History Rear seat Tarps

I've just read Pats latest article on 'rear seat tarps'. He shows a few in customs, the use of which Im familiar with, but I thought they were in a lot of 'street racers' to cover the re4ar seat are because there was no rear seat. I know the American Graffiti 55 had one, but i'm sure I've seen this used in other street racers??

(Gold custom Tarp pic is Pat Ganahls)

 

In the late 50's early 60's there were a few cars around with those. Two I recall were custom 51 Mercs and one was a 50 Olds 88 coupe

 

I remember them long before American Grafitti came out and not much after.

A lot of those old business coupes didn't have a back seat they had a platform if that back there to put sales catalogs and salesman's samples on. A hot rodder or customizer might have used the cover rather than find and upholster the back seat. That and it said that the car was a two people car that didn't haul passengers for the car guys. You drove around with your gal or your bud with you and didn't carry or want back seat passengers.

 

Mox Miller’s Impala had a tarp.

 

They all look or sound like customs, no ‘street race’ cars?

 

that’s interesting, Graffiti shot in 72, so these were a late 60’s thing

 

I was a freshman in high school in 1959 in the San Gabriel valley and the guy two doors up the block was a senior and had a rear seat tarp in his '57 Chevy business coupe. Most of his friends that came by in their cars also had rear seat tarps. It was just coooool.

 

My friend Bob always had them installed on his !950 Olds sedanette. in the 50's and 60's

 

Did this in 1958

 

The Hoffman 53/4

 

Thanks for the input all. So far these all seem to be customs, so was it not that popular in anything else?

 

Damn thats low, was this on Hydraulics or something, surely that chassis is on the floor? Cool car

 

Pretty much static ride height. Been a few threads on it and I think @pgan did a story when R&C was revived

https://kustomrama.com/wiki/Bill_Hoffman's_1953_Chevrolet

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/the-other-moonglow.436721/page-2

 

Hello,

Nice memory and photo of Mox Miller’s custom 1958 Impala. If there was anyone that had the coolest car in So Cal, it was Mox Miller. We had seen the custom 58 Impala in person at his house/garage. We had seen it in the local car shows, but to see it up close and personal was a treat. It was immaculate and there were things that I certainly wanted to have on my own 58 black Impala. The main things were the custom wheels and that motor.

His Impala was, to us, a full custom car. Not for daily driving, down the coast to the So Cal beach scene, and up into the snowy local mountains. So, as envious as we were at the car shows, we tried to get ideas from this top of the line custom Impala. My Impala was a daily driver and local dragstrip race car in the stock classes. My foray into the world of custom cars happened after I added Buick Skylark Wire Wheels to the already fast, modified, 348 motor and C&O Stick Hydro of the black 58 Impala.
No 35mm film camera back then, but thanks to @themoose This is as close to the original look of Black with Skylark Wires and Red interior...

Jnaki

Here is a close up of the cool rear seat cover including the insert opening for the Impala emblem. If we had one of those, then our friends could have been underneath it, when we went to the “one car load cost” drive-in theater locations. That would have been better than getting in the trunk and climbing through the removable rear seat back. Or, waiting in the darkened back row until the white coat guys left us alone. HA !

Mox Miller rear 1958 Impala custom tarp