I guess I'm that "hot rod snob" mentioned earlier. Boyd wouldn't know a hot rod if it ran over him. Those aren't hot rods, street rods maybe but NOT hotrods. You may have a hot rod but if you didn't build it yourself you are not a hotrodder. If I had $150,000 to blow would I buy on of those hot rod wannabes. NO!! I could build The cars that I want and be proud of what I had done. And don't give me the crap that you don't know how to do anything. If I can learn to do it anybody can. If you want to own a hot rod, OK. buy one. If you want to be a hotrodder, take the time and learn.
Jack

Jack, your last line was right on.

I have always thought like others that it was more attitude than aptitude. I also associate hotrodder as someone more into the cars or trucks for the street, in stead of racing. Gearhead encompasses us all. Maybe we get into sub divisions after that. Drag racers, roundy round racers, purists, restorers, low riders are all sects of the Brotherhood of the Wheel.

I do have a hard time with mail order hotrodders. It isn't really jelousy, but more of a respect thing. I can twist myself up by asking if someone was wheel chair bound and couldn't really build one, but could buy one, is she or he a rodder?

Once again, it goes back to attitude. I built models as a kid. The Alakart, the Coffin, Gassers and the Untouchable series. I painted GT racing strips on my dad's wheelbarrow.

I think I am one.

When i was 13 years old. I was a chevy guy. Nothing else. Just chevies. Then my perspective started to change somewhat, i started to like Fords. Then i started to like the old Cuda...and Challengers. They were cool.

I've worked on a lot of different cars. From rusted out impala wagon with a souped up 350ci in it ( that was a fun car ) To show quality cars. I love em all. Now i consider myself a car guy. Not a chevy guy, not a ford guy, not a hotrodder. So when i work on a muscle car, i guess you can call me a muscle car guy? When i work on a rod, can i be called a hotrodder?

I like old engines, simple to work with. A pack of matches and you can set up the distributor points.....I also like technology...where you can actually recurve your fuel map with a computer.

So call me what you want, but i like to consider myself a hot rodder.

By the NHRA specs, i beleive a hot rod is a pre 50 car, or a 55,56 or 57 chevy.

Dont tell me a Roth creation isn't a hot rod? I guess, everyone in here has a different definition for a hot rodder...but it doesn't mean they are all bad ones.

Don't know if this relates, but anyway. I saw a 1970 odd escort the other day, you know the old RS2000 shape, it had had a major body modification and seeing as I had never seen it in town before I went to chat to the guy, he said it had a V8 in, I asked if it was a 302 and he said no, a 351, then he proudly opened the hood and showed me the engine, beautiful, fitted in like a glove, had a supercharger that must have cost a small fortune. I was duly impressed, he said it could get about 700hp, I was more impressed, until he added that that was what the guy he got it from had told him. When he started it up to go I heard the familiar uneven beat of an engine with a non std cam in, so I asked him what cam he had fitted, he gave me a blank look and said he would have to check what all was in the car, as he guessed that other people would also ask him those sort of questions. Interesting

Take a look in the mirror guys and gals. Thats why we are here, we want to drive Rods. The people are great and the experience of cruising and building is what I live for. Whether you built it from the ground up or modified yours for more power, does it really matter?? We gather here to bench race and exchange knowledge and BS and generally have fun in and automotive atmosphere. Help others when you can, don't BS about what you know because somebody WILL call you on it. Play nice together and Jon won't have to call you down for being a Troll. God I really Love this Hobby!




Todd




RAt Rods Rule!

Car enthusist- someone who enjoys cars. They may know very little about the inner workings of their car but they do love cars.

Gearhead- Someone that takes a car and bulids it themself however use more or less standard parts ex(dropping a 396 into a sbc Chevelle or mounting a disk brake kit on a drum car) The parts are already made to fit for the most part.

Hotrodder- Same as gearhead except willing to do custom work ex(drop a 454 in a 240Z) You have to make the parts fit and in a lot of case make the parts yourself.

I think a hotrodder is someone who loves cars and does the most that they are capable of.If you have your chassis built and your motor built and installed and paint done,but you install your own wiring and wheels say,you are a hotrodder.
If you farm the whole project right down to the first waxing to Boyd you are prolly not a hotrodder.If you farm it to Boyd then tell the cruise in guys you built it in your garage you are a POSER!!
My Volvo has allot of things done to it from the previous owner,as much as I'd like to polish my fingernails against my shirt and take the credit for some of the things done to the car,I don't because Id be a fake.I don't claim to have set the car up for a smallblock,but I did build and am installing the one thats on the garage floor now.I won't evan attempt(well maybe)to paint it but I'll give credit were its due.I don't claim to have made the interior parts but I did install them and cut the carpeting(and gotta make door panels...D@mn!!!)
I do as much as I can and the only given for farming out work is paint/body.I do all my own motor assembly,instalation and tuneing,tranny gear instalation and most other small crap.I think I'm a hotrodder.But I hand out the work that I am incapable of doning correctly,like paint and body,I'd be a moron if I didn't(hey I have pics).

