In the early 50's, Ford equipped a few Victoria hardtops with an abbreviated "kit" that was blended into the trunk lid.
You make some good points 'shifter, and that's also the reason I replied what I did regarding pre-continental rear spares. For the about the last 4-6yrs, maybe more, a noticeable number of restored classics have kept their rear spares. By classics I mean cars listed as such by the CCCA. I have to say that I agree with the trend myself. A home run for me would be a 34 Packard 1101 2/4 cpe with a rear spare, finished in a nice dark color like Packard Blue. After decades of dual sidemounts and trunk racks on nearly all of them it's a refreshing change. Still, to add one to a period custom "because" might not always work and it should be done with restraint. I'd probably be in the "...don't like..." line on a few examples myself, especially when they're hanging back there over a foot beyond original sheet metal and sporting a boxed in set of extensions. Turnpike Cruisers and the tri-5 Chevy seem to be the worst offenders of that style, and bringing up the rear (no pun intended) would be mid 50s Cadillacs and 58 Impalas. The best ones blend in and don't draw too much attention.
In the '70s it was often recommended to panel up the sides of a motorbike mudguard and profile it to sit upright at the rear of a deck lid. I always thought a motorcycle mudguard was too skinny to look as if it could hold a tyre like those on the car. Worse than that was the flat forward face of the assembly and the sharp angle it formed to the deck. The architect in me says it is going to leak and consequently rust there.
Right on Royalshifter. Someone also said "breaks every rule of custom design"....whaaaaaaat? Rules? Heh heh they are definitely in the wroooong place man.
The continental "kit" actually was OE on all '56 T-Birds. Being OE didn't make them look any better on the car.
Here I thought the purpose of these Jalopy Journal posts was to stir discussion. If you didn't want opinions posted on the articles then they should just be closed posts. You are never going to get everyone to agree on the looks of custom cars. You have to admit, there were some pretty fugly looking customs built back in the day. Some were built just to be different with no regard as to aesthetic looks.
True, but all too often the "discussion" seems to be a bunch of guys all expressing the same blanket opinion about something (in this case, conti kits are always ugly). I keep saying this over and over and over, but anyone who looks through some of the classic custom annuals like Restyle Your Car or Custom Cars from 1952-1956 or so will be STUNNED at the variety and variation present at that time. Now most of the kustoms we build tend to fall into one of a few very narrow styles, repeated endlessly. It is safe, and the look works on most cars, but damn a little individuality would be nice from time to time! I am no kustom historian like, say, Rikster, but even I know that Barris Bros and their ilk tried to NOT repeat the same things over and over. New "add on" conti kits look like crap 100% of the time, but a well-integrated covered spare or continental kit looks good on some cars at least some of the time. Personally I think extended quarter panels on a car without a conti spare looks odd and dumb.
You don't have to like them to appreciate them...yes they look outta place on a lot of cars ......I like them on most ...unless they have a bad airbrushed portrait of Elvis on it .... Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Never been a fan of them myself, although if the quarters are extended it helps. I do like the one on Sam's convertible. I consider it an east-coast thing mostly, and anytime I see event coverage of Lead East, it looks like 3/4 of the cars there have connie kits.
I will say that I HATED them in my younger days when I lived in NE Ohio, because all I'd ever seen were those dumb tack-on ones that extended the bumper (or just the middle of the bumper) wayyy out in back and had a flat cover. It was only when I saw some really balanced kustoms with extended quarters (LaJolla, Ernst, etc.) that I started to appreciate them.
I never said I don't respect the history of it. I grew up with most of it. You can respect the history of it but still not like the look. I think the continental kits work on some cars, just not very many. The post started a discussion so I joined in and just made a statement. You can't have a discussion with only positive results, or at least not many discussions work out that way. I wouldn't know about Facebook, I don't do social gossip. Continental kits are a lot like add on sunvisors and cruiser skirts...sometimes they look good and sometimes they do not. All are part of custom history. There were some examples posted above that do work and look good. I am just one of those who prefer a clean, smooth custom that is proportional with not too many add on doodads.
They have to be part of the whole package of the car and have to blend in with the car. I've seen some that worked and then on the same model of car a quite similar one that didn't work simply because it didn't fit in with the rest of the car for one reason or another. You have to have the right color on the car along with the right stance and wheel and tire combo. Miss on one of the items and the Continental kit looks like it was something stuck on as an afterthought because the car owner had an extra 500 bucks left when he stumbled on one at a swap meet. Around here they seem to be big with "restorers" who have the idea that they need to have one of every accessory sold for that model vehicle on their car to make it compete whether it adds to the total look of the car or not.
I have one on my 36, because I drive long distances, I've had flats on my zephyr. Not much room in either for a spare, even a small one. Too late on the zephyr, but I planned it on my 36 roadster. Now on my caddy's plenty of room in the trunk.
