A friend found this at a garage sale. No other data than 'April 1963', and that it was from Orange County near Anaheim. During the era when gassers and shoebox Chevys dominated the hot rod scene, this one just doesn't fit at all. First, using a '32 Cabriolet body had to be a second choice to a roadster. Then there is the Olds (?) engine with a single 4V, looking very stock. Then there is the white chassis: axles, backing plates etc. make an usual contrast to the black primered body. The seats look like lawn furniture, and the steering wheel came out of some late '50's car, but check out the 'cheater' slicks. This car may have been 'out of style' in 1963, but would it be considered 'cool' today?
The Olds was a big step above the Flathead the 32 was used too and I'm sure about as much as the keyed axles could handle...especially with slicks. The Cabriolet body, while not as "acceptable" to some purists now or then, was still lighter than any coupe or sedan so offered great performance. I'd bet that little beast could pull on just about any stock production car on the street in 1963 and the owner didn't really give a damn if anyone thought it was cool or not! Then, like today, it was and is "Cool" to a select group of people...and I'm proud to say I'm one of them!
it was cool back then too-think about how low the hourly wages were-even with gas seemingly cheap-not many had a lot of $$ to spend on their Hot Rod-use what ya got-no computer or cell phone to search for parts-use what ya found around home or the local wrecking yard-even cheater slicks not cheap-may have been a "found" project built in the 50's.
The Jalopy Journal
