Thread: Is a HOTROD pre 1948?

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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!!!!!

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

Otto

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

Otto

MMMMMMMAybe.

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

Originally posted by pro70z28
MMMMMMMAybe.

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

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

Otto

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

Otto

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

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 !!!

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 !!!

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

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 ) 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