Once you have entered the classic car world, you may find a language being spoken that is full of jargon and not readily intelligible to outsiders, and it can almost be described as a code or classification that embraces all aspects of classic cars. In a previously we discussed terms used with Hot Rodder’s autobody terms. Now let’s discover these definitions and more in the following list of the most common classic car terms you will need to know to understand and communicate properly in this very close community.
Classic Car Terms Stating With "A"
- A-400: A convertible two-door sedan built by Ford prior to 1932.
- A-Bomb: Any Model A Ford that has been modified.
- A-Bone: Model A Ford, 1928–1931.
- A-Pillar: The side windshield post on most cars.
- Aeromobile: A term coined by Henry Ford to describe his first cars. Early cars were often referred to as horseless carriages.
- Aftermarket:Any replacement part or accessory not made by the original manufacturer.
- Air-Cooling:A cooling method that uses air to cool internal engine components instead of water and a radiator.
- Alky: Alcohol fuel used for racing, including methanol or methyl alcohol.
- Aluminum Block: A block made of aluminum, typically used in high-performance engines.
- Antique: It all depends on whom you ask. Generally, it is used to mean a car that’s 25 to 30 years old or older, but hobbyists, car clubs, licensing bureaus, and insurance companies are all free to set their own meaning of the term. As with the term “classic,” there is no single set-in-stone definition.
- Appletons: Fender-mounted spotlights, named for the manufacturer.
- Assemblage: A term used to describe the process of putting a car together.
- Automobile: A vehicle with four wheels propelled by an engine, specifically designed for road travel.
"B"
- B-400: A convertible two-door sedan built by Ford in 1932.
- B-Pillar: The post between the front and back seat areas on cars. Hardtop models have this removed.
- Baby HEMI: Any early HEMI engine, which was produced by Chrysler’s Dodge and DeSoto divisions and had smaller dimensions and displacement than Chrysler’s other HEMI offerings.
- Baby Moons: Small, chromed hubcaps that only cover the center of the wheel.
- Backhalf: To reconfigure any stock vehicle’s rear components (narrowing the rear-end, adding wheel tubs, etc.) typically for better drag racing performance.
- Bagged: Having a custom airbag suspension system.
- Balancer: A device mounted on the end of the crankshaft and is used to counterbalance the weight of the reciprocating parts in an engine.
- Balonies: Automotive tires, especially large rear tires used on hot rods or drag racing vehicles.
- Bang Shift: To quickly shift a standard transmission.
- Banger: A slang term used to express the number of cylinders in an engine (four-banger = four-cylinder, etc.).
- Banjo: An early style rear-end that resembles the shape of a banjo.
- Barn Find: A long-forgotten vehicle that was found in a barn, replete with pigeon poo, dust and sometimes even chicken eggs lurking beneath the bonnet, and then hauled into an auction room.
- Barn-Fresh: A vehicle, usually an older antique, that is in unrestored condition, looking as if it had just been pulled out of long storage in a barn. It is becoming increasingly popular to restore the mechanics of such vehicles to safe working conditions, but to leave the body and interior in this shape, as it documents the car’s original appearance.
- Barn Find: Any vehicle that was stored away in a barn or similar structure for an extensive period and then found and restored.
- Basecoat or Base Coat: The color coat of a 2-stage paint job. Base coats typically use no hardener and are not intended to be the topmost coat of paint. Base coats are top coated with clear coats that are hardened using a catalyst.
- Basket Case: Any vehicle that was completely disassembled or needs to be completely disassembled for restoration or modification purposes. (Referred to as basket case because the process often involves gathering and collecting small parts in a basket over a long period of time.)
- Beach Wagon: A term for a station wagon.
- Beam Axle: Any automotive front axle featuring the cross-sectional shape of an I-beam.
- Belly Pan: Metal sheeting underneath a street rod, to streamline the bottom of a rod.
- Beltline: The line running around a car’s body formed by the bottom edges of the side windows.
- Berline: An early word for a two-door sedan.
- Big ‘n Littles: A hot rod or dragster tire combination which employs large rear tires for traction and small front tires for reduced rolling resistance.
- Billet: Automotive components machined from a single block of metal.
- Binders: Brakes.
- Block Sanding: The final stage of sanding a vehicle’s body in preparation for painting. A rectangular “block” of one sort of another is covered on one side with sandpaper (at this point, typically a fine grit) and the block is passed over the body – producing an even surface.
- Blower: Supercharger.
- Blower Drive: The belt and pulleys that drive a Supercharger.
- Blown Engine: A engine that has a Supercharger or an engine that exploded.
- Blown Gasser: A supercharged, gas-burning engine car set up for drag racing.
- Blue Oval: Ford product (for the Ford badge).
- Blueprinting: The act of ensuring the dimensions of the parts in the engine are more accurate and therefore closer to the original engine blueprint values.
- Boattail: The tapered form of the rear-end. The term literally describes the shape of the vehicle tail, which resembled the bow of a boat.
- Bobbed: Shortened Fenders, sometimes applied to a shortened hood or frame rails.
- Body Filler: Body filler is a material that is used to fill imperfections in bodywork – be they sheet metal or fiberglass bodies.
