I arrived in Santa Rosa, CA late last night and am about to head to Costco to get some dogs for the open house at Vern's. As such, I don't have a ton of time for a post... I mean shit fellas - I've got a... <BR><BR>To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.
1. Nose it. 2. Deck it. 3. Floating bar grille- Kaiser? 4. 4 bar Lancer caps - 15" re-pops, I guess. 5. French the headlamps. That should all be pretty affordable. Maybe some seat covers too-- That Naugahyde is hard on the eyes...
Owning a 51 Tudor Sedan I have been drolling over the car since it was first posted, only trouble I am about $15k short of the $15k asking price. What I would do would be french the taillights, french the headlights, shave the bumper bolts, & add a 49 grille bar & turn signals with the Cal Custom centre piece to eliminate the bullet (already have that piece), & wrap it all up by lowering it a couple of inches. After those mods are done nothing left to do but drive!
Lower it a tad,DeSoto grill,spend some money warming up the motor. Donate the balance to the Alliance .
Chop the hell out of it!!!! suicide the doors, canted quad headlights, skull grill and spider webs all over it!!!! Seriously very cool car, I would lower it and drive it!!!!
I think I would get it first and drive it around for the first year and begin to decide which way to really go with it. Lowering and a grille would be the most I would do to it. Like I said drive it and then you can get a feel for what you like and don't like about the car. But going off your previous cars you seem to be a suttle and simple type of person when it comes to your cars. I also appreciate this whaen they are tastefully done and not over the top. I hope you get the car and if you do post up build pics of what you do with it.
I agree with most here that say it looks good the way it is, but if i *had* to customize it, I'd go for a Desoto or Olds floating grille, Plymouth Bumpers, maybe Crestliner trim and add a nice complimentary color for tu-tone.
This is definitely a cool car and a good buy, but like alotta folks, I'm out of a job and out of money.
Nose Deck Shave handles French head & tail lights Lancers Lower '56 Plymouth grille bar integrated with the original surround Drive
front bumper under the gravel pan (later fill in the bolt holes and smooth out the bumper). drop the rear an 1" or 2". shave the antane, move add 2 to the rear gravel pan. I like the look of the peaked and hooded headlight bezels (like brewsirs '57 wagon). Floating tube grill. (but do the Bass/Barris style internal grill surround treatment, with the rounded sides). Shave the door handles, or maybe push buttons. lop the top off the side trim, so it is just a smooth bullet.
>>>Newly chromed Stock grille >>>Skirts >>>.5-1" lower out back >>>Detailed engine >>>Frenched headlights with '52 Merc rings but that would require paint to cover the work up. Done
I think someone should buy it so Mrs Bleed has a car to drive this winter!!!!!!!! Help a brother out!
I am contemplating ,VERY HARD, buying this car for my wife but im trying to figure out where to get the extra money..... Oh, and I would nose it, deck it, shave the door handles, french the headlights, grille and taillights
I would use the '54 Chev grill with 15 teeth that came out of my friends '51 Convertible, dig out the '49 Plymouth bumpers and Olds Fiesta spinners I 've been saving for "one of these days", put the top down and head out.
Well a nice grill , Lancer caps and drive it all over the country showing it off ! I would shave , French and so on BUT then I wouldn't have the money to do a good paint job . The paint looks good so why screw it up ! Great looking car anyway ! RetroJim
I think I would start a thread on how to drive a custom for 15k and just enjoy it. Then not worry about building my 51 club coupe for quite awhile. (MAYBE)
I tried to get my dad to buy that car. It's better in person. As for me I'd drop the rear end and pimp out the engine and cruise with the TOP DOWN!
My son accuses me of living in the '70's...having said that, buying that shoebox convert for $15K sounds about 8 grand too high to me...I mean it looks like a nice car and all...but I have a hard time spending that kind of money for anything, including a late model something daily driver... I've built my '55 Cadillac over the last four years (check it out @ http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=329070&highlight=the+best+55+cadillac+build )...doing the majority of it myself...the only major item I've bought was a radiator for $600.00...and that hurt...!!! All in all, I doubt I've got 5K in it so far... No doubt, buying a "done" car is sometimes "less expensive" than building and prolly easier for someone that doesn't know how to build a car...but I'd rather enjoy the process and pride of building and finishing a car myself. R-
I would tint the headlight bulbs red and show up at Kustom777's workshop at strange times and just rev it, then drive off quickly when he comes out to investigate............'REVENGE OF THE SHOEBOX'!!!!!!!!!
I think I would put the grill in it,lower it,and drive it! If it was in worse shape,then I would say nose,deck,shave,etc. But it's too close to being a nice clean,simple cruiser.
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