Art & Inspiration Just fine as they came

Yep, there you have it, - that car definately needs a chop, ..... or maybe I'm not old enough yet......

 

Nice thread! Makes me miss my 56 Chrysler Windsor.Bruce.

 

My 56 BelAir 2 door post, 62 Impala wagon and 63 BelAir 2 door post have all the chrome, stainless and aluminum they left the factory with. Its amazing how many cars look great with just being lowered and the addition of good looking wheels and nothing else. I am however into upgraded drive trains.

Not into customs, never have been. I've always been interested in performance. Many customs have been Fuglied up not improved.

To me an old car should look like an old car not rocket ship.

Gary

 

Color makes a diffrence

 

I agree to a point. Even the cars that look good stock usually look better with a little nip or tuck here or there. 57 Nomads for me, are pretty much perfection, but still look better with some of the trim removed or emblems shaved.

Some cars needs more help than others, but there is always room for improvement

 

not much to change here, LOVE these cars...

 

Great choices--love the 50 Olds coupe and the 61 Pontiac. Had two 50 Olds coupes many years ago-wish I had one back

 

This little sweetheart is for sale on my local C/L. I love this thing!

 

I agree, and have been saying something similar for years. One angle that no one has mentioned, is that there are so many different kinds of cars, you can buy one that suits you. You don't have to buy a flathead, six volt, manual steering car if you want a 12 volt, OHV V8, power steering, auto trans car. You don't have to turn a 4 door sedan into a 2 door hardtop. You can buy the kind of car you want or at least, come close.

In other words if you want a Camaro buy a damn Camaro. Don't buy a neat old car and try to turn it into a Camaro.

 

That '61 Pontiac makes me want to sell everything and buy it.

 

I'm kind of partial to 49-50 Chevrolets

 

great thread, I am 23 so I was never around to see these cars when they were new/unmodified. So I have always appreciated nice restored or original cars...actually preferred them over hot rods until I discovered traditional hot rods. The engineering that went into the old cars is really interesting and I wish more people would appreciate them instead of hacking everything up and trying to make them perform like a new suv.
If I had to pick a favorite at the moment how about a 34-35 chevy roadster, Im a ford guy, but i think the styling of the chevys from that time period is under appreciated. Oh and im also a sucker for factory stock 1960s and older trucks.

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Just hitting half a decade myself, I agree with your thoughts. I'd add to the list the early sixties Riviera, and a 61' Coupe Deville. (Never liked the 59')

Even in customs I tend toward simplicity. I know it's probably sacrilegious, but I never cared for the Hirohata Merc. Just too busy. Yet I love the simplicity of the Sam Barris car. Just as I prefer the Ivo T, to the much more popular Grabowski car.

And of course no matter the era, I think anything looks better painted black. Just as anything can be drastically improved with just wheel, tires, stance, and a little emblem shave.

 

After "Stroker" Tom Medley died,---Who wound up with his '40 coupe??

 

Have to agree, must come w/ age, recently purchased a 51 Buick Roadmaster, restored to stock, black & lots of chrome on this beauty. As time is going by, the resto mod style is becoming my preference, still enjoying my mild custom 51 Merc, lots of cars look great as they were produced. The constant is my love for the car hobby, have enjoyed it in many different forms and will till the day I expire.

 

Just re-read this thread. The comment above made me laugh!
The initial idea for the '40 was just to do a top swap, and put a postwar top on a '40 convert. That turned out to be much easier said than done, and the project kinda ran away with me. I think the original concept, if it could have been realized, would be very neat on an otherwise stock '40.

 

I DO love my stock 1931 Dodge coupes, but the more I hang out here on the H.A.M.B., the more I may decide to do a traditional change on one of them....

 

A clean mid 60's Riviera is one I'd have to leave alone, as "factory" custom as it gets.

