High End Custom Cars: Demystifying Terms

Every hobby has its jargon, its own language that its enthusiasts use to describe different elements, pieces, and processes. The more involved you get into something, the more precise you need language to be. High end custom cars are no different. What the average joe may have called a hot rod may, in fact, be either a pony car or a muscle car. Those who work, own, and pursue vehicles that sit close to the ground are very specific about the difference between a stanced car and a low rider. So, if you're just getting into the high end custom cars hobby or are otherwise looking to brush up on terminology, then read on for some demystification of a few key terms:

High End Custom Cars: Demystifying Terms

• Gasser. A few months ago, we wrote a piece about the 1933 Willys Gasser we've been working on here at our shop of Customs & Hot Rods of Andice. But the term gasser doesn't pertain just to the Willys models. A gasser is, in hot rod culture, nay purpose-built quarter mile machine of a vehicle. These are cars that are stripped down to only the most necessary of body panels so that their lightweight can propel them fast down the lane. The front end is also often raised in order to better distribute the weight. A great example of a non-Willys gasser can be seen in the cult classic American Grafitti where Harrison Ford drives a stripped down '55 Chevy.
• Woodie. When we refer to a woodie, we don't mean the '80s-era station wagons with the cheap faux wooden panels. No, woodies, in the high end custom cars world, is a term specifically used to denote the station wagons and utility vehicles of the thirties and forties in which much of the body panels were comprised out of the wood. While wood offers the benefits of design versatility and beauty, it can be hard to maintain. As such, few woodies still survive to this day and true originals often fetch quite high prices in the high end custom cars market.
• Deuce coupe. This is another one we have in our shop and an excellent example of cars that got so valuable and used, that they earned their own nicknames. The Deuce Coupe is the hot rod name for the 1932 Ford coupe. This coupe was simply everything that a young, broke hot rodder could want in a vehicle in the midcentury. The model boasted a cheap platform that came sold with a then-state-of-the-art V8 engine. You simply can do so much with it and as such, today it has become one of the most highly sought after hot rods.

Have Questions About High End Custom Cars and Getting Work Done? Contact CHRA

For more information about common terms we use or to contact us about getting service done on your own custom car or hot rod, don't hesitate to shoot us an email or give us a call. We are taking on new clients and would love to hear from you!