Hot Rods Today

The price for admission, however, has seen the most serious modification. For some, it's still about a cheap thrill; hence, the birth of the rat rod. For others, it's all about a mid-range six-figure ride, a.k.a. the "trailer queen." In between, there are those restoring cars and pickups from several eras, ever mindful of cost, period authenticity and practicality, while others want to add modern elements to their creation—a crate motor and 22-inch wheels—thus, the street rod.

Hot Rod Business
And the industry itself? Thanks to these separate, yet equally successful silos, it has never been better. Nor more crowded. With a number of restorers, designers and "motor architects" enjoying national and international success, due in part to several high profile television shows on a wide variety of cable networks (The Learning Channel?!), hot rodding is enjoying a well-deserved new breath of life as well as a new round of entrants. This time, it's both baby boomers who have the bread to buy the iron they couldn't afford when they were younger, and a new generation of young adults who revere a different era, one populated in part by the tough kids of '50s movies and TV—Brando, Dean, Marvin, even McQueen—who reflected a certain outsider's point-of-view; individual, wary, cagey. They mix this with primer, tattoos and red lipstick and bring in a whole new, equally acceptable look. "The guy with a rat rod usually has dirt under the nails and any money in his wallet goes for beer and smokes and keeping his ride going," wrote one blogger in describing the genre of participants. Another wrote, "The rat rod is a daily driver that is out of the ordinary and has a certain 'owner's flair' to the build." Perhaps it could be said that it is a hot rod in its purest, or rawest, form.

"The fact is, hot rodding's lineage is pretty easy to trace to get where we are now," said Stuart Duncan, co-owner of J.W. Rod Garage of Belgium, WI. "The benchmark for splitting time is probably the Tri-5s—the small block Chevy of the '55, '56 and '57 Chevys that are so historic. These have gotten expensive, so people then focused their attention on the '60s musclecars up to about 1973 when the new smog rules made most cars gutless and killed the enthusiasm."


With most of the pre-war vehicles used up and the countryside thoroughly scoured for vintage iron, interest has turned to the next available model lines. This helped explain the huge explosion in '60s musclecars (and their relatives) and how their values quickly moved out of reach for the average hot rodder. As a result, many have moved to less desirable cars and replaced their motors, brakes and trannys with products provided by both the OEMs and the aftermarket. Even cars from the 1980s are now getting attention, with engines replaced with factory-direct crate motors, big brakes and larger tires and wheels, all readily available and easy, albeit expensive, to bolt on.


For those whose wallets are a bit fatter than others, there are the so-called "G-machine$"—as some have called them: the heavily restored originals as well as the retro-inspired reproductions. The aftermarket has responded to the demand for vehicles of a certain era and has created new dyes and molds that churn out steel '67 and '68 Mustang Fastback shells, as well as ones from the Tri-5 era as well as vintage Ford bodies, among others. These shells can run many thousands of dollars, but are as close to the real thing—and certainly more reliable. The real demand is that they are made of steel and not fiberglass, which brings with it a certain negative connotation from the purists in the sport.