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.

Typically, hot rods are/were modern, classic or old American vehicles with large engines. They had large engines since they were modified so that more speed could be achieved. Currently, no clear explanation exists as to where the word hot which is used in reference to these cars originated from. Over the years, several theories that try to explain where this term originated from have been developed.

In one theory, the term is thought to refer to the process of modifying the vehicle for performance improvement. It is thought that the word rod refers to roadster because early hot rods were based on the roadster. In another theory, it is stated that this term refers to an engine component called the camshaft. The camshaft was improved in order to increase the power output.

Like stated earlier, the concept of hot rod began several years ago and has undergone a lot of change. Initially, the vehicles were used by bootleggers to evade revenue agents and law enforcement agents. The initial hotrods were old car models, initially Model Ts, then Model As, and later Model Bs. The cars were modified in several ways to improve performance, handling, braking, and speed among others.

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 World War II, most military airports were left unused. Therefore, a good ground for hot rodders to race on was provided by them. However, some racers took some action to the streets instead of staying on the airport. This caused a major safety problem which necessitated the formation of the National Hot Rod Association. The body was accountable for ensuring standards and safety in the cars and racers.

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.




About the Author:



0 comments:

Post a Comment

    Blogger news

    Blogroll

    Pages

    About