A

A bone / Model A Ford

ABS / Anti-lock brakes.

Accessory Package / Set of features ordered at extra cost on a new vehicle.

AC Shelby Cobra / The 1962-67 Shelby Cobra by Ford.

AC / Air Conditioning

Air Scoop / Forward facing aerodynamic device or opening used to duct cool outside air to some part of the vehicle.

AHRA /American Hot Rod Association

Alum / Aluminum

Al Fresco Driving / Driving in a convertible with the top down.

AMC / "American Motors Corp" an organization which merged with Chrysler Corporation.

AAR / All American Racers (Plymouth 'Cuda)

AFB / "Aluminum four-barrel," as in Carter AFB carburetor.

A-panel / Side panel used to fill the gap between the rear edge of the front fender and the front edge of the doors.

Aperture Panel / ALarge side panel making up the rear fender, door frame, and side window frame.

A-pillar / The pillar that is attached to the windshield and supports the roof is called the "A-post" or "A-pillar."

ATF / Automatic Transmission Fluid.

ATV / Acronym for "All Terrain Vehicle."

Auto Bonnet: A British term for a car cover.

Autostick: Trademark name for a form of semi-automatic transmission. It combines an automatic transmission with the gear-shifting feature of a manual transmission without the use of a foot-operated clutch.

Auxiliary: Additionally, supplementary

A/T / Automatic Transmission

Auto / Automatic

Axle / An axle is a shaft on which the wheels revolve.

B

Backfire / Passage of unburned fuel mixture into the exhaust system where it is ignited and causes an premature explosion.

Back Pressure / The resistance to the flow of exhaust gases through the exhaust system.

Ball Joint / Flexible joint using a ball and socket type of construction..

Banger / Term used to express the cylinders in an engine. Such as "six banger."

Bell Housing / Also called "clutch housing." The metal covering around the flywheel and clutch (of a manual transmission) or torque converter assembly (of an automatic transmission).

Bench Seat / Front seat which runs from the left door to the right door.

Beast / A vehicle which performs very well.

Beemer / Term for BMW.

Beetle / Term for the original rear-engined Volkswagen.

Big-block Engine: A large V-8 engine produced in the '60s and '70s. Typically it has a cast-iron block and head and is fed by a carburetor.

Billboards / graphics found on CUDA quarters

Block / That part of the engine containing the cylinders.

Body / Main portion of an automobile. Refers just to the outside shell.

Bolt-on goodies / Accessories which are easily secured to an automobile; often for show rather than function

Blower: A pump which forces air into the cylinders at higher than atmospheric pressure. The increased pressure forces more air into the cylinders than what would be drawn in normally. In this way the engine can burn more fuel and thus produce more power.

Bore / The cylinder hole itself. The diameter or width of the cylinder.

Boss / Ford Mustang Model

Bowtie / Chevy

Bow-Wow / A vehicle in very bad shape. A dog.

Bucket Seat / An individual seat found in pairs in the front of a vehicle.

C

Cannibalize / To take parts from a vehicle to fit to another vehicle.

Carb / Carburator

Carburetor / Device that vaporizes fuel and mixes it with air in proper quantities and proportions to suit the varying needs of the engine.

Channel / To lower the vehicle body around the frame.

Chassis / The frame, engine, front and rear axles, springs, steering system, and fuel tank. Everything but the body or cab and fenders.

Christmas Tree / Device, using a series of lights, to start cars on the timed 1/4 mile drag run.

CCCA / "Classic Car Club of America."

CID / "cubic inch displacement."

CL: "Comfort Luxe" as a designation for a vehicle which is more luxurious than an "L" but not quite as luxurious as a "GL"

Classic Car Club of America: P.O. Box 443, Madison, NJ 07940. Organization which defines which cars are true classics.

Clunker / Vehicle which might run but is rusty and in need of a lot of repair work.

Color-coded / Something that is colored the same as the main part of the bodywork.

Column Shifter / A gear changer lever and mechanism which is located on the steering column below the steering wheel.

Cond / "condition."

Console / A small storage space between the two front seats in a car with bucket seats.

Convt / Convertible

COPO / Central Office Production Order (Chevrolet Camaro)

Coupe / An enclosed single-compartment body with two doors and varying passenger capacity depending on seat arrangements.

Cubic Centimeter / (cc) Metric measurement of engine displacement. 1000 cc = 1 liter (litre) which is about 61 cubic inches.

Cubic Inch: A measurement of volume equal to 16.387 cc.

CUDA / Plymouth Baracuda

CFM / carb flow

C-4 Trans / Type of automatic Transmission

Cyl / "cylinder."

Cylinder / The round chamber or hole in the cylinder block that houses the pistons and where combustion takes place.

