Hot Rodding

For the majority of enthusiasts, the definition of a Hotrod means strictly a vehicle that was manufactured prior to the 1950s, 1949 model styles being the cut-off date for the body styling for a “genuine” hotrod, although some enthusiast and organisations stretch this date to suit their tastes and requirements.

Many vehicles are considered suitable for reworking in terms of body styling and mechanical changes, to turn a regular old family or utility vehicle into an eye catching exotic piece of mechanical perfection.

The weapon of choice for the power-plant is generally a big American V8 retro engine from one of the classic US manufacturers such as Buick or Chrysler, as well as several other well respected old style American units.

Hotrod enthusiasts tend to be very dedicated to their hobby, which is not surprising when you consider the amount of sheer effort, time, skill, and lots of cash involved in taking a 60 or 70 year old vehicle, which has perhaps not turned a wheel in a generation, and turning it into a piece of moving, mechanical art.

Mechanical skills also play a large part in the creation and maintenance of the vehicles, as many of the engines may date back to before the Second World War. Such as one of the enthusiast’s favourites, the 1930’s Ford Flathead, the first (mass production) V8 available for a road car. This model was very popular as was the king of the big engines until the mid 50’s when Ford brought out its Y block engine.

Other popular engines include the Chrysler Hemi, which made use of a hemispherical combustion chamber, which also made use of a two valve-per-cylinder set-up. This made the Hemi extremely efficient in terms of power output; quite simply it was big, powerful, and made the car go very fast.

Hot rod aficionados seek to reproduce the look and power of the majestic old vehicles, but with enhancements such as modifications to the engines, suspensions and other mechanical parts, to make the machines not only much faster, but also more appealing to the eye.

Everything must be perfect; the engine may be enhanced with all kinds of attributes such as highly polished metal parts and an extreme overall appearance. The interior and exterior of the vehicle has to be immaculate down to the smallest detail.

Outlandish body re-workings, paint-jobs and design alterations, make many of them highly individual and unique in appearance, aimed at standing out from the procession of Japanese ‘boxes’ that ply modern roads.