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Synonym for a heavily modified or self-made car or thing

English Language & Usage Asked by maaboo on January 2, 2021

I’m looking for a word for the following things (they may be the same, or have different words):

  • cheap car modified or constructed by owner using scrapyard and low-end tools (and thus having certain "quality")
  • cheap car with expensive and redundant modifications (golden bumpers?)
  • a regular car which has almost all parts removed and/or replaced to make it more lightweight and faster up to make it unusable for everyday use
  • not a car but technically complex thing fits any description above

The only words I’ve found are junker and jalopy, but may be there is more?

EDIT: Commenters asked me to present a sample sentence, but unfortunately I’m trying to find a name for a blog, so there is no sample sentence. May be "%word% Lab" or something.

2 Answers

I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a word that perfectly fits all four of your descriptions. That said, one that comes to mind for me and which may get you close is jerry-build, which can be used as a noun or a verb meaning:

jerry-build: to build cheaply and flimsily (Websters)

For the record, though, I'm also a huge fan of @Weather Vane's more specific suggestions for your examples two and three: pimped and stripped down, respectively.

Answered by Jim Simson on January 2, 2021

I suggest customized (BrE customised). Lexico has

customize
ADJECTIVE

Made or done to order; custom-made.

Modifying or customizing a vehicle has also become a trend among car enthusiasts nowadays.

Every bike is unique because everyone customises their bike to reflect their individual personalities.


Similar to this is the term custom car. Wikipedia has

A custom car is a passenger vehicle that has been either substantially altered to improve its performance, often by altering or replacing the engine and transmission; made into a personal "styling" statement, using paint work and aftermarket accessories to make the car look unlike any car as delivered from the factory; or some combination of both.
Batmobile enter image description here

And then there is the kustom car in a particular style, see Wikipedia.

Kustoms are modified cars from the 1930s to the early 1960s, done in the customizing styles of that time period.

Answered by Weather Vane on January 2, 2021

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