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Zefhix
09-08-2004, 12:07 PM
So the g/f and I were in bed last night about to go to sleep when she asked me a question that made me go "hmmmmm" She asked "can a euro car be a hotrod?" Hmmm. My first thought was "no"!! Then, I thought about it....why not? From dictionary.com :

hot rod also hot-rod (htrd)
n. Slang
An automobile that has been rebuilt or modified to increase its speed and acceleration.

So where is the defining line? I realize we're a P-T crowd but what is evryone else's though on this? What makes a Camaro with a hot small block any different than a hatchbacked honda with a VTEC motor in it than runs 12s when it comes to describing a hotrod? Does it have to be a '32 highboy with a 350? Or can it be a Supra that runs 8's?

What do you think??

will69camaro
09-08-2004, 12:58 PM
I cant speak for everyone else but i know in my own opinion, that a hotrod is a hard to drive rearwheel drive car that shouldn't be driven everyday but usually is LOL. I think that newer cars shouldn't really be considered hotrods but that's again, my opinion. New cars both domestic and imported have higher technology which means they can be fast while still remaining drivable.

Ralph LoGrasso
09-08-2004, 12:59 PM
Technically you could call an import a "hot rod", going by the definition only, BUT Most people, atleast the people I converse with consider hot rods older cars (pre 1960). That are hopped up for looks, and cruising/speed. FWIW, I DONT consider my Camaro a "hot rod", but that's just me, hot rods to me are older cars, street rods and such. Anything from 66 or so to 73 that was RWD w/ a v8 and some performance is a muscle car. Anything after that I would just consider a performance car, if it happened to be fast.

About the Supra that runs 8s, you'd probably call it a drag car :).

Stu Seitz
09-08-2004, 01:42 PM
About the Supra that runs 8s, you'd probably call it a drag car :).


Word

boodlefoof
09-08-2004, 03:31 PM
eh, what's in a label? I like anything as long as it is neat (a very subjective label. ;) )!

awr68
09-08-2004, 03:37 PM
From what I've been told:

Street Rods '0-about '40
Customs early '40s-'54 (fat fenders)
Hot Rods '55-about '73 (pre cad. converters and plastic bumpers)

That's just what I've been told by the grey beards and I figure they would know....so by this a guy calling his '32 a Hot Rod...well he's a little wrong....:)

TonyL
09-08-2004, 04:38 PM
the difference to me is simple. does the car have a v8 and rear wheel drive?
that seems to be the splitting factor. but then again, if you put a vtech 4 banger in a 32 highboy roadster, whats that? what about that banks turbo mercedes? my head hurts.

J-Rod
09-08-2004, 04:56 PM
When I used to break my cars in the past, I'd always take em to my pops to fix. He'd always give me the same line:

"Well, if you weren't hot-roddin round town all the time, maybe it wouldn't break!"

:icon996:

rumblee
09-08-2004, 05:14 PM
Everyone has a different take on the phrase hotrod. I could see a nice old car with a v8 and rwd, but if its not loud or at least fast its just a nice old car. I also think the way a car is driven will give a car reputation as a hotrod.

hotrodgary
09-08-2004, 05:16 PM
I've grown up around "street rods" my whole life. I've always considered a hotrod to be pre 34, streetrods 35-48, customs 49-59 or so, but euro's are just euro's to me. I'm not a big fan of euro type cars but I respect them because their car are to them, like my car to me...BADASS!! :git:

Of course I consider my chevelle and my chevy II to be "pro-touring" style, but I dont ever plan on doing a road course with them. So some people would probably consider me to be a "poser" :eek:

BRIAN
09-08-2004, 05:46 PM
What would make it Pro Touring then? Some guys consider a tube framed undriveable beast others a Camaro with every option and the must have TT2'S the ultimate? Build what you want and enjoy it. By the way I have owned older 80'S AMG 500SEL and driven a turbo M6 that honestly would hit the pro touring mark a lot closer than most cars that wear the label. Driveable anywhere and power to light em up without problem. Not that it matters but I tend to favor the bare bones real Hot Rods A Hot Rod should be " Something that gives a different feel than an eveyday ride"

34X2Camaro
09-08-2004, 09:37 PM
Front wheel drive vehicles can not be hot rods, it's the law. :rolleyes:

yody
09-08-2004, 10:26 PM
you don't to take your car to the track to conider your car "pro-touring" just keep the right mentatility and gear your car towards the ideas of protouring. I don't think euro cars would be "pro-touring" but would be nice sports cars, unless they were old sportscars, but it would have to be a fair comparison. My dad has an old 911S porsche he has added a 3.2L engine totally done up with ported heads, cranktrigger ignition, knifed crank, bigger cams, he has custom coilover suspension with charley bars, 17" Fikse FM5 wheels with toyo tires, killer Alpine sound system, very nice paint, magnaflow exhaust, and all kinds of other crap that i dont know about. Yes if it was an american car i would definetly call it proutouring, but in reality it is a Older german sporst car built to newer specs, he takes it on the track and drives it on longer trips, but there just aint somthing right about calling it protouring, maybe if he put a chevy motor in the back of it!!!

