A-G
Aftermarket: Source of parts made by companies other than the original manufacturer. In the hot rod and custom world, the term is used to refer to the many companies that manufacture parts specifically for hot rods and custom cars.
Alky: alcohol fuel for racing. aka; methyl alcohol or methanol, a very high-octane fuel.
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.
Antique: 25 years old or older, in stock, unmodified, or restored to original condition.
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.
Appletons: Fender-mounted spotlights, named for the manufacturer.
Baby moons: Small, smooth, dished chrome hubcaps that cover only the center bolt circle of a wheel.
Balanced: Normally used to define balancing the rotating mass (i.e.: crankshaft), but could also mean matching the weights of the pistons and rods.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: A dry-lakes/salt-flats competition-only car made from a surplus WWII aircraft belly tank. Belly tanks were used for their aerodynamic shape, and fitted to custom-fabricated, mid-engined chassis.
Beltline: The line running around a car’s body formed by the bottom edges of the side windows.
Big block: The larger of a manufacturer’s V-8 engines with a block that is physically more massive (as opposed to just having more displacement) than the manufacturer’s smaller V-8. Big blocks usually have a displacement of more than 370 cubic inches.
Bigs ‘n’ littles: The typical hot rod or dragster front and rear tire combination; big tires in back (for increased traction in drag racing and higher effective gearing in dry-lakes racing), little tires up front (for reduced rolling resistance and lighter weight).
Billet: Solid blocks of aluminum that are machined to create custom parts for hot rods. The term “billet” also refers to the parts themselves. Billet can be used as a noun, as in, “there is too much billet on that car,” or as an adjective, as in, “I just got a new billet steering wheel.”
Binders: Brakes.
Blower: A supercharger.
Blown Gasser: A supercharged, gas burning engine.
Blueprinted: Ensuring the dimensions of the parts in the engine are more accurate and, therefore, closer to the original engine blueprint values.
Bobbed: Shortened or abbreviated, usually refers to fenders or frame rails.
Bomb: A pre-1955 model-year lowrider. Bombs are built to appear stock, but they are lowered and often use numerous add-on factory and vintage aftermarket accessories.
Bore: As a noun: The diameter of an engine’s cylinder opening, usually measured in inches. As a verb: To increase the diameter of an engine’s cylinders.
Buick wires: (also Skylark wires) A style of wire wheels that was factory equipment on 1953-54 Skylarks. They were also offered as Buick factory accessories in the 1950’s. Extremely popular with customizers.
Bullets: Chromed, bullet-shaped extensions used on bumpers, grilles, and wheels.
Business Coupe: A simple two-door coupe, without a rumble seat, built between the mid to late thirties. Also referred to as a Businessman’s Coupe.
C’ing: Removing a C-shaped section from the frame of a car over the front or rear axle to gain additional clearance for axle travel with a lowered suspension. A frame with this modification is called a “C’d” frame.
Candy: A type of paint finish achieved by spraying a transparent color coat over a metallic or pearl base coat. The top coat allows the base coat to show through for a rich, deep effect.
Cal-Neva: California-Nevada Timing Association.Cammer: Any engine with an overhead camshaft.
Carson top: Removable hardtops made famous by the Carson Co. as early as the 30′s, these tops were a hot trend in the early 50′s for custom rodders. George and Sam Barris in Southern California were especially impressed with Carson Tops and applied several to their creations.
Channeled: both a hot rod and custom term pertaining to dropping the car body over the frame to reduce the profile or overall height of the car. The process requires sectioning the firewall, cutting the perimeter of the floor pan, and then welding back to desired height. For early hot rods and dry lakes cars, this was done to reduce wind resistance and lower the center of gravity for stability at high speeds. For custom rodders, it was often done for more aesthetic/artistic purposes. (aka: Channel Job)
Chopped: similar to channeled, this hot rod and custom term pertains only to the top or roof of the car. By horizontally cutting sections of metal from the a-pillars, door pillars and rear quarter panels one could lower the roof line which often resulted in a more sinister appearance.