- Bodywork: The process of filling imperfections in a vehicle’s body and then smoothing it in preparation for painting.
- Body on Frame: A construction method where the chassis and body of a car are built separately and then joined. A body on frame restoration means that the body is not separated from the frame as part of the restoration process.
- Bondo: Brand name for a body filler, often used as a generic term for any such product.
- Bone-Stock: An original, unmodified car.
- Bonnet: An English term for the hood of a car.
- Boost: Intake manifold pressure generated by a Turbocharger or Supercharger.
- Boot: An English term for the trunk of a car.
- Bored and Stroked: Engines that have had their cylinder walls enlarged and the crankshaft throw modified.
- Bottom End: Refers to the lower portion of a engine and usually includes the crankshaft, flywheel, bearings, and connecting rods.
- Bottom Out: When the car’s chassis hits the end of its suspension travel.
- Bonnet: The hood over the front engine, often used with European cars.
- Box: The transmission but can also refer to adding reinforcement to the frame.
- Brake System: All components included in providing the ability to slow a vehicle and bring it to a stop.
- Brass Era Cars: A term used to describe cars manufactured between 1890 and 1915. These cars are typically made from brass and wood.
- Brightwork: Chrome, aluminum, or stainless-steel trim.
- Brougham: An early motoring term signifying a closed car for two or four persons.
- Bucket: Rod with a Model T body, also called a “Bucket T.”
- Buggy Sprung: Suspension based on front and rear solid axels, left over from horse-and-buggy days.
- Bull Nose: Usually refers to a chrome trim piece for the top of a hood.
- Bullet Nose: A Studebaker built in the late ’40s and early ’50s.
- Bullets: Chromed, bullet-shaped extensions used on bumpers, grilles, and wheels.
- Bump-stick: Slang for camshaft.
- Business Coupé: A simple two-door coupé, without a rumble seat, built in the mid- to late thirties. (Also referred to as a Businessman’s Coupé).
"C"
- C-Pillar: The rear pillar of the roof support structure.
- Cabriolet: A convertible with windows.
- California Top: A fixed rigid top applied to a touring car, replacing the regular folding top.
- Cam: Short for Camshaft, an engine piece that activates the valves.
- Camber: The inward or outward tilt of the wheels when viewed from the front or rear of the car.
- Cammer: Usually refers to a single overhead V8 Ford engine.
- Carson Top: A solid, removable roof that is covered with a soft material.
- CC-ing: The accurate measuring of each cylinder or combustion chamber to equalize the volume in high-performance engines.
- CCs: ’39 Ford Teardrop headlights.
- Channeled: Cutting the floor so the body rests around the frame rails rather than sitting on top of the frame. This gives an overall lowered appearance.
- Chassis: The frame of a car that supports the body, engine, suspension, and other components.
- Cherry: Like new.
- Chop/Chopped: Removing a section of the roofline horizontally to reduce its height.
- CID: Refers to “Cubic Inch Displacement” of an engine.
- Classic: As with the term “antique,” there is no single definition accepted by all hobbyists, car clubs, licensing bureaus, or insurance companies. Some people use the term to describe a car that falls somewhere between their definition of “antique” and a brand-new car. Others use it to describe specific models—for example, the 1955/1956/1957 Chevrolets are often called the “Classic Chevys.” The Classic Car Club of America has trademarked the term “Full Classic” to describe a car that’s on its list of acceptable classics.
- Clear Title: Term used when a vehicle does not have a salvaged status on the Title, prior accidents or open liens.
- Clearcoat or Clear Coat: The coat(s) of clear catalyzed paint that is applied over the basecoat color(s).
- Clones, Tributes, Continuations: Clones, tributes, and continuations are all terms to describe vehicles that have been modified from stock configurations to resemble a special model edition for that vehicle.
- Club Coupé: A two-door closed car with rear seat.
- Coach: A two-door sedan.
- Cockpit: Interior
- Collector Car: A classic car is often collected and maintained as a hobby or investment.
- Colorsanding: The process of sanding the final coat of a paint job with progressively finer grits of sandpaper to remove imperfections in the paint – including orange peel.
- Cooling System: All components included in providing the engine with coolant so that operating temperatures can be kept constant – typically in a range between 165-200 degrees (F) for most classics.
- Concours d’elegance: A car show, usually open only to higher-end or luxury antique automobiles, held in a lush setting such as a country club. The literal translation is “contest of elegance.”
- Convertible: An open-top car with a folding roof and side windows.
- Core Support: The structural component of a vehicle that spans the width between the two front fenders to form the front of the engine compartment – so named because it acts as the mounting point for the radiator core.
- Coupé: A closed car with two doors and a smaller interior than a sedan.
- Coupe Chauffeur: An open compartment for the chauffeur followed by a closed compartment for passengers. Also known as a Brougham and a Coupe Limousine.
- Coupe DeVille: Originally any car with a fixed roof over the rear seat and a convertible roof over the front seat.
- Crank: Crankshaft but can also mean to go fast (“crank on it”) or to simply turn the motor over.
- Crash Box: A transmission that has no synchromesh. This type of transmission must be double clutched to reduce wear.
- Crate Engine: A factory-built, ready-to-run engine.
- Cross-member: A structural component that reinforces the chassis of a car.
