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What is a 'hotrodder'?

30K views 138 replies 100 participants last post by  jmclefty 
#1 ·
If someone only loves hotrods are they a hotrodder? What about if they build one from scratch in their garage, making every makeable piece or adapting from other cars, are they a hotrodder? What about the guy who gives $150,000 to a builder to have one built for them, are they a hotrodder? Are there 'hot rod' snobs like the purists who would look down on you if you did not have a numbers matching 'whatever'? Should a car club member feel any more of a hotrodder if they bought their car in pieces from a mailorder catalog than the guy who buys a hotrod someone else has built? Maybe if you admit you did not build it everytime someone says 'nice car', would that make you redeem yourself in their eyes?
Just wondering.
 
#52 ·
Whats a HOT RODDER?

I agree every bodies RIGHT--its a state of MIND--any One desiring His Whells to be Personilized--Differant--w/Changes? of its Outer appearance--or Mechanicaly--to Improve its Preformance--all fall into the Category--I assuem? whats a HOT RODDER?--is as Indivigual as ALL our personallities are!--as WE Indivgually make our personal set of Wheels--Differant in some Respect to every One Elses!--as Fuel prices RISE & WE all Work to enjoy a Cruise--around the Block? or the Week End Trip?--just to Get Away from our every Day Problems?--in Our WHEELS!--what ever? they may Be?? the PRIDE of Owner ship is There!--No matter what? Your Driving!--I DONO? to ME its Cruising--just to get Away from the Every Day things WE all have to DO!--just the Jaunt to the local Coffee Shop & chatting w/ Freinds or attending a local Car Show-- its Getting Away from the Every DAY Normal Stuff! & even Then!--Your thinking of some thing that You have to Fix?--or that Modification You been Putting Off?--& NO Matter how You figure it? All Our WHEELS are an Important part of our LIVES!--as Were not Trapped Were FREE! just by the Turn of the KEY! ENJOY!--Ole JIM--
 
#54 ·
The answer is: Anyone who likes cars, likes to fiddle with them, likes to modify them, likes to buy and drive modified or muscle cars is a Hot Rodder. Anybody you are likely to see with their at a car venue, is a hotroder. There are no Hotrod purists. There are car restoration purists, but once a car is modified, it is not pure any longer.

There are million dollar hotrods because that is what their owner was willing to pay for them. It doesn't mean that it appeals to others. Snobs will always be snobs no matter what they are doing. If someone looks down their nose at a you at a show, they would have done it at the 7-11. There are people who think that their money or status in society makes them better than the rest of us. I feel sorry for them because the wall they have built between themselves and the Hot Rod characters that are around has caused them to miss the best part of Hot Rodding which is sharing space and ideas with people that you have something in common. Go to any drag strip and watch any guy give his last quart of oil to his toughest competitor so they can race. Or pull the iginition, or blower off his car and give it to him after he eliminited him just so he can make the next round.

I have been doing this for 45 years I continue to be amazed at the degree of help, friendship and money that perfect straingers are willing to give to fellow Hot Rodders. Sometimes the younger ones take a while to catch it, but it is really contegious and will change anyone after while.

Hotrodding is an attitude about and a love of cars. Anyone can be a Hotrodder if he/she wants.



BillyJoe said:
If someone only loves hotrods are they a hotrodder? What about if they build one from scratch in their garage, making every makeable piece or adapting from other cars, are they a hotrodder? What about the guy who gives $150,000 to a builder to have one built for them, are they a hotrodder? Are there 'hot rod' snobs like the purists who would look down on you if you did not have a numbers matching 'whatever'? Should a car club member feel any more of a hotrodder if they bought their car in pieces from a mailorder catalog than the guy who buys a hotrod someone else has built? Maybe if you admit you did not build it everytime someone says 'nice car', would that make you redeem yourself in their eyes?
Just wondering.
 
#55 ·
I guess I'm one of the "snobs". If I had the $150,000 to hire it done, I'd spend some of it on getting some old, interesting relic in the weeds and some of it on some more tools and see where things went from there. At least half of it would go toward some scholarship foundation somewhere.

If I love music and buy CDs, does that make me a musician?