D

Daytona / Dodge Charger Model

DB / Disc Brakes

Duels / Duel Exhaust

Dual Quads / Two 4 barrel carbs on one engine

Deuce / Hot rod built around a 1932 Ford coupe body.

DIY: Do-it-yourself.

Double Overhead Cam: (DOHC) Engine with two camshafts located above the cylinders. One drives the intake valves and the other operates the exhaust valve.

Drive Train / Refers to the entire moving part of the car: Engine, clutch, transmission, driveshaft, differential, axles, and sometimes the wheels.

Drophead Coupe: Two-door automobile which has the appearance of a convertible, but the roof is fixed in place.

Dual Carburetors: Two carburetors on the same engine.

E

EFI / Electronic Fuel Ignation

Elephant / Nickname for the Hemi Engine

ET / "elapsed time." Length of time it takes a dragster to complete the one-fourth mile run.

Exc / "excellent."

Ext / Exterior

F

Fact / Factory

Flathead / Engine with all the valves in the block on one side of the cylinder.

Fomoco / "Ford Motor Co."

Four-speed transmission / A manual or automatic transmission which has four forward gears.

4WD / "four-wheel drive."

G

Glass Pack Muffler / A straight through (no baffles) muffler using fibreglass packing around a perforated pipe to deaden exhaust sound.

GMC / "General Motors Corporation."

GT / "Gran Turismo" or "Grand Touring."

Hardtop Convertible / Automobile with a fixed roof that does not retract into the trunk, but gives the appearance of being a convertible.

GTO / Gran Turismo Omologato

H

HDTP / Hard Top

HD / "heavy duty."

HP / Horse Power

Headers / Special exhaust manifolds that replace the stock manifold. Designed with smooth flowing lines to prevent back pressure caused by sharp bends, rough castings, etc.

Hemi / Engine using hemispherical -shaped (half of a globe or sphere) combustion chambers. The valves are cocked at 45 degrees from the piston top.

Hi Perf / "high performance," also called "hi-po" or "hi po."

I

Idiot Lights / Term for the indicator lights on the dashboard which are illuminated when the vehicle is experiencing some problem such as a lack of oil, overheating, failed brakes, low fuel, etc.

IFS: "independent front suspension."

iMSA / International Motorsports Association.

Incl / "includes."

In-line Engine / Engine in which all the cylinders are arranged in a straight row.

Int / Interior

J

Jury Rig / The action of cobbling something together instead of put together according to specifications.

K

Keeper / Vehicle that is worth keeping because it will be worth more in the future.

Kilometer / A metric measurement equivalent to about 5/8 of a mile. There are 1.609344 kilometers in a mile.

K / Thousand

K/O's / Knock Offs

L

LE / Limited Addition

Left-handed Monkey Wrench / A fictitious tool. A monkey wrench is a pipe wrench with an adjustable jaw.

Low Bed / A low platform trailer for heavy equipment hauling, usually on 15" diameter tires. Also known as a low-boy.

Limo / "limousine."

M

Mouse / Nickname for Chevrolet Small Block Engines

Mickey Mouse / A trivial thing. In automotive usage it means something that is simplistic and worthless.

Misfire / Failure of the fuel charge in one or more engine cylinders to fire or ignite at the proper time.

Mopar / Trade name of Chrysler Corp for its motor parts (i.e., MOtorPARts). Chrysler also uses the name Autopar to indicate its automobile parts (i.e., AUTOmobilePARts).

MPG / "miles per gallon,"

MPH / "miles per hour."

N

NOM / Numbers Match

NASCAR / "North America Stock Car Auto Racing."

NOS / New Old Stock

NOS Match / Numbers Match

O

OD / Over Drive

OHV / "overhead valve" -- valve-in-head engine in which the valves are directly above the piston.

OEM / "original equipment manufacturer."

OHC / "overhead camshaft."

Opt / Options

Orig / "original."

P

Part Out / To dismantle a vehicle and sell the parts.

Parts Car / Vehicle that has been damaged beyond repair or restoration, or that has deteriorated badly. Useful only as a source of parts.

Pedal to the Metal / To fully apply the accelerator for a fast take-off.

PDB / Power Disc Brakes

PFDB / Power Front Disc Brakes

Pkg / Package

PL / Power Locks

Pony Car / Small, sporty car along the lines of the Mustang, Firebird, Camaro, etc.

PG / "powerglide" automatic transmission. A two-speed automatic transmission offered by General Motors.

Posi Track / Type of Rear End (Positive Traction)

PS / Power Steering

Powerglide / Automatic Transmission

PT / Power Top

P/Top / Power Top

PW / Power Windows

Pwr/ Power

PUP / "Pick-ups" (like Ford Blackwood or GM Sierra).

R

Ram Induction: Using the forward momentum of vehicle to scoop air and force it into carburetor via a suitable passageway.

