This tin-toy car labelled 'Century Hot Rod' is a good representation of a full-size hot rod, which was typically a custom-built American car modified for speed by replacing the engine with a larger one. The term 'hot rod' was first used during the Second World War to describe the modified cars raced by American teenagers across the dry lake beds north of Los Angeles. Car parts were scarce during the war and were sourced from junk yards to create hybridised cars with hotted up engines. After the war returning servicemen, who had received machining and engineering training in the services, also modified the bodies of old cars by removing the roof, bonnet, bumpers and windscreen and lowering the height. The engines were replaced with much larger ones to give more power and the wheels and tyres changed to improve traction.
The peak of the hot rod era occurred in 1955 when 'vintage tin', or junk cars made before 1942, could be purchased cheaply. A popular culture emerged around the customising, cruising and illegal drag racing of hot rods, with teenagers congregating around drive-in restaurants. This created some public alarm similar to that caused by the Hells Angels twenty years later. By 1965 the classic hot rod era had ended, the vintage tin had diminished and new cars were built for greater speed with little or no modifications.
The toy was made in Japan in the 1950s by Nomura Toys whose trademark was the initials T.N. From the end of the Second World War until 1952 Japan was occupied by the Allied Forces, which were mainly American, and this had an enormous influence on its popular culture. Consequently, American cars on Japanese roads as well as the American market influenced the type of vehicles produced by Japanese toy makers like Nomura Toys. This toy hot rod is typical of the post-War period in its fine tin printing and clever mechanical operation, which involves the friction drive turning the engine fan and two oversized engine rockers.
The toy hot rod is part of a small collection of toys used by members of the Wyatt family in Hobart, Tasmania, and Roseville, NSW, from 1935 until 1965. The toys were made in Britain, Germany and Australia, and are representative of the types available to Australian children at the time. They are significant in that they have remained in the one family and have been extremely well looked after, many in their original boxes with the instruction leaflets and information.
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Margaret Simpson
Acting Curator, Science & Industry
March 2008
This tin-toy hot rod was made in the 1950s in Japan by Nomura Toys. This firm's trademark was T.N. Nomura Toys, it was established in 1923 and manufactured of tin-plate robots, novelty figures and space toys. They were particularly prolific after the Second World War. Some 300 companies became involved in toy manufacture in post-War Japan producing mainly tin plate fiction or battery powered toy cars, robots and novelties. By 1960 over half of their production was being exported to the United States. Many of these companies were located around Tokyo with some also in Osaka. Unfortunately, the history of individual Japanese toy making firms is not known.
The donor's eldest daughter owned this blue tin-toy hot rod and used it in Hobart, Tasmania, from the late 1950s to the early 1960s. It was one of a number of toy cars bought for her and her younger sister, by their parents. To distinguish each girl's toys, the elder daughter was bought blue-coloured cars while the younger daughter had red ones. When the family moved to Sydney in 1965 all their toys were brought too. The hot rod is part of a toy collection owned by the Wyatt family and presented to the Museum in 2008.
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