What's with the "hot rod" a 4 door trend these days?

Look, I understand that beauty is in the eye of the beholder...and I understand that the 707-horsepower Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat can effortlessly blow both doors off any classic muscle or sports car in air-conditioned comfort.

But no one that I knew built a 4 door "hot rod" unless it was a "sleeper".

I don't know what you've been looking at but i know millennials think 2 door cars are useless. I will agree that a Hellcat Charger or Trackhawk is more practical but that ain't what I bought or what I would build.

Which is why so many of our vintage 4drs end up overseas. They see a big ol' American Land Yacht, a piece of Americana, where here, a majority of the people just see a parts car or demo derby fodder.

Maybe this is why Australia interests me so much?

As far as older cars, I hate they way they look when dressed up as hot rod, e.g. wheels, wings, scoops, stripes. I am a lover of 4 doors but in the old stuff must be kept mostly stock appearing. Upgrades should be hidden.

As for as new cars, I like the performance 4 door cars like the Charger. I think they look good even with factory "hot rod" upgrades and I know they perform good. I prefer the more subdued look myself. Still not a fan of rear deck spoilers though. Not on any 4 door.

I will say there was a '57 Chevy downtown recently that had a gasser themed stance to it. It was high enough I didn't initially notice it was a 4 door.

I see you haven't priced out a 70 cuda or 69 charger lately. You expect kids to afford that stuff?

And no, they aren't paying 10 grand for a rotted out a body either.

I see you haven't priced out a newer model Charger or Challenger lately.....

Exactly, this isn't the 1980's. Nice 2 dr musclecar era stuff isn't attainable for people just getting into the hobby anymore, especially if you can't do metalwork yourself. Plus, what would you be more heartbroken in a wreck at the track over, a $90k E-body or a $5k Fairmont wagon?

I seem to recall a number of 4 door and wagon class racers at the dragstrip back in the 70s. Gaap and Roush even had a 4 door Maverick pro stocker for a time.

More door hot rods are hardly a new thing, but they may have gained a renewed popularity as the more desirable cars become unobtainium.

I prefer 5 openings

My first car was a 68 dart 4 door, I would have prefered a 2 door but even back then they cost a lot more than a 4 door. I can buy a nice solid 4 door cheaper than a rust bucket 2 door so that's what I am looking for, I just have no choice really because of economics.

And as a side note if anyone in the nashville area knows where my first car is I would love to buy it back... white 4 door, green interior 68 with a 67 front clip and had a 360 904 8.75 drivetrain when I sold it.

Most people who have been in the hobby a long time still see 4 doors as front clip parts cars, or drivetrain donors if they have a V8. Ok to tinker with, but not worthy of dumping huge piles of money into, imo.

Four door 55-57 Chevys here are getting pretty pricey now. Finding a two door model is not easy as the older guys have turned them into high dollar street rods with big billet wheels, A/C, and power windows.

It's rust and affordability that put me into 4 door cars. My first cars were also my daily drivers and here while muscle cars were still affordable they were also rotted out. So I did the next best thing and turned my 5th Avenue into a sleeper. I'm not into the wing thing.

I've seen a few late 60's four doors that would make a great cop car clone. Leave the outside plane jane and put a nice drivetrain in it.

You need the extra doors for your 15 kids anyways! 👍

Several years ago I was looking at body donors for my 69 Roadrunner. Really Really wanted to buy the 4500 mile 68 4dr Satellite from Parks.

Just couldn't get over the old man vibe. I've got a grandpa truck for that.

Not only are 4-doors generally less expensive than an otherwise-twin 2-door, but it seems the younger folks are OK with 4 doors.
They're also handy when you have 3-4 people cruising together, BTDT.

Of all the wagons I've owned, only 1 was a 2-door, and it was a PITA grabbing stuff out of the back.
Stylish, sure, but not as practical as a practical car should be.

Several years ago I considered finding a mid-70s A-body four door and doing a stock looking 400 swap keeping the AC and everything else. It would have been a neat cruiser and done right (2.7ish gears and a Thermoquad) the fuel mileage would be decent. Not gonna happen now. Love C-body four doors, but also love C-body two-doors and convertibles.

If we look at street rods, it seems like many people do 4 door street rods. Sure the 2 doors are more popular and desirable, but there are plenty of 4 door street rods as well.

In addition to the reasons already cited, another reason some may prefer a 4 door has to with accessing the rear seat as one ages. This is NOT a concern for young people, but climbing, or just reaching, into the back seat of a 2 door car may become more difficult with age.

Right. Looking at the prices now of the two door performance stuff make it easy to play with a four door. Outrageous prices.

I especially love taking old Mopar police package cars and enjoying as is or dropping in a higher performance engine and working around all the factory upgrades already in place, such as HD suspension, bigger brakes, upgraded cooling, larger sway bars, aux coolers, extra welds and more. It's fun IMO.