The
Hot Rod craze really took off after the late 1940's. Previous
cars built before WWII were cheap and plentiful, and not many
people wanted them with the new cars starting to come out after
the war.
Hot
Rod cars used an assortment of parts from different brands cars,
though the early Fords, with the later Ford Flathead V8s, were
the standard by which most Hot Rods were judged. Into the 1950's
and 1960's, any engine would be used, from the Chrysler 352 HEMIs
to the powerful Cadillac V8s.
Hot
Rod model cars are a lot like that. The kits have various parts
to modify and build your own version of a Hot Rod you like. The
kits include extra wheels, tires, even more than one engine. Allowing
you to combine the parts and custom build your own fast street
rod machine.
Hot
Rod kits are here to stay, from the 1950's to 2014, the model
manufacturers continue to issue new ones and reissue older kits
of Hot Rods. And don't be fooled - they sell like crazy.
From
old school stripped down versions, to the billet style Hot Rod
/ Street Rod versions of today with tubular frames. The Hot Rod
model kits continue to spark the imagination of modellers everywhere.
AMT,
Revell, Lindberg, and MPC, even Testors, there's no shortage of
Hot Rod kits to get you building and collecting.
Unlike
most model cars, building a Hot Rod is not like builiding, say,
a 1962 Impala. First off, there's no such thing as "stock".
Hot Rods are cars that have been modified, from the engine, to
the body, to any number of different go fast parts and accessories.
If
you aren't swapping engines and parts on your Hot Rod kits, you're
probably missing the whole idea behind what a Hot Rod is all about.
Luckily,
most Hot Rod kits, especially the older ones, come a box full
of extra parts. Which you can use on your current car build, or
save for the next Hot Rod project. It's rare two Hot Rods look
alike, so you should build them the way YOU want to. There is
no right or wrong way.
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