Art & Inspiration Whats the draw of 50s cars that......

They are the cars that I grew up with. If they were not that cool we made them cool. You could lower, dago, tail drag, or whatever you wanted to be cool. You could drive down the street and identify the marque by the individual style. Pontiac, Buick, Chevrolet, Mercury, Rambler, Kaiser, Oldsmobile, and so on all looked different and everyone liked the car that they identified with.
What's wrong with really great memories? I guess you could put Scavenger pipes on a Smart car.

 

My parents would have never, ever... oh no, not Mom and Da... Oh Crap... You don't think???

 

Currently I have a '50 Ford Coupe & a '54 Ford Ranch wagon sharing space with my old '32 beater. HRP

 

Weird question so here is a weird answer. I was in high school in the late '60s. All the really cool kids had tri five chebbys and the rest of us went fast in anything we could afford. My bullet of choice was '55 Ford. Y blocks and Y block parts were cheap as was about anything Ford in that part of the country. I could make one go fast and that was that.

My daily for quite a while was a '58 Merc Monterrey. Probably not cool but it was a good solid cruiser and unlike the really cool kids I didn't give a big ratz ass.

 

For one thing, as these cars became more rare and not readily found cruising the streets, they just "became" more attractive. I know a lot of cars of the 50s and 60s used to look ugly or plain to me but now when I see one, they are so uncommon that they are cool. And I love the chrome, which you never see anymore.

 

I came home from the hospital in my folks '57 Chevy wagon, one uncle had a '57 Olds with a j-2 engine, another uncle had a '56 Chevy convertible. 50's cars were cool and still are !

 

There was a tremendous amount of progress in car design in the decade between, say, 1947 and 1957. You went from the typical car being a six cylinder flathead of 100HP with a radio and heater if it was fully loaded, to cars that were longer, lower, wider and more stylish with 300HP V8, automatic, power steering, power brakes, air conditioning, 12 volt electrics and all kinds of features and accessories that simply didn't exist in the forties. You could take something like a 57 Chevy or Chrysler, and Detroit didn't come out with anything very much better for another 30 years. Even today it wouldn't be too hard to drive a good 1957 car every day, if it was in top shape and had disc brakes and radial tires.

Fifties and up cars are also easy to hop up and swap parts. Engine, trans, suspension did not change radically for many years. It is a cinch to put a Chev V8 from 1955 to the present day into any 1955 up Chevrolet. Much more difficult to do on a 1954 or earlier model.

So, fifties cars have the looks and style, they are easy to hop up and modify, and are perfectly practical to drive in today's traffic if they are in good shape, and with a few simple modifications. Go back much before the mid fifties and it's a much harder proposition.

Sixties and seventies cars are not that much different in concept and layout but tend to be more complicated and harder to work on with more accessories, pollution control equipment and also use more plastic and flimsy parts that break easily when they get old and are difficult or impossible to replace.

So, the sweet spot would be around 1955 to 1967 in terms of having something you can work on and make into a decent car with the least work, cost and aggravation.

 

NOSTALGIA. My first car in the late fifties was a 1951 Ford. It was a clapped out POS, but in was mine (and my mother's). About 30 years later, I just had to have one for some deep, gnawing reason, so I got my '51 coupe and I'll keep it forever. Along the way, I got the desire for a '36 3-window which I was finally able to fulfill; this was a "hot rod" (276" merc, '39 brakes, '39 box etc.). I finished it and drove it for about 6 years, intending to replace the '51 with it. I found, that for me anyway, the later car is much easier to live with and ended up selling the '36 and keeping the '51. (I have similar situation with '67 Corvette coupes, but that's O/T here.)

My dad was a traveling salesman and an Oldsmobile man (remember Jeah Shepard, the author of "A Christmas Story"? He wrote a line saying "Some men are Baptists, some men are Catholics, but my old man was an Oldsmobile man". My dad bought new Oldsmobiles in '49, '51 '53, 55, and '58. The best was the '53; it was a Super 88 two door sedan. He never let us forget that that car was the fastest American car made. As a result, I just love Oldsmobiles, even the '58's with the horrendous slathering of chrome on the sides. But then again, that's what makes them cool.

 

Well said Rusty!


Bones

 

Any brand, didn't matter... They just had style and individuality then.

 

I know it's blasphamy, but I like the Ford's looks over those of the "icon" sitting next to it.

Not so sure on the wheels, though.

 

For me it was the open drive versus the torque tube drive. I wasn't interested in anything that had a closed driveline. and I didn't like a 6 volt car. My favorite was a 56 ford HTP Mine was turquoise and white with a tuck and roll interior. Unlike Beaner I couldn't make a Y block fast. Heck I couldn't make them reliable. So I went with a FE.I liked the 55 & 56 chevys but never owned a two door version when I was young. Dad bought a new 64 chevy pickup and That was the kind of trucks that I owned Used & abused most of my life. Im abusing a 66 GMC at present. I think there are 75 1960 thru 66 chevy pickups in my hoard.

 

I owned one like it. However I used the aluminum slot wheels. 14 inch big fat white letter tires on the rear. Reversed spring shackles on the back. Heavy FE engine on the front mashing it down. I went to pick up a date and Her mother made the remark that my car was jacked up in the rear like a cat in heat. I got the impression she was familiar with a 56 ford way back when they where brand new.

