Hot Rod era

The Hot Rod era extended from 1930 to the beginning of the muscle car era (about 1965), reaching its height in about 1955. During this time, there was an adequate supply of what hot rodders called "vintage tin": junk cars manufactured prior to 1942 that could be had cheaply. Many of these had sound bodies and frames and had been junked for mechanical reasons, since the running gear of early cars was not durable. The typical hot rod was heavily modified, particularly by replacing the engine and transmission, and possibly other components, including brakes and steering. Certain engines, such as the flathead Ford V8, and the small block Chevrolet V8 were particularly popular as replacements because of their compact size, availability, customization and power. The early Hemi was popular in applications that required more power, such as drag racing. More recently, more unusual engines have become popular to use in hot rods, notably the Cadillac 500 and the Buick "NailHead".

Construction of a hot rod requires skills in mechanics, welding, and automotive paint and body work.

The "classic era" of hot rod construction ended around 1965, partly because the supply of vintage tin had diminished, but mostly because new cars were equipped for greater speed and power from the factory with little or no modification required.

Today, there are still a large number of hot-rodders and street-rodders. The Street Rod Nationals serves as a showplace for the majority of the hot-rodding and street-rodding world to display their cars and to find nearly any part needed to complete them.