>>>>>,Well,,,i was born in '43 ,,,as i was growin' up ,,my Dad told stories about his model "A" he had in '39-'40 ,,in Des Moines,Iowa,,he said he took the fenders ,,hood & whatever else he could "Strip" ,,BUT ,,it had one of the only cars around there with a Radio ,,and he used to race it down the hill from the city park ,,with those bad brakes too ,,he called it a "Striper" ,,not a Hot Rod ,,,BUT ,,during WW II ,,he was stationed in the Phillipines on P T Boats ,,their R & R ( rest n recoperation ) ,,was in Australia ,,the first time he heard the term "Hot Rod" was in '44 or '45 in Sidney and in Brisburn,Australia ,,those Aussies had all kinds of crazy cars they called "Hot Rods" ,,,SO ,,the G.I.'s souped up their Jeeps to race the Aussies ,,wasn't very sucessfull tho ,,,,when he got back home after the War ,,in '46 ,,everything that was a "Striper" before the War became a "Hot Rod",,, in '50 he bought a new Pontiac ,,his best friend bought a new '50 Olds Rocket 88 ,,my Dad couldn't beat him ,,so,,he took the Poncho to the Dealer and turned him loose on that straight 8 ,, then he beat that Olds ,,Dad called his Poncho a "Hot Rod" ,, so,,i guess it's a matter of "Interpetation" ,,what really IS a "Hot Rod" ,
My dad told me of a story In the 20's a guy built a steamengined powered hotrod shaped like a cigar.He set a few records with this car and people were appalled by how streamlined it was.Anybody know anything more to this story.....
This guy (Georges Lemaitre) won the first automobile race in Rouen, France in 1894. Therefore, he built the first car (Peugeot) EVER that was proven faster than another car. Is that the first hot rod?
Nobody seems to know the exact origin of the name“Hot Rod” but it is usually said to be a chopped and channeled version of “Hot Roadster.” A November 5, 1945 issue of Life Magazine is the earliest publication that I have seen the phrase “Hot Rod” used in print. It was obviously around before November, 1945 but probably not by more than a year or two. Life Magazine said, A “hot rod”, also called a “hot-iron” or a “hop-up” or gow-job,” is an automobile stripped for speed and pepped up for power until it can travel from 90 to 125 mph. According to a June, 1946 Ford Times, Southern California was the birth place of the hot rod. Here are two-pages from the six-page story. “ Los Angeles--Nobody seems to know why Southern California should have given birth to the hot rod craze. Maybe it’s the year-round good weather, or the six-lane superhighways you have at every turning out here, or perhaps a stock of old automobiles that is abundant in comparison with other sections of the country.” “At any rate, the countryside is saddled with the problem, and thousands of timid motorists, policemen, parents of hot rod addicts, and the National Safety Council are wondering what to do about a speed craze that seems ready to sweep the nation.” “Hot rod, by the way, is the name applied to any car, not too new, which has been worked on to make it faster than other cars. They’re usually owned and driven by extremely mechanical minded youngsters in their late teens or early twenties.” “As a rule the hot rods run between the models of 1928 and 1938, roadsters whenever that model is available, or hand-worked into an approximation of one. In fact, so many of these cars are of the one-seat, open type that the word “roadster” has come to be a synonym for hot rod. And roadster is a better general name because all of the cars aren’t strictly hot rods. Many of them have been stripped to simulate a hot rod -- fenders, top, and windshield removed, and a young goggled driver at the wheel -- but they lack the mechanical refinements that mark the genuine article. Hot rod owners -- who themselves are known as “hop-ups,” -- refer to these imitation hot rods as “gook wagons,” “crocks.” or “crutches.” A more complete compilation of hop-up lingo is to be found in the accompanying glossary.” “One newspaper here has estimated that there are more than 1,000 of these roadsters gunning the Southern California highways and byways these days. They range from hopeless baling-wire wrecks not capable of more than 65 m.p.h. to $5000.00 precision jobs that can turn 130 m.p.h.” “One of the first alarming highway sights for a motorist newly arrived in southern California is the spectacle of a couple of roadster drivers -- they nearly always drive in pairs, nose to tail -- zig-zagging down the multiple lanes nearly twice as fast as the rest of the traffic is moving. For the lay driver, it’s a test of nerves to continue quietly in a single lane while the hop-ups gambol on all sides.
Somebody dig out Dean Batchelor's book and settle this.... We know Lee Chapel had the first speed shop, so who was his first customer?
Henry Leland had a Cadillac he built in the early 1900's that he kept putting bigger engines in as soon as they were available. It was called the Osceola.
For the old guys- Translated for the 21st century...: Hot Rod- Rat rod Hop-up- someone who "tinkers" with speed... Gook Wagon- Fancy, chromed, fart can equipped Honda with no speed refinements...(using this term will get you shot in most parts of the country) Squirrel- Sane person's term for an "extreme sports entertainment athlete" Stacks- Rusty water pipe sticking up behind the cab of your model A "rat rod" Pot- Marijuana Jugs- Large breasts Skins- Something you put on your iPhone to make it "unique" Slugs- ammunition for a "9". What you will be sporting if you use the term "Gook Wagon" above Drag- Women's clothing as worn by men Peel off- abrupt turn off of a road, usually to evade pursuit Lay a patch- use your imagination here... Binders- Large zip ties used as disposable handcuffs Goat- Pontiac GTO Dog- Ugly woman, or "buddy" in hip-hop-ese Crutch- Those little pills that help you get through the day, or energy drinks Crock- What I have just turned this thread into....
The Jalopy Journal
