Art & Inspiration What was the most one year change from cool to ugly?

Oh boy, lets have some fun! It time for ANOTHER "no one give a shit what he says, hotrodjack rant"

That's what THE magazine suggested (the bible, R&C) and that's what the LARGEST Street/Hot Rod assoc. in the world defined a Hot rod as...but you know better? Maybe you do (you need to fill out your "profile page" a little more)

No! The HAMB is dedicated to Traditional Hot Rods AND Customs...you know, those post '48 cars too

Modified for extra power and speed? Most of the modified Merc's & Shoeboxes I've seen are modified to be "low & Slow"

Seriously, you can call your ride anything you like. It really doesn't matter as long as you are having fun.

Me? I just like to rant once in a while...and open that proverbial "can of worms" No one on the HAMB takes me too seriously...and you shouldn't either

 

i passed on a cherry, original '37 ford coupe ($150 obo). too ugly. '38 was even worse!

 

1953-1954 Anglia.

1953




1954

.

 

Well, this topic got interesting!!


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I don't dislike a 39 dlx, but forced to pick I'm going std. Although one of the features that really adds to the std, the "puffy" headlight lenses. I often wondered if those on a deluxe would disturb it too much of it they'd work. I think just a ring change if even that is needed. Can't say I've seen it but...

 

i do have to argue with whoever it was that called the 50 merc a hotrod. cooool cars but HOTROD ??

 

1959 to 1960 and then on down to 1963 imperial. That was a rabbit hole into ugliness from what was the 1959 imperial and the ugly stick didn’t stop swinging in 1960. By 1963 the fins they had were completely cropped. It reminded me of the dilemma the 1962 corvette had. The front was stuck in the 1950s while the rear was trying to be 1960s. What’s funny is I love the imperial but I absolutely cannot stand a 1963. The picture is a 59 Lebaron I used to own.

 

I know I´m still one of the youngins on his board and living on the wrong side of the big pond. But here´s my opinion...when I started out in this old car hobby I wouldn´t drive anything with 4drs, an inline 6 or anything Ford, or Chevys older than 46... Now I have early Fords, Mopars, Chevys, with all numbers of doors, flatheads or inline sixes, v8s no matter what and LOVE them all. Today I think ANYTHING pre 65 , even if it´s been uncool back in the day, been regarded as weird or odd, impractical or a real POS with design flaws, has more soul and is nicer than ANYTHING I see when I walk out the door and watch the cars passing by. I think it was when the auto designers were given rulers and plastic interiors instead of hard drugs like back in the late 50s when the sh*t really hit the fan.

 

Interesting thread. When I first saw the title, my immediate thought was 37 to 38 - - - in general. Marty and Dean homed right in on the 37 to 38 Ford pickup transition, and they're right, but I would expand it to Ford passenger cars AND the entire GM line that year. It's like all the designers in the industry got together, drank a bunch of weird stuff, then went back to the studio and stayed high while they did the 38s. Then 20 years later it happened again - HAHA!

 

56 F100 trucks sweet .......1957 not so,.....57 Ford car sweet ,58 OK, 59 and 60 Fords suck ,1961 and newer great especially the 61 Starliner .They hit it right IMO there.

 

I totally agree about the 38/39 Ford pickups. I love pre-war Fords and thought Henry could do no wrong...until I built/owned a '39 Ford pickup.
I just couldn't live with that '39 nose, and modified a '36 pickup grill to replace it.

 

Has anyone mentioned the 62 Chrysler? Identical to the 61 but shorn of fins with a weird sculptured rear fender. I get that they had to do something as fins were passe but this is just ugly.

 

Pretty much every American car after 1975....oh wait! That's not what we were talking about!

 

64 to 65 Fairlane.

 

I’m surprised at the hate for the ‘58 Chevy, when they arrived in late 1957 they were very well received by the guys in my area. Of course this is the opinion of someone who had white convertible, black top, red interior 3 carb 348 so I could be prejudiced....

As for ugly to cool I give you the ‘62 Plymouth compared with the 1963. Another disclaimer, I had a ‘63 convertible same color scheme as the ‘58 Chevy...

 

Like everybody I have my preferred years that I like and ones that I just don’t care for. However; with the less loved years I always try and picture them in full race car trim of the era!
Okay so maybe some cars need more help than others. It looks like not even the King could help this one look good!


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56 to 57 Merc.

 

it surely shows where some of the "cars" movie series got ideas from...

 

Thankfully Pontiac does okay in the 58-61 category!


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49 to 50. I was born in 49 and my ex was born in 50 when we got divorced she got real ugly.

 

I couldn’t agree more! Btw 58 Chevy full size and 58 Ford truck is cool IMO

 

I got laid a lot when I was driving my sweet black and white 58 Buick Super 2 door hardtop.
Could have been because of the quality of the women I used to hang out with, but they all liked my car.

 

1961 Chevy Impala 409
Hello,

In 1961, the coolest 2 door hardtops were on the scene for us teenagers. Money was tight, most of us had our teenage cars in place, and we all went to the local dealers to look at the best of the new car options. Not only did the Chevy Impalas come with a big 409 motor, but the wait list for the most popular model the Impala 2 door hardtop was many months down the line. The 409 had 360 hp from the factory. That surpassed anything we had as teenagers and it came from the dealer, just down the street.

But, not only was it a powerhouse sedan, but, the cool hardtop styling was pretty nice in addition to the big 409/4 speed combination. My 58 Chevy Impala was fast, modified to win races and was my daily driver. But, after 3 years, the next step was available with the cool hardtop design. Most commonly known as a bubble top sedan. The extra horsepower and a cool 4 speed would have been the coolest and fastest in our So Cal area.

So, the senior year was spent drooling over the latest from Chevrolet and trying to be cool about it. That styling had it over any sedan during this time.

Jnaki

The 58 Impala had a fairly mild, wide post for the roofline support, but not to the extent of the huge rectangle blocking the view over your shoulder of the 1962 Impala. Even with a big 409, that blind spot was a hindrance and the styling was not as good as the 1961 Impala.


Then as the senior year was closing, the next year’s model went the way of a stodgy hardtop with a huge blind spot in the right rear corner area. We sat in the new 62 impalas in the showrooms and that stood out as a NOT cool thing for all of us. That big blind spot was bothersome.
1962 Impala

Despite the 62 styling of the Impala 409 hardtop, our friend needed a car for his senior year and bought a 1962 Chevy Biscayne 409 for his daily driver. One of the two reasons for the purchase of the 62 Biscayne was the 6 months long wait for the Impala hardtop, which he really did not like as much as the 61 Impala hardtop, but he wanted a new car. The other reason was the Impala had that big styling blob of a blind spot. Not that he would be looking over his shoulder all of the time, but a big blind spot is a hindrance for anyone driving with that blanked out area of outward sightlines.


As had been said before, those people that have a 62 Impala, kudos to you, but we all have our choices and styles.

 

65 to 66 falcon

 

It was mentioned, but I didn’t see any pics. 39 vs 40 Ford pickup. But I’m biased.

 

Here come da judge... I miss Sammy!...

 

i luv 62 ss but id kill for a belair bubble top . you couldnt give me a 60/ 63 ford !!

 

The front end looks like a 57 Chevy that sneezed while pinching it's nose.

 

'57 to '58 , things got too big , too bulgy , too bulky , too much chrome ,too much fins ..