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Art & Inspiration Whats the draw of 50s cars that......

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by exterminator, Jun 28, 2019.

  1. exterminator
    Joined: Apr 21, 2006
    Posts: 1,695

    exterminator
    Member

    I was wondering what was the draw on cars of the 50s not including 55-57 chevys,fords,pickups ? I remember in the late 50s and 60s when I was a kid growing up - kids parents were driving these olds,pontiacs,cads and others which were used as transportation and not known as (cool cars). An exception was 49-5 something olds which were drag raced on strips. My best friends teenage brother was driving a 40 ford coupe and a friend of his was driving a model a phaeton hotrod around. The reason for writing this is I see these 50s cars for sale and wonder what the draw is especially on a traditional hot rod site like HAMB. Am I the only one who wonders about this? I am not putting anyone down for owning one of these by the way. Exterminator
     
  2. Murphy32
    Joined: Oct 17, 2007
    Posts: 753

    Murphy32
    Member
    from Minnesota

  3. Boneyard51
    Joined: Dec 10, 2017
    Posts: 6,442

    Boneyard51
    Member

    For one thing they had style.... and they are the cars of your youth.....or at least my youth.



    Bones
     
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  4. oldsman41
    Joined: Jun 25, 2010
    Posts: 1,556

    oldsman41
    Member

    Well in my case and probably a lot of guys on here, the 50s cars are what we remember riding in and later driving. I was born in 1947, yeah old guy, but the first car i remember is dads 51 mercury. He had that until 55 and bought an Oldsmobile 98. I have owned a 98 and still own a 51 merc. By the way i also have my avatar 41 olds and a model a hot rod.
     

  5. ...traditional hot rod AND CUSTOM site....
     
    jvo, Hnstray, 6inarow and 13 others like this.
  6. Petejoe
    Joined: Nov 27, 2002
    Posts: 12,264

    Petejoe
    Member
    from Zoar, Ohio

    I too grew up during that time period. As far as 50’s cars.....,,
    I can remember wanting a 55-57 Chevy along with any corvette. We wasn’t much interested in much else except for maybe an occasional late 50’s Ford.
    Yes everything else was just a newer car that had no appeal.
    But I disagree about any 50’s car now not belonging on the H.A.M.B. Maybe just because my taste have changed.
     
    chryslerfan55 likes this.
  7. oldiron 440
    Joined: Dec 12, 2018
    Posts: 3,301

    oldiron 440
    Member

    A life with blinders on I'd guess. The Archy Bunker view of rods and customs. :rolleyes:
     
  8. They're comfortable cars, easy to work on and plenty of engine bay room for BIGGER engines. What's not to like?!
     
  9. My dad had a '59 Ford Ranchwagon, so I always liked the '59 which was the deciding factor to pick it up. This was the Jet Age of cars. The Ford's taillights look like twin jet engine exhausts. The rear fender lines were like small fins. Go look at a lot of cars from '55 to '59 and you'll see the influences.
    41517-002.JPG
     
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  10. .....................There were lots of very cool cars in the 50's and early 60's. I had an aunt who owned a 2-tone Blue 1956 Cadillac Coupe de Ville. If you don't think that they are and were cool, I feel you are somehow missing the boat.:(
     
  11. HOLLYWOOD GRAHAM
    Joined: Apr 11, 2007
    Posts: 1,437

    HOLLYWOOD GRAHAM
    Member
    from Ojai,Ca

    Mostly it is the memory of cars you grew up with. My first car was a 46 Chev. hand me down then had 50's Chevs, back to 48 Ford, up to 57 Chev. then back down to 40's cars. All these are cool cars as far as I am concerned. I have had older cars also but later in life, they are the coolest as far as I am concerned. I draw the line at 60's however (had a 60 Chev. too). Hard to get some younger guys into an American car because that is what they grew up with.
     
  12. I thought my '53 Mainline was cool with the '54 DeSoto grille, Olds tail-lights, dechromed hood and deck lid. Was I just 1976-1215534178-9ab25ba556f2bc0b0ea746703db5014d.jpg deceiving myself?
     
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  13. I loved my '64 Galaxie.:) cars from my past.jpg
     
    Pats55, ffr1222k, Okie Pete and 8 others like this.
  14. I challenge anyone to tell me that '57 Olds Hardtops aren't cool! 96094_Front_3-4_Web.jpg
     
  15. Stooge
    Joined: Sep 9, 2015
    Posts: 504

    Stooge
    Member

    i wouldn't be a thought for another 35+yrs, but there are very few cars that look better to me than post war- '54 GM ...having said that, I have heard the "those were just boring family haulers" sentiment a few times
     
  16. KevKo
    Joined: Jun 25, 2009
    Posts: 926

    KevKo
    Member
    from Motown

    They are a lot more like "modern" cars. Room. Comfort. Brakes. I think as we get older and priorities change, we like things easier. Hot rods are way cool. But room and comfort are way down the list.
     