- Cruise: To drive in a laid-back fashion.
- Custom: Stock cars that have had extensive body modifications.
- Cutting Coils: A method of lowering a car’s ride height by cutting out sections of the coil springs.
- Cycle Fenders: Usually, a front and sometimes rear fender similar to that used on a bicycle, which follows the curvature of the wheel.
"D"
- Dagmars: A styling element conceived of by GM Vice President of Design, Harley Earl, to resemble artillery shells on the front bumper of cars. They were added to give the cars an element to denote speed and power during the 1950s. However, car enthusiasts saw other similarities and soon referred to them as “Dagmars,” in reference to their resemblance to a well-endowed film and television personality of the ’50s.
- Dago: A dropped front end.
- Daily Driver: A class of rating a car that is reliable enough for daily use, but may not hold up to the scrutiny you might expect to experience at a car show or even a car club.
- Deck/Decked: Removing the chrome and handles from the trunk or “Decklid.”
- Deuce (Deuce Coupe): 1932 Ford two-seater.
- Dig Out: Accelerate quickly.
- Digs: Drag Races.
- Digger: A Dragster.
- Displacement: The total volume of air/fuel mixture an engine can draw in during one complete cycle.
- Dog Leg: The corner of a wraparound windshield on a 1950s car. It is a multipurpose term and is also used to describe, among other things, the rear door jamb on the back door of a sedan, a sharp turn on a racecourse, or a manual transmission where first to second gear is an up-and-over movement of the shifter.
- Donor Car: A vehicle used to provide parts and hardware for another project vehicle.
- Double Clutching: A technique used with older manual transmissions that do not have synchronizers (a “crash box” transmission). The driver puts in the clutch, moves the shifter into neutral, releases the clutch, and then puts the clutch back in and shifts to the next gear. This extra step allows the engine speed to match the speed of the gears, so the shift is smoother and prevents excess wear on the transmission.
- Drag Plates: Metal plates that have a car club’s name and logo identifying the vehicle and its driver as a member of that club.
- Drivetrain or Drive Train: The system of components that convert the engine’s rotation into movement.
- Drophead Coupe: An English term for a convertible.
- Dropped: A significantly lowered vehicle.
- Dropped Axle: A special front axle with its wheel spindles higher in relation to the height of the axle than in a stock unit. The result is a lower ride height.
- Dual Quad: Two four-barrel carburetors.
- Dutchman Panel: The metal body piece between the rear window and the trunk.
- DuVall Windshield: A split V-shaped raked chrome-plated windshield designed by George DuVall.
"E"
- EFI: Electronic Fuel Injection (replaces the carburetor).
- ET: Elapsed time—the time it takes to run a quarter mile drag.
- Economic Obsolescence: A term used to describe a car no longer economically viable to repair or maintain.
- Elephant: A term used to describe the 426 ci. Hemi used in 1964 or later Chrysler Corporation Cars.
- Engine Bay: The area under the hood (or “bonnet” for British cars) where the engine resides.
- Engine Block: The part of the engine that contains the cylinders, pistons, and other moving parts.
- Estate Car: The early version of a station wagon.
- Etch Primer: Coat(s) of primer that can be sprayed directly on bare metal to provide better adhesion to the metal for succeeding layers of build primer. Most etch primers also include a corrosion inhibitor.
- Exhaust System: The system removes exhaust gases from the engine and vents them out of the car.
- Exotic Cars: A term used to describe a scarce, luxurious, and expensive car.
"F"
- Fade-Aways: Fenders that taper back into the body.
- Fastback: A car design where the roofline continues in a single curve from the windshield to the rear bumper.
- Fat: A over-rich fuel mixture denoted by excessive black smoke.
- Fat Fendered: Street rods with bodies manufactured between 1935 and 1948.
- Fencer’s Mask: A term used to describe early radiator grills that look like the mask a fencer uses.
- Fender Skirts: Body panels that cover the rear wheel wells.
- Fill: Filling body seams with lead or body filler to lend a smoother appearance to the car.
- Filled Roof: A roof that has a welded steel panel instead of the original wood-and-fabric insert.
- Final Drive: The gear reduction system transmits power from the engine to the drive wheels.
- Fixed Head Coupe: A hardtop coupe.
- Flamed: Graphic representation of flames, usually starting at the front and working towards the back of a hot rod.
- Flame Throwers: A device to ignite unburned gases leaving the exhaust system.
- Flathead: An L-head or side-valve engine, including the highly popular Ford Flathead built between 1932 and 1953.
- Flatty: See Flathead.
- Floor Pan: This just means the floor of a vehicle.
- Flopper: Drag racing slang for a Funny Car.
- Fordor: Ford name for a four-door sedan in the 1930s and 1940s.
- Four Banger: A four-cylinder engine.
- Four Barrel: A four-cylinder engine or a type of carburetor.
- Four on the Floor: Floor-mounted shifter coupled to a four-speed transmission.
- Frame: The steel structure that supports the body, engine, suspension and drive train.
- 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.
- Frame-On Restoration: A restoration where the body and chassis of a car are restored together.
- Frame-Up Restoration: Not as detailed as a frame-off restoration, this process involves restoring the paint, chrome, interior, and mechanicals to original specifications without complete disassembly of the car.