Zefhix
09-08-2004, 11:05 PM
So the consensus is...there is no consensus? Hot-rodding is a frame of mind? ;)
So a car is a car that's a car until it's attained a certain level of modification? And the label it suits is based loosely around a certain coreography of modifications it most closely resembles? Damn.
We got ourselves some pretty fickle cars, eh? All of us have the ugly red-headed stepchilden of the hobby...hehe. But now being red-head is cool!!! Retro is in!!! :git:

Pzary3233
09-10-2004, 08:02 AM
I think that I have to agree with Hot Rod Gary
"I've always considered a hotrod to be pre 34, streetrods 35-48, customs 49-59 or so"

That is what I always think of when the terms, Hot Rod, Street Rod and Custom come up. Though, it also depends on the style of the build. Such as a radically altered 47 Chevy, I would think of that as more of a custom. But at the same time I would not call a '55 Bel Air that had a healthy motor and a 4 speed in it a custom either...

I just know it when I see it...

Driving style does have something to do with it! We all push our cars, though the corners, on the strights, and deceleration (ie braking). I do not think of our cars as Hot Rods, they are muscle cars... People who drive muscle cars seem to be different from the street rod and hotrod crowd.

Granted I would love to build up a '35 Chevy that could compete on the road course but also be able to bolt on some big and skinnies so that I can have the retro rod look... Only time and money will tell! lets get though school first!

My $.02

CoryM
09-11-2004, 06:06 AM
http://britishv8.org/swaps/examples.htm

Those count as hotrods to me :D Im not picky about what I call a hot rod. Basically any older heavily modified vehicle. I am picky about what I call a nice hotrod though ;) . I guess when I think hot rod, the first thing that comes to mind is pre-war cars with a sbc/th400/9" rear.

JTW
12-19-2005, 01:50 PM
"can a euro car be a hotrod?"

Some people think so....

1948 Anglia:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

ACEFOOTER
12-19-2005, 02:38 PM
I look at the "AMG" division of Mercedes Benz as the early European part of Pro-Touring, Bigger motor, Bigger brakes, Better suspension. I think of "Hot Rod" as anything that when you hit the gas hard, it wants to rip the tires off the rims no matter what the Nationality.

TonyL
12-19-2005, 03:41 PM
you know. We shoulda thought of the Aussies quicker. can you import a hotrod??

You betcha (http://www.the-rumbler.com/sydney2k3-1.html)

holdens are cool.

hotroddr
12-19-2005, 03:44 PM
I think you should buy the GF a new pair of shoes for bringing up such a great subject. Most girls are not willing to even talk about this stuff...she brought it up

Damn True
12-19-2005, 03:46 PM
A bugeye sprite with a turbo ecotec would be pretty cool, or how about a Aston Martin like the one in the James Bond movies with a flathead Ford, or better yet, an LSx?

JJSmitches
12-19-2005, 04:17 PM
What is considered a "Tuner" car?
I thought most of the cars at import shows were called tuners...
Doesnt that include Euro cars?

RatMalibu
12-19-2005, 05:10 PM
:naughty: I love discussions like this lol my car always ends up "late model" even though its 26 years old

69keith
12-19-2005, 05:23 PM
What is my 1971 Bel Air -4 door with 89,000 original miles and paint???

402 big block/ 400 trans

Bill Howell
12-19-2005, 06:09 PM
you know. We shoulda thought of the Aussies quicker. can you import a hotrod??

You betcha (http://www.the-rumbler.com/sydney2k3-1.html)

holdens are cool.

Interesting page there Tony. In fact I noticed this particular car! Where have I read about this one lately :)

69rs
12-19-2005, 07:11 PM
This is the one Mr. Lillard recently aquired, isn't it?

Bill Howell
12-19-2005, 07:46 PM
The caption says the rear spoiler is actually a fuel cell. I am guessing it would be quite heavy when full if you needed into the trunk. May also be helpful weight up high like that with all the torque the car has.
What is the total fuel capacity Charlie? Did you get it home yet?

TonyL
12-19-2005, 08:16 PM
Where did you read about it bill? (i didnt know that charlie had purchased it.) Does that mean we can look forward to some shakedown runs at Sacramento Raceway?

Charley Lillard
12-19-2005, 08:17 PM
Yes I have that 55 here now. There are 3 gas tanks. The wing is one ans there is one in each 1/4 panel. Hold about 70 gallons. I also got all that display stuff. Takes up a bunch of space. There is a hydraulic cylinder that lifts the trunk.