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  17. F-ONE
    Joined: Mar 27, 2008
    Posts: 3,271

    F-ONE
    Member
    from Alabama

    Speedy Bill wrote a book on hopping up the Chevy six in 52-53.
    Featured in the book were several post war Chevys. Of note was a 49 -51 Coupe with a 50 Olds windshield. This car was nearly new. That car was most defiantly a hot rod, not a custom.

    I come up in a different time but I think the following is relevant. When I was young, HS age to mid 20s, very, very few of us were souping up new cars. New cars were being souped up but not in my demographic.

    While first hand accounts only enrich our knowledge of the period. With that said, first hand accounts are very specific to location and demographic and are not necessarily the whole picture.

    It's like the Paratrooper in the Movie The Lomgest Day...
    He was one of the first in. He was lost. He never fired his gun. He asked the wounded RAF pilot (Richard Burton)...

    " I wonder who won? "

    Too, the HAMB is not a reenacting site. It's an automotive enthusiast site. Even if this was a " reenacting site", there's a lot of difference between 1955 and 1965. Add in demographics and region and it differs still.
     
  18. What! Did someone say that '60 and '61 Ford Starliners weren't cool!:rolleyes: th (1).jpg [/ATTACH] download.jpg
     

    Attached Files:

  19. OK, OK, I guess I'm getting too much into the 60's now. Back to the Fifties.:D
     
    OLSKOOL57 likes this.
  20. 19Fordy
    Joined: May 17, 2003
    Posts: 8,027

    19Fordy
    Member

    You usually identify with the cars you liked as a kid or first bought.
    Truth is 50's car prices are dropping.
     
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  21. I will admit that there were some rather stodgy looking cars in the 50's. I won't mention any in particular so as not to offend anyone. I do believe that certainly by the mid to late 50's there must have been some fresh minds hired by the various design departments, for sure by the Big 3. American Motors and Studebaker were just clinging to life and likely couldn't afford the newly minted designers out of the better design schools. That said, who could turn their back on a '53 Studebaker Starlight Coupe.?
     
  22. I would venture to say a large majority of Hambers have owned or currently owns a 50's car now, they are cool! maybe not as desirable as some of the earlier cars or a few of the later cars but they have their place.

    Many of us grew up in the back seat of the 50's cars and still like them. HRP
     
    Last edited: Jul 14, 2019
  23. .............Some of us may have even been conceived there.:eek::D
     
  24. X-cpe
    Joined: Mar 9, 2018
    Posts: 1,959

    X-cpe

    Our older bodies fit better.
     
  25. jetnow1
    Joined: Jan 30, 2008
    Posts: 2,152

    jetnow1
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from CT
    1. A-D Truckers

    I came home from the hospital in a 52 chevy, when I was a teenager there were muscle cars everywhere,
    the school parking lot had everything from a friends 59 caddy to imports to a lot of mustangs and a few camaros, though the chevys were mostly chevy 11 or chevelles. However there was a girl in my class who was picked up daily by her boyfriend in a 57 ford, teardrop hood scoop, and that y block rumble.
    For me the die was cast at that point.
     
  26. Jalopy Joker
    Joined: Sep 3, 2006
    Posts: 31,180

    Jalopy Joker
    Member

    yep, red line for some folks is the old NSRA cut off year
     
  27. 49ratfink
    Joined: Feb 8, 2004
    Posts: 18,829

    49ratfink
    Member
    from California

    so using your logic no cars are cool because with few exceptions every car ever built was originally transportation driven by grown ups. maybe i don't understand the question.o_O
     
  28. proartguy
    Joined: Apr 13, 2009
    Posts: 658

    proartguy
    Member
    from Sparks, NV

    I found the early late ‘40s - early ‘50s cars are well suited to modification as well as more comfortable than the earlier models. I did grow up in the era when they were readily available and certainly hot rodded and customized. I have a 30s car, 40s car, 50s car and 60s car and the 50s car is my favorite to drive.

    Not every hot rodder had a ‘40 Ford or ‘32 back in the day, although magazine coverage concentrated on them. In the late ‘50s and ‘60s the cars from the fifties were quite popular for modification.
     
    41 GMC K-18 and John B like this.
  29. BJR
    Joined: Mar 11, 2005
    Posts: 9,818

    BJR
    Member

    A lot of us were born around 1950. So the cars we first remember being driven by our parents were 1950's cars. When we first started driving all we could afford was 50's cars, which were 7 or more years old when we got our drivers license. And sold for $150 or way less, depending on condition. Now with a newer motor and disc brakes and ps and air, you can cruise around the country in comfort. Which is important if you are in your late 60's or 70's. It makes the difference between going to a show 100 or more miles away with the wife/girlfriend, or staying home. Older cars ride rougher, have less room inside, are not as safe, and are harder to update with all the creature comforts we old folks like. Not that I would kick a nice 32 roadster out of my garage, but I couldn't drive it 200 miles in comfort either.:D
     

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