- French: Usually refers to recessing the headlights and removing the seam of the headlight trim ring but can apply to other recessing.
- Front Clip: Either the front-end sheet metal or the section of frame in front of the firewall.
- Fuel Injected: A mechanical device that “injects” or introduces fuel into a engine.
- Fuel System: All components related to providing the appropriate fuel supply to the engine.
- Fuely: A fuely car is one that uses fuel injection instead of a carburetor to regulate gas supplied to the engine.
- Full-Frame: A vehicle design that incorporates a structural frame (separate from the body) that runs the full length of the vehicle.
- Full-Race: High-performance flatty cams, suitable only for strip use.
"G"
- Gasket: A seal used to prevent oil, coolant, or other fluids from leaking.
- Gasser: Car used in gasoline-only drag racing classes in the 1960s (as opposed to alcohol or nitromethane fuels), where the front end of the car is raised along with the motor. Characterized by a body that sits well above the front wheels. Distinct from Highboy.
- Gear Box: Transmission.
- Gennie: Genuine.
- Ghost Flames: See Flamed, only these flames are usually the same color as the body—only a few shades lighter or darker.
- Glass: Short for fiberglass.
- Glass-packs: Loud aftermarket mufflers, which typically use a straight-through perforated tube wrapped in fiberglass.
- Goat: Pontiac GTO.
- Governor: A device attached to the carburetor to limit the engine’s speed.
- Grab Rails: Handles mounted on the body to help passengers enter the vehicle, usually a rumble seat.
- Gran Turismo (GT): An Italian term, commonly used by US manufacturers, meaning grand touring.
- Grill Shell: A decorative trim that goes around the radiator, usually on cars built in the early 1930s.
- Grocery Getter: A mild street rod that is used for a run to the store and back.
- Ground Up Restoration: A restoration where the focus is mainly cosmetic, and paint focused.
- Gullwing Doors: Gullwing doors are hinged to open vertically rather than horizontally.
- Gutted: A rod with its interior removed.
"H"
- Hair Dryer: Slang for turbocharger (for the shape of the casing).
- Hairpins: Radius rods.
- Half Shaft: On rear-wheel drive vehicles with independent rear suspension, the rear axle is split into two independent axles – also referred to as half shafts. Front wheel drive vehicles also use half shafts.
- Hammer: Same as Chop.
- Hand Brake: Parking Brake
- Handeler: A rod that is easy to drive.
- Hardtop: A body design for metal roof cars that eliminates the B-pillar.
- Haze the Hides: To spin and smoke the rear tires.
- Header: Specialized exhaust manifolds that help reduce exhaust back pressure, therefore increasing power.
- Hemi: A high-performance engine produced by Chrysler with hemispherical heads.
- Hides: Tires.
- Highboy: A rod with no fenders or running boards and the body placed high on the frame rails.
- High Tech: Rods that combine customized bodies with billeted or steel dress-up parts.
- Hinge Pillar: The second and third pillars that the door hinges are attached to.
- Hood: The American term for the engine cover. In England, the hood is called a bonnet, and a convertible top is called a hood.
- Hopped Up: Stock engine modified to increase performance.
- Horseless Carriage: According to the Horseless Carriage Club of America, this term applies to vehicles built before 1916.
- Horsepower: A unit of measurement that indicates the power output of an engine.
- Hot Licks: Flames or custom paint on the exterior of a car.
- Hot Rod: A vehicle that has been modified to improve its appearance or performance and most times both.
- Huffer: Supercharger.
- Hydro: Automatic transmission (derived from the name Hydromatic, a GM transmission used in the ’50s).
"I"
- In the Weeds: A really low vehicle.
- Independent Suspension: A suspension system where each wheel can move independently of the others.
- Indian (also Tin Indian): Pontiac (for the grille badge).
- Igniter: The engine’s ignition system.
"J"
- Jetting: The process of changing the fuel jet size(s) in a carburetor to tune the fuel/air mixture.
- Jimmy: Acronym for a GMC and can also refer to a Blower or Supercharger.
- Jug: A carburetor.
- Juice: Fuel, electricity, or hydraulic fluid.
- Juice Brakes: Hydraulic brakes, as opposed to mechanical ones.
"K"
- Kemp: A rod with a customized body.
- Kit Car: A reproduction of an existing automotive design, sold in various stages of production to allow for completion and customization by the builder.
- Knock Offs: A special wheel system that is held in place with one large, quickly removed nut.
"L"
- Lakes: The dry lakes in and around Southern California where hot rodders raced their cars.
- Lakes Modified: A radically modified racer designed for racing at the dry lakes.
- Lake-pipes: Side-exit exhaust pipes located under the rocker panels.
- Landau: Originally described a limousine that had an open driver’s compartment, front and back seats that face each other and a two-part convertible roof.
- Land Yacht: A large luxury car, usually referring to the chromed, finned, oversized vehicles of the late fifties to early sixties.
- Latch: The mechanism that grabs a striker to hold a door closed.
- Laughing Gas: Slang for nitrous.
- Lead-sled: A lowered, late-forties to early-fifties car with molded body seams, and altered appearance, traditionally done with lead.