Bill Howell
12-19-2005, 08:23 PM
70 gals? That should be good for about a 10 mile cruise right? However, a very fast cruise.LOL
Thanks for the pictures, that car has to be amazing in person, so much detail. I look forward to seeing it. I was thinking the other day, THAT car would be cool going across the stage at BJ. They just think they have had show stoppers, that thing would blow their minds (and eardrums).......

Charley Lillard
12-19-2005, 08:52 PM
weighs 7000 lbs...Not sure the wood stage would hold up....

protour_chevelle
12-19-2005, 09:23 PM
So theoretically speaking... How fast should this car be in the 1/4?

-Matt

MoeBawlz
12-19-2005, 09:28 PM
that is INCREDIBLE!!! i loved that car as soon as i saw it. wanna take me for a ride?

68BNUT
12-19-2005, 10:08 PM
So would you call that the steering wheel, steering lever? or just the thingy you hang on to while accelerating wildly?

That this is outragous!

MrQuick
12-19-2005, 11:04 PM
so Charley, do your neighbors hate you yet? Even though they are a mile away? Love to see that thing go down the airport runway! LOL

zbugger
12-20-2005, 12:07 AM
so Charley, do your neighbors hate you yet? Even though they are a mile away? Love to see that thing go down the airport runway! LOL
LOL... I'd rather cruise past the golf course in it... :ssst:

6'9"Witha69
12-20-2005, 08:39 AM
That was the only car that really got my attention. NIIIICE!!

ACEFOOTER
12-20-2005, 11:23 AM
Absolutly awesome!!! Charley, I would love to see this car run, give a heads up if you run/display it in the North Bay area, I'll be a volunteer pit crew member for the day!

speedster
12-20-2005, 11:33 AM
So Charley, do you have a commercial pilot's license to drive that thing.
Does it have an altimeter ?
Do you use ILS approaches to get into your garage ?
Wow, that's insane... :)

-Bruce

Roadrage David
12-21-2005, 07:45 AM
here is some euro merlin stuff from the mid 70,s http://forums.gttimes.com/viewtopic.php?t=7471 http://www.superjohn.f9.co.uk/thebeast.htm http://www.nsra.org.uk/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=10255

USAZR1
12-21-2005, 12:39 PM
I think you should buy the GF a new pair of shoes for bringing up such a great subject. Most girls are not willing to even talk about this stuff...she brought it up

You might think about marrying her,too. :icon996:

ACEFOOTER
12-29-2005, 11:51 AM
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/HOT-ROD-VOLVO-350-CHEV-GM-471-BLOWER-TURBO-GEARBOX_W0QQitemZ7207949464QQcategoryZ13581QQrdZ1Q QcmdZViewItem

I'm not saying it's Pro-Touring, but it is an Import

CHILI442
12-29-2005, 01:40 PM
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/HOT-ROD-VOLVO-350-CHEV-GM-471-BLOWER-TURBO-GEARBOX_W0QQitemZ7207949464QQcategoryZ13581QQrdZ1Q QcmdZViewItem

I'm not saying it's Pro-Touring, but it is an Import

Pretty cool, I could do without the ricer wing though.

Bob Johnson
12-29-2005, 06:08 PM
Yes I have that 55 here now. There are 3 gas tanks. The wing is one ans there is one in each 1/4 panel. Hold about 70 gallons. I also got all that display stuff. Takes up a bunch of space. There is a hydraulic cylinder that lifts the trunk.
that Australian dude that built the 55 came by The Primedia Booth @ SEMA and talked to Alan and I. Alan had seen his little Model A Pickup in Calif. while he toured all over the western USA in it.. Alan was quite impressed..and that aint easy to do...he's one cool Fabricator that Ausie

GrayRaceCat
06-13-2022, 06:05 PM
http://britishv8.org/swaps/examples.htm

Those count as hotrods to me :D Im not picky about what I call a hot rod. Basically any older heavily modified vehicle. I am picky about what I call a nice hotrod though ;) . I guess when I think hot rod, the first thing that comes to mind is pre-war cars with a sbc/th400/9" rear.

The original page was updated in 2007 and the link is now a dead-end (and has not been updated since 2017). I'm posting the site map link for those who may want to view British V8 swaps, there are a lot of them!
http://www.britishv8.org/British-V8-Website-SiteMap.htm

JustJohn
06-14-2022, 07:26 AM
Hotrod magazine (I think) built a Mercedes with a 69 Camaro ground effects kit back in the late 80's and justified it as a big V8 car with performance upgrades. It was an end of the magazine article. Tried to find a picture but it was way before the internet.