
Hot Rod Dictionary!
A
A-400: Convertible two door sedan built by Ford prior to 1932.
A-Bone: Model "A" Ford.
A-Pillar: The sheet metal section located on each side of the windshield between the roof and the main body that has to be cut when chopping the top.
Alky: Alcohol fuel for racing. aka; methyl alcohol or methanol, a very high-octane fuel.
AMC: Acronym for "American Motors Corp" an organization which merged with Chrysler Corporation.
Ardun heads: Created by Zora Arkus-Duntov (circa 1947), the Ardun Manufacturing company fabricated overhead valve cylinder heads with hemispherical combustion chambers that could be bolted to the Ford V-8 60 (flathead) block. Precursor to the Chrysler "hemi," Ardun heads delivered serious horsepower gains for hot rodders and racers privileged enough to afford them.
B
B-400: Convertible two door sedan built by Ford in 1932.
Baby moons: Small smooth chrome hubcaps that cover just the lug nuts.
Balonies: Wide bad ass tires, usually on the rear.
Bang Shift: To quickly shift a standard transmission .
Banger: A colloquial term used to express the cylinders in an engine. Often used with a number such as "six banger".
Banjo Wheel: 1939 Ford steering wheel or other spoked wheel.
Blown Engine: A engine that has a Supercharger or a engine that exploded.
Basket Case: A project car that is mosty disassembled and must be literally carried home in baskets.
Base Model: The least expensive vehicle with the least amount of features as standard equipment. It has the smallest engine and often manual transmission as well as few power equipment. Base models constitute only a small percentage of the cars sold. Sometimes called a "stripper" or "stripped down" unit.
Bat-wing: The air cleaner off of 1953 to 1956 Caddys and Packards.
Beast: A really ugly hotrod.
Beater: Everyday use car. Usually used to chase parts for the current project. Can be everything from a fairly new car to a beatup old pickup truck.
Belly pan: A custom fabricated underbody piece used to aid airflow under the car's body ? often made of sheet aluminum or steel.
Belly Tanker: See Lakester.
Bent Eight: Slang for a V-8. Drag plate- An aluminum car club plaque hung with chains so low it would either drag on the road or hit going up driveways or bumps.
Billet: A solid bar, round or square, usually made of aluminum of steel, from which a part is machined.
Binders: Slang term for a car's brakes.
Blower: Supercharger.
Blower Drive: The belt and pulleys that drive a Supercharger.
Brain bucket: Helmet.
Bobbed: Shortened. Usually done to fenders or frame rails.
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Boost: Intake manifold pressure generated by a Turbocharger or Supercharger.
Boots: Tires.
Bored and Stroked: Engines that have had their cylinder walls enlarged and the crankshaft throw modified.
Bottom End: Refers to the lower portion of a engine and usually includes the crankshaft, flywheel, bearings and connecting rods.
Box: The transmission, but can also refer to adding reinforcement to the frame.
Bucket: Rod with a Model T body also called a 'Bucket T'.
Buggy Sprung: Suspension based on front and rear solid axels and left over from horse and buggy days.
Bull Nose: Usually refers to a chrome trim piece for the top of a hood.
Bullet Nose: A Studebaker built in the late 40's and early 50's.
C
C Notch: A notch cut in the frame rails (lowered car) for rear axle clearance.
California Rake: Downward angle of a car with a dropped front suspension.
Cal-Neva: California-Nevada Timing Association.
Cam: Short for Camshaft, a engine piece that activates the valves.
Cammer: Any engine with an overhead camshaft.
Carson top: Removable hardtops made famous by the Carson Co. as early as the 30's, these t