American cars of the 1950's

[Inspector71]

I've always wanted one of these:

'57 Chevy Nomad.

And one of THESE:

Made entirely of awesome and sweet!

NANP™

Chevy Nomad

55-57 Chevs are cool cars but that's off the cool scale

Oh and that vette is quite nice too

Cheers

 

[Inspector71]

+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.

Beautiful cars

Love the 59 caddy I knew they were big cars before I ever seen one but I managed to get up close to one at a show over here a couple of years ago and was still shocked at the sheer size of it Very cool car though

Also loving the 50 merc Has that one had a roof chop done?

Cheers

 

[GarageBoy]

The Shoebox, the hornet and the Merc

 

[ClubmanRob]

Beautiful cars

Love the 59 caddy I knew they were big cars before I ever seen one but I managed to get up close to one at a show over here a couple of years ago and was still shocked at the sheer size of it Very cool car though

Also loving the 50 merc Has that one had a roof chop done?

Cheers

It looks that way to me. It's a beautiful example either way!

 

[Blondie]

Not an American car, but another of the last of the tailfins.

59 Daimler SP250:

 

[1OldGI]

Where's all the trucks? Jim covered the 59 Chevy Apache already. I'm not generally favorably disposed to Chevy or GM trucks but I wouldn't hesitate to own the Apache OR the Cameo (looking like this)

And the 1953 Chevy 5 Window shown here is certainly a thing of beauty

[/IMG]

Of course the 1956 and 1959 Ford would have to be mentioned in any discussion of cool 50's stuff

 

[Garthy]

Hi folks,

My brother took a picture of this brilliant indicator at a recent festival but he can't actually remember what car it was on. Any chance anyone could identify the vehicle?

 

[kadett]

1959 DODGE CUSTOM ROYAL LANCER D500

1958 Chrysler 300D

and finally the only 50s car I have driven

1954 Ford Crown Victoria

 

[kingcobradude]

I love classic cars. I would say my favorite from the 50s is a 59 cadillac fleetwood. A few years back I helped my dad restore his uncle's 53 chevy pickup.

 

[garyg]

Hi folks,

My brother took a picture of this brilliant indicator at a recent festival but he can't actually remember what car it was on. Any chance anyone could identify the vehicle?

Chief Pontiac maybe? I'm not a GM expert, it would be coincidental as the brand was retired today ...

 

[kadett]

Chief Pontiac maybe? I'm not a GM expert, it would be coincidental as the brand was retired today ...

Thats right, the 1951 or 52 Pontiac Chieftain I think!

the brand was retired today

I hadn't heard that....A dark day indeed

 

[SRock]

1954 Ford Crown Victoria

When I was a kid my friends Dad, had one of these. It was the first car his Grandfather ever bought new. Passed it on to his Dad when he was old enough to drive. While my friend was in High School he and his Dad did a full body off restoration of it and his Dad passed it on to him as a graduation gift. Three generations of his family drove that car and once again it is pristine. Pretty cool.

 

[garyg]

When I was a kid my friends Dad, had one of these. It was the first car his Grandfather ever bought new. Passed it on to his Dad when he was old enough to drive. While my friend was in High School he and his Dad did a full body off restoration of it and his Dad passed it on to him as a graduation gift. Three generations of his family drove that car and once again it is pristine. Pretty cool.

That's cool, it was my mom's first car, she bought it used in tutone white over pink. Green shiny vinyl interior.

 

[kadett]

When I was a kid my friends Dad, had one of these. It was the first car his Grandfather ever bought new. Passed it on to his Dad when he was old enough to drive. While my friend was in High School he and his Dad did a full body off restoration of it and his Dad passed it on to him as a graduation gift. Three generations of his family drove that car and once again it is pristine. Pretty cool.

Nice story. Our 54 Victoria is still in the family, it is my Dad's car which he actually bought as his first car in the late 60s. Its pretty much all original except for a major overhaul I did with my Dad in the early 90s. We sandblasted the underside and repainted it and undercoated, got parts of the interior professionally re-upholstered and removed the engine, degreased it and repainted it in the special thermal paint it was given in the factory. Fun times.

 

[elkaholic]

Not an American car, but another of the last of the tailfins.

59 Daimler SP250:

My dad used to race one of these ('58 or '59) for his uncle who owned the car, before he got drafted into Viet Nam. After he got out, he married my mom and moved to S. Carolina.

In '78 we moved back to Oregon. Dad called his uncle and said he wanted the Daimler. Alas, his uncle had sold it to a guy on the coast, but gave my dad the guy's phone number. My dad called and offerred to buy the car from him, but he wasn't interested in selling it.

I'm still trying to find one at a reaonable price to someday give to my dad. Anyone have one they want to sell?

 

[13th Duke of Wymbourne]

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.

I hope you mean the car

 

[kellicat]

Thats right, the 1951 or 52 Pontiac Chieftain I think!



I hadn't heard that....A dark day indeed

Sad maybe considering how great the GM name once was. But, they need to just take all of GM out back and shoot it, as far as I'm concerned.

 

[slpknt10l03]

My Shop foreman in Germany drove a early '50's Mercedes 300 ---- disgustingly beautifully car, lol

 

[DamnFineBob]

The Checker Marathon - Introduced in 1961 (and already an outdated '50s design by then) and produced until 1982.

 

[dpm802]

The Checker Marathon - Introduced in 1961 (and already an outdated '50s design by then) and produced until 1982.

The Checker was my father's dream car ... he said it was the most comfortable and solidly built car ever made, as attested to by the millions of miles wracked up by Checker taxi cabs. And the drab ugliness of the Checker fit his style perfectly.

He had to settle for a Volvo instead ... but it didn't come anywhere near his idea of a solid, industrial strength machine.