Dragon J said:
In my opinion, a Hotrodder is one who enjoys to work on a modified car, be it to 'go fast'- 'look fast' or just plain handle better. A painter paints- a plumber plumbs, etc. If I collect paintings or hire a plumber it does not make me a painter or plumber. That's my take on it. You can enjoy a hobby and be a part of a community that discusses and informs, but until you actually perform part of the work yourself- it becomes hazy to me as to what you actually are considered. I think you can be welcome on a forum and ask questions to better your knowledge, but as you do the work and are able to help others accomplish their goals with the knowledge you can provide you become.... a HOTRODDER.... (IMHO only- by no means should this be taken as a definitive answer worthy of the Knowledge Base!!!)
That tells it, IMO. You either get your hands in it or you're a fan, not a hotrodder. Writing a check or waving a credit card just is not enough to cover the price of entry.

I've been a fan for years, postponing building my own hotrod for family and obligations. The number of people I've ever trusted to do any work on my vehicles wouldn't use up all the digits of one hand. Maintaining, repairing and modifying (minorly) the vehicles for immediate family and friends over the years does not make me a hotrodder.

I've rebuilt engines for myself and friends and the only one that was ruined was the first I ever tried, a 1200 cc VW Beetle engine I pulled with a screwdriver, vise grips and adjustable wrench (all the tools I owned then). Dropping a 1500cc Karman Ghia engine into that Beetle didn't make me a hotrodder. Buying a beater truck with a 350 already adapted to it didn't make me a hotrodder. Rebuilding it and modifying a few things to work with what I had didn't make me a hotrodder. Reading and dreaming didn't make me a hotrodder.

It's my turn now. I'm building my car (well, actually I'm still doing disassembly). When I can drive it on the highway, I will feel comfortable calling myself a hotrodder. Until then, I'm a long-time fan and a wannabe.
 
#56 ·
Naw, you ain't a snob. You got too much heart.

grouch said:
I guess I'm one of the "snobs". If I had the $150,000 to hire it done, I'd spend some of it on getting some old, interesting relic in the weeds and some of it on some more tools and see where things went from there. At least half of it would go toward some scholarship foundation somewhere.

If I love music and buy CDs, does that make me a musician?



That tells it, IMO. You either get your hands in it or you're a fan, not a hotrodder. Writing a check or waving a credit card just is not enough to cover the price of entry.

I've been a fan for years, postponing building my own hotrod for family and obligations. The number of people I've ever trusted to do any work on my vehicles wouldn't use up all the digits of one hand. Maintaining, repairing and modifying (minorly) the vehicles for immediate family and friends over the years does not make me a hotrodder.

I've rebuilt engines for myself and friends and the only one that was ruined was the first I ever tried, a 1200 cc VW Beetle engine I pulled with a screwdriver, vise grips and adjustable wrench (all the tools I owned then). Dropping a 1500cc Karman Ghia engine into that Beetle didn't make me a hotrodder. Buying a beater truck with a 350 already adapted to it didn't make me a hotrodder. Rebuilding it and modifying a few things to work with what I had didn't make me a hotrodder. Reading and dreaming didn't make me a hotrodder.

It's my turn now. I'm building my car (well, actually I'm still doing disassembly). When I can drive it on the highway, I will feel comfortable calling myself a hotrodder. Until then, I'm a long-time fan and a wannabe.
 
#58 ·
Sounds like she comes by it honestly! She is certainly on her way. The real test will be when she would rather work on her Hotrod that go to the dance with some pimple face jerk.


QUOTE=bigblock454camaro]Does this count? My baby girl (7) had to write a math question in class on Friday, no lie this is what she wrote. "There are 17 hotrods at the show, 4 left how many hotrods are at the show?" My wife had to call me at work to tell me I've warped her. Is she a hotrodder?[/QUOTE]
 
#61 ·
Man, I love the look of that Kurtis Roadster. If my memory serves me, when I was a kid reading everything I could find on cars, Roger Ward was driving Kurtis roadsters to Indy wins. Those cars and the Novis were the best looking cars at Indy. I guess we are about the same age and grew up on the same stuff.

OneMoreTime said:
Don't mess with vets that have "tools" :spank: That post is gone..

Sam
 
#62 ·
Choctaw Bob said:
Man, I love the look of that Kurtis Roadster. If my memory serves me, when I was a kid reading everything I could find on cars, Roger Ward was driving Kurtis roadsters to Indy wins. Those cars and the Novis were the best looking cars at Indy. I guess we are about the same age and grew up on the same stuff.
That is the "inspiration" for my project..and I want something just a bit "different" than a T-bucket..Your memory is right-on and you are one of the few that has picked up on that..

