classifying. For some groups it's a matter of controling the size of the group/event, for others its being provincial and only wanting to be around what they like.

A lot of it has to do with when you grew up. I have to admit that sometimes my brain does a double blip when someone new comes on here and waxes poetic about his "old" hot rod.................a 1983 Chev PU, or even a '71 Lincoln. Not that these can't be a hot rod, it's just that it's hard to think of a car that I could have bought new, that I looked at on show room floors, as "old", a term which often goes with the concept of "hot rod". But then, I rattle myself and put it in perspective. To a guy in his mid 20's today, a car built ten years before he was born IS old! For the same reason I'm comfy with mid '30's stuff, his equivalent is '70's stuff. Of course, that didn't keep me from doing my slammed and semi-smoothed '72 Chev pickemup a few years back, and I DID buy one of those new.

The first time I heard Force call his car a hot rod I thought "Yeah, just as much a hot rod as it is a "Mustang"!!". But then, he does race under the banner of the National HOT ROD Association. So......

Now, for some of you folks reading this who still look like you need an ID to buy milk, project yourself 30 years into the future. You'll be boppin' on the internet, or maybe the berfelgen or whatever it is that'll have replaced the internet by then, and some youngin' will post a thread on his "old" pride and joy "hot rod"...................a 2005 Accord!! Bet for a moment your mind will scream, "THAT'S NOT RIGHT!!!!" hehehehe

Now, is this a hot rod??

That pretty well sums it all up, Bob. You just say it so much better than I do.!!!!!

Rumor at the NSRA NATS .. looks like NSRA is going to 1949 !

:cool: I agree with Dave. A HOT ROD is what YOU BUILD to go fast and be cool. It doesn't matter what year as long as it is safe and reflects what you want it to be.

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Originally posted by Bob Parmenter


Now, is this a hot rod??

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Maybe in a "MINUTE" ......... after they "IRON" out a few things.:LOL: :LOL: :LOL:
Sorry Bob I couldn't help it. :LOL: :LOL: :LOL:

Uncle BBob, shame on you, you stole my picture, I always post that retarded thing:LOL:
No back to is this a hot rod, Hell NO.
And I'm sorry if I've shocked you by callin my 68 Galaxie a hot rod, I started thinking about what you said, about guy bein in there mid 20's buyin cars ten tears older than them, wow I fall dead center on that one, sorry, I'm gonna tuck my tail between my legs and quietly sneek away never to be heard from again:CRY:
But my galaxie is 11 years older than me, does that save some face??

Otto
And I thought I was loved:CRY:

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Originally posted by ljotto1

And I thought I was loved:CRY:

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Oh...........poor baby!!:p Is it time for a group hug again??:3dSMILE:

You may fit part of the description, but I've seen your picture. You DON"T need an ID to buy milk!!:p :LOL: But then.............you are from St. Johns.:LOL:

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Originally posted by Bob Parmenter
But then.............you are from St. Johns.:LOL:

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what's that possed to mean?? Have you heard of my family?

When I went to register for my freshman year in high school, I walked into "Rough riders terriory" The prencible loked at me and said yer an Otto, whitch one is your father I told him and he said get outta my school and dont come back here again, as I was leaveing I had a guy walk up to me and say yer an otto, I'm a terro, we have to fight...

Otto

Quote:

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Originally posted by ljotto1
Uncle BBob, shame on you, you stole my picture, I always post that retarded thing:LOL:
No back to is this a hot rod, Hell NO.
And I'm sorry if I've shocked you by callin my 68 Galaxie a hot rod, I started thinking about what you said, about guy bein in there mid 20's buyin cars ten tears older than them, wow I fall dead center on that one, sorry, I'm gonna tuck my tail between my legs and quietly sneek away never to be heard from again:CRY:
But my galaxie is 11 years older than me, does that save some face??

Otto
And I thought I was loved:CRY:

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My Chevy is 37 years older than I, does that make any diffrence?:LOL:

Nope Matt, yer just a pup anyhow!!!!! Tee Hee Hee

Hey Otto, start wagging yer tail, it's a Ford, Hot Rod by birth!!!!!

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Originally posted by Dave Severson
Nope Matt, yer just a pup anyhow!!!!! Tee Hee Hee

Hey Otto, start wagging yer tail, it's a Ford, Hot Rod by birth!!!!!

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YESSSS, wait, does that mean a Focus is a hot rod??:CRY:

Otto

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Originally posted by Dave Severson
Nope Matt, yer just a pup anyhow!!!!! Tee Hee Hee

Hey Otto, start wagging yer tail, it's a Ford, Hot Rod by birth!!!!!

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YESSSS, wait, does that mean a Focus is a hot rod??:CRY:

Otto

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Originally posted by ljotto1
YESSSS, wait, does that mean a Focus is a hot rod??:CRY:

Otto

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MMMMMMMAybe.

