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High Roller Hot Rods

Ken Gross

August 4, 2003

Some will say the recent renewal of interest in hot rodding was legitimized in 1997 by the first class for historic hot rods at the famed Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Since then, so-called “pedigreed” hot rods have returned twice, and this year on the hallowed 18th green at the Lodge at Pebble Beach, a class called Road Racing Rods will pay tribute to ’50s-era homebuilt hot rods that raced (and often won) against the likes of Ferraris and Maseratis. Hot rods have been honored at other prestigious concours as well, from Newport Beach and Meadow Brook Hall to Amelia Island. That has driven prices way up for hot rods with legitimate histories, especially those with bona fide dry lakes, Bonneville, or drag racing records, and those that were featured in vintage rodding magazines.

Time was, the moment a stock old car was altered, its value plummeted. But for the last few years, at the annual Barrett-Jackson Auction in Scottsdale and the RM Classic Auction in Monterey, professionally custom-built or restored rods and customs have sold for unprecedented sums, some topping six figures. (Click image to enlarge)

Hot rodding today is a participant sport. Contemporary rodders think nothing of driving their cars thousands of miles to attend major events. The National Street Rod Association’s annual meet each year in Louisville, Ky., attracts upwards of 12,000 cars. Typically, the Goodguys Rod & Custom Association, another affinity group, will have over 4,000 cars on display at many of the nearly two dozen annual gatherings from Pleasanton, Calif., to Rhinebeck, N.Y. Although the youngest attendees tend to be men in their mid-40s, participants are not usually the former ducktailed-haircut, pegged slacks-wearing, shop class refugees popularized in plays like Grease. Today the most notable new rods are often owned by successful men who either had a rod or a custom in high school, or who always wanted one. Although these born-again hop-up fans (sometimes called “checkbook rodders”) may not do a lot of the work on their cars themselves, they often have a clear vision of what they want built, and they compete intensely for awards and recognition for their cars.