My vote also goes to the 1933 ZZ Top eliminator car. It's not my style anymore but before the ZZ Top car in most European countries hot rods were unknown and not existing and luckely that's a different story now. Best custom (of course) is the Matranga Merc
Im in with the california kid ,That was my biggest influence ...I remember goin to shows and seeing it there
For me personally the Pierson Brothers Coupe is by far the most influential hot rod, or car of any kind.
There have been many theories about the term "Hotrod" and to say it has to be a roadster plain and simple is ***uming your theory is correct. Coupes are equal to roadsters when it comes to definition of "Hotrod" in most oldtimers opinion. I am an oldtimer and that is my opinion.
The Ala KArt was the first "Show Rod" being that it was built for the intent of being just that...for show. Also the first use of airbags on a rod. It had some other firsts but I cant recall what that was. It was in the Movie Hot Rod Gang too aswell as models. Hell of alot of PR to expose kids to it. Cool no matter what. But are defining Hot Rod by a car that is driven? I would have to say the Spencer '32. Which also was many firsts. And he drove it raced it and took on the Panamerican. And its copied if not directly very indirectly even at the exhaust coming out of the frame. SO that gets my vote- The Doane Spencer '32
There were influential hot rods since the early turn of the century but Norm Grabowski's Lightnin' Bug in the '50's set the standard and until probably the late '60's was the most famous. On every T.V. in the show 77 Sunset Strip.
For my era, Norm's Kookie car and the Ala Kart were probably the most widely known. My favorites were the Ivo/Rowland T and the Emperor '29 roadster.
For me it was the Milner coupe but then I saw the movie Hot Rod and that Willys finished me off for life.I still want a Willys coupe to this day because of that movie!!!
"Most Famous Hot Rod" .. a****st who? everybody or HOT ROD guys? take photos of your pick to the mall and ask people to identify the cars. American Graffitti coupe or ZZ Top Eliminator would be the top 2.
Maybe it's because this issue of Hot Rod has floated to the top of my collection since I was a kid, but I'd have a hard time not picking this one. It was a show car, it was a drag car, and it was iconic. I realize it isn't exactly the same as the song that made it famous, and I know there are a lot of people who think Beach Boys music is wannabe hot rodder stuff, but I mean, Little Deuce Coupe is the quintessential hot rod song--it was there when the cars were popular, it was popular, and it made hot rodding more popular. I can't think of a famous hot rod and not put this one pretty close to the top.
Capitol record company execs could've at least put a photo of a Duece with a real flathead on the cover of the hit vinyl record...but Chili Catallo's car was famous I guess...the Aurora model company had a copy of it on the box art of their "Ram Rod" kit.
I agree, that's the one that did it for me. I know I drew that 2D coupe so many times I could still draw it in my sleep.
Dunno. Maybe the OP shoulda set forth some guidelines to delineate what era we talking about here, or exactly how famous a car has to be before it's officially recognized as "famous". My vote(s) Grabowski's "Kookie Car" The Milner Coupe The Kid Munster Coach Not because any one of these cars is my favorite, but simply because these are the ones that I recall seeing in the m*** media when I was a kid (late 60's through mid 70's).
I'm with the group that says we need definition. Fame, while fleeting at times, is pretty broad spectrum of ideas. Fame could be simply media and several examples nailed it for that. A hotrod in and of itself is most certainly NOT roadster only. Maybe in one region of the country they were dominant but there was a vast array of raw mat'l in the form of roadsters there. In the cooler parts of the county the tudors and coupes were handy and had great lines. They too made for slick rods. There's too many "famous" cars to pick from because what some of us look at as inspiration is clearly not the norm from an informed builder/enthusiast point of view. Famous to a drag racer would be simply wierd to the average observer. The average observer would say "Milner's". The average "streetrodder" as we like to call them would say the Vern Luce coupe or 'Top's Eliminator. I too would pick the Chrisman coupe, not too many would.
Since it's a rather subjective question, I'll answer with the car that got me into hot rodding, the Badman II 55 Chevy:
Yes different times had different rods in the m*** media they seemed to be everywhere in the 60s. I mentioned the Eliminator earlier only because that's what was getting the big exposure at the time. Can't really think of an example from the last five years though.
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