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The Hirohata Merc, one of the most famous cars in the lead sled style. A lead sled is a standard production automobile with a body heavily modified in particular ways [citation needed] [dubious – discuss] (see below); especially, though not exclusively, a 1949, 1950, or 1951 model year Ford 'Shoebox' or Mercury Eight car.
The modern OHV V-8 powered vehicles available also contributed to the demise of hot-rodding's original culture (affordable modifications by working-class car owners), as new factory cars became capable of much higher performance than most hot-rods. Today the flat-head Ford is mainly used in "retro" hot-rod builds by builders more interested in ...
The Hirohata Merc is a 1950s lead sled [1] custom car, often called "the most famous custom of the classic era". [2] [3] Setting a style and an attitude, it had a "momentous effect" on custom car builders, [4] appeared in several magazines at the time [5] and has reappeared numerous times since, earning an honorable mention on Rod & Custom ' s "Twenty Best of All Time" list in 1991. [5]
Tailfins gave a Space Age look to cars, and along with extensive use of chrome became commonplace by the end of the decade. 1950s American automobile culture has had an enduring influence on the culture of the United States, as reflected in popular music, major trends from the 1950s and mainstream acceptance of the "hot rod" culture. The American manufacturing economy switched from producing ...
The forerunners to the hotrod were the modified cars used in the Prohibition era by bootleggers to evade revenue agents and other law enforcement. [7]Hot rods first appeared in the late 1930s in southern California, where people raced modified cars on dry lake beds northeast of Los Angeles, under the rules of the Southern California Timing Association (SCTA), among other groups.
The Kurtis Sport Car (KSC) is a two-seat, aluminum-body sports car designed by Frank Kurtis and manufactured by Kurtis Kraft in 1949 and 1950. Built with numerous components (including the chassis and V8 engine) from a 1949 Ford, the KSC was built as both a production car and a kit car. It was sold at a base price of $3,495.
Later, with the introduction of the Model A Ford's flathead V8 in the early 30's, and their ease of availability in the post-war 1940's and early 1950's at a price that was within the reach of teenagers, mating one to a salvageable example of a Model T or a Model A lacking this eight cylinder engine gave birth to Hot Rod culture in the early 40's.
Ryan based the description of the eponymous car on his own hot rod, built from a 1948 12-cylinder Lincoln chassis shortened two feet, with a 1930 Ford Model A body fitted to it. [ citation needed ] Ryan raced his hot rod against a Cadillac sedan driven by a friend in Lewiston, Idaho , driving up the Spiral Highway (former U.S. Route 95 in Idaho ...