Here you can find the definitions of many commonly used words here on the UCP forum. If you have a word you think should be added to the glossary, please leave it in the comments section at the bottom and it will be added. Please feel free to ask questions here about unknown terms which are automotive related.
Source= Serious Wheels
Air Dam--A front spoiler intended to divert air from traveling underneath the car. Air dams can improve aerodynamics, reduce lift, and increase the airflow through the front radiator.
Antique--Technically, this refers to a vehicle built in 1914 or earlier.
A-Pillar--The support on either side of a vehicle's windshield.
Berline--A sedan
Berlinetta--A uniquely styled model with a sloping roof, sometimes sloping downward gradually in the rear in the style known as fastback. Also known as a Sports Coupe. Berlinetta is used mostly by Ferrari to refer to a Coupé car.
Blower--Supercharger.
Bonnet--British term for hood.
Boot--British term for trunk lid.
Boxer--Also known as a flat engine. A motor with opposed cylinder banks; the name boxer derives from the idea of the pistons thrusting or boxing towards the opposing bank. Advantages to the boxer design include low center of gravity, improved cooling, and low height that makes the engine valuable for cars with a low profile.
B-Pillar--Pillar running behind the front window and the rear window, should the vehicle have one.
Business Coupe-- A coupé with no rear seat or a removable rear seat, intended for traveling salesmen and other vendors who would be carrying their wares with them. So Basically a two door coupe without a rumble seat.
Cabriolet--A convertible with windows.
Cammer--An extremely high performance engine built by Ford at its Dearborn engine plant in early 1964, the SOHC 427 produced in the area of 700 horsepower in race tune. This hemi-head engine was originally designed for NASCAR, but was deemed too exotic to be sanctioned. While never appearing in a production vehicle, a number of them found their way onto the drag strips. Don Prudhomme was the first drag racer to break the 7 sec barrier in the quarter mile with this motor. Seven A/FX Mustangs were also built with the cammer engine.
Channeled--A vehicle that has had the body lowered relative to the frame.
Classic--There are two technical definitions for this, in addition to the broader sense of any vehicle with collector interest. A classic can refer to any car that is 25 years old or older. It can also refer to a range of vehicles built mostly from 1925 to 1948. The non-technical use of the term would acknowledge that an Aston Martin or Dodge Viper is a classic from the moment it is rolled out of the factory.
Combi coupé--A body type from SAAB combining the coupé lines with large loading capacity
Concours--A car show of the very finest vehicles, or a vehicle that is up to concours standards. Typically, concours shows and levels of restoration center on such outstanding marques as Bugatti, Talbot-Lago, Duesenberg, Delahaye, Isotta Fraschini, etc.
Coupe--Closed car with two doors, and technically, less than 33 cubic feet of rear interior volume.
Coupelet--Model T two seater cabriolet.
Cycle Fenders--Fenders that closely follow the curvature of the wheel, similar to motorcycle fenders. It can apply to either front or rear fenders, but is more common in the front. One example of front cycle fenders is the Allard J2X
Destroked--An engine with a shorter throw crankshaft, usually done to increase RPM capacity or to fulfill racing restrictions on engine size.
Deuce--32 Ford
Dickey--Rumble seat
Digs--Drag races
DOHC--Double Overhead Camshaft. Two camshafts for each cylinder bank.
Drophead--British for convertible.
Dual Cowl--A type of touring car or phaeton with the cab divided into two parts, front and back, and separated by a windshield on a folding cowl.
EuroAmerican Hybrids--A class of cars featuring European design and American power. While American engines of the kind described typically produce less power per displacement than European motors, their sheer size relative to most European motors, as well as their relatively unstressed design, reliablity, and ease & economy of repair makes them obvious candidates for use in European performance cars. While the most famous hybrid is the AC Cobra, the list includes such memorable automobiles as the Iso Grifo, Detomaso Pantera and Mangusta, Bizzarrini, Monteverdi, GT40, Facel Vega, and many others.
