"Hot Rods As They Were" is the second book in the hot rod history series of books by Don Montgomery. The 160 book pages contain 301 photos from over 50 years ago. The book shows the various types of hot rods being built over 50 years ago. There are chapters about Engines,Roadsters,Coupes and Sedans,Modifieds,Streamliners,Track Roadsters and the early Drag Racers. The text and photos discuss and show hot rodding in the period from about 1935 to 1955. The purpose of this book is to show the evolution of the various types of hot rods. The book shows how the hot rod roadster styles evolved. It also shows and discusses how coupes and sedans became a part of hot rodding and which models were popular. Modifieds,Streamliners and the early drag racers are described as are the most professional hot rods of their day, the Track Roadsters. Initially the hot rods were dual purpose vehicles. They furnished daily transportation for the owner as his only car and were readily available for racing on the streets or at the dry lakes time trials. By the late 1940s that changed as most hot rodding competition became so specialized that a dual purpose hot rod had difficulty being competitive. By 1955 most of the real hot rods were not on the streets. This book is filled with photos from rodder's albums. The ideas, styling, features and details of the hot rods shown in the book will be interesting to everyone interested in the history of hot rodding. The book shows what it was like during the real early days of hot rodding.
