"hot rodding" 4 doors

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.

There is a trend? Do you have a choice of two doors? NO! I don't know what they where thinking when they come out with only 4 door cars of today. Back in the day they offered two and four and sometimes a wagon. Those days are gone and you have no options. There are cars that would have looked way better with 2 doors but only available in 4. Go into any parking lot and all you see now a days is SUV's that look all the same. Looks and desirability are the last thing the auto makes are putting out theses days. The only exception is the Challenger.

Coming from someone who built a 541 for a 4 door Imperial...

My daily driver is a rip snortin hard hitting 620+ hp twin turbo V12 coupe. I searched long and hard for the right car at the right price. I love this thing. It's at least 12 degrees of awesome.

However, sometimes I wish I had picked up the sedan with the same drive train and features. It would be nearly the same to drive but the ability to have more than one friend along would be nice. Yes, mine has a back seat but the over 50 club doesn't enjoy the ingress/egress.

3 of us wanted to make a road trip. It would have been really nice to take the $218,000 AMG but it wasn't practical so we took the 5.7 Charger instead. The Charger wasn't nearly as comfy, has a crap audio system, and lacks the vast majority of the features that make the Merc so nice but it had 4 doors.

I did not know there was a trend

I thought the trend in building a hot rod was to build what you wanted, not conform to some narrow minded vision of what someone else thinks you should build?

That sounds more like the resto crowd mentality to me.

From a guy that was a teenager in the early 70s, I had a lot of fun with a few hot 4 door cars. When the kids came along, the 4 doors made life much easier, putting a car seat in the back seat of a 2 door car was a pain in the back, really.

But all that said, we usually had a 4 door for the wife, she usually transported the kids, and either a beater car or truck for me to get to work in, that would have been whatever I found for a great price and the best condition, and then there was the hot rod, The hot rods were 95% 2 door cars, or 2 door trucks. We currently have 3 vehicles, a 4 door the wife drives, even though the kids have been long moved away, and a 2 door truck, and a 2 door hot rod, which is a 2 passenger car.
This "trend" is nothing new, its just more noticeable, and more common these days. The simple fact that there were not many 2 door vehicles produced in this century means your going to see more and more 4 doors, better get used to it.

All good

All the Aussie's build whatever 4 door they find. Most with giant superchargers through the hoods.

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

Take the number of people you know, and compare it as a percentage to the world population, for a good starting point.

Not a MOPAR but it’s a four door. Also down under

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uzk02Ru6dGo

Look to Europe, Australia and Asia;

Modern muscle included BMW M cars (can be 4drs), Saab Aero models could have been 4drs and hatchbacks, Mercedes puts a ton of HP into Sedans, Audi puts big engines into 4drs,
Australia has hot rodded many 4dr cars in their country, and Mitsubishi Evos are 4 drs as well.

The 2dr only muscle car limitation has been gone/going away for a long time. When I was in high school (and certainly, when my Dad was a young man) all the hot cars were 2 doors.
No one had a "cool" 4 door in my high school/college days. Lots of 2 dr Grand Ams, Dodge Daytonas, Plymouth Sundance Dusters, Chrysler LeBarons, Buick Regals, Olds Cutlass Supreme, Pontiac Grand Prix, Chevy Monte Carlo as well the usual Ford Mustangs, Camaros and Firebirds.
Slowly, things started changing. I remember the late 90s when you could get a Grand Am GT with a spoiler and in dash tach in a 4 door as well as the 2dr, or when the Supercharged V6 was available in the 4 door Grand Prix.
I also remember when Chrysler had 2 and 4 door midsize cars and toward the end of that run, the 4 doors were outselling the 2 doors at a rate of 4 to 1.
I remember the Pontiac GTO came out around the same time as the 4dr Dodge Charger (2005-2006). The Charger sold very well, the GTO not so much. The GTO was replaced by the G8 which was a 4dr. Too little, too late, though, as Pontiac was on it's way out.

Muscle is great, and I have a Challenger and I love it. But, I have 6 cars and room to store them all and the ability to maintain them all. I can see where someone with less storage and resources would prefer a Charger with 4 doors. Much easier to use the back seat and more room inside.

JS

Twenty years on, it's the same discussion, over and over.

20 years from now, as us old timers die off, not many will remember 2 door cars, or care.

We slipped a few in for our dirt track cars, the hard facts are, a 4 door car is often better balanced then its 2 door companion. On a dirt track, the extra 2 doors was pretty easy to hide in the Mopar line. If anyone questioned us, I told them it was an old "State Police Pursuit car" (everyone was running police pursuit motors ), in the hobby class, that pretty much ended the discussions. Everyone that knew anything knew the police cars were better race cars in that class.

89 AHB so lots of factory upgrades. 408 stroker engine dyno 468hp and 525tq. I’ve kept it very stock appearing.

What? You can still buy cars?

Companies have been dropping cars like hot potatoes in favor of SUVs and pickups that sell better. Forget about 2 doors, in a few years you'll be lucky to find a car...

People also use to have large families, now not so much.

I don't think it's anything new. How about a factory 300 four door with 440/355hp.

How about a 4 door 1970 340 Barracuda?

I got the car as something to drive in high school and ended up building what I had. Was a broke college student and anything from the muscle era was far out of my reach unless I wanted a roached out roller. In the end I have more fun putting the money into speed parts and building the four door than I would sinking all the budget into something older with two doors. Even now I'm established I wouldn't do it any different. If I was to build another Mopar I'd probably grab an AHB Diplomat or a truck.

guys buying 4 door trucks and modifying them count ?
anyone try to buy a 2 door truck lately ?
my brother bought one around 2012 or so, and had a devil of a time finding a dealer that would work with him to get what he wanted.
finally, Glendora Dodge came through for him. 2 door regular cab, 8 foot bed, and Hemi powered.

I was talking to someone about that the other day. It's a complete 180 from what it used to be even not too long ago when it was the 4 door trucks that were hard to find.

I have a regular cab, short bed Hemi with 2WD! Had to travel several states to get it.

I will keep this one until I'm dead.

Here’s my one and only hot Rod four door.

Saw two Continentals yesterday at the same event, both verts and suicide doors.

I would agree with a lot of things that have been said here about hot rods/cars in the sixties. I really didn't know anyone putting any money or work into a 4 door. Back then it was affordable to get a 2 door to work on and drive. As far as sales go the 4 door versions pretty much always outsold the 2 door versions. Most of my friends' parents would by 4 door versions including my dad. The T-Birds he had were 2 doors but they were the exception. With the cost of Barracudas, Challengers, Road Runners, Super Bs, etc. I can see why some guys would go with a 4 door version. In the late nineties I had a 4 door 57 Belvedere that I used as a daily driver. The engine was shot and I bought it for next to nothing for parts. I ended up putting a 318 with a 904 behind it and drove it for years before I sold it. I think it is less a trend and more like the only affordable option for some models.