Saturday, April 5, 2008

Hot Rod Glossary Expanded...

Those of you who have been reading "Suede and Chrome" over the years know that I've continued to work on a "hot rod glossary". What started out as a simple post a few years ago, has turned into a permanent feature of Suede and Chrome at the bottom of the sight.

Thanks to a Christmas Gift I received from my custom hotwheel builder buddy (see his current eBay listings in the right column of this blog), I was able to expand the glossary this weekend. Last Christmas, my buddy bought me an outstanding book called "Hotrod and Custom Chronicle" by Thom Taylor. The book does an excellent job of highlighting the history of hot rodding, as well as the most significant cars and builders along the way.

There is a great glossary of terms at the end of the book....from which I "gleened" additional terms for the "Suede and Chrome" glossary. Most significant to me is by far the best definition of the term "rat rod" that I've ever read. (I've highlighted it in deep maroon in the glossary).

If you have additional terms that you feel should be included in the glossary, feel free to post a comment to this post.
p.s....I've posted a few pictures of an interesting phenomenon I've seen recently. The whole "rat rod" movement happened as a statement against the high-dollar "Boyd-type", trailer queen cars that began showing up in the past 20 years. You know the type..."Hey, I don't know diddly about cars, but I've got more money than I know what to do with to throw at someone to build me a ridiculous ride." Well, I'm LMBO at the recent trend of very high dollar "traditional" "rat-looking" rods. Here are a couple examples I found listed on eBay this week.
What's your take on this recent trend? To me it's like..."Hey...I want to look cool and be in the "in"...but I still don't know diddly, so once again I'm going to throw a bunch of money at a builder to build me a trailer queen to sit in my over the top "man garage". I will occasionally load it into my expensive enclosed trailer and pull it behind my gas-suckin' SUV or Dually Crew Cab to a few car shows." PLEASE RODS ARE MEANT TO BE DRIVEN!!!!!
I'd love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to post a comment to this posting.
Scruff

p.p.s....Speaking of "over the top" "man garages"....check out Bruce Litton's garage at: http://www.dragracecentral.com/drcstory.asp?ID=108144

2 comments:

  1. I see alot of trophy chasers. They build or buy just to win trophies. They don't even go to the local cruise-in. These cars were built to be on the road.

    wheelsandrubber.blogspot.com

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  2. I totally agree that rods should be driven! Although there are a lot of guys out there that have a top dollar builder build them a "rat/traditional hot rod" a large majority of the guys you see with them build them themselves, in their own tiny garage, with their own blood, sweat and tears! The Bo Huff Rockabilly Rod show in San Bernardino, CA is a prime example of the hard word and time put in by average joes who embody the lifestyle of traditional hot rod kulture!

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Hey daddio! Thanks for checking out Suede and Chrome! Your comments are greatly appreciated!