It's not disrespectful. I lived the end of it as a child helping dear ol Dad. There's nothing wrong with sincere critiques of the old stuff. Just because "they" lived it doesn't earn a free pass to 100% right. I'll say this again too, hacks are not a new phenomenon. At the welding shop on weekends and in the summer I saw a lot of cobbled up bullshit. It ended up there due to sub-standard craftsmanship, and worse yet, no craftsmanship at all. Dad said "no" many times and sent them elsewhere. Everything old or from the time isn't instantly kool or deserving of hot rod/custom sainthood. Back to the topic car, I'm in the same church as our fearless founder. There's enough cool in the car to be inspired if not only for 1 single detail or any number of things to the casual eye. At 1st glance, then reading the old article I knew it wasn't red. The text confirmed it calling it "lilac" and pics in the link to it's current residence drove it home. I dig the radius rods, actually like the wheel covers, but new nerfs have to happen. I'd change it up if I had it.
Now this make total sense to me!!! Flippin love all the elements, definately Henry Ford meets Buck Rogers. PS, I wonder if George Barris did the article and pics under a different name....seems his style.
Anderegg Tribute hit it pretty close me thinks. Those two photos tell the tale. I'd agree that there was a lot of Mechanics Illustrated build your own sports car at home influence in it too and it may have earned the original builders a golden hammer at one time. You have to wonder how the idea of using that grill came up but one could imagine that the builders were out at the local wrecking yard poking around and there with perfect chrome on it was this 39 Chrysler nose that when the fold out carpenters ruler came out would work to cover the radiator and work as a pan over the front axle at the same time. Maybe an elbow in the ribs with a "Ya know what, that might just work, look how that lower piece would wrap around the front of the frame and hide the spring mount and if we cut there and there we could get the height down so we could run a hood. When it hit the 52 show it was different enough that it probably got a show point or two for the change. The nerfs, I think most states had bumper laws that were strictly enforced as far as hot rods were in those days and those complied. And it may just be the granddaddy of all vehicles with the totally wrong grill/radiator shell on them and I'll leave it at that.
The Jalopy Journal