 

There are not a lot of cars that I don't think can be improved on in the body department - The 60's Rivi's are definitely one of those (although I have seen one that was chopped less than one inch and it worked). Same goes for 1940 Ford Coupes, but again, the one that Troy Ladd chopped 1.5" still had good proportions. So while I may have come to appreciate "Stock" cars more over the past 50+ years, I still think Most can be improved upon, at least a little. The better the original design, the harder it is to do.
Too many people, including MANY on here don't know when to stop. They seem to live by "If some is good, more is better", followed by the all too common "That is Rad Dude" acceptance. Rarely is that the case, most of the time they have ruined to essence and flow of the design and the ones who love it are only taken away by the gunslit windows or gigantic fins or whatever, and Not the overall look of the car. The more subtle the changes, the better they are as a general rule.

 

It's the 'aesthetics'.

 

If I might add a trio for your approval:

'55 Packard Caribbean. Dick Teague-designed taillights are still a thing of beauty.


'56 Merc Montclair. Best side trim of the decade, IMHO.


'59 Chevy Biscayne. Those fins. Those taillights. And I think the sedan looked better than the Impala hardtop.
Of course I may be partial as my first car was a '59 Bel Air two-door sedan.

 

When I was a kid in the '50's I thought any car had to be modified in order to be cool. However, 20 years later driving my channeled '32 pickup to the un-nationals, I passed a guy on the freeway driving a beautifully restored '30'sCad coupe and changed my views. Man, what a car!

 

Tough decision...but I love that Pontiac..

 

A 50's Buick would be nice; same thing with a Desoto. One of the "square bird" era T-birds; or...or...awe, heck, I just want 'em all.

 

I agree with all of that.

 

I missed this original posting, but that's easy to do in these pages. I agree with many of the examples shared whether I like them or not, my favorite also being the 61 Pontiac. The 50 Olds gets honorable mention too, but more for it's role as a badass than it's looks. I see a Packard was shared too. No surprise to hear from me that no Packard is improved once modified. I've seen a lot of different models street rodded and I almost feel bad for them. Like the 16 cylinder Cadillac roadster above, some cars should never be considered in all manner of taste, respect and not the least of reasons, historical automotive significance. I have fingers left on 1 hand counting "modified" Packards that worked. 56 Nomad, nice but the 55 is my choice. Always dig the "radiused" rear wheel opening which was a pretty ballsy move. We're not a musclecar site, nor do we stray far from the mid 60s, but through 67 there was a lot of cars best left alone, and cars that there were tons of examples built so history be dammed.

The short list could be;
67 Eldorado. Bold, fast, sleek, courageous body forming.
63-5 Riviera. No sense detailing it, our bretheren love em.
66 Olds Toronado. The right color and options, lovely proportions
64-5 LeMans-GTO. The mutant stepchild born of rebellious hot rodding and huge balls. Our "grand dad" so to speak.
65-6-7 Chevrolet Impala/Super Sport. I don't care for the 66, too flat in the front, but the 65 and 67 wtih that fastback roofline just works for decades. I have to include the 66 for those who love em though.
Now I wouldn't consider wheels, stance, maybe even some color choice or chrome/emblem removal as going full custom or changing any of those car's personality much. I also can't think of too many folk having issue with those either. I'm sure we could toss a Ford/Merc/Lincoln or 10 in there, maybe a few Mopars too. I didn't wanna get carried away. Bitchin topic...

 

This forum is about Traditional hot rods and customs. Every production made car needs lowered abit. Not slammed on the ground. Also, every car needs to be nosed and decked and have all nameplate badging removed. These extra pieces of chrome clutter up the lines and flow of a car. You don`t need to have the word Chevy on a car. You should already know what it is. Don`t get me wrong, but I`d remove the cowl lights, Fender lights and the lower set of lights on the 30 Cad. Then I`d remove the horns and lower it the rear a couple inches and chop the top a couple inches also. Then you`d have a classy speed boat on wheels.

 

I threw up in my mouth a little bit...

One to leave as is in the same vein, and I always thought chopped tops were inspired by such. Just sayin...

 

Interesting topic. In my list are the tri-fives of Oldsmobile, the '54-'56 models and the '58 Buick.