Hello, as you can probably tell I am new to the forum. Anywhos, last night I bought an old house ball, a Storm Hot Rod. I was looking for a replacement for my current spare ball. I have been throwing a C300 White Dot which has been magnificent but it's cracked around the thumb and has a few lovely gashes in it.

The hot rod has been highly used as a house ball and I'm sure was used a lot prior to it's career on the rack. It's been plugged and redrilled at least 3 times, the balance hole goes extremely deep as well as the thumb hole. I don't know much about drilling but do you guys think this ball is salvageable and good to use as a spare ball?

It depends on how you bowl and your abilities.

As the above video shows, the Hot Rod is and was a very good ball for light oil. I still have one myself. On light oil or drier lanes, it can have a lot of backend depending on the drill, the surface and the bowler.

If you have been using a White Dot, and you are not either a speed dominant bowler or able to flatten out your release a lot, then I'd suggest the Hot Rod is inappropriate for use as a spare ball. In the 99% case, your best bet for a spare ball is a polyester ball.