Hot rods do not die. That, my friends, is one of the immutable facts of life. Sure, bearings spin, connecting rods snap, cams go flat and engines seize. Gears blow out, U-joints bust, pinion gears strip and axles break. Hell, people drive into stationary objects, fenders crumple and frames bend. But a true hot rod should never truly die. Not in the earthly, physical sense.
This is the remarkable thing about man-made machines. They can be repaired. Sure, sometimes we have to make concessions, especially in these times of increasingly scarce original parts, but it can be done. “Bull,” you might argue, “my buddy’s car was totaled!” Semantics, I say.