- Lean: References a fuel/air mixture where the amount of fuel in the mixture is less than the 14.7:1 stoichiometric ratio of air/fuel. Lean mixtures can result in the engine “coughing”, stalling, or surging.
- Lean It Out: To alter the fuel mixture to improve engine performance and use less fuel—done to extreme will fry your engine.
- Locker: A type of differential that helps prevent tire spin and distributes the engine’s torque evenly to the rear wheels.
- Long block: A replacement engine including the crankshaft, connecting rods, pistons, heads, and head gaskets.
- Loud Pedal: The accelerator pedal.
- Louie: A left-hand turn (see Roscoe).
- Louvers: Vents or slots cut in and raised in various body panels, especially the hood and trunk areas.
- Lowboy: A rod that has no fenders or running boards that is lowered over the frame (channeled).
- Lowered: A vehicle that sits lower than stock height through suspension or frame modifications.
- Lowrider: A vehicle that has been lowered by a hydraulic suspension system that can bring the ride height up to drive it.
"M"
- Mag: Short for a wheel made with a Magnesium alloy—can also mean Magneto, a self-contained ignition system.
- Manifold: A casting containing the passages for the intake and exhaust gasses in an engine.
- Marque: A model of automobile that has been recognized as a world-class car.
- Matching Numbers: A restored or original vehicle in which all serial numbers (VIN, engine, body, transmission, rear end) can be researched and identified as being 100 percent correct for that specific vehicle.
- Media Blasting: The use of an abrasive media – such as sand, aluminum oxide, glass beads, ground glass or baking soda – sprayed under high pressure (using compressed air) to remove rust, paint, and other unwanted material from an object. “Sandblasting” is one form of media blasting.
- Merc: Mercury.
- Mileage: The total distance that a car has been driven.
- Mill: Engine.
- Model T: The first mass-produced car Ford manufactured from 1908 to 1927.
- Molded: Filling and reshaping body panels and seams.
- Monocoque: A type of construction where the car’s body is used as a structural element.
- Moons (or Moon Disks): Plain flat chrome or aluminum disc hubcaps, originally adopted by land speed racers. Smaller examples are “Baby Moons.” Named for Dean Moon.
- Mopar: A Chrysler product.
- Mother-in-Law Seat: A single seat attached to the back of a two-seater car. The forerunner of the rumble seat.
- Mountain Motor: Large-displacement engine. Named for their size and for being constructed in the mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina. In organized automotive competition, the term commonly references a V8 engine displacing more than 500 cubic inches; informally, a V8 engine displacing more than 560 cubic inches.
- Mouse Motor: A small block Chevy engine manufactured from 1955 to the present day.
- Muscle Car: A North American intermediate or mid-sized car produced between 1964 and 1972 (with a few exceptions) with a large displacement V8 engine.
"N"
- Nail Head: 1950s–60s Buick V8 engine.
- Nerf: Short for Nerf Bars; used to ward off tires in open wheel racing cars—also refers to little bumperettes.
- Newstalgia: Refers to a rod style that mimics the ’50s and ’60s and employs modern power plants, components, and body panels.
- NOS: Nitrous Oxide System—much big horsepower.
- N.O.S.: New Old Stock; refers to parts that are the original parts supplied by the vehicle’s manufacturer.
- Nosed: Chrome details and trim removed from the hood and smoothed over.
"O"
- O.E.M.: Stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer, and the term is generally used to distinguish between parts made by the original builder and the aftermarket.
- Odometer: A device that measures the distance a car has been driven.
- Opera Coupe: A two-door hardtop with a small folding passenger seat, for easy access to the rear seat.
- Orange Peel: A way to describe the finish in a paint job where at close inspection it appears a bit “bumpy” – much like the outer skin of an orange. Orange peel can be eliminated via color sanding and is often considered a measure of the quality of a paint job.
- Original: Contains only parts originally installed on the car or NOS parts from the manufacturer with no substitute or aftermarket parts.
- Overbore: An engine block that has had its cylinder bore enlarged because it is badly worn, or the owner wants more power.
- Oversteer: Oversteer is the sensation where the front end of the car experiences more body roll/lean while corning than does the rear.
- Overwind: A bad thing—means to run an engine faster in RPM than its designed limits.
"P"
- Paint Codes: Numbers that identify the paint color of a car.
- Pancaked: Hood modified to a lower profile.
- Panel Delivery: An early commercial vehicle with two doors in the front for people and two doors at the rear of the vehicle for cargo.
- Patina: A term used to describe a worn or aged finish or condition that is appropriate for the age of the vehicle. Patina can be used to refer to the condition of paint, interior and other aspects of a vehicle.
- Peaked: A molded accent seam on a hood.
- Pearl: Paint with reflected “Mother of Pearl” iridescent colors—or maybe it’s a little white object taken from an oyster.
- Phaeton: An open two- or four-door sedan manufactured in the late ’20s to the late ’30s that had no roll-up windows.
- Phone Booth: A ’28 or ’29 Model A closed-cab pickup.
- Pin Stripe: Long, narrow painted stripes usually running the length of a hot rod. May also be done with narrow plastic (gulp) tape.
- Pinched: To narrow the front frame to match the grill shell.
- Pink Slip: Before the days of automobile titles, the portion of a California car registration that conveyed ownership was colored pink.
