The term “Hot Rod” has been used for over half a century now to describe basically any vehicle that has been modified in a manner that boosts its performance. Typically, the term is applied to classic iron that has been modified in a variety of ways. Do us a favor: close your eyes and think of the word “Hot Rod”. What do you see? A bright yellow ’32 Ford with a hopped up flathead V8? Perhaps a T-Bucket with a nasty blower sitting high and mighty? Or even a straight-axle, Gasser-style Tri-Five Chevy with cheater slicks and a flame job?
How about a 1990’s SUV with a Small Block Chevy swap with a hood scoop and side pipes?
I didn’t see that in my mind’s eye either, but the guy selling this mid-90’s Isuzu Rodeo wants to convince you that his ride is indeed a “Hot Rod”. In the immortal words of historic religious leader and internet meme sensation Fat Baby Pope Leo X…
You know, this guy. He is eternally judging bad decisions everywhere.
Without further ado, let’s have a look at this thing, shall we?
The subject: a late 1990’s Isuzu Rodeo. Stock, these usually came equipped with a 200hp V6, and competed against similarly sized SUV’s like the Nissan Pathfinder and the Toyota 4-Runner rather unsuccessfully. My high school had a small fleet of these for driver’s education duty, and I remember taking lessons in one of them. I remember it being particularly gutless and it felt cheap compared to its contemporaries. I had family with a Jeep Grand Cherokee and a Pathfinder, and the Rodeo felt like a mediocre bargain basement version of those vehicles. This one, however, has been treated to some “Hot Rod” goodies, like a set of aluminum wheels with a non-stock offset, what could be best described as a “hood box”, some flat black side pipes in lieu of side steps, and a copious amount of black duct tape holding the front bumper together. Nothing says performance like color matched duct tape.
Here’s a side profile view of this blistering performance vehicle. Those wheels look to be some sort of Centerline knockoffs wrapped in Hankook Dynapro tires, and you can see that the side pipes aren’t there just for show (we think). But seriously, what’s up with that hood tumor? What’s going on here?
Well, this is what’s up with that hood tumor. The First Commandment in the Bible of Hot Rodding (if there is such a thing) dictates the following: “If a vehicle exists, no matter the year, make, model, or configuration, Man must willingly find a way to swap in a carburetor-equipped Small Block Chevrolet V8.” This is that rule in action. It appears to be your run-of-the-mill 1955-86 variety that someone probably had laying around, and after a case or two of Natural Ice and a few hours of wrenching, this happened. Of course, there’s no specs on the engine other than it’s “board 60 over”, but I see some Edelbrock bits bolted to it that can be purchased from just about any parts store in the Lower 48, so I’m guessing it makes about 20-30hp more than the V6 it replaced. The transmission behind this is a mystery, but my money is on a TH350, the default SBC swap transmission. It’s “built”, so there’s that. Fun Fact: These also supposedly came with Dana 44’s out back, so at least the rear end might not liquefy itself behind a V8.
Is this the interior of a “Hot Rod”? Well, let’s look at the details. Just like under the hood, it looks like someone had some store credit at Autozone and spent it on some funky rocker switches, some Chevy floor mats and steering wheel cover, and one of those chrome Sunpro triple gauge packs to monitor the SBC’s vitals. The real star of the show here is the shifter. Take a second and look at what’s going on here. Not only is it located IN THE CUPHOLDER, but the shifter cable now sprouts up from the flaccid stock shifter boot! I’m not even mad.
Now, as I said before, I drove one of these in Driver’s Ed class back in high school around 1998-1999. Back then, I remember reading in car magazines and discussing with my car-crazed friends about what vehicles were going to be hot in 20 years. Some car publications at the time talked about SUV’s being modded by future generations, much like the kids of my day were modding 1960’s-80’s cars. They argued that SUV’s would be plentiful, and since they came with V8’s, they would be the default “Hot Rod” of future gearheads. Some even said that V8’s would be swapped into other, smaller SUV’s in the search for speed, much like the old days when builders were swapping hot engines into slower cars. Remember, this is back when the Mustang and F-Bodies were rumored to be cancelled (which did actually happen for the GM cars), and no one dreamed of the performance car renaissance we have experienced in the past 10 years. Cars like this V8 swapped Rodeo were going to rule the performance wasteland. On some weird alternate timeline where the Camaro and Challenger’s resurrection to combat the surging retro-inspired Mustang never happened, maybe they do.
So, begs the question: is this thing a “Hot Rod”? It has some of the right ingredients, but can those ingredients make an Isuzu Rodeo a legitimate performance vehicle? Let us know what you think below!
Click HERE to see the ad on Facebook Marketplace!
And just in case, here’s the ad text:
Turn key hot rod dont be fooled this is a hot rod 350 board 60 over built trans line locker roller rockers upgraded fuel system turn key needs nothing Looking to trade for dump truck
I was with him right up until he said “it needs nothing”.
I’d call it a hot rod. I don’t like the thing… I would even say that it’s closer to traditional hot rodding since he wasn’t going to be buying some prefab kit to do the swap. Making things work in a vehicle that they were never designed to be used in to increase performance (in theory) is pretty damn hot rod.
Yes, This could be a mean Mutha! Do a Roadkill style bolt on 6/71 blower and carbs, ditch the hoodscoop and this could a fun time! Not my cup of tea, but its kindof in the tradition of hotrodding…
I like that idea! Throw in some mudders and go ralleycross!
Is it a Hot Rod? Maybe, it’s definitely been “hot rodded” in the true sense of the term. I would consider it more of a Hot Rod than many of the cars I see in HR and other magazines. Over-restored muscle cars, million dollar AMBR show cars and all the other pampered trailer queens are less of a “hot rod” than this thing. When it runs, it probably gets driven!
Reminds me of a Honda civic I saw at the drags in Oyster Bed Bridge about 33 years ago. 283, powerglide, totally low tech. Just a honda body plopped on a shortened frame. It was quick, Power to Weight Ratio gets the job done!
What’s up with the cake pan on the hood?
It’s already sold. We can stop drooling over it.
I don’t see a problem with this person working with they had to try and improve the performance. We all have to start somewhere.
I think he didn’t push it far enough. Should have went full on mad max post apocalyptic with it. Zoomies sticking out of the hood and all.
Not the greatest build ever, but it’s cool in a weird way. It’s definitely a hot rod just as much as any other v8 swapped car or truck. Looks kind of like a S10 blazer. That scoop is ugly as hell though.