This discussion would not be complete without mention of the "Fabian Continental" (famous 'East Coast' custom). Another popular East Coast example was Chuck O'Malley's '56 Dodge {shown here in an early version).
Never been a fan at all. I just picked up a 59 Galaxie as a driver and had an ad on craigslist for the Contitantial kit before I got it off the trailer! After lowering it and looking at it for a couple of weeks the thing is starting to grow on me. Still looks the the short dive from a high school but I think it works on this car.
Ya know, fungus can grow on ya too... Man, I just had to. See my avatar for full details, no purchase necessary, void where prohibited...
i installed a kit on a '58 caddy convertible.....customer had to keep it at his son's house because it no longer fit in his garage. if i remember right, the kit, labor to install and modify , paint and assembly came to like $5k.....
I think that thing rocks on there Looks good to me on this body style Locke the concave tunnels index the taillights. .... Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Good Lord! Is this dweeb the forum's pet Troll? 50 posts and not a useful comment to date. You folks are way too accommodating.
That's a shame. Artists are notoriously sensitive & it's just a fact of life. Confrontation with too much conflict quells the creative juices and fosters angst. And I agree. It's damn hard to be a fair moderator. I modded at Motorcycle USA for 5 years, and frankly I'm glad to be rid of the task. As for the continental kit, I'd like to see what one looks like on a P-15, but have never seen one so equipped.
19Fordy - "Coronado kits seen on 52 and 53 Fords are by far the ugliest, in my opinion. It violates all custom design rules. Yet it looks ok on 56 and 57 Lincoln Continentals." I think the 'Coronado' style spare tire containers are actually pretty nice. They're nicely molded in like the Lincolns you mentioned, instead of just added on as an accessory. "It violates all custom design rules." That's ridiculous. The basic definition of 'custom' is personal, according to one's tastes and preferences. No "design rules". I'll admit though, that for some people, when it comes to 'customizing' a car, all their 'taste' seems to be in their mouth. Dan Hay - "Continental kits are part of the custom car tradition like them or not. Just like spotlights, skirts, chopped tops etc. It's the combination of these treatments make the car look 'right'." Well said. Consider the spotlight. How on earth did such a utilitarian piece of automotive equipment become such an iconic piece of KUSTOM must-haves? Anyone building an accurate period Kustom, would kill to get their hands on a pair of Appletons. Spare tire carriers/Continental kits were used quite a bit in the heyday of the Kustom. Just look at all the Dan Post material that accurately documents what was really going on then. For those of us living 60 years later, it's easy to have an opinion about what's 'right' and what's not. I think they're better suited for a car that's restored to stock condition, but like several others here, I think they look nice when properly executed. theHIGHLANDER - " to add one to a period custom "because" might not always work and it should be done with restraint " Definitely! atomickustom - " anyone who looks through some of the classic custom annuals like Restyle Your Car or Custom Cars from 1952-1956 or so will be STUNNED at the variety and variation present at that time. Now most of the kustoms we build tend to fall into one of a few very narrow styles, repeated endlessly. It is safe, and the look works on most cars, but damn a little individuality would be nice from time to time! Agreed. Just like back when the cars we're discussing were built. Special Ed - "Custom car and hot rod history is just that. History. Our history. I think respecting it and learning about it is always a decent thing to do " Yep!
Yes to all Unless it has a bad airbrushed portrait Of Elvis on it.........:thumbdown: Howling wolfs?:thumbdown: Wild horses running thru water:thumbdown: Music notes:thumbdown: Betty boop:thumbdown: And the best of all Dream catchers :thumbdown::thumbdown: Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Many on this site don't seem to realize that tastes and "what's cool and what's not" changes dramatically over time. The thread about Dick Williams T is a good example. Same with customs and dare I say it, gasp, street rods. Most of us today think pastel paint or all-billet hot rods are a disaster, but at the time, that's exactly what the latest trend was and what most of us were dying to build. Sort of like traditional hot rods today, no? Enjoy what the hell you want now, cuz down the road it is bound to be different.
..normally I don't care for them, but there are of course acceptions; but the car has to be lowered! then I'll probably like it; like the Golden Sahara, probably the coolest continental ever done, the Cadillac concept car that Barris worked on, most cars w/ extended quarter panels & Mark Lincolns, & all the cars I've ever seen build by the Drag-n-Shop (IMHO)...that being said, we are doing a highly modified "Mark ll Lincoln molded style" on my son's 54 Ford. It has extended quarters w/ 54 Lincoln taillights...the quarters were done in the mid 50's when that car was almost new. Hope you like it, I think it fits the car's style ....can't get the freakin picture to load, I'll work on that...there is a pic of it on the last page(10) of his build thread- Crazy Legs- My 54 Ford build thread- Old Custom.
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