History 2 doors vs 4 doors

I feel the rear glass on a tri five chev 2 door post is too large. I think the 55 &56 ford two door post has better lines with regard to the rear side glass. I was thinking on converting my 56 chev 4 door to a two door. And building the front doors out of two spliced together 4 door halves. and making them about two inches longer. thus reducing the side window and using wagon rear door parts to fill the gap and not have the dip in the window opening.

 

Even though our wagon is a two door I don't think it's any better than a 4 door wagon.

'52 - '54 Ford wagons there was 3 body styles offered,Ranch Wagon's were 2 doors and Customline Country Squires were the 4 doors as were the woodie style Country Squire. HRP

They never made a 2 door woodie but fellow club member Chaz is building one. HRP

 

While it would be a minimal amount, a 4 door will actually cost more to restore. Unless it's a Continental, Eldorado Brougham, professional car, or something like that stretched '33 why not go with a 2 door.

Is that '33 supposed to be a wagon or limo? I always thought it'd be neat to make one of those a wagon with a rear door off a SD.

 

Happy to see you agree about the sedan 1/4 glass. If you do a 2 door conversion as described start a thread for all to see.

 

A four door 1929 ford is way cooler than a 2 door any day of the week.

 

JD Motorsports thought it was cool in Daytona.....2016 Turkey Rod Run..........How about that.....

 

Is it time to rename this tread two 2 barrels vs two 4 barrels ?

 

I had a 59 Ranch wagon a few years back...it was a 2dr with a dual quad intake adapted down to 2 - 2 barrels...ruminate on that

 

No need to. This is a car door thread and not the number of doors that air and fuel pass thru. Is that deep enough ?

 

I do understand the deal with two doors, they are definitely cool. I do agree, however, that the stigma about them is definitely outdated.

I was just having a conversation with the neighbor abkut this when I brought home my newly acquired 1960 Biscayne 4 door. He's an old hot rodder/street racer that was around in the thick of the street machine era in the 70s/80s. He said the exact same thing stated here over and over, "4 doors were parts cars". He told me the how you wouldn't be caught dead in a 4 door, etc., etc. But then he went on to point out how hard it is to find those cars now, and even more so for a young kid like myself. To him, just the fact that a youngin is into old cars and not imports is what is cool. And I agree whole heartedly! I've owned many 4 doors in my short time on earth, and I've loved every one of them. They are cool as hell to me, maybe because they are old and uncommon, and I can afford them, but also because they are just as much a part of history as any other old car. Sometimes people forget that old cars are only getting older and more rare. The year 1960 was 57 years ago now! That means that this 1960 chevy is TWICE AS OLD as a Model A was in the 50s.

Another thing mentioned here was the fact that many others in my age group are accustomed to four doors because that is the most common body style for modern cars. A thought that I had when I read that is this: most of the guys building two door cars and sellong them for big bucks are in their 30s or 40s now, and the major age group of buyers that are able to perchase those cars are probably in their 40s to 70s. When I am 40 years old, and God willing I have the means to be building high dollar cars, that 40-70 age group will be the same group of people that grew up without the stigma of two doors. And by that time, a '55 Chevy will be nearly a century old! I know this isn't realistic, but it is food for thought, nd something interesting to contemplate. Its late and my brain machine is running low on fuel.....

Another thought I had was that the number of doors is simply one aspect of the design. I'm not talking hot rods here (I have seen the terms "cool" and "hot rod" confused on this thread quite a bit) I'm more talking kustoms. If a car is well executed and is pleasing to the eye, with tasteful modifications done, the number of doors is irrelevant. Heck, you shouldn't even notice the number of doors if a car has great style. Maybe not notice is a poor word choice... I will say you shouldn't care. I actually see a good number of photos of 4 door kustoms from the 50s and 60s, so I know they weren't all uncool. Many of them are downright sexy! The mid 50s Mopar that was posted in the Mild Customs thread comes to mind, I wish I would've saved it.

I do agree that rear door handles shaved is dumb. Leave them be or shave all four!!!

And just to piss of the two door guys, I traded a '64 Comet Caliente two door hardtop for that '60 Biscayne four door six cylinder stick car......

Here's a few of my cool more doors! I won't make excuses for them. They are not coupes or convertibles, or hot rods, and I don't want them to be. They are cool as hell to me, and never once in the many many miles I have traveled in any of them have I ever gotten the "too bad its a four door" line from anybody that a give two hoots about. For every neighsayer I have come across I have gotten 10,000 thumbs up, and just as many stories of good times remembered by passersby. The friends I have made, the interesting people I have met, the old ladies I have flirted with... THAT is why I love old cars right there. Period.

 

" I will say you shouldn't care. I actually see a good number of photos of 4 door kustoms from the 50s and 60s, so I know they weren't all uncool"
Show me pics of those 4 door customs from the '50's.
Thanks in advance.

 

I found the Mopar I was thinking of. These were originally posted by Hemi32.




Here are a few early fifties cars done in the mid-to-late fifties:




That '55 Plymouth just does it for me, though. I think its one of the cleanest mild customs I have yet seen. I have a lot of four door pics on my laptop, I'll try to find some more. I haven't done a search, but I am positive there are tons of old pictures of four doors done up in the day here on the HAMB, and probaly a thread or two dedicated to them.

 

I never thought 4 doors were cool until I bought a 57 Rambler 4 door station wagon with a lay down front seat and back seat. It was my car of choice come drive in movie night. Much better for parking than driving. I bought it for a winter car in Michigan so I wouldn't have to drive my 55 Belair in the salt.