Chrome-reversed wheels: Stamped steel wheels that have had their center hub sections removed, and rewelded to the rims to gain a deeper offset. The reworked wheels are then chrome-plated.
Cid: An abbreviation for cubic inch displacement, a measurement of the size of an engine.
Classic: A fine or unusual motorcar built between 1925 and 1948. A classic is distinguished by its fine design, high engineering standards, and superior workmanship. Only certain important automotive brands are considered “true” classics.
Cogs: hot rod term for gears.
Continental kit: a popular bolt-on “customization kit” for the rear end of 50′s cars. With varying degrees of quality, most kits usually consisted of: an external tire carrier with stainless steel tire ring, indented faceplate, drop center gravel guard, bumper extensions, and a license light.
Crank: common abbreviation for crankshaft.
Crate Engine: Factory built, ready to run engine.
Custom: A car that is modified in visual appearance through imaginative and technical methods to create a distinctive vehicle.
Cutouts: An exhaust system that allows for exhaust gases to run through the mufflers, or straight out the headers or unmuffled pipes.
****: A dropped front-end.
Decked: Chrome details and trim removed from the trunk and smoothed over.
Deuce: 1932 Ford.
D.O.: an early years term for an engine equipped with dual overhead camshafts.
Dropped: A significantly lowered vehicle.
Dual set-up: early hot rod term for an engine using a dual intake manifold equipped with two carburetors.
Dual Quad: Two four barrel carburetors.
Duval Windshield: a split V-shaped raked chrome-plated windshield designed by George DuVall.
Dutchman Panel: The metal body piece between the rear window and the trunk.
Exotic: A high-priced, two passenger roadster, coupe, or convertible, usually from Europe. A few exceptions exist such as the Dodge Viper or the original Shelby Cobra.
Fadeaways: Custom rodder term where the extruded front fender section gradually flows into the rear extruded fender section while flowing with the cars body lines.
Fat Fendered: Fords built between 1935 and 1948 that were wide and rounded in appearance.
Fender skirts: Panels covering the rear wheel well leaving only the bottom part of the rear wheels exposed.
Fiestas: A three-bar hubcap so-named because it came as original factory equipment on 1953 Oldsmobile Fiesta convertibles. These hubcaps were also found on most ’54 and ’55 Oldsmobiles. Also refers to any aftermarket hubcap that mimics the Fiesta’s style.
Filled axle: a dropped axle that has both sides of the “I” beam section filled with metal at the bend to provide added strength.
Five window: A Ford coupe body style made from 1932 to 1936 that has five windows, not counting the windshield. There are other model years of Ford coupes that have five windows, but they are not referred to as such since there were no three windows produced during those years, making the additional description unnecessary.
Flathead: An engine with its valves located in the cylinder block rather than in the head. The head itself is a plain, flat casting. The term is used most to indicate a Ford V-8 engine built between 1932 and 1953. It could also indicate a Ford four-cylinder Model A, B, or C four-cylinder engine.
Filled Roof: One that has a welded steel panel instead of the original wood-and-fabric insert.
Flamethrowers: Igniting unburnt exhaust and shooting flames out the tailpipes.
Flippers: A style of hubcap that features one or more bars that reflect light when the vehicle is in motion. Also known as spinners.
Fordor: A four-door Ford sedan.
Frame-off Restoration: A restoration project in which the entire vehicle is completely disassembled with all parts cleaned or replaced as necessary, so that the restored car meets the original factory specifications as closely as possible.
Frenched: Recessed head or tail lights that are smoothed into the body panels.
Front Clip: Either the front end sheet metal or the section of frame in front of the firewall.
Gennie: Rodder’s slang for “genuine”, usually used to refer to original, factory-produced parts.
Glass-packs: Loud, aftermarket mufflers.
Goat: Pontiac GTO.
Gow job: An obscure pre-WWII term for a car with a modified engine, apparently derived from gow out, below. No longer used.
Gow out: Early term meaning to accelerate rapidly. One theory has it that the “gow” is simply a mispronunciation of “go.” No longer used.
Guide lights: Externally mounted headlights (found on late 1930′s cars) that had a small light attached to the top of the headlight housing.
