^^^ Not a hotrod ^^^ I would also agree that for the younger crowd, ZZtops Eliminator Street Rod is influential but it is a street rod. Kookies T in the 50's? Yes McMullens Roadster in the 50's 60's? YES Milners coupe in the 70's? Yes Doane Spencer Roadster? Defiantly! Ala Kart? Although it's influential, it's not a hotrod as much as it Is a custom. Two Lane Blacktop's 55, ZZ tops Eliminator and The Ala Kart don't fit "hotrod" as much as they do fit into other cl***es. .
Heres one of them,but I would say Hot Wheels,ATM and Revell were some of the most influential builders of all time.
From a generational standpoint..I'd say in the late 50's - early 60's Grabowski's "T" on 77 Sunset Strip popularized the hot rod genre via m*** media...followed by Milner's coupe in the 70's and the ZZ Top "Eliminator" revitalized the genre again in the 80's. Can't address the immediate post war era of the late 40's...it seems lead sleds might've been more popular from a m*** media standpoint..one of the more elderly grey haired H.A.M.B.ers would have to say what was more famous...through magazines & movies..
Good luck settling this discussion........... Everyone has a different idea what defines a street rod, hot rod, custom. I hate these threads because all it does it turn into a ******* contest that never gets settled. Change the thread ***le from "Most Famous" to "What's Your Most Favorite". No wait...that's been done about 3,000 times.
That's the car that did it for me and the main reason I stayed glued to the set each week when 77 Sunset Strip was on. And you have to figure in how many thousands of T Buckets got built because of that car. Only a couple of clones but thousands of bucket T's Built because a guy saw that car on TV. I'd agree that the American Graffiti coupe influenced a lot of guys but The damned thing is all out of proportion and **** ugly in my book. And I can't figure out why guys think it is cool to build a clone of the thing. The other car that had a big influence on a lot of people has to be the ZZ Top Eliminator. Those three because in different periods of time they contributed to a lot of guys getting involved in hot rods. You see the car on TV, in the movies or on the album cover and think it is cool, you start going to shows and buying rod magazines and pretty soon you either start building your own car or buy one.
Wow. The most amazing thing about this thread is the 'baby capsule' in Grabowski's T. Imagine driving around these days like that, you'd get locked up over here for sure! LOL
For me it was a car I could only imagine in my head. I was 4 in 1971 and Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen helped me picture a Hot Rod Licolin over and over. The desciption of that car in the song led me to my dads little pages where I would find other insiration from cars like the Lightning Bug and the most famous hot rod in my eyes the Bill Niekamp Roadster.
I think the Spin & Marty roadster,on the Mickey Mouse club serial was the first rod that influenced me. Next came 77 Sunset Strip and the Kookie car. A local "Dearborn" car, the Terry McFarland 27-T sedan,was my dream car for 45 years. Terry lived a few blocks away. That car still exsist today,restored to its original appearance,(red primer,VW buss seat,early Lincholn V8). The McFarland T can be seen on the "HOT RODS of DEARBORN" website.
I think you've hit the problem with the question. Different guidelines for different folks, and then you have the "Who cares about definitions!" folks. Larry T
I vote for the original McMullen 32 roadster with the blown small block. That's the one that did it foe me!
Sorry to say but milners coupe has to probably be the most iconic I guess as a symbol. Now as a real hot rod, I would have to say spencers roadster. As for the lil deuce coupe....it's a great song not so much a great looking car....
The term hot rod was a short term used to describe some ones " hot roadster". There were several terms....hopped up, hot.... But as far as I know from what every every old timer said in old interviews. Is that a hot rod is a nickname for hot roadster.... Given that, then it has to be a roadster, not a coupe, not a convertible, not a hatchback, a roadster plain and simple. Now obviously, coupes were certainly given that ***le somewhere along the line which is fine. But if you wanna be picky.....an iconic hot rod has to be a roadster.
Just my cents... As far as "hot rod" versus "street rod" is concerned, the term "street rod" is just a made-up marketing phrase that has established itself in our hobby. When the NSRA (National Street Rod ***ociation) was founded in 1970 they couldn't use National Hot Rod ***ociation, thus the term was born... What's my point? At some level, a hot rod and a street rod are the same thing.
If this thread was "Most Famous Car" or something less specific than "hot rod", my vote would be the Batmobile. Either the original 60's one or any incarnation since. "most famous hot rod" Count me in on the American Graffiti Milner A coupe as far as the general public concerned. My personal favorite will always be the Mooneyham & Sharp '34 Ford 5-window coupe...!
Hmmm??? How about a certain, infamous "Hot Rod Lincoln"-powered Model A - from back in the day - "when the Fords and the Lincolns were settin' the pace" - and that was once seen running 'outa' San Pedro late one night" and then later the same evening, coming out of L.A. and racing a Cadillac up the G****vine hill??!! Mart3406 -------------------------------- <iframe width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/WAFKsQkfSY0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> ======================
Lets face it. The most famous Hot Rod would be determined by whatever time in history a guy discovered this great hobby. It's subjective to say the least. How would a young guy ever understand how us old timers felt when 77 Sunset strip would come on the TV. We would wait all week to see the Kookie Car for about fifteen seconds. That's just one example. If your young and you arrived late to this great hobby you have an entirly different prospective than us old timers have. You have a complete history and library of old cars pictures to look at when making your decision. Some of us that have been around Hot Rods for over fifty years may have a love affair with one that shook us to our core. I for instance fell in love with Ed Big Daddy Roth's Excaliber from the first time I saw it. I wore out the first magazine I saw it in. I think it was Car Craft January 1960. It changed my life. A few years later I attended General Motors Ins***ute and learned how to sculpture car bodies in clay. I became a master modeler and later I got into composites and made it my life's work. Because of the Roth car I have spent a life time having one great time. A guy that grew up in the 70's and fell in love with Milners coupe will have a very different view than say a guy from the 90's. In the end it doesn't really matter. What ever Hot Rod to some is the most famous sure as hell isn't worth getting into a ******* match over. Can you imagine not having this great hobby. Think about it for a few seconds. How many *** holes in your nieborhood just never understood you and your love for Hot Rods. They sure do **** don't they! The most famous Hot Rod is in the eye, and mind of the beholder.
well for me it would be the 'Chrisman Coupe', thats the one rod I have seen for over 50 years. and the one that rang my bell from the time I first seen it in Hot Rod magazine. Its probably the most valuable hot rod worth over half a million bucks ! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=318287
Most famous, as in know by the public. Hands down gotta be the ZZtop eliminator. Take a picture of that to any grocery store and most people will be able to ID it as the ZZtop car. Thats where it ends though, no make model year nor will they be able to count the windows.
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