The 1950s was the golden interval of feverous rods. The muscle van Period of the slow 1960s nearly killed off the blistering rod until toddler boomers who watched their fathers and older brothers customize prewar Ford coupes brought back the flaming rod in the 1970s and 1980s. The 1950s feverous rod very gave birth to the Car customization and aftermarket performance engine Production.
Background
The ardent rod can hint its narration to location of Nature Battle II. Returning servicemen with cash in their pockets and restlessness bought used cars to competition the dry lakebeds throughout Southern California. Owners stripped down these cars to the bar essentials, although the limitations of technology in the dilatory 1940s and early 1950s didn't bulge to spread out engine modifications. Owners favoured coupes for their compact bodies and tight, short wheelbases. An early account, and conceivably the basic correct baking rod, was a 1925 Buick customized by George Barris, who next earned credit as the Dad of the custom motorcar Production. Barris followed with customizing a 1929 Ford Replica A.
Deuce Coupe
Maybe no other motorcar was a extended correct figure of the 1950s calescent rod than the 1932 Ford coupe. Ford introduced the 1932 three- and five-window coupe equipped with a flat-head V-8 engine. By 1946, the flat-head V-8 was generating 100 horsepower, a healthy output for the time. Customizers could boost the output of the earlier flat-head V-8s with a larger carburetor, headers and different exhaust system. The power under the hood complemented the rakish styling of the 1932 to 1936 Ford coupes. The coupes were ripe for customization. Owners, however, took a practical approach to customization. They removed fenders, hood, bumpers and even the windshield as weight-saving measures to make them competitive while racing.
The Merc
The 1949 Mercury set a new standard in hot rods. Under the hood was a 255-cubic-inch flat-head V-8 wielding 110 horsepower. The car sat on a 118-inch wheelbase and measured a whopping 206.8 inches long.The National Hot Rod Association formed in 1951 to establish safety standards and racing regulations on approved tracks to legitimize the hobby. It didn't help, however, that actor James Dean raced a customized 1949 Mercury over a cliff in the 1955 film "Rebel Without a Cause," or that he died in a road accident a month before the movie was released. Yet the story of teen rebellion and fast cars had a profound effect on the hot rod movement.
Customizers also installed big rear wheels to raise the rear gear ratio to help the car reach higher speeds and kept standard tires in the front to lower the nose to reduce drag.
Postwar Image
As the hot rod movement grew, so did its image as a reckless and dangerous sport. Prewar and early postwar cars were not safe to begin with, and in the hands of a teenager, frightened parents to no end.The potential hot rod was considerably longer than the old Ford coupe with its 106-inch wheelbase. But much more could be done to the body. Customizers usually lowered it to just a few inches off the pavement, chopped the "A" and "B" pillars to lower the roof, removed the brightwork, shaved off the door handles and customized the paint with flames.
