Early 50's cars as hot rods NOT customs...GALLERY

A couple more I have saved on file..
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Don't know if this qualifies, my '58 Biscayne from about 30 years ago.

 

Red shoebox looks cool as ^^^^^^^^
Rod

 

Yes, Charlie...it does. Then again, you know I am biased. That thing is bad...

 

X2, and yes I am biased too , been working on my 58 Biscayne 2 door for awhile and now that I am getting my new garage finished up, I can hopefully get it on the road before too long(the engine shot in my avatar is of the 350 SBC in it)

 

seen this at Pleasanton last month. thought it fit here



as did this

 

This one looks a heck of a lot lite Pat Ganahl's (or is it??)...love it!

 

I could not tell but there is a lot of similatities, like white interior, same air cleaner, wheels.. I did not realize it might be until I got home and looked at the pictures again.

 

I am going out on a limb here (can't seem to find an answer elsewhere on the HAMB), and as I get more and more intrigued and interested in "period correctness", reading lots of books, and have seen exhaust like on Ganahl's car come up often (some Billy Vinther and Bob Lick builds). Can someone school me on how this started? Performance? Function? Asthetics? I am sure it is a mix, but am very curious. Thank you!

 

Mine is in the works. A little ruff at the moment but getting there little at a time.

 

In my area of the country, the northeast, pipes with flares running under the car - and often under the rear axle - were a short-lived fad in the early '60s. I think it originated on California show cars, but was quickly adopted because it looked racey, eliminated the need for custom-made tail pipes (which we coudn't get) and was cheap.

Most customs and rods in my area were forward raked at the time so these pipes looked really great when installed parallel to the ground as in the '40 coupe above. Didn't look so good on cars that were more level like Pat's because they appeared to tilt downward towards the rear.

Nope, not terribly practical. Tended to get smooshed when going forward over bumps, and crunched when going backward over bumps. But they sure looked "wicked kool" while they lasted!

 

Ahhhh! There you have it! I do think they look wicked myself, especially on the Fick '40. I will have a slight rake on my '50, and think it could look nice. I should play in PShop to see...on a car like that, do you know was a "true" 4 pipes, 2 per cylinder type setup? Sorry for so many questions!

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Wow! I got almost all the way through this thread, thinking to myself "man, I REALLY LIKE this style of car", when I realized why: these aren't "semi-customs", they are HOT RODS with big bodies! 'Zactly like my Buick!

It's mostly stock on the outside, lowered with a mild rubber rake...with a warmed-over 350 Chevy/TH350/Chevelle 10-bolt underneath. It's not blindingly fast, but it's good enough to trophy at the annual Yello Belly Nostalgia Drags here in the DFW area.

Thing is, where I grew up in the late '50s and '60s of the pre-musclecar era, there were far more hotted-up '50s cars than there were customized '50s cars owned by guys my age. Reading this thread is kinda like coming home.

 

Great car man! Love the vibe for sure!

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I think '50 Olds coupes are BORN hot rods. They don't need any help.

 

Check out the ready to drag Merc in the background! Never seen one set up "hot", any pics of this floating around out there?

 

I always heard these pipes called scavengers. Available at Pep Boys, and everywhere else, by the stick (6 feet?), cut them to any length you needed. Buy some flex tubing while you were there, and you have your exhaust system. My first coupe, a '48 Super Deluxe got these, and would shoot water out when fired up. That was livin'... or for the flathead dyin'.

 

Went to a Fall Festival car show today. Overcast, 60 degrees. Decent turnout...this was there. Lose the skirts and you have a nice 60s style hot rod. Loved the engine setup...lose the "350" badge...



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Did I post this here before?....400/4spd.

 

My other one.......350/350

 

w

Love the stance. What is the suspension setup?

 

'74 Nova subframe, stock rear springs with nova rearend. I moved the front axle center back 1-1/2 inches to center the wheel in the opening. see difference in pics. BTW; I cut the '51 frame so that the Nova sub slid right up inside with trans crossmember and all. The earlier Nova subframes' tread width is 1-1/2 inches narrower and fits in the fenders better. I have diagrams if you are interested. I also cut and fit the Nova core support to the "51, so , the radiator fit.

 

Bumpin'

 

This car is bad ass!!! Of course I may be a little biased when it comes to 49-50 Oldsmobiles.

 

btt...

 

Those Olds coupes were made for "car guys". Just so cool.

 

O.K. O.K. Two-doors are fine, too.