-Photo by Terry Miller
Street Rod Forever, a local car enthusiast car club holds a Hod Rod Car Show (for Pre ’74 vehicles) each September on Myrtle in Monrovia. Each and every year the men who founded the club donate a portion of their proceeds to local charities.
This year the event falls on Saturday September 8 with fun for the while family.
Street Rods are typically American cars with large engines modified for linear speed. The origin of the term “hot rod” is unclear. One explanation is that the term is a contraction of “hot roadster,” meaning a roadster that was modified for speed. Another possible origin includes modifications to or replacement of the camshaft(s), sometimes known as a “stick” or “rod”. A camshaft designed to produce more power is sometimes called a “hot stick” or a “hot rod”. Roadsters were the cars of choice because they were light. The term became commonplace in the 1930s or 1940s as the name of a car that had been “hopped up” by modifying the engine in various ways to achieve higher performance.
The term can also apply to other items that are “souped up” for a particular purpose, such as “hot-rodded amplifier”.