All special-interest hobbies have their followings, and hot rod devotees are no exception. Every week in every major metropolitan area across America, you can count on at least a few enthusiast-run clubs meeting up to do what gearheads of all tastes do: race, swap parts, cruise around on lazy weekend afternoons, fill a major venue with its very own auto show, or simply hang out and eat.

Some clubs are dedicated to a certain cars, others to cars of a certain make, others still care not at all. Many have restrictions on age – that is, of cars that are too young. “Young” is an elastic term, and in some cases can stretch to mean anything produced before 1948. Banned, just like that.

Speaking of age, enthusiasm for transportation of decades past tends to be shared by those who can remember them. Most members of these clubs belong to certain generations, and X and Y aren’t among them.

The west coast (especially the south end) has supposedly always been the center of car culture in general and hot rodding specifically. Here are some of the many organizations in Southern California alone, whose very names often paint a telling picture of what to expect: - Classic Cruisers - Roam’n Relics - Sultans of Long Beach - Ventura Vintage Rods - Bean Bandits - FoMoCoMofos