Sam
 
#63 ·
Choctaw Bob said:
Sounds like she comes by it honestly! She is certainly on her way. The real test will be when she would rather work on her Hotrod that go to the dance with some pimple face jerk.


QUOTE=bigblock454camaro]Does this count? My baby girl (7) had to write a math question in class on Friday, no lie this is what she wrote. "There are 17 hotrods at the show, 4 left how many hotrods are at the show?" My wife had to call me at work to tell me I've warped her. Is she a hotrodder?
[/QUOTE]


She is the only one to volunteer to help get the Camaro ready for Cruisin the Coast. I have two boys (11 16) and she's the one ready to go.:thumbup:
 
#64 ·
I really enjoy my T Bucket. My wife and I went cruising last night. I get lots of smiles and thumbs ups. Everywhere we stopped it rew a crowd. I would like to think it was my good looks but I know it was the T. I have had other Hotrods but I've never had one before that was so universally liked.

OneMoreTime said:
That is the "inspiration" for my project..and I want something just a bit "different" than a T-bucket..Your memory is right-on and you are one of the few that has picked up on that..

Sam
 
#65 ·
Choctaw Bob said:
I really enjoy my T Bucket. My wife and I went cruising last night. I get lots of smiles and thumbs ups. Everywhere we stopped it rew a crowd. I would like to think it was my good looks but I know it was the T. I have had other Hotrods but I've never had one before that was so universally liked.
Maybe it was niether the "T" or your looks, Maybe your wife drew the crowd, my wife used to tell me she was better looking then my rods were. LOL

gcrmcc
 
#66 ·
I'd like to think it was her, it is true for me. She is a bright spot in my life for sure. Practically speaking, she is nearly 60 like I am. I think we both are well past drawing crowds with our good looks. I'm sure it was the T

gcrmcc said:
Maybe it was niether the "T" or your looks, Maybe your wife drew the crowd, my wife used to tell me she was better looking then my rods were. LOL

gcrmcc
 
#68 ·
That Are you a hotrodder thingy

I logged on here to update my project journal and saw the discussion about what makes some a "Hotrodder". It's funny but it doesn't matter if it is cars, or motorcycles, or playing a musical instrument, or art even. All of which I have experience with. In art you can either be an "Illustrator" or an "Artist". Norman Rockwell dreamed of being categorized as an artist all of his life, but never lived down the title of illustrator. I know Harley guys that won't ride in the same group with sport bike riders, and vice versa. I know bikers that think that if you haven't ridden a couple of thousand miles in a day at least a couple of times in your biking career you aren't a "Biker". As far as I'm concerned it's all crap. Utter crap. What difference does it make if someone builds their own stuff or not? Or if they can pull out their tool bag and fix the damn thing on the side of the road rather then having someone else fix it? The only thing that really matters is how much enjoyment someone gets from participating in whatever it is they are doing. Sheese, have fun and let others have fun any way they like without someone snubbing their noses at them because it wasn't done in some way or other. Just my two cents worth.

EZ
 
#69 ·
hotrodders

It's a fine line, a very fine line. Got a buddy (retired) that is so broke, he has no car. He does have a dragster frame in his garage that he built himself. Looking for sponsors to help with the engine etc. Doesn't have a computer, but has all the tools for porting/polishing/welding/grinding/fabricating etc.
Can not carry on a conversation outside of cars/engines/bikes/racing etc.
But he doesn't own a hotrod.
Have another friend who is rich. He's having a 32 roadster built. Not laying a finger on it himself. Not a hotrodder? In high school his 28 ford ran without a radiator. Just wasn't room with that big caddy mill in there. He has designed that 32 down to the last muffler clamp. Running his business, and keeping up with his other hot rods (that he did build), just doesn't leave time for him to build it himself. Not a hotrodder?
Then there's the guy I ran into at a party. Wondered if I could help him put AC in his hotrod. He had been talking about his bright yellow coupe with the big engine etc, so I asked him what year it was. He didn't know. This clown paid $30K for it cause he loved hotrods. BS. He was just buying what was cool, so he could be cool.
It's in the soul. No more, no less. The mistake is judging by what they drive, who built it, etc. I figure, if they are on here asking questions, they are a hotrodder. If they can actually answer the questions, they're a superhero.
 
