The history of those trite and ugly decorations as it's been told to me was that there was a car wash chain called (I think) Lucky 7 based in either Socal or Nevada (I honestly don't recall that detail). They were either part of a deluxe car wash or available for purchase air freshener that hung from your mirror. If not an air freshener then a decoration after x amount of car washes. As it tends to happen, once the "discovery" of the 50s came about it seems that many felt they were standard fare in just about any car as a decoration just like every teen aged girl wore a poodle skirt. My late mom told me poodle skirts were generally laughed at and she'd seldom seen dice in cars around Motown in that time period. Today it's like standard equipment in most any 50s car in parking lot cruise nights. Fuzzy dice are more representative of the 70s resurgence of 50s style than reality. I hate em. I think it makes a car look like it belongs to the simple-minded-I-gotta-have-it-because-everybody-has-it crowd. I've never heard of moms or girlfriends knitting them except for here on the HAMB. I won't raise my right hand to it but I think the knitting thing came about after the introduction from the car wash chain. This is what I've been told by some old-timers that lived in the day when they had good recall. I promise that some of the details I've posted can be called sketchy, frankly we've all got more important things to remember.
If you were sitting face to face with me, I'd tell you that my girlfriend, and now my wife for 50 years, knit angora dice for my 49 Fleetline. I met her at Lions Drag Strip in Wilmington, CA and that was a regular destination for our Saturday night date. We even cut out lace at the drag strip for her wedding dress that a friend's mom was making. And yes, my Fleetline was a mild custom.
This is a really nice car but I don't consider it lowered. I believe the correct term is bagged or juiced. Lowered cars are always low! The question about what defines a mild custom reminds me of another thread talking about lead sleds. Seems like some people think that any 49-51 Merc is a lead sled, even it they have little or nothing done to them. Maybe the meaning has changed over the years.
Lowered is lowered,period. Now,there are two types of lowering,either a static lowering,which would be altering the suspension to achieve a fixed lowered stance,or there is adjustable suspension,which will let you sit as low as you want from stock height or higher,which inludes air ride,hydraulics,adjustable coilovers and torsion bars( Mopar Torsion suspension for example can be adjusted to lower or raise a vehicle)
Not to be argumentative, but I think this story is only a fragment of the reality. I grew up in SoCal in the '50s, I had a set of fuzzy dice in my car for a couple of days (they were actually knitted by a buddy's girlfriend, and he didn't want them), and I am totally unaware of a car-wash giveaway program. I'm not saying it didn't happen, but it certainly isn't the sole origin of dice as a kid-car accessory. Agreed.
What a great question. I can relate to this one. I had a daily driver, a 92 Lesabre. Two Tone Blue pearl ( Silver blue and Dark Blue) hand made bar grille with a 1930 Buick Emblem on it. No nameplates, Blue dot tailamps, Red rims and moon discs. Frenched antenna in the rt 1/4 and a nice polish job. Thrown out of more Cruze Nights because it wasn't a Custom and it was Too new. I wonder What the Barris Bros. would have thought in 1952? When there Customs were about 2 years old!!! The Old Tinbasher
I tend to relate things to Mercurys. That being said...I always considered my Merc to be a Mild Custom. It's chopped,handles shaved,nosed,decked,tailights shaved,but stock grill,headlights,bumpers,dash,and interior. Maybe not because it's chopped. I consider a Full Custom to be chopped,shaved,nosed,decked,custom grill,frenched headlights,custom interior,lots of body mods. I'm sure everybody has their own idea of what a Mild Custom is,so I could be off base. Originally,my plan was to have everything on the outside of my Merc stock,except for the chop. Trim,handles,stainless,mirrors,antenna,hood ornament,etc,but most of my stuff was missing,so I went the route I did. Lately I have been contemplating putting my stock taillights back on,but lower. Depends on how good the reworking of my bumperguards come out.
The same thing as we feel here. Doesn't belong! There's a huge difference between a Custom 60 Ford hanging with the Barris,Roth,Watson crowd in '58, and a 92 LeSabre trying to join in with cars from an era of 50's Customs and Hotrods. If you can't understand that,you're outta place here! That would be like a guy with a Metric-Cruiser trying to fit in with the diehard Harley guys.
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