I recall building a few models 1963 - 1965 that were purple. 60 Mercury convertible, a 32 high boy roadster, a topolino altered, a purple version of Tony Nancy's full bodied aafd. A 56 f 1 Ford pick up as the tow vehicle for the topolino. So purple must have been invogue during those years
THIS is it! Long before "Funny Cars", this is the very Hot Rod Magazine cover that truly warped my impressionable young mind! (I've never recovered.) (Dec., 1960)
When I was about 16 or 17 an older friend let me drive his PURPLE 55 T-bird a few times, it had a real hot 312/T-10, man, I thought I was hot s#/t.[/QUOTE I got this one about a month ago
The son of our landlord had a '51 Fordllac coupe. Purple, dechromed, solenoids on doors and trunk. I don't know when it was built but in '59 (same year my parents rented the house) he put it in a storage shed next to us after he blew up and pulled the engine out. Left the '59 plates on it, sat that way until 1968 when after the property was sold the new owner had it declared abandoned and towed. I tried to buy it a year before, I had a rusty 60 Ford that had a very good running 352 that would have been a perfect swap for it. His idea of the value was much greater than mine not to mention my wallet's leanness.
I like purple cars . I don't care if I look like I'm going down the road in rolling Easter egg it's still fun as all hell and I've had more positive comments on the color than negative . The only thing I want to change on my car is the tires no more raised white letters .
I don’t think it was real common, but quite a few unique cars were purple. Probably because it’s always been a little controversial. This Ohio pair is on a January 1960 issue:
This was built by Jon Golding in the UK nearly 20 years ago, but has been in the USA for at least the past 15 years (I have a photo of it I took of it at the Paso Kustom show in May 2007) until early this year when it was re-imported back into the UK. by its new owner.
wdifl Hello, Purple, traditional, and fast is a great description of the modified roadster of the late, Tony Waters of the Bakersfield Smokers Group. His modified roadster was bright purple had the most unusual look and won most of the races they were during the time we were active in drag racing. 1958-60. (below, in the dark, final 1959 race) photo credit: We Did It For Love Tony Waters light, purple, roadster was one of our favorites at Riverside and Bakersfield. That purple roadster was such a complete race car. It looked good, plus, it was also loud and fast ! The crew always looked sharp with their matching purple, Bakersfield Smokers, Inc. jackets over the all-white outfits. In those days, for the Top Eliminator trophy races, this purple roadster took on everyone, FEDs included. 1959 December Riverside Raceway Jnaki It is too bad we never saw them race at Lions in Long Beach. But, at their home grounds in Bakersfield, We saw him doing well until the Speed Sport Roadster showed up during eliminations during the 1960 Smokers March Meet. Tony Waters purple Riverside and Bakersfield HISTORY OF THE LATE, TONY WATERS: In 1954, Tony built a crankshaft driven, supercharged DeSoto motor and put it into his 1925 Model T track roadster, which came to be known as the “Giant Killer.” A founding member of the Smokers Car Club of Bakersfield, Tony and his partner Jim Shughrue, became the guys to beat at the tracks around the Westcoast. With help from Irv and Gary Guinn of Bakersfield, Tony dominated the Roadster Class and ended up as the runner up in the 1st March Meet in 1959 at Bakersfield. (obit: Bakersfield 2012)
I became very familiar w the Red Hat Society. I bought my wife the book “When I am Old I’ll Wear Purple” or something like that, many years ago, before there was a Red Hat Society. They were formed based on an idea from the book. My wife sent a first person incident to the society for the Society President’s 1st book. They called and asked my permission to publish after my wife’s death, 15 years ago. They didn’t pay to use it but did send me a free copy of the book. A fun & charitable organization.
Hello, I have always liked chopped trucks since I saw my first custom truck in our Westside Long Beach neighborhood. It was a F100 that had a chopped top at an odd angle, lowered, Tahitian red paint, white tuck and roll, etc. It was a show car that ran on the streets as a daily driver. It was impressive. This purple Chevy truck caught my eye as it had the stance, custom stuff, and attitude of a cool cruiser. My photo was against the afternoon sun which plays with the color. The other daylight photo attached was presented by @Sancho several years ago. By all means, it is a very nice custom truck for cruising So Cal. It has been seen at plenty of So Cal events. The purple paint shines in all sorts of daylight photographs. The purple makes it stand out more than if it were painted black or bright red. Jnaki The only thing that puzzles me is the crisscross flipper hubcap. It looks good with the styling. But, what car or truck came from the factory with this model flipper hubcap. It is a popular one on a lot of custom cars and hot rods, but where does it come from in the line of old school “flipper” hubcap history? Repop?
My cpe was going to be black until about a month before it was painted. I decided to go with purple, that was 23 yrs ago, I have never regretted it. I've gotten hundreds of compliments on the color. My opinion is if you don't like the color of my car "tough shit" it's my car and I'm the only one that needs pleasing. What ever happened to the individuality that WAS hot rodding? It seems as though nowadays so many are concerned about what others think is correct and especially "period correct" Build what you want not based on what everyone else thinks you should. Look at some of the projects on here that get the most comments and their the ones where someone is thinking outside the box that so many are trapped in.
Long before the Plum Crazy Mopar colors of the late 60s-early 70s, Chrysler Corp was not afraid to spray some purple, even two shades of it on the same car.
Joe Wilhelm-built chopped top 1955 Jaguar XK140, "Royale"..still wearing its original late-fifties custom paint job!
That magazine cover has been tattooed in my brain, since I first saw it on the news stand, at the age of fifteen.
Hello, When we were teenagers in high school 1959-62, we had all kinds of affordable cars that just fit our budget. But, there were only a few that got their hot rods painted with what they saved as a teenager. There were 2 two door Chevy sedans that went from two toned to a single color for a change. (a 53 was painted green and the 56 a silver) Then there was a 1946 Ford Coupe that was painted a striking purple. It was one of the best paint jobs that we had seen and the owner was very proud of how it looked. White walls and a simple standard interior was still the look at the painting time. Within a few weeks, the purple 1946 Ford Coupe took a field trip to TJ for some affordable tuck and roll upholstery. The white upholstery was the rage at the time as the two other Chevy sedans also went to TJ to get the “teenager affordable” upholstery around this time. We were almost “locals” as the same guys in that funky side street upholstery shop thought they had gone to heaven, when we arrived with one car and another in weekly succession. The purple 46 Ford Coupe had the best contrast as it was dark outside and pure white tuck and roll inside, including the roof, door panels and seating areas. When stepping away from the purple 46 coupe with the white tuck and roll, one could not help but notice how the whole interior just stood out from quite a distance. Upon closer inspection, it was a show car for everyday driving to high school and all around the cruising grounds. The purple color stood out in a line of hot rods and customs in the popular drive-in restaurant parking lots almost every weekend. Jnaki Anytime white tuck and roll upholstery is installed in any hot rod or custom, it just makes the paint job stand out. The purple color was outstanding and the contrast is/was amazing. It was a local color and was an “in” color for the times. So, yes, purple was period correct, at least during our teenage years of the late 50s and the 1960s in So Cal, at least in Bixby Knolls. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/46-48-ford-picture-thread.798516/page-28#post-12029054 HAMB member, @Chris from Spokane, had almost the same look, except his car was black. (and sold) If his coupe had purple paint and chrome reversed wheels, then it would be an exact replica of the one we cruised in, during high school.
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