#70 · (Edited)
To me , a Hot-rodder is someone who modifies their things from stock , to what THEY want it to be. I do it with Guitars all the time , and my rides whenever I get a different one. Modified factory stuff is 'hotrodded' . The person(s) who did the modifications are the 'hotrodders' . I finish concrete for a living. I am a concrete finisher. If you pay me to put a driveway in for you , you are NOT a finisher.
Hot Rods are built , not bought.

All that said , I guess it is like any sport/hobby. Just because you can't swing a club doesn't mean you aren't a golfer. It just means you're a bad one.
Edit:
To clarify .... a hotrodder is someone who hot rods things. same as a cheater cheats or a buyer buys.
Checkbook Hotrodders are nothing more than car enthusiasts. No matter how much you love something , if you aren't the one rodding it out , you aren't a rodder. Car nut? sure. If you have a disability that prevents you from doing it , of course you can't build it , but can still know how.
As a man , there is no excuse for not knowing your vehicle. I had to nearly die laughing when my 21 year old nephew asked me how to change a starter. On a chevy! I made him do it himself , but guided him through it. He's better off than if I had done it for him. Now he knows how.
 
#71 ·
Lots of old guys from Texas.
In my book, anyone who loves cars and puts forth an effort to participate in the hobby is a hot rodder. I'm like ezinoregon in that we should always be inclusive. We will need everyone when the greenies try to legislate us out of existence.

oldguy829 said:
It's a fine line, a very fine line. Got a buddy (retired) that is so broke, he has no car. He does have a dragster frame in his garage that he built himself. Looking for sponsors to help with the engine etc. Doesn't have a computer, but has all the tools for porting/polishing/welding/grinding/fabricating etc.
Can not carry on a conversation outside of cars/engines/bikes/racing etc.
But he doesn't own a hotrod.
Have another friend who is rich. He's having a 32 roadster built. Not laying a finger on it himself. Not a hotrodder? In high school his 28 ford ran without a radiator. Just wasn't room with that big caddy mill in there. He has designed that 32 down to the last muffler clamp. Running his business, and keeping up with his other hot rods (that he did build), just doesn't leave time for him to build it himself. Not a hotrodder?
Then there's the guy I ran into at a party. Wondered if I could help him put AC in his hotrod. He had been talking about his bright yellow coupe with the big engine etc, so I asked him what year it was. He didn't know. This clown paid $30K for it cause he loved hotrods. BS. He was just buying what was cool, so he could be cool.
It's in the soul. No more, no less. The mistake is judging by what they drive, who built it, etc. I figure, if they are on here asking questions, they are a hotrodder. If they can actually answer the questions, they're a superhero.
 
#73 · (Edited)
I remember those old time back alley Hot Rodders hating cars like the GTO and SS 396.
As one guy put it "any sissy could get his mommy to buy him a fast car, before all the GTO crap, we use to build our own cars and we were all so happy going 100 mph up and down the blvd".

My dad hung out in California after WWII before coming home to Pittsburgh, they were hand filing there own camshafts back then!

I think a Hot Rodder is a person who is hands on with there car (GTO people included) and drive them.
I know every nut and bolt on my car. During the winter, I jack my car up and go over everything, sometimes in the evening I get on the creeper and just look at everything to get ideas on how to make it better.
During the spring - summer - fall I usually put 15,000 to 20,000 on my car.

Also, you can tell a Hot Rodder buy his hands.
 
#74 ·
What is a hotrodder?

This subject has been thrashed around since forever. I can remember hearing this very question when I was in high school, a very long time ago! Then it was about a kid with a '49 Ford shaved, dropped, loud pipes and a '54 Chebby grill bar. The kid with the channeled A coupe with a flat motor said the "49 wasn't a rod. I didn't know how to answer that question then, and I still don't.

Personally, I like seeing deep pockets buying a rod especially when it's one of mine!

Youngster
 
#75 ·
to me a hot rodder is anyone that enjoys cars that are special in some way. you can be rich or poor, mechanically inclined or not, really doesnt matter. i myself am a lifelong hot rod builder and driver. i build almost everything on my cars starting from when i was 10 years old putting a caddy v-8 in my dads retired metro milk truck. ive built shag vans, 9 second drag cars, 10 second street cars, v8 vegas and s-10's. too many muscle cars to count all the way to my present projects. an olds powered 37 packard, a 69 pontiac custom s drag car, 2 v-8 s-10's a 69 nova and a 10 second malibu wagon. so even though i'm a hands on kind of rodder, i do not look down upon checkbook rodders, or show car guys, or even the ricers today. theyre all hot rodders in some way, and they all help keep our hobby and our speed shops alive. pete.
 
