Hot rods are typically old, classic or modern American cars with large engines modified for faster speed. The origin of the term “hot rod” is unclear. For example, some claim that the term “hot” refers to the vehicle being stolen. Other origin stories include replacing the engine’s camshaft or “rod” with a higher performance version.
In the early days, a car modified for increased performance was called a “gow job”. This term morphed into the hot rod in the early to middle 1950s.
The predecessors to the hotrod were the modified cars used in the Prohibition era by bootleggers to evade revenue agents and other law enforcement.
Hot rods first appeared in the late 1930s in southern California, where people raced modified cars on dry lake beds northeast of Los Angeles. This gained popularity after World War II, particularly in California, because many returning soldiers had received technical training. The first hot rods were old cars (most often Fords, typically Model Ts, 1928–31 Model As, or 1932-34 Model Bs), modified to reduce weight. Engine swaps often involved fitting the Ford flathead V8 engine (known as the “flatty”) into a different car, for example the common practice[citation needed] in the 1940s of installing the “60 horse” version into a Jeep chassis.
Typical modifications to hot rods were removal of convertible tops, hoods, bumpers, windshields, and/or fenders; channeling the body; and modifying the engine by tuning and/or replacing with a more powerful type. Wheels and tires were changed for improved traction and handling.