Building a street rod is a rewarding hobby project that provides experience, knowledge, and the ability to customize a vehicle to meet your needs. However, there are many components involved and careful planning is paramount to successfully complete such a feat. Street rodding has always been about building your car or truck the way you want it. Custom is cool and always has been. We thought it would be a good idea to show some of the unique street rod accessories that you can use to add functionality or make your street rod look awesome.
Shifters, Shifter Balls and Handles
It's a small touch, but everyone looks at these necessary street rod accessories. Shifters are obviously important, but let's look at a few that are functional and look great in street rods. Lokar is the largest shifter supplier to the street rodding market (one of the largest street rod accessories suppliers in general). They offer a number of variations of floor shifters for automatic transmissions. These shifter types mount slightly different: Floor mounted, tail shaft mounted and transmission mount. A hot rodder favorite is the Lokar Nostalgia Shifter - the true hot rodder's stick! They are available with different length shifter handles with optional bends giving it that true street rod look.
One of the most popular street rod accessories is the shifter ball or knob. JEGS has a lot of cool options to dress up your shifter. The piston shifter knob is a classic street rod accessory. It looks great on any hot rod! If the piston knob isn't your thing, chances are you'll like the chrome skull shifter knob from Mr. Gasket. A classic, the skull shifter knob has been in just about every kind of hot rod there is.
Old School Hot Rod Gauges
Even old street rods need these accessories. The Auto Meter Street Rod Old Tyme Gauges are the perfect accessories for your dash. They have that street rod look with a bit of nostalgia. They work great and are priced right!
Retro Tires - The Ultimate Street Rod Accessories
Coker Tire Firestone Vintage Dragster Tires look good on any old street rod. These tires are so cool, you don't even have to have great rims. Tires are one of those necessary accessories. Sure you can put anything on a street rod. We think these tires have a special place in street rod history!
Finned Accessories Under the Hood
What list would be complete without some shine under the hood? JEGS has some simple, but elegant finned aluminum street rod engine accessories that look good on any hot rod. Since they're cast aluminum, they are polished up bright to instantly transform your engine compartment.
JEGS Tribar Headlights
Tribar headlights are a great upgrade to your old school 5-3/4 and 7-inch lights. They fit in the stock location, but allow you to use a modern halogen bulb. The tri-bar looks great. Plus you can get these street rod accessories with or without turn signals and a colored center dot
Billet Specialties Steering Wheels
Of all the street rod accessories, wheels are probably the most noticeable on the exterior. On the inside, you will notice a Billet Specialties steering wheel! You couldn't go wrong choosing any of the Billet Specialties steering wheels. There's a pattern for everyone. They look incredible and will impress anyone that see one!
How To Wire a Street Rod
There are many components involved when building a street rod. When connecting all of the electrical components, careful planning will result in a more successful and less stressful wiring project. The first part of this planning is making a list of all electrical components your street rod will have. This may include the horn, radio, power windows / locks, lights, turn signals, wipers, charging system, A/C, gauges, electric fan, electric fuel pump, and more. Once you have made a comprehensive list, the electrical components need decided upon regarding whether they share a circuit in the fuse block or are on their own fuse. This allows you to determine how many circuits the fuse block in the electrical wiring kit has to have before purchasing. Next, you will want to measure the length of the vehicle to ensure the wiring kit has wires long enough to reach the tail/brake lights. Then you need to confirm the steering column you will be using as some kits are designed for specific style columns (example matching plug for a GM steering column). After these items have been confirmed, a wiring harness is ready to purchase, matching the needs of your vehicle. Next, thoroughly read the instructions to have a full understanding of how to map out the wiring. The wiring can then be mocked up and laid out in the vehicle, locating the best place for the fuse block and routing wiring out to each of the components. Care must be taken with the connections to each electrical component to ensure they work properly. The grounds and the main battery connection to the fuse block also has to be completed. Finally, each circuit needs to be tested so that it functions properly. JEGS offers a wide selection of chassis wiring harnesses to work with your street rod.
Street Rodding How To
Building a street rod is a very rewarding experience. Learning how to build street rod allows you the opportunity to create a vehicle with custom components that you choose to provide the performance, personality, and budget you want. However, careful planning and preparation is necessary to achieve this. Will you be using an existing frame and body or building your own? The answers to these questions will determine the level of customization you want and the planning and work involved. Next, you will need to select which parts you want to use for the brakes, drivetrain, cooling, engine, exhaust, fuel, ignition, electrical, transmission, rear end, steering suspension, wheels, tires, interior, dash wiring, and more. All of these systems will need to fit and work with the chassis and each other properly. Once installed, the final details can be added, including the paint color for the body and any small detail items. JEGS has many street rod car parts and street rod accessories to help you complete your build from start to finish.
How To Measure for Max Tire Size for Street Rod
There are different ways to measure the maximum tire size possible for your street rod. If possible, having a temporary set of wheels/tires that will slide on to the front and rear hubs of the vehicle to use as a base measurement will help a lot. This method allows you to measure the additional room for diameter, width, as well as backspacing. It also allows the vehicle to rest on its own weight, compressing the suspension and providing a more accurate measurement of what will fit. If a "test" wheel and tire is not an option, the measurement can still be done. To measure the diameter of the tire you can use, take a measuring tape, start the measurement at the direct center of the hub and go out to the closest part that the tape will hit, whether it's the wheel well, steering, suspension, fender, or quarter panel. This measurement is the radius. To find the diameter, you will multiply the measurement by 2. For example, a measurement from the center hub out to the first component it hits is 15 inches, so 15 x 2 = 30 inches in diameter, which the tire and wheel have to fit within. However, you need to also take into account vehicle suspension compression, rebound, as well as steering on the front wheels and tires as you can't let the vehicle suspension rest under its own weight. Also, the weight of the engine (if not installed) as well as the driver or passengers (full load of passengers in cars) will also compress the suspension, reducing the room for tires. The max width size for the tire is trickier. One option is to make a template by using cardboard or plywood and cut it to the size of the max tire diameter. Then cut holes to mount on the hub and slide it on. You can then measure both inward and outward from the edge of the template and total the measurements to determine max width. Again, you need to take into account suspension compression from vehicle, engine, and passenger weight as well as steering clearance for the front.
Can't Find The Street Rod Parts And Accessories You Are Looking For?
A JEGS expert is ready to answer your questions and help you find the street rod parts accessories that you require for your specific application.
