What Kind of Car Is the ZZ Top Car?
It’s a customized 1933 Ford three-window coupe known as the “Eliminator,” the bright red hot rod made famous by ZZ Top’s 1983 album of the same name and the band’s iconic music videos. The car became a visual trademark for the group and a pop-culture symbol of American hot rodding.
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The Car at a Glance
Often simply called the ZZ Top car, the Eliminator is a classic prewar Ford coupe reimagined as a sleek, modernized hot rod. It merges traditional 1930s styling with contemporary custom craftsmanship and was featured prominently in the band’s visuals at the height of MTV’s early era.
Origins and Build
Conceived with input from guitarist Billy F Gibbons—an avid hot-rodder—the Eliminator project took shape in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The car is widely reported to have been built by hot rod craftsman Don Thelen and his team in Southern California, with additional parts and consulting from leading hot-rod names of the era. Its look and stance were purpose-built for the camera: low, clean, and unmistakably bold in bright red with yellow-orange graphics.
Design and Mechanical Highlights
Enthusiasts often point to a set of hallmark features that define the Eliminator’s mix of classic style and modern performance. The following notes cover the elements most commonly cited by hot-rod historians and the automotive press:
- Chassis and body: Based on a 1933 Ford Model 40 three-window coupe, refined with period-correct hot-rod proportions and updates for reliability.
- Powertrain: A small-block V8—frequently described as a 350-cubic-inch Chevrolet—paired with a Turbo 350 automatic transmission for smooth, dependable cruising.
- Stance and wheels: A lowered hot-rod stance set off by polished billet-style wheels, giving the car its distinctive, contemporary 1980s look.
- Paint and graphics: High-impact red paint accented by tri-tone striping, a signature visual cue that helped the car stand out on album art and in music videos.
- Interior and trim: Clean, custom finish suited to show and camera work, emphasizing a modern interpretation of traditional hot-rod aesthetics.
Taken together, these choices transformed a prewar Ford into an instantly recognizable, media-ready hot rod that bridged traditional craftsmanship with the flash of early MTV.
On-Screen Career and Cultural Impact
The Eliminator’s fame is tied directly to its starring roles, which turned the car into a pop-culture icon as recognizable as the band members’ beards and sunglasses. These appearances cemented its legacy far beyond the hot-rod scene:
- Album art: Featured on the cover of ZZ Top’s 1983 album “Eliminator,” which drove the car’s nickname into the mainstream.
- Music videos: Prominently showcased in “Gimme All Your Lovin’,” “Sharp Dressed Man,” and “Legs,” where it served as a narrative device—and visual exclamation point—for the band’s image.
- Merchandise and branding: The car became a recurring motif across tour materials, posters, and memorabilia, reinforcing ZZ Top’s hot-rod identity.
These high-rotation videos in the early MTV era helped make the Eliminator one of the most famous hot rods in the world, recognizable even to non-enthusiasts.
Not to Be Confused With “CadZZilla”
ZZ Top’s Billy F Gibbons also commissioned “CadZZilla,” a radically customized 1948 Cadillac built later by Boyd Coddington and designed by Larry Erickson. While CadZZilla is legendary in its own right, the Eliminator is the red ’33 Ford coupe associated with the Eliminator album and the band’s early-’80s video era.
Where Is It Now?
The Eliminator remains closely associated with Billy F Gibbons and ZZ Top. The car has appeared at major museums and events— including exhibits at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame—and continues to make occasional show and promotional appearances, preserving its status as a living piece of rock-and-roll and hot-rod history.
Summary
The ZZ Top car is the Eliminator, a customized 1933 Ford three-window coupe. Built in Southern California and immortalized on the band’s 1983 album cover and in several hit videos, it blends traditional hot-rod roots with modern performance and styling, making it one of the most recognizable custom cars in music and automotive culture.
Who owns the original ZZ Top Eliminator car?
Gibbons still owns Eliminator and the clone of the original car he had commissioned to help meet the demand for all the appearance requests the car and Gibbons got following the car’s initial music video fame.
What engine was in the ZZ Top Eliminator?
Chevy V8
The body was chopped and channeled for a sleeker, more aggressive look, then finished in a vibrant, candy red paint with signature yellow-orange graphics—a now-iconic livery. Under the hood, the Eliminator packed a **ZZ4 350- cubic-inch small-block Chevy V8**, giving it plenty of muscle to back up its bold looks.
Where is the ZZ Top Eliminator car now?
the Cleveland Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The original Eliminator now resides at the Cleveland Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, where rock fans and hot rod enthusiasts can get a glimpse of the famous ’33 coupe year-round.
What kind of car was the ZZ Top car?
ZZ Top And That Car
Eliminator is more than just an album title. As the story goes, ZZ Top’s manager suggested putting Billy Gibbons’s newly customized 1933 Ford coupe on the cover. The souped-up car was built between 1976 and 1983.