 

Pre-'49 four doors and any four door wagons work in my book. Beyond that, I'm a two door guy as well.
Funny though, as many on here have said they see four doors as parts cars for two doors, every time I see a desirable, pre-'65 four door post car, I think "two-door conversion"...
Steve

 

So I grew up in a hot rod family where it is very much a 2 door only world. However I eventually saw a 57 Chevy 4 door Hardtop and thought to myself that they look more 2 door than most 2 doors do and at the same time I was a nice older larger car vs trying to pack 4 people in my 77 TA so I found a 56 Pontiac 4 door Hardtop and not looked back.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

A little bit of an older pic but here's a pic with my Grandma in it and the windows down.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Four door-no more

 

We were anti 4 Door for a long time until we started to acquire them and actually drive them and then I especially having 2 kids under 5 years old love the fact that I can throw the car seats in the back and take the whole family for a cruise. Likewise we have built a few 4 Doors for guys that had Grand kids and want to do the same. I mean come on check out our 55 Its my favorite build from last year. We also had a killer 50 4 door that we sold to the Netherlands my 2 year old loved it the thing was super low and was just cool. Or how bout Our killer 54 Ford Wagon build we have going that came from a fellow Hamber.

 

This is what you do with a rusty ass 4 door wagon that was fixed with ch icken wire and 3 inches of fiberglass and bondo.

 

4 door cars to me just seem a bit out of proportion and perhaps even excessive often

they'd look so much sportier if they were missing the superfluous ingress and egresses

 

Cripes, and I thought this abomination was bad.

 

Speaking from a wagon point of view, since the majority of wagons were built as 4 doors they seem to be more readily accepted as a 4 door ride (when compared to a sedan) since 4 doors on a wagon was generally considered the norm.

Thats why I like the 2 door wagons. Less of them and not the norm!

Oldmics

 

A friend of mine had a 210 4dr H.T., just had the nicest lines, looked great with skirts.

 

had a 57 Fairlane 500 4 door hardtop with a continental kit on it. it was a really nice ride. At least my ex wife thought so and told the judge that and its now hers.

 

I like both. To me, they are all rolling pieces of history. A four door represents what someone would have been driving back when these were just regular daily use cars. Your average person in say, 1958...probably hauled the family around in a four door sedan or wagon. Two doors are cooler, flashier and in turn worth more money in the end. To each their own, like I said....I think all old cars are cool.

 

I agree with everything you just said NWRustyJunk. Also in the market where classic cars are kinda pricey the 4 door market generally is cheaper. I am really excited about having a good looking 4-door car that I can haul people and still carry my Man card is full force.

 

How about this concept, just build whatever makes YOU happy. Doesn't matter if it's got 2drs, 4drs, 3drs, or no doors, if YOU like it, and it's whatever YOU can afford, then what's the problem? I can guarantee with 100% certainty that in the end some folks will find it just as "cool" as you do and others will snub their noses at it simply bc it doesn't suit their tastes in cars or bc in their own minds their shit is just way "cooler." I've owned (and still do) 2drs, 4drs, wagons, ragtops, and even a couple of old hearses and I honestly can't remember any one of them getting any more kudos than any of the others, they were all unique in their own ways.

Snowman454...love that T.A. in your avatar.

 

Sorry to say, but IMHO the 4door 3-five looks better than 2door, better proportions...

 

I'd like to see somebody build a '56 (Ford or Chevy) hardtop with one door on driver side and two doors on passenger side.

 

Hello,

This was the car that we owned for the shortest amount of time, 30 days. It was a 4 door 1962 Nash Rambler. When we arrived for a summer vacation at my friend’s house on Hanalei, Kauai, we desperately needed some form of transportation to all points on the island for our surf adventures. The taxi cab ride with my transported, So Cal surfboard wrapped in a bedspread, tied to the top of the cab with two ropes, was not going to cut it for this vacation.

So, the next day we went to the main town, Lihue, to purchase some form of transportation. It had to hold at least 4 big guys for the daily surf trips. But, also it had to hold 3 guys + 2 wives and a two year old for the long sightseeing adventures and shopping trips into the main town.

At first we saw a pristine, 2 door Ford Falcon wagon, but because it was pristine, it was too expensive for both families. Next, we saw an older, bigger 4 door Ford wagon, it could hold everyone and stuff, but, also was too expensive. So, we saw this old 1962 Nash Rambler sitting in the corner of the lot with lots of dust and rain spots on it. The salesman said it was owned by a little old lady from Kapaa, a small town just north of Lihue. That sounded like all salesmen anywhere with the same pitch. (Little Old Lady From Pasadena…)

We made a deal for the car as we all got in and there was so much room in there. The 4 doors helped with the entry and exits. Plus, the 4 doors would have the extra tie down mechanisms in case we needed it for more boards. Normally, the boards are just tied down to the rack, but when more than 4 boards are loaded up, we not only tie them to the rack, but an extra rope goes over the top, around the boards and shut in when the doors were closed. The metal surf rack stanchions that I brought fit in the suitcase, but we made the cross bars with 2x3 hardwood that we coated with varnish.

This Rambler made it fun to travel all over the island for photo shoots, surfing, shopping, and just plain touristy stuff. The 4 doors made it so much more efficient for all of us. So, yes,4 doors do have an advantage over 2 doors. Plus, the green color blended into the jungles if we wanted the car to disappear so no one knew where we were surfing. (there was this "secret" double waterfall into a huge mini lake...)

Jnaki

When we were ready to go home after a month, we gave our interest in the Rambler to my friend as a thanks for a fabulous vacation. When he rented out his house during the winter months, he could ask for more because of the availability of the car. A couple of years later, the Rambler was parked under the house and a big hurricane and flood tides came back and lifted the car up to break the surf racks that I had given him.