Can you say .. 7.07 @ 195 m.p.h. ?????????

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Originally posted by pro70z28
MMMMMMMAybe.

Can you say .. 7.07 @ 195 m.p.h. ?????????

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Nope that Focus dont count:LOL: thats a SLOOOWWWW car:LOL: Pro, you should be ashamed to bring that up here:LOL:

Otto

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Originally posted by ljotto1
Nope that Focus dont count:LOL: thats a SLOOOWWWW car:LOL: Pro, you should be ashamed to bring that up here:LOL:

Otto

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I just had a weak moment cuz' it's got an Art Morrison Chassis. :( :( :whacked:

Had a 100 M.P.H. tailwind that day, did I mention that too. HE He HE

Pro, that's such a wienie focus!!! Stand behind this one when he does his launch..............................then tell us it ain't HOT !!!

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Originally posted by Bob Parmenter
Pro, that's such a wienie focus!!! Stand behind this one when he does his launch..............................then tell us it ain't HOT !!!

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We could roast sum' marshmallows on that babieee!!! :whacked:

Well just for the sake of chitchat I offer a few observations. Dave S. may have a point in that old Henry Ford certainly was a rodder with that old 999 4 cyl monster racer. There are even old rumors that the idea for the '32 V8 originated in someones homemade engine made from two model-T blocks milled at 45 degrees sharing the same crank, that would have been about 360 cu. in., but since the rods had to be half thickness to fit on the crank journals the babbit bearings didn't last long, so the hot rod syndrome certainly was supported by early Fords, but there were speed records by Stanley Steamers and Chevrolet had the OHV design years before Ford. A second observation is that while I was waiting (for a long time) to own a Model-A roadster I noticed that for about 30 years the price kept going up and the restorations got better and then suddenly after about 40 years many of the old timers who restored A roadsters were just "gone"! Fortunately fiberglass replicas came along. Therefore the pre-48 rule will have to be relaxed unless enough young rodders continue to build replicas. In the meantime a third observation applies in that the 10-11 year old convertibles bottom out in price at a time when parts are still available, AND THEN they go up in value again! So the young guy with the 10 year old car is maybe the pattern that will propagate the hobby after all the '48s are gone and some of us are too!

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

Well I think like Bob said, it is all a matter of perspective.

As such, I personally really only consider cars made in 1973 or earlier that have since been modified for even more power as "Hot Rods". Furthermore, I feel they only "qualify" (for lack of a better term) if they had power from the factory with performance in mind rather than fuel efficiency.

I feel that OPEC changed things around quite a bit and with the ensuing gas crunch, the culture of the American car changed. It changed from a focus on power to essentially a lower quality economy car. I say lower quality because by that time the Japanese and Germans had the economy car figured out (at least more so than the U.S. auto-makers) and the big three had a lot catching up to do with regards to that.

So in my opinion, for the next 20 years, the focus was not on power so much; but, on fuel efficiency. Again another matter of personal preference here; but, I wouldn't consider an economy car as a "Hot Rod". I've said before that I believe that those that are modifying those cars today, are doing it much for the same reasons as it was done before. I don't have a problem with them doing it because at least they're getting involved with them. But, I guess the big difference for me is what the intention of the car was in it's original design as to whether I consider it a "Hot Rod" or not.....silly way to define it I guess; but, what the hell, I guess it's no more off the mark than anybody else's definition.

Do I have a problem with somebody calling a '79 Grand Prix (I'm really trying not to pick on anyone here :LOL: ) a hot rod? Absolutely not, but I wouldn't call it that....but what the hell do I know?

So I guess to give an opinion on Pre-48 being "Hot Rods"....sure most of them are; but, I don't think that necessarily should qualify it more than anything else. I wouldn't consider a WWII Jeep a Hot Rod either...even though it is pre '48.

Also, are we sure that we aren't confusing the terms "Hot Rod" and "Street Rod" here?......well I guess that's a discussion for a different time.

Cheers,
Firechicken

I love cars from the 1930 and 1940s but myself i cant hardly ever tell any of them apart i usually can know the year but not the make and model they all look the same to me
50s model you can tell them apart right away
i am partial to 50s model fords especially wagons
once i seen the orange crisp 1955 ford 2 dr wagon
i wanted i am a huge fan of any 50s model wagons
we all have the love and passion of old cars no matter
if its 1930s 40sn or 50s
i like being different and standing out thats why i have a 1955 ford ranchwagon i know there is still plenty of old ford wagons out there but in oklahoma city ok there isnt much old ford wagons
i know of another 2 dr and a 56 4 dr wagon thats it
i am starting on my wagon in october i will update everyone on the progress