A hot rod is anything that will make your parents/wife/partner roll their eyes and shake their heads, wondering if you will ever grow up. Anything that turns money into noise, speed and trouble while making you smile. It is also anything mechanical that teaches you new skills and makes new friends. Any automobile that is modified in order to improve reliability, safety, speed, power, economy, appearance, comfort, handling and braking to be more attuned to the specific desires of the owner/builder. Since those attributes are subject to individual taste, the variety of types of automobile and modifications will be endless, but they are all hot rods, regardless of the year, make, style or age/preferences of the owners.
