Useful And Essential Facts About Hot Rod Frames

By Ruth Brown


In the United States, people have for a long time associated their social status with their cars. That means that the kind of car you drive reflects your social status in society. This attitude is thought to have started with the hot rod. Street rods were created by young people who played around with their cars with the hope that they could make them faster and comparable with cars owned by their wealthier counterparts. This is worth knowing about Hot rod frames.

The Depression period between of 1930s and 1940s is where the idea of hot/street rods originated and California is where the first versions of these cars were created. These types of cars were assembled by the youth that had more leisure time and less cash to buy good cars. So they resorted to making and advancing cars that they owned to performance levels.

These street rods were/are regular American cars that are built with huge engines, but are typically very old, modern or classic cars. The reason for having the large engines was to help attain more speed. Currently, the name hot is used in reference to these cars even though there is no clear literature regarding the origin of the name. The term has a variety of theories behind its origin. The theories developed over the years.

In one theory regarding the origin of the term hot, it is believed to refer to the process of modifying the car in order to improve its performance. Since early hot rods are based on the roadster, it is believed that the term rod refers to roadster. Another theory states that the term rod refers to the camshaft, which is component of the engine. This component was upgraded for purposes of increasing power output.

As mentioned earlier, this concept began many years ago and many changes have been done on it. Originally, bootleggers used the cars to escape law enforcement and revenue agents. The early hotrods were old car models, especially Model Ts, then Model As, and later Model Bs. The vehicles were modified in many ways to enhance speed, braking, handling, and performance among several other properties.

A bit of the modification included removing bumpers, windshields, fenders and convertible tops. The engine was modified and the body was channeled. The engine was modified by replacing it with a better one. If replacement was not an option, then the current engine would just be tuned ti crank up its performance. Handling and traction were also improved by the modification of wheels.

After the Second World War, many military airports were abandoned and never used. Thus, they provided good ground for hot rodders to race on. However, some racers did not stay on the airports, but instead took some of the action to the streets. This led to a major safety issue, necessitating the formation of the National Hot Rod Association, which was responsible for ensuring safety and standards among racers and the vehicles.

Later, cars with improved performance started to be made by manufacturers. The demand for hot rods declined because people could now buy muscle cars directly from showrooms. Manufactures put more concern however on fuel efficiency when the Oil Crisis started in late 1973. This thus triggered the birth of the street rods since cars were no longer modified for racing or performance.




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