Hot Rods

Alan Mayes

• Publisher: Motorbooks
• Year: 2010
• Print ISBN: 9780760338612
• eBook ISBN: 9781610601092
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Automotive Transportation & Engineering
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Chopped or channeled, candy metalflaked or rusted-out, hot rods are institutions of American motoring. This collection of more than three dozen roadsters, coupes, rat rods, and show cars provides a nicely priced, all-color survey of this enduring hobby. Each hot rod is featured in full-vehicle and detail shots of the car, a brief history of the car and the build, and more.

CHAPTER 1
TRADITIONAL HOT RODS

The name “traditional hot rod” has been bandied about quite a bit lately, and not necessarily with a lot of clarity. It’s used to describe everything from old survivor hot rods from the early days to fiberglass street rods to rat rods to ’57 Chevys. Obviously, unless “traditional hot rod” is a vague term with all the meaning of “car,” those are not all traditional hot rods. Also obvious is that there is no “official” meaning of the term, but rather a generally accepted understanding shared by a majority of hot rodders.

Plainly put, a traditional hot rod transcends time frames. Even looking at its details closely, it will be difficult or impossible to discern exactly when it was built. That’s because it will have a timeless design and execution that ignores all fads and short-lived trends.

The hot rods in this first chapter fit into that definition. Were they built in 1947, 1967, or 1987, or were they finished last month? Their appearance gives no clue. A Model A roadster with a 1938 Ford flathead looks the same no matter when it was built. The transmission is hidden under the floor, so is it a 1939 Ford box with Zephyr gears or is it an S-10 five-speed overdrive? A 1956 Chevy small-block engine block looks the same as a new small-block crate engine. Put an Edelbrock three-deuce manifold and three Stromberg carbs on it and try to put a date on it. If it was done right, the dating is difficult and often impossible.

Traditional hot rods, as a matter of definition, follow tradition—specifically the traditions set forth by early hot rodders. Those were pretty simple. Basically, they took an early car, usually a roadster or coupe, and stripped it of every unnecessary part that didn’t make it go, stop, or steer. Then they did everything in their power (and budget) to make the car go as fast as it would go in a straight line or on a curvy road.

“Period correct” is another term that’s been overused lately, as though the use of that term justifies a car that is ugly or faddish. Not all popular styles from over the decades deserve to be preserved or even remembered, other than as a lesson never to be repeated. There are reasons that some of those styles fell out of favor, and not a minute too soon, either. They were hideous!

Classic good looks and taste are timeless, though. That’s why these hot rods have no wooden running boards, shag carpets, pink velour interiors, 24-inch “donk” wheels, or any of that sort of tasteless kitsch. Every car in this chapter is period correct except for some added features as nods to safety or drivability, yet most give little hint of their construction dates. That’s because a traditional hot rod will always be in style, and the style doesn’t change much. Timeless and classy. Each of these is period correct because it’s correct, period.

Look at the cars in this chapter to see a good cross-section of what a traditional hot rod should look like. One has been a hot rod since 1936, and a couple were finished in 2008. The rest fit somewhere in between. Some people (who don’t know much about hot rods) would call a few of these cars rat rods because they have faded paint or are in primer. None of these is a rat rod, though. Traditional hot rods aren’t likely to look pristine for the simple fact that the owner drives them. That doesn’t make them rat rods. Rat rods are a whole different animal. No pun intended. You want rat rods? See Chapter 3.

With one or two exceptions, most of these cars seldom, if ever, see a trailer, and they are driven quite a bit because their owners built them for that purpose. They rightly assume that it is pointless to build a hot rod that is not going to be driven. Where’s the fun in that?

1929 FORD COUPE

1929 FORD COUPE

Owner: Alan Mayes

Builder: Dave Kinnaman

Engine: 1950 Mercury flathead

Photographer: Alan Mayes

Dave Kinnaman of Alexandria, Indiana, built this 1929 Model A coupe twice. He built it as a street rod in the early 1990s, and then when the owner of the car died, it sat in Dave’s barn for about 15 years. He decided to rebuild it as a traditional 1950s-style hot rod, and that’s when the author stumbled upon it. He and Kinnaman struck a deal, and the car was finished.

Kinnaman certainly knows how to build cars the right way—traditional, safe, road-worthy, and in good taste. Chopped 3 inches and channeled 4 inches, and with a 1950 Merc flattie and a ’40 Ford drivetrain otherwise (from a running ’40 chassis), the car is extremely traditional in appearance. It even runs a 1940 Ford column with three on the tree.

You...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Traditional Hot Rods
• Chapter 2: Show Rods and Specials
• Chapter 3: Rat Rods
• Index
• Copyright Page