The Street Rod! Is it a hot rod for the masses?

In the 1930s, a tuning culture emerged in the United States, whose members turned everyday cars into real racing machines. These cars have been optimized in weight, performance and driving dynamics to drive races on the road or in dry lakes. The partly extremely complex converted vehicles were then Hot Rods mentioned, whereby the origin of the name is not clearly clarified and many stories circulate about it. A special subspecies of hot rods are, besides "Old school rods“Or "Resto Rods", still the so-called street rods.

Street Rods equipped with new technology

If only parts that improve the vehicle in terms of racing technology are used in hot rods, parts are also installed in a street rod that increase comfort and safety. In the true sense, they are vehicles up to year of construction 1949 or newer vehicles, which are similar to the year of construction up to 1949. The focus is on usability. A Air conditioning is just as much a part of the equipment as a modern chassis or brakes with ABS. It is precisely these improvements that make daily driving, even on the freeway, more comfortable and the car safer. With the Street Rod, care is taken to ensure that a Soundproofing is present and the undercarriage is not too tight. In addition, they often offer seating for more than two people. Many members of the scene therefore call the Street Rods a hot rod for the family. Of course, this also includes road approval, which in turn is not absolutely necessary for the hot rod. The carburettors are replaced by modern injection systems. Entertainment systems are also predominantly installed in the street rod. In general, it can be said that the newer components of a street rod predominate, while the hot rod uses built-in components or original parts. So you move towards a restomod with a street rod. This means that an old vehicle is equipped with many modern components.

Appearance causes inconsistencies

This type of hot rod opened up many new possibilities for tuning with advanced technology. The convenience also appeals to a broader range of potential buyers. Buyers because converting companies also specialize in producing street rods. It is therefore possible to buy a new street rod without having to lend a hand. This is exactly where the question arises, at the latest, whether it is still a hot rod in the original sense, which is why this topic is also being heavily discussed in specialist circles. A clear demarcation between the two rod types stands on very shaky legs. The information in this article should therefore be viewed as a rough guide, since there is plenty of scope for interpretation. However, both versions of the Rods have in common that the first conversions were on the road. The tuners of the first hot rods simply had no money for a second car. Today, of course, it looks very different.

We hope that you the info report on the topic / term Street Rod from the area of ​​auto tuning.