Most stylish car of the 50s

[sweettractors]

EDIT: My brother's longest lasting car was a 1951 buick staight 8 with a Dynaflow transmission. As hard as he tried, he could not blow up that car and actually ended up selling it.

I had a 55 Buick with V8 and a Dynaflow tranny and I tried to blow it up and the transmission would not help me. The only way I could "scatch off" was to rev up in neutral and pull her down into low. Ken Sweet

 

[Bird]

As I remember, it had an automatic suspension adjustment that provided automatic levelling.

Yep, Jim, before I joined the police department, I worked for the post office in Dallas and a friend and co-worker had a Packard sedan and that was the first car I ever saw with the automatic levelling. Even without the engine running, if you loaded something heavy in the trunk, or just sat on the trunk, after a few seconds you could hear a little electric motor start up and it would raise the back end up level. And of course when you removed the load, the springs would let the back end raise up and in a few seconds that little electric motor started again and lowered the back end to level again.

I don't remember what year model it was, maybe about 1934, but my parents always said one of the cars they had liked best was an old used Packard limousine they bought when I was a baby. They said you could sit in the back seat and stick your legs straight out in front of you without touching the back of the front seat.

 

[tallyho8]

My favorite '50's car is that Thunderbird Suzanne Sommers drove in "American Graffiti". Timeless cars!

Here it is.

 

[nickel plate]

My older brother had one of those. He couldn't drive it without trying to see how fast it would go. As I remember, it had an automatic suspension adjustment that provided automatic levelling. My brother had to mess with that and make the car do weird things when it was standing still. He was a terror on the highway and I don't know how he kept from being locked up. He was as likely to pass on the right as on the left on a 2-lane highway. I absolutely hated having to ride with him. I was embarrassed and afraid. Perhaps that's why I don't care for that Packard. I think his lasted three months before he blew it up. It was far to good of a car for him. To this day, I don't know what he thought he had to prove.:confused3:

EDIT: My brother's longest lasting car was a 1951 buick staight 8 with a Dynaflow transmission. As hard as he tried, he could not blow up that car and actually ended up selling it.

Jim, that Buick in your photo is a "four holer", the Roadmaster. Note the as called then "lobster" radio antenna in the middle of the top of the windshield frame. My frugal parents had the same model but it was a hardtop. My dad would get out and rotate the "lobster" down 90d or up every time in and out of the garage.

 

[tallyho8]

For a fifties-era timeless North American design, it doesn't get much better than this[

That Continental Mark II did have styling way ahead of it's time. And it sold for the exact same price as a Rolls Royce.

 

[Heywood Jannockitov]

I think the 1956 Packard Carribean convertible was the best looking Packard of the 50s.

I think so too. Nicer than the 55. The more pronounced headlight brows gives it a more aggressive look.

When I was a teenager a friend lived in an apartment building where someone owned a pair of 56 Packard 400 2 dr hardtops that were stored in the back corner of the parking lot. One was black and white and the other was black and pink.

Neither were roadworthy and were pretty weatherbeaten, but I sure loved the looks of those cars and would have given anythying to be able to own them. Of course I was 16 at the time and in no position to buy them. Probably not for sale anyway. I always wondered what ever became of them.

Howard Hughes bought a 55 Caribbean. As the legend goes, he drove it once; though it was junk, and never drove it again. I guess Jean Peters got to drive it after that.

Another car with plenty of style, not necessarily all good was the 57 Mercury "Turnip Crusher"

 

[tallyho8]

Another car with plenty of style, not necessarily all good was the 57 Mercury "Turnip Crusher"

I had long ago forgotten that the 57 Merc was the first car with dual headlights. Most cars started in 1958.

I believe that some 57 Mercury models had single headlights.

 

[Heywood Jannockitov]

Yeah, dual headlights weren't approved in all states yet in 57, This Merc looked odd with single headlights. The 57 Nash Ambassador had dual headlights as well, stacked vertical - nice looking, for a Nash.

 

[Bird]

I had a 55 Buick with V8 and a Dynaflow tranny and I tried to blow it up and the transmission would not help me. The only way I could "scatch off" was to rev up in neutral and pull her down into low. Ken Sweet

There was another way, Ken. You could just put it gear, stand on the brake with your left foot and the gas pedal with the right foot, the front brakes would keep you from taking off, and since they rarely, if ever, had a limited slip differential, you'd spin one rear, usually, if not always, the right one. And it was actually a mechanic who showed me that with his own car.:shocked: That puts a little more strain on the driveline than I want to do to my vehicles, but maybe no more than reving the engine and dropping it in gear.:laughing:

 

[QRTRHRS]

My first car was a 58' Merc. Forget the model. It had a 331? "Y" block in it with a two speed push button transmission. At the time, 66'/67', it was not the coolest car but it would see a hundred real quick.

The one I should not have left get away was my 55' Ford Crown Vic. Black/white with the metal roof not plexiglas. Only 55k miles.

Had 55', 56' and 57' Chevies. The one I should have kept was the 56' 2 door panel. Like a wagon but with panels not glass. I just had the body and swapped it for some other ride or something.

Can I squeeze a 60' in here? I had a 60' T-bird convertable. Red/white interior. Soft top folded down with a hard boot to cover it for a real sleak look. The car was more of a chick magnet than I was, lol!