J.Ukrop submitted a new blog post: A Shoebox of a Different Shade Continue reading the Original Blog Post
That looks pretty nice and all the front chrome seems to work together, although the lower side spear and/or the skirts need a re-think.
I am totally with you on the side spear. It is not symmetrical with anything else on the car and is out of place, resulting in dreadful clutter. There is so much to brag about on this car, but my initial focus was on that lower spear. I like the way the nice hood bead drops into the void of the 2 piece grill. and the rounded hood corners are in symmetry with the curvature of the neat headlight hoods. The bumper is interesting, with the upper, narrow extension.
I agree about the lower side trim and the skirts, but I really like the grille treatment (perhaps because I owned a '55 Dodge in a former life).
It might not be the most elegant part, but, I'll defend the lower side spear. I think with the upper trim being so high up the body there's too much blank, empty real estate until the bottom of the rockers. It's a whole lot of sheet metal with nothing to draw the eye. Maybe a thinner spear, or shorter/longer one would have looked "better," but it works well enough to break up that expanse. I like everything about this one.
Over all great stance and proportion. I agree that the lower spear has to go. And a little different skirt treatment might 'clean up' the sides.
I was going to use the 55 Dodge 2 piece grill. Actually had one and held it up to mock it. But changed my mind as the center space looked as if something was missing. It is amazing however how close the front fender on the shoebox matched the Dodge grill.. Instead I went with '53 Chevy center bar and teeth on my '50.