American cars of the 1950's

[Inspector71]

Hi All

I'm a bit of a car freak and I'm particularly interested in American cars of the 50's and 60's. There is another thread discussing the great muscle cars of the 60's so I thought I'd start this one to share the love for 50's fins

I became interested in American cars of this era after seeing the movie Christine as a kid back in the 80's. I remember reading somewhere the Stephen King decided to base the story on the 58 plymouth because of the fact that it was one of the lesser known cars of the period.

I think it's an incredibly beautiful car and it's still one of my favourites along with the 58 impala and the 59 pontiacs.

What's your favourite car of the 50's?

Cheers

 

[Austin]

1957 Chevy Bellair is tops.

 

[Not A Nice Person]

I've always wanted one of these:

'57 Chevy Nomad.

And one of THESE:

Made entirely of awesome and sweet!

NANP™

 

[danek]

56 T-Bird in Sage

 

[PCFiend138]

one of my favorites is the Hudson Hornet

 

[dpm802]

 

[Not A Nice Person]

. . . shades of the "bathtub Nash!"

Saw one of these on the road back in Spokane, once, done up street drag style with enormous back tires tucked underneath. Very cool.

NANP™

 

[Jim]

 

[Ken]

As the pictures above make clear, one of the major distinguishing features of cars of the 50s was the availability of bright colors, including pastels, and multi-hued color schemes. Compare these with the much muted color palate (with a few exceptions) on present-day cars.

Ken

 

[Duckster]

View attachment 65071

 

[tgarza]

50 Merc

View attachment 65073

 

[wbw0126]

I've always wanted one of these:

Made entirely of awesome and sweet!

NANP™

YES, my favorite auto product of the 50s

 

[ClubmanRob]

View attachment 65071

+1, 1959 Cadillac Eldorado in black ext/red int.

1950 Thunder Road Ford:

The Hudson Hornet (52 Model):

1953 Packard Clipper:

1952 Buick Roadmaster:

1950 Mercury:

1957 Lincoln Continental Mark II:

1956 Ford Fairlane Crown Victoria:

1956 Chrysler Imperial:

As you can see, I'm too big a fan of 50's cars to name just one. But if I had to pick just one, it would be the 59 Eldorado.

 

[SRock]

Lots of beautiful cars in this thread. I'm definitely a 60's muscle car guy, but I sure appreciate these beauties as well!

 

[dwestenk]

The first family car I remember from my childhood, a 1951 Packard:
View attachment 65105

 

[Mr. Scruffy]

1957 Chevy Bellair is tops.

This was my very first car, except is was a 4-door model.

 

[glycerine]

No fins, but it's mine all mine! Me and my dad rebuilt it a few years ago. It's a 1950 Chrysler New Yorker.

 

[Prairiephotos]

I used to have a '58 Chevy Delray. That was a great car.

 

[LayAl]

. . . shades of the "bathtub Nash!"

Saw one of these on the road back in Spokane, once, done up street drag style with enormous back tires tucked underneath. Very cool.

NANP™

My first car (in 1956 when I was in college) was a 1950 Nash Statesman that looked exactly like your photo -- except the finish was badly oxidized. My friends called her the "inverted bathtub"

She was very very very quirky car.

- The view through the rear window was useless for backing up -- all I could see was sky! Three years later in California, I flunked my first driving test there because instead of looking back through the back window, I used my side-view mirrors for backing up (I still tend to do that! Old habits die hard.)
- The back seat converted into a double bed. Unfortunately then I had no girlfriend to help me test it out. The back seat area was so large, I could easily put a full size Xmas tree inside her.
- The drivers seat was so low below the windshield that I needed a thick pillow to sit on so I could see over the dash, and then I had a problem reaching the pedals.
- The engine was a straight six with the spark plug sockets on top of the block. Whever it would rain, the sparkplug sockets would fill with rainwater and the car wouldn't start. I would have to dry all six sockets, pull the plugs,dry them, and replace the plugs and then she would start.
- It had overdrive and when in overdrive I could change gears without using the clutch. That helped later when the clutch went out and I couln't afford to repair it

Often, even when dry, she wouldn't start and then I would wiggle and jiggle all the wires under the hood -- and then she would start. If a roomate borrowed my car, I would always get a call from them from where they had parked on campus. I would then walk there, jiggle the wires under the hood and she would start.

Betsy developed quite a personality and reputation! and she had only cost me $100. Not bad for three years of peculiar service. Sort of like an old friend who is very unreliable -- but also comes through when you need her the most!

Thanks NANP for re-kindling my old memories.

 

[LayAl]

View attachment 65071

1959 was the last year of the rear fins.

I remember that they started quite small in 1955 and then got much larger each year. Buick and cadillac had the largest ones if I remember correctly.

In 1960 they disappeared completely on every model and never came back - like the dinosaurs.

However, I had a red english 1965 Sunbeam Alpine sportscar that still had elegant medium fins. Maxwell Smart in "Get Smart" drove one.