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hot rod]] Hot rods are modified older — even historical — cars. Originally the term was used to the practice of taking an old, cheap car, removing weight (usually by removing Roof , Hood , Bumper s, Windscreen and Fender s), lower it, change or Tune the Engine to give more power, add fat Wheel s for traction and paint it to make it stand out. The term may have originated from "hot Roadster " and the term was used in the 1950s and 1960s as a derogatory term for any car that did not fit into the Mainstream . Other sources indicate that the term was derived from replacement of Connecting Rod s in engines to allow higher RPMs to be reached without parts failure. In the 1970s hot rodders tried to clean up their reputation and thus they started to use the term "street rod" instead. Hot Rodders, including Wally Parks created the National Hot Rod Association NHRA to bring racing off the streets and onto the tracks. The annual California Hot Rod Reunion and National Hot Rod Reunion are held to honor pioneers in the sport. The Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum houses the very roots of hot rodding. Nowadays people who own hot rods keep them clean and try to make them noticeable. Those who work according to the original idea of cheap, fast and no frills are often called Rat Rod s. There are many magazines that you can look at to see hot rods like Hot Rod Magazine , Street Rodder , and Popular Hot Rodding . There are also television shows like My Classic Car , and Horse Power TV . Hot rods are an important and iconic part of American culture. Author Tom Wolfe was one of the first to recognise the importance of hot rodding in Popular Culture , and bring it to mainstream attention, as described in his book '' The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine Flake Streamline Baby ''. HOT ROD ERA The Hot Rod era extended from 1945 to the beginning of the Muscle Car era (about 1965), reaching its height in about 1955. During this time, there was an adequate supply of what hot rodders called "vintage tin" -- junk cars manufactured prior to 1942 that could be had cheaply. Many of these had sound bodies and frames and had been junked for mechanical reasons, since the Running Gear of early cars was not durable. The typical hot rod was heavily modified, particularly through replacement of the engine and transmission, and possibly other components including brakes and steering. Certain engines, such as the Flathead Ford V8, and the small block Chevrolet V8 were particularly sought after as replacements, because of their compact size, ready availability, and power. The early Hemi was popular in applications that required more power, such as Drag Racing . Construction of a hot rod required skill with mechanical work, welding, and automotive paint and body work. The "classic era" of hot rod construction ended around 1965, in part because the supply of vintage tin had dwindled, but mostly because new cars were equipped for greater speed and power directly from the factory with little or no modification required. TODAY There is still a vibrant Hot Rod culture in North America, especially on the West coast. Hot rod builders such as Jesse James , who is also famous for his motorcycle modifications ( Choppers ), have swept through popular culture like wildfire. The Discovery Channel airs several shows dealing with modern interpretations of Kustom Kulture such as '' Monster Garage '', '' American Hot Rod '', and '' Overhaulin' ''. Juxtapoz Magazine , founded by the artist Robert Williams , has thrived as a recent extrapolation of kustom kulture art. It has also begun to garner respect as an exhibitor of contemporary artistic talent that transcends kustom kulture's bounds. The culture is still going strong in Sweden where there are a lot of automobile enthusiasts, also known as Raggare . Clubs such as Wheels And Wings in Varberg , Sweden have established themselves in Swedish Hot Rod culture. Since there is very little "vintage tin" the hot rods in Sweden are generally made with a home made chassis (usually a Ford model T or A replica), with a Jaguar rear axle, a small block V8 and fibreglass tub, but some have been built using for instance a Volvo Duett chassis. Because the Swedish regulations required a crash test even for custom-built passenger cars between 1969 and 1982 the Duett option was often used since it was considered a rebodied Duett rather than a new vehicle. On April 7 , 2005 , Boyd Coddington , famed hot rod designer and star of '' American Hot Rod '', pleaded guilty of perpetrating a " Ship Of Theseus " fraud. Coddington's hot rods had been registered as antique automobiles in order to avoid emissions and tax liabilities. However, many of the vehicles no longer contained any parts from the original cars, and some were entirely unrelated to their supposed donor vehicles. Interestingly, most of his cars were hand built one offs, complete with hand fabricated Aluminium bodies. Technically, they were often late model cars with copies of 1930's-60's bodies on them. Most of the metal was likely never used on a 1932 Ford. New "Retro Inspired" steel bodies As the supply of "real steel" antique bodies dwindles to nothing, those who reject fiberglasses as a "bogus aproach", can buy new "retro inspired bodies". They are NOT actual antique, but in some respects better than any previous source of hot rod bodies, even including 1932 vintage Fords. The down side is that $100,000 price that the best bodies command. SEE ALSO
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