The term originated during the 1930's and 1940's when lightweight roadsters were being modified or hopped up and turned into high performance cars. Racing modified cars first became popular in areas outside of Los Angeles, California. Hot rods were usually old cars that had both body and engine modified for racing.Racing these modified cars became increasingly popular in California after World War II when soldiers returned home and had received necessary training while serving. Old cars that included Fords, Model Ts, Model As and Model Bs were changed to reduce the body weight initially. Often specific parts were removed to accomplish this like bumpers, hoods, fenders and windshields.
Engines were either tuned to be more high performance, or a more powerful engine was placed in the car. Faster speeds meant that more traction was required. Wheels and tires were the next items to be changed to accomplish this.
During the 1950's a hot rod was classified as any vehicle that did not meet standards that were considered the norm. Later modifications to the body paint also became part of the improvements. By the 1960's not only were they for racing, but they were also used as show cars.
Currently they are still on the streets and continue to have a large following. They can be viewed in shows not only in the United States, but in other countries as well. One of the largest clubs in the world is the National Street Rod Association (NSRA).
There are now several different sectors associated with hot rodding including street rods; manufactured prior to 1949, pro-street rods, billet rods, traditional rods, rat rods and show rods. There are hundreds of car clubs that currently show their cars all over the world. All of these sectors are included in what we refer to as the hot rod.