rebuild them; the 1932 Ford, or “Deuce,” which featured a reinforced all-steel body, was a favored option. Amateur builders in Los Angeles were especially ambitious, putting powerful V8 engines into their cars and redesigning the bodies to make them lower and faster. They competed in speed trials, held on dry lakes outside town, and in drag races on public streets. An aesthetic for the cars soon emerged, low and sleek, with a sloping “fastback” to the rear. The roof of the classic hot rod was lowered, or “chopped,” a major metalworking project in which sections of the pillars and window frames
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