- Piped: Narrow padded pleats used to trim the interior.
- Pit Pins: Quick-release pins that hold body panels in place.
- Piston: A cylindrical piece connected to the crankshaft that makes up the engine block.
- Pony Car: A small, compact performance-oriented vehicle, named for the first of its type—the Mustang.
- Ported: Intake and exhaust ports that have been enlarged and polished to provide maximum flow through the heads.
- Post: The pillar located behind the front door on sedans.
- Powder Coating: A coating process used instead of painting where powdered pigment is sprayed onto a metal object that has a metal charge.
- Power Parker: People that arrive as early as possible to events and shows to get prime parking spots, usually frowned on by hot rodders.
- Powerplant: Slang for an internal combustion engine.
- Powertrain: The system of components that propel the vehicle.
- Preservation — Minimal restoration work and customized to stay as original to the day that it came off the factory floor as possible. Usually, this level involves a complete service and detail only.
- Pro Street: A hot rod made to look like a drag racing car.
- Pro-Touring, Pro-Street: If a vehicle is pro-touring or a pro-street, then it has received performance enhancements to make it extremely fast, but still legal to drive on the street.
- Project Car: A vehicle that is in restorable condition.
- Puffer: A supercharger.
- Puke Can: A radiator overflow tank used to catch coolant.
"Q"
- Quarter Window: The side window behind the rear door.
- Quick Change: A rear end that allows for rapid changing of rear-end gear ratios.
"R"
- Rack & Pinion: A form of vehicle steering system that utilizes a simple pinion gear on a flat “rack” with gear teeth to provide left-to-right steering motion.
- Rails: Refers to the frame side rails on cars.
- Rag Top: A convertible car is otherwise known as a rag top.
- Raked: A rod that has been lowered in the front or raised in the back.
- Rat: A Big Block Chevy V8 engine, e.g.: 396, 400, 427, and 454 CID.
- Rat Rod: A style of hot rod that imitates the early rods of the 1940s–60s, featuring an unfinished, rough, or patina appearance.
- Reacher: A dependable street rod.
- Rear End: Rear axle assembly.
- Rebuilt: Often confused with “remanufactured” (and some rebuilders hock their wares as “remanufactured”).
- Remanufactured: Used parts (usually assemblies, such as starters, alternators, etc.) that have (or are supposed to have) been disassembled, inspected, and rebuilt using all new parts to replace any parts that typically wear out.
- Repaint: A paint job that is applied over an existing paint job.
- Replicar: A completed reproduction of an existing automotive design.
- Repop: See Repro.
- Repro: Reproduction parts to match or replace NOS parts.
- Reproduction: Parts that have been produced by aftermarket manufacturers – either using original tooling purchased from the OEM manufacturer or made via their own tooling.
- Respray: A paint job that is applied over an existing paint job.
- Resto-Mod: A style of classic auto where the restoration includes any number modifications from original.
- Resto Rod: A street rod with a stock-appearing body.
- Restored or Restoration: To return a car to its original showroom condition.
- Rib: A bow shape of wood or metal that supports a convertible top.
- Rich: References a fuel/air mixture where the amount of fuel in the mixture is greater than the 14.7:1 stoichiometric ratio of air/fuel.
- Roadster: A two-seater to a Phaeton—removable top and no roll-up side windows, and the windshield could fold down.
- Rockcrusher: Muncie M22 4-speed transmission, so called because of the audible differences in operation between the model M-22 and its lower-strength but quieter cousin, the M-21.
- Rocket: Oldsmobile, particularly their early V8s.
- Rod: A short for Hotrod or Connecting Rod.
- Roll Bar: A special cage made of round tubular steel and designed to protect the vehicles occupants in case of roll over.
- Roll Cage: See Roll Bar.
- Roll Pan: Smoothed-out panel that replaces the bumper and rolls back under the vehicle.
- Rolled: Bumper or gas tank removed and replaced with custom panel that “rolls” under.
- Rolled & Pleated: Deluxe interior sewn with padded pleats.
- Roller: A chassis that is complete enough to be rolled around on its own. Can also refer to a type of camshaft that uses roller lifters.
- Rolling Chassis: A vehicle that is more-or-less complete except for engine and transmission and capable of rolling on its own wheels and suspension.
- Roscoe: A right-hand turn (see Louie).
- RPM: Revolutions Per Minute or the number of rotations an engine’s crankshaft completes in one minute.
- Rubber Rake: A rake achieved using big tires in the back and little tires in the front.
- Rumble Seat: An open, fold-up rear seat located where the trunk would be.
- Running Board: The metal strip running between the fenders and below the doors of early autos and trucks used as a step or to wipe one’s feet before entering the vehicle.
- Running Gear: This refers to the collection of parts and components that allow the vehicle to roll, steer and stop.
"S"
- Saw: See Chop.
- Scallops: A graphic in the shape of a long, narrow triangle, usually starting from the front of a hotrod.
- Scatter Shield: A protective enclosure at the rear of the engine to protect the driver in case a clutch explodes—also used on transmissions.
- Scoop: A device mounted on the hood to force air into the engine at higher speeds.
- Scrub Line: The lower edge of the car’s wheels. Frame and suspension components should not be below this line, as they can meet the pavement in the event of a flat tire.
