The History of the Hot Rod

The hot rod is a part of the American car culture. Here at Farm Boy Garage hot rods are part of our everyday life, as well as for most car junkies. But, do you know where hot rods got their start or the reason folks started customizing their vehicles? In this week’s blog, we will talk about the history of the hot rod. You may be surprised by how long hot rodding has been around. Hot rodding is a way of life for many, and here at your one-stop restoration shop we live that lifestyle out and love sharing the history!

The Prohibition

During the prohibition era of the 1920s and 30s, the demand for illegal booze was big business. Big city gangsters paid small town moonshine brewers to provide them homemade alcohol. Of course, it didn’t take long for the government to take notice. The government sent out Federal Agents, known as “Revenuers” or “G-Man”. Not only was it hard to make the moonshine without getting caught, but they also had to deliver the product without getting caught. Even after prohibition ended in 1933, the demand for moonshine was still high. Moonshine was tax-free, much less expensive, and had much higher alcohol content. The government didn’t want to lose any tax revenue, so they continued to try and shut down stills and stop the transportation of the illegal booze. To transport the moonshine, runners were hired to transport the liquor. To deliver the moonshine, the runners often ran late at night when the roads were clear of traffic and they had the cover of darkness. Clear roads and darkness weren’t enough though!

Moonshiners Cars

The moonshine runners would modify and soup up their cars to our run the law enforcement. They didn’t want their cars to look any different from any other car on the street. The car needs a lot of power but needed to look as stock as they could. So, the moonshiners would often use coupes as big sedans and pickup trucks were commonly looked for as runners’ vehicles. The most common car used to run liquor was the 1940 Ford Coupe. Not only was it a common car, but it was also powered by a Flathead V8 which was perfect to make power, and the car had a huge truck. They would modify the rear suspension to carry the heavy loads of moonshine and to handle around curves at high speeds. The modifications made to make big power back then was to add larger carburetors and change the intake manifolds to get more fuel and air into the car’s engine. Another modification was to increase the motors displacement. This was accomplished by boring cylinders. If those modifications weren’t enough, they would simply replace the old engine for larger and more powerful motors. These machines were built for only one job, to deliver moonshine without getting caught!

Stock Car Racing

Of course, you can imagine that these runners bragged about how fast their cars were. This would eventually lead to these guys racing. They would race on open dirt fields and soon local promoters saw this an opportunity to sell tickets and draw a crowd. Many of these dirt fields would become racetracks with bleachers and stands for folks to come watch. Fast forward a few years and these racetracks were all over the country. In 1948 some promoters met will Bill France Sr and created the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, known as NASCAR. A few moonshiners went on to become big NASCAR stars.

Enthusiasts

In the 1950s hot rodders started on focusing on the appearance on their cars as well as the power and handling. Making loud and distinctive paintwork common for many hot rods. In 1951 the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) was founded and was the governing body for drag racing. Many associations and magazines were also formed specifically for hot rodders. By the late 1960s and early 1970s, automakers were producing cars that needed no modifications right from the factory and the muscle car era was born. The oil crisis of 1973 made the automakers change focus from muscle cars to fuel efficiency. We have had many ups and downs in the American car world ever since. It wasn’t long ago if a car came from the factory with 300 horsepower it was something special. Now we have cars hitting almost 800 hp available at the dealer down the street.

As far as we have come from the cars of the prohibition era, one thing is for sure. We will never stop modifying cars! No matter how much power, how good the handling is, or pretty the paintwork is we must make these machines our own. If you have a hot rod that is need of restoration, Farm Boy Garage would love to help. We specialize in classic cars, muscle cars, and classic trucks. Check us out and see all the restoration services we offer.

Muscle Car & Classic Truck Restoration
www.FarmBoyGarage.com

Farm Boy Garage
10660 E. County Line Rd.
Des Moines, Iowa 50320
Phone: 515-528-8904
Cell: 515-333-1238
farmboygarage@icloud.com

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