Flathead--Introduced in the 1932, this was the first truly affordable V-8, and the beginning of Ford's long association with performance. The flathead utilized a valve in block design, and the heads were greatly simplified compared to modern overhead valve heads. Flathead engines have a distinctive look, as can be seen in this 1932 Deuce Roadster
Fordor--Four door Ford.
Four-door coupé --A sedan with classic coupé-like proportions. The designation was first applied to the Rover P5 from 1962 until 1973 but was revived as recently as 2004 by the Mercedes-Benz CLS.
Frenched--Recessed head or tail lights that are smoothed into the body.
Goat--Pontiac GTO
GTO--Gran Turismo Omologato, which is Italian for Grand Touring Homologated. The name was originally applied to the famed 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, and noted that enough of the vehicles had been built for FIA-sanctioned GT racing. The term was later used by Pontiac for the vehicle that launched the American muscle car phenomenon. It was also used for the Mitsubuishi Galant GTO(70's), and the 3000gt produced from 90-99.
Gullwing Doors--Doors hinged at their top edges rather than the front or rear. The first car to use gullwing doors was the Mercedes 300SL Coupe.
Hardtop--Vehicle with no side B-pillar, meant to have the look of a convertible. Also, a removable top.
Hemi--Engine with hemispherical combustion chambers. Especially, the high performance Chrysler V-8 engines with hemi heads, which appeared in several incarnations from 1951 to 1971. The Chrysler 426 Hemi is one of the most famed production engines in American automotive history. To this day, most Top Fuel and Funny Car engines are based on the brilliant design of the 426 Hemi.
Hood--American term for front lid of vehicle, usually covering the engine.
Hood--British term for convertible top.
Huffer--Supercharger
Intercooler--A heat exchanger that cools the air or intake charge in a forced induction system.
Knockoffs--Wheels that are held in place with one large nut.
Lake Pipes--Side exhaust pipes that run under the rocker panels.
Landau--A limousine with an open front for the driver.
Landaulet--A landau with a fold down top for the rear passengers.
Lead Sled--A lowered and highly customized vehicle from the late 40s and early 50s. Perhaps the most sought after candidate for a lead sled is the 1949-1951 Mercury.
Limousine--A chauffered sedan, usually with an extended wheelbase, a separation between drivers and passengers, and numerous conveniences for the passengers.
Marque--Make or manufacturer of automobile.
Monocle Windscreen--A circular section windscreen, carried on the steering column, that offers protection only to the driver.
Monocoque--A frameless body structure that derives its strength from a stressed, sophisticated body design, rather than relying upon a frame.
Mopar--Chrysler vehicles, including Dodge, Plymouth, Imperial and Desoto.
Mouse--Small block Chevrolet motor. The original small block Chevy motor has appeared in more modified vehicles than any other motor in automotive history.
Muscle Car--This generally refers to American mid-size cars with large engines built mostly from 1964 to 1972. The first true American muscle car was the 1964 Pontiac GTO, with a 325 hp 389 4 bbl engine, and an optional 389 tri-power producing 348 hp. Although every American car manufacturer, including AMC with its venerable AMX 390, produced muscle cars during this time period, probably the last true big-block muscle cars of this genre were also Pontiacs: the extremely fast SD 455 Trans Am was produced in 1973 and 1974 in limited numbers.
Nerf Bar--Tubular bumper
NOS--New Old Stock. Parts built by the original manufacturer that have never been used.
Opéra coupé -- A coupé with rear seats that are mounted in the sides of the body and fold downward for use.
Oversquare--An engine with a bore longer than its stroke. Most postwar motors have an oversquare design. Oversquare engines can rev higher, but at the expense of low-end torque. An oversquare engine will typically produce more horsepower and less torque than an undersquare one. In addition, most modern diesels and some modern petrol engines have a stroke longer than the bore.
Pebble Beach--One of the world's premiere car shows.
Phaeton--A four door open-touring car.
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Originally Posted by Sledgehammer