#76 ·
ezinoregon said:
I logged on here to update my project journal and saw the discussion about what makes some a "Hotrodder". It's funny but it doesn't matter if it is cars, or motorcycles, or playing a musical instrument, or art even. All of which I have experience with. In art you can either be an "Illustrator" or an "Artist". Norman Rockwell dreamed of being categorized as an artist all of his life, but never lived down the title of illustrator. I know Harley guys that won't ride in the same group with sport bike riders, and vice versa. I know bikers that think that if you haven't ridden a couple of thousand miles in a day at least a couple of times in your biking career you aren't a "Biker". As far as I'm concerned it's all crap. Utter crap. What difference does it make if someone builds their own stuff or not? Or if they can pull out their tool bag and fix the damn thing on the side of the road rather then having someone else fix it? The only thing that really matters is how much enjoyment someone gets from participating in whatever it is they are doing. Sheese, have fun and let others have fun any way they like without someone snubbing their noses at them because it wasn't done in some way or other. Just my two cents worth.

EZ
This should be put on the inside front page of every rodding mag, posted in every garage and put on the home page of every auto web site. As far as I am concerned EZ is right on the money.

On the debate beween building and not building the car. There are few things that tick me off more than seeing some guy who changed a few things on his car standing there with unwashed hands knocking some old guy who pulls in to the show with a turn key car. I am sorry, not everyone has the time, skills, tools, health to build their car. That old guy may have been told he has a year to live and went out and bought a car he always wanted, who are we to say that he "doesn't belong". Hell, that guy may have built hot rods back when people REALLY built then instead of buying everything out of a catalog.

He may also have BUILT that "turn key" trailer queen, we don't even know the guy. I met a guy with a 56 Vette at a show I judged who you would have never bet he did anything on that car. If you saw him driving in, what wasn't bald was gray, about 55-60 years old. He looked like daddy warbucks in that Vette. It was one of the nicest restorations I have ever seen in my life and I fought and fought with the other judges to give him the top overall award. It was a stunningly detailed car, flawless as you can get in reality. He built it in his garage, out of a basket case, it was a piece of junk when he started. He had piles of photos, he did EVERYTHING on the car. If he were to take this car on a long trip to a show in another state he would likely trailer it. There would be some guy knocking him as he pulled it off the trialer saying something about trailer queen and he "had" it built.

How about my brother who builds from scratch everything he has ever owned. He has built from the ground up turning every single bolt, vintage Harleys, 57 T-Bird, 65 Buick Gran Sport Conv., 63 Riv, 22 Buick, 39 Ford Coupe, 31 Model A (chopped and channeled), 55 Ford F-100, 65 Mustange Fastback, and more, including an old fiberglass speed boat. And these are just his, he has done many more for customers. Yet I would honestly call him a "car builder" more than a "Hotrodder"! To him, building the car is the "journey". Owning it, driving it, is actually secondary. He is glowing, he is in a state of eurphoria when building a car! He is NOT in that same state while driving it. Don't get me wrong, he DRIVES them, most are daily drivers. But he drives them because...well...it's his daily driver, it is his transportation. He isn't thrilled to drive it as you would think, at least that is not in his demeaner. It is TOTALLY different when he is building them. So is he NOT a hotrodder?

How about my buddy (God rest his soul) Danny who couldn't turn a wrench, I am not kidding, I am not joking one single bit, I do not believe he even owned a wrench! He was totally and utterly talentless or scared to death or something about wrenching. He just didn't do it, PERIOD. But he loved cars and kept them spotlessly clean and well maintained. ALL his cars right down to his company truck were like NEW after many years of service. He bought his brothers finished Model A Coupe and drove and drove and drove it! He and his wife where the first ones to show up at any event and the last to leave. He LOVED driving that car, he was on top of the world driving that car. When we put it in a big indoor show he rubbed a rag over it here and there and that was about it. I spent hours upon hours, days upon days getting it ready and he would come by and talk to me and do a little here and there and that was it. He just wasn't a wrencher or anything like it. When he won the first prize he was ECSTATIC calling all his friends. But he looked the same way driving that car! NO ONE can tell me he wasn't a "hotrodder". Dan died of lung cancer at 37 years old.

Nope, being a "Hotrodder" is more in the heart than anything you can see.

Brian

Danny and, his wife and their Model A "Vintage Rose".

 
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