The '32 Grill and the Mona Lisa--What do they have in common??

Only hang your arm out if it has a tattoo (traditional only) and a rolled up sleeve with a pack of Lucy Strike smokes.

Wheels need to be turned to the right, so when people come up to the drivers window to talk they see that your set to drive away from them because your cooler...with your 32 grille.

 

If I had a 32 grille, I wouldn't be talkin to anyone anyway. they wouldn't be able to get close enough with the mob of chicks fighting to get to the car. I would have to keep my arm in the car anyway so the chicks couldn't rip it off.

 

count me in

 

If Nancy Pelosi were a truck....

 

Can you please provide the exact highth and width of that fence post?

 

If you enjoyed reading this thread you may want to see the movie "Pi":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQ1sZSCz47w

 

Hey, did anybody ever figure out who designed our beloved '32 grill? It's a crime that we know that Virgil Exner designed this:



that Harley Earl designed this:


And that Larry Shinoda designed this:


But we don't know who designed this:

 

(found below in some books)
Edsel Ford and “Sheet Metal Joe” Galamb were calling the shots on the developments and most likely they had aspects of the 1931 Lincoln in mind for the redesign.

The actual body design originated at body supplier Briggs Manufacturing Company, whose staff included a number of “name” designers like Ralph Roberts and John Tjaarda.
The actual stylist for the “Deuce” is not known, but some claim it was Roberts or someone working in his team e.g. Phil Wright who also did the 1935 Ford.
There also rumors that Briggs based it on a rejected Plymouth design. If the latter is true, you can suspect Edsel didn't know about it. While he was happy to borrow cues from Lincoln, he never showed any interest in stealing design elements from other manufacturers.
The 1931 Plymouth grill is due to its rounder shape quite close to the 1932 Ford grill though...




.

 

WOW!!!! When are we ever going to learn. After DrJ speaks there is no need to continue the conversation. Look how much space could be saved if that one simple rule were followed.

Frank

 

And Kevins car when viewed from the side is roughly two stacked rectangles that both exhibit the golden Ratio

 

as for me, if'n ya gotta "mathimatize" beauty, ya miss the point of beauty. Micro analyzing is for figurin if ya got enuff rockit fuel ta git to the moon or mars and back.....

 

Thanks for the super insights. This helps a lot. Given the similarity, it's an amazing coincdence if the '31 Plymouth didn't influence the Ford designers.
Thanks again,
RW

 

...more than welcome. Also interested if anyone can find out more...and for sure the question is...does the 31 plymouth grill follow the golden ratio?

 

Extra! Extra! Thinkfink has found the Holy Grill!

This is uncanny. It perfectly proportioned to 1:1.62, and look at the placement of the headlight bar. No coincidence a perfect square is formed below the bar leaving proper 38% above. I take this as another strong indication that the '31 Plymouth was the inspiration for our beloved Grill. Thinkfink you've found the Holy Grill!



Note: In this example, as "NeallinCA" correctly pointed out later in this thread, a hot rodder with a good eye chose to complete the golden section along the centerline of the headlights (no shitting, this was no accident), which gives a much better effect because one looks at the front of the car as a unit. The Plymouth's headlights are simply too high, looking as though they might float away.

They also did a lot better job of keeping the bumper from stepping on the picture. That Plymouth bumper and its placement was regretful.

 

...and now we can wait for getting lynched by a Ford mob...

As said, the Plymouth story is a rumor...but your comparison is indeed uncanny.
Would also be good to get some info on the designer of the1932 Lincoln KB grill...that was mentioned earlier.

Whatever the history is...
...race cars and some high end cars (like the 29 dupont attached ) of the late 20s already indicated that there was a trend to make the grill more aerodynamic i.e. taller and rounder. Also early hot rodders had put '26 whippet grills on their modifieds for it's windcheating contour (although they are clearly far from having beautiful proportions)...

So the Briggs guys that worked for Chrysler and Ford might have gotten their inspiration from there and then just refined it with the knowledge of good proportions.

 

I read this "golden ratio bs somewhere years ago. It was bs then and its bs now. Going on this theory' the Edsel only missed by a half inch. Be sides I can't afford this kind of art. The perfect nose is a Track nose!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Cool !

 

the price

 

Same reasons Tom Cobbs chose the '32 Desoto grill for his model "A" street/drag/lakes roadster.

 

Nobody is saying we use the formula to come up with proportioned things but that well proportioned things that look good TEND to fit in this ratio.

 

Car designers don't and never did haphazardly design cars and even track noses.

 

math is beautiful. I like pi

 

"a half inch"? If I had your tape measure I'd take it to a couple of my old girl friends and say "i told you so!" The Edsel is way, way off at 1:2.1 so that half inch stuff is the real bs.

Sorry we upset you so much that we had you out measuring Edsels, and raging about being surrounded by BS. Take a couple of asprin and calm yourself. You're right, track noses are beautiful.

 

I hate to hurt your feelings, but your taste is a victim as well. Most all Track Noses are set in the proportion of the GOLDEN SECTION including four graddaddys of them all for hot rodders.

The Niekamp Roadster


and the Pierson Coupe


the SoCal Coupe:


And the Duke's



Not to rub it in but, Here's some other examples


I used to own this one. Close but a little on the fat side.
PS It's for sale on e-bay right now

 

Never was hot on Mona Lisa. She got a five-head.

-KK

 

Wasn't Michaelangelo the orange Ninja Turtle?

 

...so that was it? A thread ending with somebody admitting he watched the Ninja Turtles?

 

hey if you were a 90's kids you would've too!... They're cool dudes..

But it is kind of sad that it had to end there.. I wanted to see if a turtle shell fit into the golden ratio...

 

...well, born in '72 so I no turtles for me, sorry. And I am sure you'll find a turtle shell that matches in one way or the other...
Just would have been cool, if the the h.a.m.b. could find the answer on the question how the deuce grill really got designed..

 

In baseball this is called being "rained out." The information from TF quoted above was as close as we got, which i thought was impressive. At least we know why we like them--cuz they look good! But that begs the question that started all this: "why do they look good?" If anyone wants to venture an answer then we could go full circle and start the thread all over again--NOT.


Oh! I almost forgot.