The term hot rod may be a contraction of "hot roadster."
SOUTH PLAINFIELD -- This photo from the 1960s shows car enthusiasts posing with their hot rods in front of Nicastro's Garage on Hamilton Boulevard in South Plainfield.
According to hotrodders.com, the term for a modified car may be a contraction of "hot roadster," as open roadsters were often the vehicle of choice to modify for speed due to their light weight.
It has also been noted that burning out the connecting rod bearings was a very common failure in souped-up four-cylinder Fords, particularly the Model T, and "hot rod" could refer to that phenomenon.
The term became common in the 1940s for a car that had been "hopped up" by modifying the engine in various ways to achieve higher performance.
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