- Section: To remove a band of metal from around the middle section of a vehicle to reduce its overall height.
- Sedan: A two or four door vehicle with a rear seat.
- Sedan Delivery: A two-door station wagon with solid body panels instead of windows on the sides at the back of the car.
- Shaved: Door handles and body trim that have been removed and smoothed over.
- Sheetmetal Repair: The process of repairing damage to the body or structure of a vehicle via replacement of sheet steel or reworking the metal in some way or another.
- Shock Absorber: A suspension device that utilizes fluid to dampen the motion of the wheel’s travel to improve ride and stability.
- Shoebox: Nickname for 1955–57 Chevrolet cars and 1949–54 Ford cars.
- Short block: A replacement engine block containing the crank, connecting rods, and pistons, but without heads, manifolds, or external components.
- Show Car: A car that is built with the specific intent of being displayed at car shows. While such cars are typically roadworthy, driving is actually a secondary purpose for these vehicles.
- Side-mount: A spare tire recessed into the front fender.
- Single-Stage Paint Job: A type of paint job where the color coat(s) also act as the final coats of paint – providing the protection, durability, and shine – as opposed to a 2-stage paint process where the color “basecoat” requires the protection of a clear topcoat.
- Six-Pack: Three two-barrel carburetors.
- Skins: Tires.
- Skirts: Short for Fender Skirts, which cover wheel well openings in customs and hot rods.
- Slammed: A vehicle or hot rod that is as close to the ground as humanly possible without touching.
- Sleeper: A vehicle that doesn’t look as fast as it is.
- Slingshot: A front-engine dragster.
- Slushbox: An automatic transmission.
- Smoothy: A hot rod that has had all raised portions of the body removed, including moldings and sometimes chrome.
- Soft Top: A slang term for a convertible top made from fabric. Another slang term is rag top.
- Souped (Souped Up): Hopped up, performance improved (more common in ’40s and ’50s).
- Spindle: The vertical link between the upper and lower control arms of a front (and sometimes rear) suspension. Spindles typically include the axle that supports the wheel & tire as well as the wheel’s brake components.
- Split Window: Usually referring to the rear window, this window has two planes of glass with bodywork in between.
- Sports Car: Generally, a two-door, two-seater designed for spirited performance and nimble handling.
- Spots: Short for a spotlight, also refers to disk brakes.
- Stacks: Short for Velocity Stacks, which are used on carbureted and fuel-injected engines.
- Station Wagon: A four-door vehicle extended for a third seat or luggage area, with a rear door or tailgate.
- Steelies: Solid, stamped-steel wheels.
- Step Plates: Pads mounted on running boards or fenders to keep the paint or rubber matting from becoming scratched or dirty.
- Stick Shift: A floor-mounted gear shift lever.
- Stove Bolt: A six-cylinder Chevrolet engine, introduced in 1929; the basic design was used in cars until the 1960s, and as long as the 1980s in some trucks. Also called the “Cast Iron Wonder,” it got the name from its bolts, which resembled those used on stoves.
- Strangler: Slang for a carburetor choke.
- Street Machine: A street-legal modified car or truck built in 1949 or later.
- Street Rod: A street-legal modified car or truck built in 1948 or earlier.
- Stretched: A vehicle with a body that has been stretched to lengthen the overall size of the vehicle.
- Striker: A post or pin that a door latch mechanism grabs to hold the door closed.
- Stroker: An engine equipped with a longer-than-stock crankshaft throw with modified-length connecting rods.
- Strut: A suspension component that combines the functions of both the shock absorber and upper control arm – eliminating the need for a separate upper control arm.
- Stuffer: Supercharger.
- Subframe: A section of a vehicle frame that attaches to a unibody for the purpose of providing attachment points for the suspension and steering components.
- Suede: Primer.
- Suicide Door: A rear-hinged door, typically for the front seat. It earned the name due to the chance of it opening at any speed that would cause the door to whip backward with great force.
- Supercharger: A mechanical device designed to force air into an engine at higher-than-atmospheric pressure
- Survivor: An original, unrestored, unmolested antique car that is in good enough condition to be used as a model for the restoration of a similar car.
"T"
- T-Bucket: A short, fender less, opened Model T body hot rod.
- Tach: Short for Tachometer and a device to read engine RPM.
- Tags: License Plates
- Tailgate: The rear door of a station wagon.
- Targa: A two-door coupe with removable hard top panels over the front seat.
- Teardrops: 1939 Ford taillights, which have become very popular on custom hot rods.
- Three on the Tree: Refers to a column-mounted three-speed transmission shifter.
- Tie Rod: A component of the steering system that links the steering mechanism (rack & pinion, or pitman arm w/center link) to the spindle steering arm.
- Tonneau: Originally the rear seating area, but now the term is usually used to refer to a rear storage area.
- Tonneau Cover: A fabric cover to protect the Tonneau area of a vehicle.
- Touring: See Phaeton.
- Touring Car: A four-door open design that has no windows or top.
- Town Car: A chauffeur driven car with the passengers fully enclosed and the chauffeur exposed, like a Sedanca, deVille, or Brougham.
- TPI: Tuned Port Injection.
