ZZ Top's '33 Ford Eliminator Coupe Showed '80s Kids What Hot Rods Were Supposed To Be

Automotive enthusiasts might mostly remember the 1980s as a time of square Japanese econoboxes, fake wood American station wagons and minivans, the occasional C4 Corvette, and smatterings of European cars such as W124 Mercedes-Benzes, Saab 900s, and the BMW 3-series. Don't take any of that as a knock; 1980s cars are generally darn good, and they still serve as daily drivers for a great number of people. But in the midst of this menagerie, if we were allowed to watch MTV or our parents owned albums by Texas rock bands, a red '33 Ford hot rod was blowing plenty of minds.

ZZ Top's "Eliminator" was a 1983 hit album that was able to sell at least 10 million copies in the U.S. alone. Three of the album's singles — "Sharp Dressed Man," "Legs," and "Gimme All Your Lovin'" — got music videos that were on heavy rotation in the '80s. More importantly, those three videos featured that familiar red '33 Ford with a distinctive yellow-and-black ZZ painted down the side. For kids who were more accustomed to seeing Volvos that looked like veritable cardboard boxes, it was a revelation. 

If an '80s rock band wanted to show off a car, it was usually a sports car, such as Sammy Hagar's black Ferrari 512BB seen in the "I Can't Drive 55" video. But ZZ Top is a different kind of rock band, reveling in southern swagger and vintage American vibes. The band's members sport sunglasses, wide-brimmed hats, and long beards (except for drummer Frank Beard). And they have excellent taste in classic cars.

ZZ Top's own Eliminator was inspired by the '34 Ford coupe driven by Martin Sheen in 1974's "California Kid." Guitarist Billy Gibbons used his connections with the guy who built the "California Kid" hot rod, Pete Chapouris (of the legendary "Pete and Jakes Hot Rod Parts"), beginning his project in earnest after buying a lightly-used '33 Ford in Tucson, Arizona. 

It was a five-year wait, but in the end, Eliminator was ready to grab eyeballs and live rent-free in the heads of budding auto enthusiasts growing up in the post-malaise era. The roof was lowered by three inches, lowered headlights from a '34 were installed, and the whole thing was given its iconic red paint job and edgy ZZ graphics. The custom wheels and 'Vette-like knockoffs came from Ultra Cars in California.

Like many vintage Ford hot rods, the Eliminator has Chevy power. Specifically, it has a small-block Chevy 350 (the most popular engine in history) paired with the hydraulic cam from a Camaro Z28. The valve covers feature the ZZ Top logo, and the polished intake holds a Carter AFB (aluminum four-barrel) carb. Topping it all off is a TH-350 automatic transmission.

The Eliminator car is a perfect encapsulation of the "Eliminator" album, as well as the ethos of hot rodding — particularly the burgeoning "restomod" scene that eschewed hot rod staples (such as the Ford flathead V8) in favor of more modern engines. The album was a marriage of ZZ Top's classic crunchy power-trio Southern rock and new wave synth sounds, and the car was a marriage of a then-50-year-old Ford with contemporary requirements for reliability, power, and artist Kenny Youngblood's retina-sizzling aesthetics. The car's name comes from drag racing, as well, sourced from the name for the winning car of such a race. 

If you want to pay homage to the masterpiece that helped revitalize the vintage hot rodding craze in the '80s, you can see it in person at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. Though, you may have to check on its schedule; it sometimes heads to other places, such as the guitar-oriented GearFest or the Chicago Art Institute. And if you happen to see Eliminator driving around, be aware that it might be the clone Billy Gibbons had constructed by California Street Rods. It was made for him to go on tour with, allowing the original to be preserved.