Features Can a kustom be kool without skirts?

To me Kustoms look out a place without skirts. And 97% of early Kustoms had skirts. very few didn't have them installed.

 

But I do like 50's customs with skirts !

 

Don't be caught without them you'll never forgive yourself.

 

I personally like the look without, but as stated earlier, they can be removed and installed pretty easily, so do the build with, and run em as your mood dictates.

 

I will side with the personal taste theory. That being said, I am definitely a skirt fan (both fender and female alike)

 

Yep, those look better w/skirts.

 

Just my opinion again....but some look better by far with skirts and some just don't. Big mid 60'sPontiac yes, 57 Chevy no!

 

A 39-40 merc with stock rear wheel openings need the help of skirts, but 49-51 mercs it's a matter of taste, same goes for many custom cars, if I hadn't run the buick side trim on my 49 I think I would be happy to run without skirts cause they are more work.

 

People spend a lot of time and money putting fancy wheels like Mags or chrome or vintage hubcaps on their cars, so WHY would they want to hide them behind skirts?????
LW

 

like putting whipped cream on a chocolate sundae ... don't need ... just want it

 

My 56 Chevy ragtop came with fender skirts. I never installed them. If I had a continental kit, I would have put them on. Mick you can show off your caps and tires for a while.

 

Groucho,
You have hit the nail on the head, it is a matter of opinion on anything that someone actually drives.

Earlier I stated that there was no rule that said that they had to be there but I was wrong. There was an era that show cars needed things like skirts, or added scoops, or pin stripped gas cans and chrome plated bumper jacks in the trunk to score points. Hopefully we have out grown that.

 

Customs look better with skirts 98% of the time. A few look OK without. Don't listen to the hotrod guys.

 

I've never really been into skirts except when on a female back in the day!

 

My Merc has a tail dragger stance. I've had skirts on her since day one so its going to be hard to run without them. (Even thought I have seen some kool examples.) If I would run it without skirts I should raise the rear up to give it a rake. Maybe, maybe not.... Thanks for all of the help, Happy Trails, Mick

 

Kool quote, I have said the same thing to some of my friends....Lol!!

 

Fender skirts are a lot like pants found on pre-retractable airplane tires that were added to reduce wind resistance. The skirts on customs are application sensitive, hence the strong opinions of some. Aesthetically, when used with cars whose shape narrows to the rear that can be enhanced by lowering, skirts give an additional element that draws the eyes to the overall envelope. A body that has been smoothed with filled seams and a top chop that tapers to the rear, making the overall shape more like a teardrop does not need a hole in it, hence the use of a skirt --- bridging the gap between. Ideally the body would not even have a cut-out for a wheel opening. In customs much depends on what can only be called 'swoop'. Certainly the bulbous shapes of the thirties and forties, also known as 'fat-fendered', when modeled using all the skills of a custom builder to make it appear 'streamlined' as were many other things of that era, need to cover the rear tires to further create this illusion. Some European coach builders experimented with skirts over the front wheels to further carry this effect. I have often wondered why some of the early American custom builders didn't try the same thing, considering a car that has been chopped, channeled, molded, and with fade-away fenders would be outrageously beautiful in the hands of those who brought the art so far forward. In many respects, tires are just like other working parts of a vehicle and even though there is an obvious 'look' to be achieved by adding jewelry to them, in some cases if they are hidden, some shapes work better without too much attention being brought to them. Hence, the choice by many of Sombreros and Hollywood spinners that, with their smooth shapes, continue the smoothing element that all good customs exhibit as part of their appeal, even down to the paint choices that were used to meld all into one. Yeah, I tend to go on, don't I? But, there's more to customs than most people consider.

 

Most the cars pictured look fine without skirts... They just look a little better WITH them.
Really a matter of personal taste.

 

Can't be any better explained than the post by fortynut.

 

Chuck makes a valid point,there is no doubt that that it is up to the individual. HRP

 

Totally true. The 39-40 Merc rear wheel opening looks pretty odd without skirts. Thats one car that NEEDS skirts

 

Kustoms without skirts is like me going to school without brylecream in my hair. Just dont do without. Here are some pics a fellow HAMBer posted on the thread As They Were. 2 kustoms without skirts that look a little out of place in my eyes. Do they look alright? You bet, but they would look complete with a set of overlays or teardrops.

 

No skirts=not my cup of tea

 

You can have a traditional Kustom without skirts as long as you have mud flaps and curb feelers.

 

Just to stir the pot a bit, here's a styling exercise I did for my friend, Reggie Hill, as food for thought for his Mark II under construction. It would be impossible for me to pick one of these themes as my favorite...I love 'em all! Stance varys, too.


No rules, Skirts are all a matter of taste.

 

I have no problems with customs without skirts, especially if they have a forward rake. But, personally I prefer skirts in most tail draggers....particularly Mercs. But switching back and forth is always fun, too. I had a fun week with Duncan's big and littles on the Merc while he drove my WW's to he SK a few years ago...



I love that dark blue sectioned Merc you had in your original post. That thing is killer!!


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I was amazed at how much the stance of both cars changed just by swapping wheels and tires! Turned your tail-draggin custom into a hot rod Merc instantly!

 

I didn't know Reggie had a Lincoln in the works. Something to look forward to, it'll be sweet no doubt.

As for the skirts debate, I personally think they are a necessary custom touch. Without them a custom car just looks a little less custom.

 

Thanks Tom, I love the Lincoln with the skirts. You have a very kool eye

 

Thanks, Mick. Putting skirts on that Lincoln is thinking outside the box, "breaking the Rules". In my opinion, no one has yet built a '56 Mark that didn't look like all the others; the skirts would break that mold. Traditionally, rods and customs broke rules (until they started copying each other!).

Regarding stance, I have always personally preferred a slight rake on a "late" model. But I stretched when I did the Mark proposals and did it with both the rake and even....and I prefer the even stance on both the skirted and the open one. So I am breaking my own rake "rule".