- Track T: Model T roadster built in the style of a dirt track race car.
- Trad Rad: A street rod built in the styles of the ’50s and ’60s rods.
- Trailer Queen: Derogatory term referring to a car that is shown frequently yet rarely driven and is transported to shows in or on trailers with little or no mileage on the odometer.
- Tranny: Short for Transmission.
- Trim: Car trim types or levels refer to different pre-packaged groups of features for a particular car. The base model is the cheapest, standard offering that includes the least number of features. Higher trim levels usually cost more and include additional features, technology, and performance enhancements.
- Tri-Five: Nickname for 1955–57 Chevrolets.
- Tri-Power: An engine with three two-barrel carburetors.
- Tub: A touring car or Phaeton can also refer to enlarging the wheel well size to accommodate very large tires, usually in the rear.
- Tubbed: To increase the wheel well size to accommodate very large tires, usually at the rear axle.
- Tuck and Roll: A cool style of upholstery or a new kind of music.
- Tudor: Ford name for a two-door sedan.
- Turnkey: A finished hot rod built by a professional shop and requiring no additional work.
"U"
- U Joints: Short for Universal Joints; these are located on each end of a drive shaft.
- Uncorked: Running without mufflers.
- Undercarriage: Usually used to refer to a vehicle’s steering and suspension but may also include all other components found under the body.
- Underslung: Refers to a vehicle frame that runs under the axles.
- Understeer: Understeer is the sensation where the rear end of the car experiences more body roll while corning than does the front.
- Unibody Construction: Refers to a body and frame that are manufactured as one component.
"V"
- V-Butt: When the center windshield strip is removed on cars of the ’30s and ’40s and the glass is cut so it butts together.
- Vicky: See Victoria.
- Victoria: A sporty two-door sedan body that features a different rear-body panel style.
- VIN: Vehicle Identification Number. The vehicle serial number that is stamped onto the vehicle, usually under the windshield post, the driver’s door post, or on the firewall.
- Vintage: A vehicle built between 1915 and 1942 in stock or unmodified condition.
"W"
- W-head: A nickname for the General Motors W series engine 348–409 cubic inch, manufactured circa 1958–1964.
- Wedge: A type of Chrysler engine with wedge-shaped combustion chambers in the heads.
- Wheelbase: The distance between the front and rear wheels of a car.
- Wheelie Bars: Rods that extend from the back of a car and are connected to wheels to help keep the car from flipping backwards during sudden acceleration.
- White Walls: This phrase refers to the tires with white rubber detailing that were so popular from 1900 into the 1960s. Though they are still in production today, you do not see them all that often in the wild.
- Wide Whites: Wide whitewall tires.
- Window Strap: Predecessor to the window crank. A strap attached to the base of a window allowing the window to be pulled up. The strap has a series of holes that can be hooked on an inside pin to hold the window at various levels.
- Windscreen: Windshield
- Window Strap: Predecessor to the window crank. A strap attached to the base of a window allowing the window to be pulled up. The strap has a series of holes that can be hooked on an inside pin to hold the window at various levels.
- Wind Wing: A small triangular window between windshield A-pillar and front door window, or between the rear door window and C-pillar. Also known as a Quarter Window or Quarter Light.
- Wing: An English term for a fender.
- Wires: Wire-spoked wheels.
- Woody: A vehicle that incorporates natural finished wood for structure of exposed body panels.
- Wraparound Windshield: A 1950s styling cue where the windshield glass was curved into a relatively sharp angle, with the edges protruding past the hinges on the front door. This point is commonly known as the dogleg. Most owners of these cars go through a learning curve when it comes to getting into the car, since it’s very easy to bang your knee against the dog leg.
- Wrinkle walls: Drag racing slicks.
"X"
- X Member: The center portion of a frame where the frame rails meet or cross.
"Y"
- Y-Block: A cylinder block with deep pan rails, commonly used with Ford’s replacement to the Flathead.
"Z"
- Z’ed: Frame rails altered in a Z shape to lower the front of a hot rod.
- Zoomies: Open headers that exit at the side of a vehicle and are pointed upward.
Numbers
- 2-Stage Paint Job: A paint job that utilizes a base coat for color topped by a clear coat for hardness, durability, and shine.
- 2+2: A car that comfortably seats two adults in the front, but which comes with an extra pair of tiny seats and seatbelts in the rear for very young children.
- 3/4-race: High-performance flatty cam, suitable for street and strip use.
- 3 deuces: Arrangement of three 2-barrel carburetors.
- 3-window: 2-door coupé; so named for one door window on each side plus the rear window.
- 5-window: 2-door coupé; so, named for one door window and one quarter window on each side plus the rear window.
- 20-Footer: A car/truck that looks good (few – if any – flaws visible) when viewed from 20 feet away or further.
- 94s: “Ninety-fours”: a reference to the model number of Holley carburetors.
- 97s: “Ninety-sevens”: a reference to the model number of Stromberg carburetors.
Finally
Even the most seasoned car enthusiasts do not always see eye-to-eye when it comes to the terminology we use while restoring our rides. Here is our list of the most used terms, but we may have missed some, so do not hesitate to let us know—just drop us a note at info@classicautoadvisors.com and we will add it to the list.
