What 50's era car would you want to have?

   / What 50's era car would you want to have? #141  
That is FUNNY you bring that up!

So it is 1955-56. Over the summer, my then teen age uncles had saved their money, and built a Ford Coupe like that. Put together a multi carb bored out Merc flathead. Fender skirts, Lake pipes. Shaved handles ect. Put a ton of work in to it. Other family members have said it was really sweet for the time/era.

It snowed... Record amounts of snow. US40(Later Interstate 80) over Donner Summit was closed for weeks; one of the most important east-west highways in California. And, my uncles had no choice but to park on the street.

Well, my family happened to live in Herlong, Ca right next to the US Army munitions depot. My Aunt, the older sister, was US Army and worked at the Depot; my Grandfather was a carpenter, and WWI vet. He did construction work around the depot.

Well, that snow storm dumped and dumped and dumped.

And, when the weather cleared a little, the town had to dig out. Well, guess what comes down the street to help out? And ran right over the top of my two uncles tricked out Ford Coup with the hot Merc flathead and Lake pipes?

A big ole honkin pride of the US Army TANK!

From what my uncles, and other family members have said, it pretty much pancaked that car. From what they say, to the point they couldn't really even salvage parts. Was tough on them, because the family didn't exactly have money, they had worked real hard on odd jobs as teenagers to earn money, and had no way to replace it.

I would like to have a ford coop like the one I had in high school.Mine had a 53 Merk full race flat head.
Army Grunt
 
   / What 50's era car would you want to have? #142  
I would like to have a ford coop like the one I had in high school.Mine had a 53 Merk full race flat head.
Army Grunt

When I graduated from high school in 1958, I had a 1956 Mercury Montclair convertible, but one of the guys had a 1940 Ford coupe with a 1950 Olds V-8 engine. Of course he didn't rotate tires and that old Ford didn't have positrac, so he sure wore out the right rear tire in a hurry.:laughing:
 
   / What 50's era car would you want to have? #143  
James Dean, anyone...

IMO, they're like a lot of the early foreign sportscars, whether MG-A (much less the older TC, TD, TF), the 356s, etc. -- all a bit uncivilized and good for only "Sunday afternoon drives"...

If insisting on glass, crank-up windows instead of snap-in canvas with plastic windows is a luxury, then I guess I'll have to live with that characterization...

Same goes for a heater that works, windshield wipers that work, etc.

Hey...nobody said it had to be a daily driver. :) In fact I could set and look at it and be happy. :)
 
   / What 50's era car would you want to have? #144  
chev5001.jpg

1950_Chevy_3100_Blue.jpg

My dad had a junker I played in before he scrapped it :(
 
   / What 50's era car would you want to have? #145  
As far as the Corvette question goes, I raced sports cars for around 12 years in the late 60's until the early 80's. I drove Alfa Romro's and did well enough to win the New York State Road Racing class championship a couple of times.

I'll tell you this, the Vetts of the day would blow by me in the strights but if the Alfa had had a horn I'd have been blowing it at them in the corners.
 
   / What 50's era car would you want to have? #146  
As far as the Corvette question goes, I raced sports cars for around 12 years in the late 60's until the early 80's. I drove Alfa Romro's and did well enough to win the New York State Road Racing class championship a couple of times.

I'll tell you this, the Vetts of the day would blow by me in the strights but if the Alfa had had a horn I'd have been blowing it at them in the corners.

No horn? How about windows, heater and wipers? :D

Hey, I never said they were the fastest thing out there on tight tracks... :)

Some don't consider them sports cars, just like some don't consider my Nissan Frontier a pickup because it can't tow 10,000 lb...;)
 
   / What 50's era car would you want to have? #147  
Jim, did you read this article, that I linked up above?

Corvette Racing History:
Corvette Racing History: The Making of a Performance Icon

They competed quite well, especially on some tracks, in their respective classes.

<snip>

And therein lies the the point "in their respective classes" On a tight, twisty course they were much of an overpowered, too heavy machine and could not compete with smaller, lighter cars.

I was at Watkins Glenn a couple times in the 60s and the few 'vettes that attempted it spend more time backing out of grass berms than they did on the track.

Harry K
 
   / What 50's era car would you want to have? #148  
The main problem with the Edsel was that most the people who bought them were Mercury owners who thought they were moving up. Mercury dealers complained about losing sales to the newcomer and Ford was unable to market them to GM and Chrysler owners.

Since there was no increase in Ford Motor Company sales, just a switch from Mercury to Edsel, there was no incentive to produce them anymore.

The Edsel was to have been the "Peoples Car" to compete with the imports. It grew outrageously and turned out to be jsut another US luxury lead sled. I spent a lot of time on a graveyard shift reading an entire bood on it way back when. Memory fades on the details though.

Another typical Detroit screw-up - the first Scout, or may have been the Ford entry in the "jeep category" I was crossing the street to look at one the first year it came out. It was propped up so one could see the underpinnings. From mid street I spotted the tie bar - lowest thing on the vehicle except for the bottom of the front differential and _in front of the axle_. It would have been the first thing to hit a rock, stump, etc. leaving one stranded.

Harry K
 
   / What 50's era car would you want to have? #149  
1958 BMW 503
 

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   / What 50's era car would you want to have? #150  
The main problem with the Edsel was that most the people who bought them were Mercury owners who thought they were moving up. Mercury dealers complained about losing sales to the newcomer and Ford was unable to market them to GM and Chrysler owners.

Since there was no increase in Ford Motor Company sales, just a switch from Mercury to Edsel, there was no incentive to produce them anymore.

I always heard that the Edsel was just a Mercury sucking a lemon.;)
 

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