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Features The Ugliest Kustoms of the 50s

Discussion in 'Traditional Customs' started by Jive-Bomber, Feb 21, 2013.

  1. 'Mo
    Joined: Sep 26, 2007
    Posts: 7,432

    'Mo
    Member

    Indeed!
    Thanks for bringing this thread back. It seems a lot of custom guys bailed, but ugly isn't necessarilly hating!
    Times change. Sometimes art is about beauty, sometimes about challenging the status quo.
    Picassso once said that a good painting should be bristling with razor blades!

    (Edit: Long live the Clash!)
     
    Last edited: Jan 30, 2015
  2. Maverick Daddy
    Joined: Nov 26, 2008
    Posts: 3,130

    Maverick Daddy
    Member

    Yeah, so far this is one of my faves, lets see if we can get a response! :)
     
  3. actually beautiful.jpg
    I happen to think this is quite beautiful, customizing is an art some things are just more abstract.
    This photo is my desktop background now :)
     
  4. Slopok
    Joined: Jan 30, 2012
    Posts: 2,919

    Slopok
    Member

    Just think...if it weren't for ugliness there'd be no beauty.
     
    Maverick Daddy likes this.
  5. Manny....I've always loved this car. I've used this image often for my own Wallpaper. I saw the car in person at the 1961 Milwaukee Autorama and it blew me away. I'm glad we share good taste....:) Centurion9
     
    MannyK likes this.
  6. Ned Ludd
    Joined: May 15, 2009
    Posts: 5,026

    Ned Ludd
    Member

    Seeing as this thread is alive again,

    Quick Photoshop; by no means perfect but a lot better. It can be fixed from here.
    turkeyrun merc.jpg
     
    Last edited: Mar 4, 2021
  7. InstantT
    Joined: Aug 15, 2012
    Posts: 716

    InstantT
    Member
    from SoCal

    Dang, the Matador is one of the most beautiful cars ever. I struggle to see it any other way.
    I also think people confuse ugly for uncool. The Xsonic is totally ugly, but so totally COOL! Same with the thunderflite. Super space age goofy and oddball ugly, but freakin AWESOME!
     
  8. DrJ
    Joined: Mar 3, 2001
    Posts: 9,419

    DrJ
    Member

  9. harleyddad
    Joined: Mar 30, 2007
    Posts: 52

    harleyddad
    Member

  10. Don West
    Joined: May 18, 2014
    Posts: 71

    Don West

    There were some TRULY GAHSTLY customs created as guy's tried to out do each other!
     
  11. [​IMG]

    I want to buy this so I can preserve the patina.
     
    Maverick Daddy likes this.
  12. DrJ
    Joined: Mar 3, 2001
    Posts: 9,419

    DrJ
    Member

    You guys do realize that even if they were a lot of work, some of these cars were built as a total joke in the first place?
     
  13. DrJ
    Joined: Mar 3, 2001
    Posts: 9,419

    DrJ
    Member

    That was what is referred to as the "(New) Jersey Droop" and you ruined it! ;) B|
     
    Ned Ludd likes this.
  14. Black Clover Custom
    Joined: Dec 20, 2014
    Posts: 501

    Black Clover Custom
    Member

    The car isnt as ugly as how close those two guys are sitting to eachother. Lol
     
    Spoggie likes this.
  15. jerseymike
    Joined: Sep 25, 2008
    Posts: 707

    jerseymike
    Member

    i rarely post here anymore because of threads like this. the hamb is a hot rod site (and an excellant one) not a customs site. popular opinion here seems to be doing absolutely no body customizing but instead air bagging and adding white walls means they "built" a custom. no builder hits a home run everytime but this thread mentions barris, bailon, maratta, winfield, hines, cushenberry and others all famous for building world famous, award winning, magazine quality customs and being bashed by people famous for nothing!
     
    Busted Knuckles likes this.
  16. Bullet Nose
    Joined: Nov 20, 2001
    Posts: 2,570

    Bullet Nose
    Member

    HOT RODS ONLY?

    REALLY?
     
  17. Model A Gomez
    Joined: Aug 26, 2006
    Posts: 1,695

    Model A Gomez
    Member

    Well it's easy to see why customs almost died in the late 50's and early 60's. people were making changes to see who could hang the most crap on then and not about style. The shows awarded points on the number of changes. I have a mild custom 60 Thunderbird that I feel is the 60's style in most towns, not a show car but cleaned up the stock lines. There were lots of lowered nosed and decked cars around in the mid 60's but they lost popularity when the muscle cars came out.
     