Try this for an explanation, If you see an old car or truck that's modified and the trunk or bed has tools and/or spare parts in it you've probably found a hotrodder, if the truck or bed has wax, lawn chairs and a duster in it you've found a streetrodder. I believe a hotrodder will buy or build something to enjoy and the streetrodder will buy or build something to impress others.

Hotrodder seems to be a relative term. Everybody who loves cars wants to own a 'hotrod', but the fact that time, money, etc. doesn't allow everyone to doesn't mean they aren't 'hotrodders'.

If you don't own a hotrod, but you have put two-stages of nitrous on your lawnmower you are a certified hotrodder!

my all time favorite is the 66 chevelle and many other mucle cars and trucks! but if i were rich and i bought 1 of these cars already to ride i would probaly just beat the **** out of it. only because i would had the money to buy it done!! but im far from being rich ,so if i could honestly build this car of my dreams,a rain drop would never hit it, the tires would never see a bumpy road,and i would let no 1 touch it ever. i just think if u could do it yourself, theres just more appreciation. plus working on these pain in the ***** is fun!!!!!!!!

Being a hotrodder implies to me that you get most of your pleasure from dreaming up modifications to your car, figuring out how to do them, then doing them. Sometimes you buy parts, sometimes you fab parts, sometimes you have someone make you a part, and sometimes you spend a few hours in the wrecking yard scrounging up something you can modify. But you're always the person figuring out how to solve the problems and what to do next. You're not a restorer because you're building a better machine than the factory did and you're not a shade-tree mechanic because you're going beyond mere keep-it-running repairs.

Someone who loves the look and style of a rod and has the bucks to buy a pro job is still part of the hobby, but I don't think he would be properly termed a hotrodder. A hotrod enthusiast, perhaps, or a rod cruiser. If he knows even an iota about mechanics, you might call him a gearhead. But that's not to look down on those folks; if they didn't pay the Trepaniers and other talented and imaginative builders, a lot of spectacular cars (from which we might get some of our own ideas) would probably go unbuilt.

It's a big hobby; there's room for a lot of different ways to enjoy it. But I think to take the title of hotrodder, you have to be deeply involved in dreaming up and building your own ride.

Great discussion.

LarryJ

How do you tell the difference between a hotrodder and a doctor in the bathroom?




The hotrodder is the one that washes his hands BEFORE he takes a leak...




It's all about attitude.

To me a hotrodder is anyone who takes a ride and out of passion makes it something they can call their own. Weather that's having someone else put on different wheels or, a guy that decides to rebuild or restore their ride. Either way if you've lost sleep thinking at night how to change, make faster, make prettier, handle better, look tougher, or just make something that "runs" with their two hands..then your a hotrodder. If you've had multiple girls break up with you because you love your car more than them, your a hot rodder.

Its a passion of man and machine coming together. I think some of us we're just built with it in our genes.

Hotrodder, were dumb people with dirty fingernails, were always late because it will only take a few more minutes to finish ( Its never finished). We spend more money on parts an tie up Thousands of hours on something and sale it for a loss and trick ourselves into thinking we made a profit, We judge every damn thing with an engine to were it rates to our liking( including lawn mowers), Regardless of how big of a tird it is we can fix it rather than admit it was a tird to start with, When our friends say, man how'ed you do that, you reply it was simple you could do it ( yea rite). When our women chew our ***** we look to our hotrods for comfort. I guess its a disease, but hell I wouldn't have it any other way.......................

A person who buy a pro built rod, at least put his money into a car and into our hobby.

Where I live we have an increasing number of "hotrodders" who rather puts their money into hotrod lifestyle magazines, t-shirts, tattoos or retro clothes, just to get the right "gearhead look". Often their hobby is to collect old magazines, die cast cars or similar.

And of course those persons Always knows what's hot right now! They are the first ones to point out my wrong rims (not American Racing), wrong front suspension (IFS, not Pete & Jakes old FASHION something), wrong rear suspension (Jaguar, not Halibrand quick change), wrong engine (Chevy SB, not Ford Flat Head) etc etc.

Who the **** are they to speak? They can not even put on a welding mask as their STUPID hair style will be destroyed!