IMO, most of the early cars shot with black & white film were more than likely very dark maroon. Maroon shades were very popular back in the day.
It's funny, I like customs black and hot rods in candy colors! Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
In the early days dark colors like black, maroon and dark green were popular. In the mid fifties bright colors and pastels were in fashion, and this influenced custom car builders. But, as these photos show, even in the day of kandy apple, metalflake and chrome some guys preferred black.
Jack Peed, of Virginia, is said to have bought his owner-built Chevy in 1950. It was featured in magazines in the sixties wearing green paint, but has been in black lacquer a LOOONG time. The last I heard (some years ago), he still owned it!
Quick story: Our car club was fairly new and primarily due to a decision by me that it would be best if nobody ran into my first fenderless model A tudor on a shortened 1960 chev chassis(long story but the price was right!) with the gas tank inside the car against the rear body panel below the window and no bumpers on either end; I painted it Kodak Fleet Yellow, which is damn bright. It took just a few days and few meetings and I was quickly becoming known as having an attraction for bright yellow. Run the clock forward a few years and I built a chopped 29 A tudor sedan that was full fendered and had 32 Ford bumpers on both ends. We chopped that car 4 inches and it was straight as all get out. Well, when it is that straight you have to paint it black... but since I had this reputation for painting everything yellow, I called the color, "Midnight Yellow!" A wise guy in our group expanded the color description to: "Midnight Yellow when there is no moon!" Got allot of laughs and led to some more kidding about my knowledge of colors but who really cares when you are all having fun with cars? I currently have a very pretty black 1936 Ford convertible sedan but I won't corrupt the thread as it tain't really a custom. Please forgive the story telling.
My 50 merc. It was originally painted by Bill Reasoner in CA then redone by Trickworks in Telford PA.
Lordy! There are some nice customs on this thread! Maybe Henry Ford was right! LOL. This is a killer photo...Calendar good! Great hood radius. I can't get a make on the wheel well lip. (?) And what's nicer than this? (!!!)
Thanks! The front wheel well is stock with a flare. The Skirts are 51's flush mounted with a flare also. And the headlights have a small peak on them also. Not only are the hood corners radiused but the inner fenders are molded to the firewall and the cowl is molded down into the fenders. The trunk corners are radiused also.
And the fenders are molded to the rockers and the rockers are molded to the quarters and the knee bones connected to the leg bone! Beautiful...just hope you never have to take the nose off.
Hello again HRP, Been on a Thunder Road kick for awhile and - like many oth Hello again HRP, Lately I've been on a "Thunder Road" kick and was wondering - like so many others - what color was Lucas Doolin's 57 Ford. Any way you could ask your friend if he remembers? BTW, 20 years ago, I acquired a 57 Ford would make the owner "cooler than Robert Mitchum as Lucas Doolin in Thunder Road" because A) it's a Fairlane 500 hardtop [Yeah, well, maybe, not so much] and because B) [irrefutable argument] it's got factory A/C with through the dash air and a Ford "magic air" oval emblem on the passenger door. Peach and white (came from Georgia) with the A/C package, including tinted glass, Fordomatic and Power Steering. Was told it was a traveling salesman's car. Came with a 292 Y-block of course. I also have a 312 came out of my 1956 Fairlane Victoria when I put in a Cleveland in 1973 and a 3-carb manifold, so all I need is a 51 tudoor and a 49 hood.
The Jalopy Journal