    Attached Files:

  18. birdman1
    Joined: Dec 6, 2012
    Posts: 1,591

    birdman1
    Member

    opinions are like as-holes, everybody has one!!
     
  19. Maverick Daddy
    Joined: Nov 26, 2008
    Posts: 3,130

    Maverick Daddy
    Member

    how on earth can fixing something make it look worse??? why????
     
  20. Maverick Daddy
    Joined: Nov 26, 2008
    Posts: 3,130

    Maverick Daddy
    Member

    It's Kinda cute, If you can look past the ugly! ;)
     
  21. Dick Stevens
    Joined: Aug 7, 2012
    Posts: 3,710

    Dick Stevens
    Member

    Point is, ugly isn't reserved for customs, people have built ugly hot rods and ugly street rods too. Ugly is in the eye of the beholder same as beauty is, I am the same as everyone else on here, I have my thoughts on what looks good and what I find ugly and that is a part of what makes being a car enthusiast so much fun. When I go to a car show I walk past some cars to look at what interests me and I know others walk past what I want to look at to look at the cars I walked past. It all drives our sport and keeps it alive and fun, just like the controversy over whether or not to hot rod or to restore old cars.
     
  22. joemac05
    Joined: Jul 29, 2006
    Posts: 438

    joemac05
    Member

    This is truly a car that should be resurrected. :) That took some imagination to create.... The Nash grill is the crowning touch. Looks better here that it did on a Nash.... :D. Looks like it was quite well done in it's day. Certainly a one of a kind.
     
    Maverick Daddy likes this.
  23. joemac05
    Joined: Jul 29, 2006
    Posts: 438

    joemac05
    Member

    I am from that era and loved the custom cars in the beginning, had a mild custom myself. I never could understand the upholstery inside the fender wells, for any reason. Like any other fashion... they just kept escalating until they self destructed.
     
    Maverick Daddy likes this.
  24. Zerk
    Joined: May 26, 2005
    Posts: 1,418

    Zerk
    Member

    I'm trying to figure out what could save that poor beast, and the part I hate the most is the Caddy rear fenders/fins. Buick rears would make the project almost doable. It's not destined to be a tasteful custom, but at least it doesn't have to be lye in your eye.
     
  25. Maverick Daddy
    Joined: Nov 26, 2008
    Posts: 3,130

    Maverick Daddy
    Member

    the worst part of that car to me, is the '64/5 fioo hood badge int the center of an otherwise clean nose job. Well, that and the rest of it....
     
  26. Ned Ludd
    Joined: May 15, 2009
    Posts: 5,026

    Ned Ludd
    Member

    I'm not nearly done yet, Maverick! :)

    Getting somewhere?
    turkeyrun merc 2.jpg

    Of course it isn't going to look like every other chopped '51 Merc custom, but where's the fun if it did?
     
    Last edited: Mar 4, 2021
  27. theHIGHLANDER
    Joined: Jun 3, 2005
    Posts: 10,245

    theHIGHLANDER
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    WTF?!? How come I didn't get the memo?!! Does this mean all the good kustoms are gonna get erased?:eek:
     
    Peanut 1959 and Maverick Daddy like this.
  28. Maverick Daddy
    Joined: Nov 26, 2008
    Posts: 3,130

    Maverick Daddy
    Member

    I'm Doin my best to keep this alive, but y'all gotta help me!...
     
  29. Rusty O'Toole
    Joined: Sep 17, 2006
    Posts: 9,657

    Rusty O'Toole
    Member

    It is important to know that even the best customizers did not hit it out of the park every time. You try something new, it works, wow what a genius. If it doesn't, well tomorrow we try something else.

    The only man that never made a mistake, never made nothing. So have the courage to try something new, knowing that if it doesn't work it isn't the end of the world.
     
  30. Maverick Daddy
    Joined: Nov 26, 2008
    Posts: 3,130

    Maverick Daddy
    Member

    10649752_10204900946140796_7651724813005475657_n.jpg Frankie47 posted these on SITTING AND ROTTING. but it fits here, I really like this one.
     
    Last edited: Mar 12, 2015
    58cchevy likes this.

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