Quads, canted or otherwise, were seen on a lot of customs built with the number of mods as a goal. To me, it kind of falls in the category of change for the sake of it.
Canted quad headlights and overboard molding are the late 50's equivalent of todays large diameter rims and radical channel jobs. Very few can pull it off without looking like something out of a comic book.
hamb now stands for Hating All Midcentury Builds ? most of the true custom members are long gone from here, so one more hating customs thread can't hurt. great job to the op
I never wanted to change anything on a car just to change. If I didn't think I could improve the look I won't do it. I guess that's why I'm not a customizer.
I subscribe to more is not always better. Same goes to not every car needs a chopped top. Too many time a chop ruins the proportions of a car. Just my opinion. Gary
One could argue that the first customs were the coach built cars from the '20s and 30's which turned into the 40's and folks modifying there lower priced Ford, Chevrolet, and Chrysler products to look like more expensive models. Ever wonder why so many early customs have the little Caddy fins and taillights? The idea of a good custom is to take the original designers vision for the car and to refine it and make it look BETTER. Like most human endevors it often turns into a game of "one upmanship" and things get out of hand. Still love a clean well thought out custom, quads or no.
I believe you missed the point. We have all seen cars that made us go "WTF?" or "Something is not right with the proportions." So, Lets see the pictures of YOUR perfectly proportioned, timelessly designed custom ride.
I'd say that has been going on for a long time. Every time one of my best buds uses the term "radical" As in look at this radical car while showing me a photo in a magazine or describing someone elses build I know that it is going to usually be a junked up mess. Changes for the sake of change and add ons that don't help the looks of the complete project. If you were to scroll down a thread with 100 HAMB favorite all time customs 95 of them would still be instantly recognizable for the car they started life as. Get away from that and you loose most of us.
Sorry, I don't have any more pics- this one was taken by my dad in the mid '70's - the '40 was built by Tom Donahue in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, - it was in a couple of rod and customs or rod action in the '70's, I think it's still around, last I heard in the Sioux Falls area,
Wow, so did I, had a couple of them, I was quite the stylemaster in the eighth grade too. Paisley shirt, pegged jeans, and wingtips with cleats, remember cleats. I don't meen like your golf cleats either.
No George Like those gawdawful drawer pull grills that were part and parcel with the angel hair custom crowd in the 50's/60's.
wether you like the style or not, it was IN style then and like a lot of trends may seam ridiculous now. bell bottoms and plat form shoes, ridiculous? not in '73. still have harvest gold or avocado green appliances? not in style NOW. sharp dressers wore top hats at the turn of the century? zoot suits, all the rave. you don't have to like it, but if you want to replicate the era or fashion it has to be considered.
Lots of good points, pro and con. One thing that has to be right on any custom, and that is the proportions. You can add or take away all you want, but if the proportions aren't right, the whole thing will be off. That is why what works on one car looks hideous on another. Not every car needs to be chopped, and not every car needs all the trim smoothed off. Those bumps and bulges are what gives a car it's character. Imagine a 32 Ford without the iconic grill shell and reveal in the frame. The 55 Chevy without the dip behind the door. The 59 Chevy with the low, flat fins and V'd trunk lid. The little things that identify a car, you take them away and you have a lump of soap. You can go too far with the smoothing I think. Same thing with adding things that were never there to start with. Buick side chrome looks good on a chopped 49 Merc, but goofy on a 49 Plymouth. Same thing with quad headlights, they work on some bodies, others they look like an after thought. Paint, well, a lot of times simple is better. The factories put out some pretty wild two and three tone paint jobs in the 50's. Most looked pretty good, some like a circus wagon. The excess's of late 50's -early 60's customizers turned into the psychedelic paint jobs of the late 60's-early 70's. You really have to wonder what some of those guys were thinking {and possibly smoking!}.
Restraint is the word that comes to mind. Frenched Headlights and antennas, shaved door handles usually clean up the look of the car, butthrowing too many mods at something just ruins it. Just like some of todays trends, take for example some of the builds Foose did on overhaulin, narrowing and tucking the bumpers always seemed to make the cars look better, but then he would add the 22" Wheels and IMO make them look worse.
Some of these customs are no different then those cars we used to see with every piece of JC Whitney bolt on you could find. Enough is enough. Thats why my builds are kept as simple as possible leaving every piece of chrome and stainless the car left the factory with. Like my 64 Biscayne. For me lowering and wheels and tires is enough. I spend my time and money on suspension and drive train upgrades. Gary
Usually I favor Sam Barris customs, but for some unknown reason, I have always liked this one....I pretty sure it's one of George's, before he went movie prop. crazy.
he has one, heres a pic..now, since you called Frank out, I'd say its time we see yours...but please wait an hour or so, I just had breakfast...
Seems as though to me that a lot of the dual headlights and fins may have come about for a lot of customizers trying to UPDATE their cars to the times. THAT time period. I like the ugly ones too, I can appreciate the work and pride put into even a not so pretty car. Lippy
Yep. That's a nice ride alright. My old heap is in my avatar. The point I was trying to make is a lot of the folks who call themselves "the true" anything, USUALLY don't have anything "true" to show for it. In this case, I stand corrected, and apologize.
should mention here, Frank wouldnt have posted it, HE thinks the top isnt that well proportioned, theres one or two angles it doesnt look quite right to him. And yes, he built the carson style top himself. I just hope my '39 Convert is half as "well proportioned and timeless" as Franks deuce when its done.