Ram Intake Manifold / Intake manifold that has very long passageways that at certain speeds aid the entrance of fuel mixture into the cylinders.

RS / Ralley Sport (Chevrolet Camaro)

Rdstr / "roadster."

Red Line / Top recommended engine rpm. If a tachometer is used, it will have a mark (red line) indicating maximum rpm.

Reproduction: Parts or complete vehicles that have been manufactured to closely follow or exceed original specifications, materials, and performance. Also called "repro" or "repros."

Restoration / Act of working on a vehicle with such care as to bring it back to its original condition (including original parts, paint, chroming processes, etc.) rather than merely rebuilding or repairing one.

Roadster / (Rdstr) An open-type body with one cross seat and a luggage compartment in the rear deck.

Roll Cage / Protective structure which surrounds the driver in the event of a rollover or crash.

RWL / "raised white letter"

Ragtop / Convertible

R/T / Road and Track Model for Dodge

S

SC / Sports Coupe

Scatter Shield / A steel or nylon guard placed around the bell or clutch housing to protect driver and spectator from flying parts in the event of part failure at high rpm.

Sedan / An enclosed four-door body type, it has permanent back panels and top with full-width cross seats front and rear, and passenger capacity from five to seven depending on wheelbase.

SEMA / "Specialty Equipment Market Association," the aftermarket and reproduction vehicle parts organization.

Six Banger / Six cylinder engine.

Six-Pack / Three 2 barrel carbs on one engine

Small Block/ Chevrolet Engines 400 c.i. and smaller

SPD / "speed," as in 4-spd. transmission.

Sport Coupe / Similar to the coupe, it has a rumble seat in the rear deck and a small compartment for storage of golf clubs. transmission.

SRS / "Supplemental Restraint System," or "Supplemental Restraint inflatable air-bag System."

Std / Standard

SS / Super Sport (Camaro, Chevelle, Nova and Impala Models)

Stovebolt / Generally refers to Chevrolet (GMC) 6-cylinder, in-line, valve-in-head (push rod operated) engine.

Suicide Doors / Doors that have the hinge toward the back of the vehicle.

SUV / "sport utility vehicle" which includes the Ford Bronco, GMC Jimmy, Chevrolet Blazer, Jeep Cherokee, Toyota Forerunner, and Nissan Pathfinder.

Supercharger / An air compressor designed to force air, under pressure, into the cylinder. Can be mounted between the carburetor and cylinders or between the carburetor and the atmosphere. It boosts the power of the engine.

Stroke/ The distance the piston moves when travelling from bottom dead center (BDC) to top dead center (TDC) or vice versa.

Stroked / The action of lengthening the stroke on an engine. Sometimes an engine manufacturer will produce an identical engine as he did in the previous year, but this time the stroke is longer. Thus it has been stroked. If the bore is also increased, it is bored and stroked

Stroker / An engine using a crankshaft that has been stroked.

SuperBird / Plymouth Road Runner Model

T

Tachometer / (tach) A device used to indicate the speed of the engine in rpm.

Tick Toc Tach / Type of Tach

T-Bone: Model-T Ford car.

T-boned / Hitting another vehicle on its side.

Tilt / Tilt Steering Wheel

Tilt/Telle / Tilt/Telescopic Steering Wheel

Throwing a Rod / The action of breaking a connecting rod.

3-spd / "three-speed," either manual transmission or automatic transmission.

Totalled / A car accident in which a vehicle has sustained severe damage so that the cost to repair it is more than what the vehicle is worth.

Tranny / "transmission."

Transaxle / A drive setup in which the transmission gearbox, clutch, final drive, and differential are combined into a single unit connected directly to the driveshaft.

Tudor / A word coined by Ford for a 2-door sedan.

Turbocharger / An exhaust powered turbine super-charger. Turbochargers always use centrifugal-flow compressors, which operate efficiently at the high rotational speeds produced by the exhaust turbine.

Two-Plus-Two / (2+2) A two-door car with seating for the driver and a front passenger and only two people in the rear. It differs from a regular two-seater in that generally three people could sit in the rear seat and possibly three in the front.

U

Universal Joint / A flexible double-pivoted joint that allows driving power to be carried through two shafts that are at an angle to each other.

V

Vehicle Identification Number / (VIN) Number assigned to a vehicle by the manufacturer primarily for registration and identification purposes (consisting of numerals and letters).

W

Warm-up / The action of starting an engine and allowing it to idle until it reaches operating temperature before driving away.

Whls / Wheels

Wheelie Bars / Short arms attached to the rear of a drag racer to prevent the front end from rising too far off the ground during heavy acceleration. Arms are usually of spring material and have small wheels attached to the ends that contact the ground.

W/O / "without," as in excellent condition, w/o body damage.

WW / "whitewall," as in ww tires.

WWW: / "wide whitewall," as in www tires.