Why Hot Rods Look the Way They Do

If someone was asked to name a symbol of the 1950's, hot rods would be right up at the top of the list with Rock n' Roll and poodle skirts. Hot rods started in the 1920's but their popularity exploded after World War II when veterans came back with money to spare, new mechanical abilities learned in the service, and the craving for speed and adrenaline. Many don't know that the looks of the hot rod with visible engines, chopped tops, short muffler pipes, and other features are all functional features to making the hot rod faster.

Hot rodding started in the 1920's when the automobile craze was in full swing, and some young men in California wanted to start racing. The young racers would drive their machines out to the salt flats east of the California cities and race in the evenings. During the 1920's, the most affordable car was the Model T. The first engines powering the Model T's only produced 20 horsepower, so the first thing hot rods (At this time they were called "Hop Ups" or "Gow-Jobs") lost were any part of the car that was not needed. Items included hoods, fenders, running boards, ornaments, and even headlights. This made the car much lighter.

By the 1930's, the sharper looking Model A was available by Ford powered by the new flathead V8, producing 85 horsepower. Hot rodders quickly learned how to nearly double the horsepower out of these engines and were able to reach speeds around 100 miles per hour, a sharp increase from only a few years beforehand. Accidents at this speed today can be gruesome, but even more so back in the 1930's when there were no safety features, seat belts, or shatter proof glass.

After removing all the extra parts not needed on the car, the engine was next modified by adding multiple carburetors. Since the engine ran hotter, the hood and sides of the engine compartment were lots of times removed making the "Engine outside the car" look in many hot rods. Not only was there less weight on the car now, but there was a massive amount of air movement throughout the engine compartment to keep the engine cool.

The muffler and exhaust system had major overhauls, releasing even more horsepower in the output of the engine. The mufflers were removed, and the exhaust pipes were straightened out. Some exhaust pipes were shortened extensively so the output pipes were in the front of the car near the engine. The less the exhaust has to travel, the more performance you will get. This is why you se many hot rods with "pipes" as they sometimes are referred to, jettisoning out of the front sides of the hot rod straight from the engine. One must be careful of the rather hot exhaust in this situation.

The low front profile and high rear end with larger rear tires is another signature mark of hot rods, and wouldn't you know it, this style is also derived from a performance standpoint. The lower front helps make the car more aerodynamic, and the larger rear tires raise the gear ratio creating more torque. Bigger tires also help keep more rubber on the road for better handling and starting at the race line.

You will also notice most hot rods are low profile, meaning they are not very high and you may have to "get low" to get inside if there is a top. Many hot rods have no tops though. The hot rods that do have a top to their body usually have it "chopped", meaning the roof line is lowered by many inches. This helps eliminate drag and of course lessens the hot rod's weight, helping it in the speed department.