 

I was born in 59, so 10 year old cars when I first got my license were 1967's. Not many 50's cars left in my area by then except tri-5 Chevys. When I started looking at other cars as cool, the period between 1948 and 1955 was not very interesting to me with a few exceptions. I once read an article describing cars of that era as potato cars, round like a potato. I have began to look at them differently in the last 10-15 years, the 53-54 Fords and Chevy's have grown on me, as well as the 49-52 Ford and Chevy coupes. For a long time, I thought 1948 ended the classic era, and 1955 started the modern era. Everything between 48 and 55 I mostly overlooked as cheap transportation. There are a few in that 48-54 time period I wouldn't mind owning now.

 

We can’t all drive red 32 fords. I like cars from the 50s because I am cheap

 

Anyone that came of age in the 60's that tells you a 53 Chevy four door was cool is missing some brain cells.

 

Born in 69. As a kid I was hauled around in 70s cars. By the time I was driving it was 80s cars. But my dad brought me up around his era cars... I love all the old stuff. 30s, 40s, 50s & 60s. I owned a 32 chevy coupe and and a 48 chevy coupe. Now I have a 36 dodge and my 47 chevy. And for me, I will always go for the 40s and later simply because the 30s cars seem tiny to me. When I have a passenger I have a hard time steering and shifting...I mean I feel crammed. So much room inside the later models. I do love the looks of the earlier cars But don't enjoy driving them.

 

1955 Chevy vs late 20’s early 30’s Ford.
I have owned both.
A 55 Chevy has ball joint suspension that was used until the late 70’s. Modern suspension that gives a comfortable ride. A stock Model A suspension or a traditional(we are talking traditional... no modern update) split wishbone suspension is a rough ride.
A 55 V8 has more horsepower stock than a lot of mildly modified flatheads. Some are enamored with the sound of a flathead. Not me.
Style is subjective. Leave it at that.
Final comment is in regards to interior space.
Model A? I had a roadster and sitting in it my wife was wayyyyyyy to close for my comfort. I can’t think of any of my friends I wanted that close.
55 Chevy? She can be in the car and we both have space.
My 2 1/4 cent opinion

 

I recall riding up the main in San Jose one Friday afternoon, with Bill Cool in his '40 ragtop, BIG 296" flatty. Mike Donahue was riding shotgun, I was in the middle.
A chopped Merc slid up alongside us at the light...full kustom, Buick side trim, midnight blue...a Beauty!
The kat driving sat low, looked up thru his cool shades at Mike, and Mike says: "Hey, is that a Nash?"
Funny, in '57.

 

To me four door cars where parts cars. and to this day I still feel the same.

 

Oh drats.
I wish somebody had told me before I started...



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If you had ever driven a 1949 through 1954 automobile... even and especially any of the bigger cars... you probably wouldn't ask the question. The cars from each era have their unique feel and persona.

All the cars from all the eras have been hot rodded and or customized at one time or another. It's usually cars that are roughly 10 years old that a young guy could afford and be able to make a few changes for a hot rod or a custom look. So the guys in the early to mid sixties we're definitely modifying these cars. In fact, I saw almost only these kind of cars during that time.

The car I posted pictures of is a 1953 Chrysler. It's a two-door hardtop. I'm putting in a 440. I'm even putting in a 4-speed and a limited-slip axle. Won't be a drag car, but very reminiscent something a guy would have put together back then.

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As long as it's a two-door...

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Someday, maybe I'll build a 2000 lb V8 powered roller skate LOL.

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My only exceptions to that are 4 door wagons and late 50's early 60's 4 door hardtops. But I still prefer a 2 door in anything.

 

I bought my 2 door 53 Plymouth wagon in 76. Wasn't really cool then but was quite affordable. Don't know if its cool now but a lot of people think it is. The "really cool cars" back then (1975 - 1978) were 50s and 60s Ford and Chevy 2 door hardtops. Seems like Chrysler products weren't as popular unless they were "muscle cars"

 

In this part of the world (Victoria B.C.) at the local car gatherings the hot rods and muscle cars make up most of the cars that show up. The big chrome covered - finned up cars of the mid to late 50s aren’t nearly as common. It’s hard to say why there isn’t more of them, maybe it is because they are harder to get parts for,more expensive stainless and chrome costs? I’m not sure why you don’t see those big chrome covered land yachts as much - but they sure look cool when they show up!

 

Basically - no matter what decade you started driving - a 10 year car was something you could afford.....some older guys like myself still hold the early cars of their youth or their parents/grandparents as a current driveway/garage pleasure/occupant.....or some like HRP still claim their recent acquired beater in high esteem.......

 

I was born in 69 and started driving in 84 there were all kinds of cool cars to be had. 60s and 70s cars for the most part were just everyday daily drivers. If you saw one laying in a driveway with no plates on it it usually meant it was broken down and a knock on the door and half the time it was yours. My first car was a near perfect 65 Corsair Corsa that sat next to a gas station for sale - after awhile I traded it for a thrashed 65 mustang fastback 4 peed car. It was too easy cars like this were so common then.

 

Might be so.... But- regardless of year- If you want a nice car, it's gonna cost some coin....... 50's are cool to me, but that's just me.......They don't make em' anymore, so why drive a P.O.S and say it's old......
Cheap to purchase is one thing, cheap on owning and giving a crap is another.........
You either like the 50's stuff, or you don't! Not directed at you Bill!