|
Browse by Tags
All Tags » 1950s » Custom ( RSS)
-
|
Dculberson was checking out the car deals on Craigslist when he came across a 1954 Ford that looked familiar… yes, it's the DOTS 1954 Ford we saw almost a year ago, now equipped with grille and Carson top, not to mention a nice 302/5-speed combo. I've always liked this car, but the $9,000 price is a bit out of my personal Hell Project budget range, plus I'm still waiting for the owner to put his other car (which is easily one of my all-time DOTS favorites) up for sale. By the way, I've been seeing FOR SALE signs on the DOTS '71 Buick Le Sabre as well; looks like the tough economy has folks in Sell Mode. [Craigslist SF] galleryPost('DOTS54FordForSale', 3, 'DOTS 1954 Ford For Sale');
|
-
|
In the late 1950s, legendary San Jose-based customizer Joe Wilhelm started work on a project based on a 1936 Ford coupe. It started out fairly simple, with handmade grille and fenders on a still-recognizable Ford body, but became far more radical within a few years. By 1965, the car- called the Mark I Mist- sat on a Jaguar XK140 frame, with quad-carbed Buick nailhead and a wild European-influenced body. It was a big hit at the car shows and made the covers of Car Craft , Rod & Custom , etc. Then the car disappeared, not to be seen again for decades... when Black Metal V8olvo crew chief Hellhammer (aka Junkyard Dave) tracked it down. galleryPost('MarkMistTop', 6, 'The Mark I Mist 1936 Ford'); The Buick engine was gone, but otherwise the Mark Mist was in pretty good shape. The gauges still have their 24-karat gold plating, and the upholstery has held up very well. In fact, all the car really needs is a new engine and a general mechanical going-over to be ready to roll...
|
-
|
Welcome to Project Car Hell , where you choose your eternity by selecting the project that's the coolest... and the most hellish! Last time around, the De Tomaso Longchamp trounced the Bricklin SV-1 in the Choose Your Eternity poll , showing that Canada has a snowball's chance against PCH Superpower Italy. Today we're going to Detroit; as we all know, the ready availability of parts and expertise for most postwar America vehicles makes such cars insufficiently hellish for this series... unless you go for heavily customized machinery! That's the road- paved with broken whiskey bottles- we're taking today. We're all accustomed to seeing ads for potential Hell Projects that describe rusted-out hulks that look like they've been stored for decades in boiling salt water as "easy restorations," and the statement "One of these just sold for $180,000!!!!" is often applied to a basket-case heap that's been used as a rifle-range target since 1973...
|
-
|
Here's a jaw-droppingly awesome custom machine dating from 1951, with a completely hand-fabricated steel body (note the lack of seams) and components from 14 different vehicles. We're talking about a work of art right out of the golden age of postwar custom cars ... yet it failed to sell on eBay with a Buy It Now of $750,000. What is this thing really worth? Did the owner make a mistake by not selling it to an insta-millionaire during the dot-com boom? [eBay Motors] galleryPost('SkylaneEbay', 3, 'Skylane Roadster For Sale On eBay');
|
-
|
This is the 24th 1950s vehicle we've seen so far in this series, and it seemed right to follow up the '58 Mercedes-Benz 220S with something from Detroit. You can't get much more Detroit than an old Ford, so here comes a car from a two-time DOTS owner (as far as I know, WhatWouldJesseDo is the only three -time DOTS honoree). Some of you might recall seeing this Ford in the background of the photos of the pink '52 Dodge we saw last summer. Since that time, the Ford project has progressed enough for it to drive around under its own power and park on the street. It had some rust problems (now fixed), and naturally it's been lowered about as far as possible. The metalflake green roof pain looks pretty sharp, although I'm not sure what the rest of the paint job will look like after the bodywork is done. Or maybe this is the finished paint job! Project or finished car, it's good to see a 58-year-old machine that lives on one of the busiest streets in town. galleryPost...
|
-
|
We've seen 11 Alameda vehicles from the 1950s in this series, but not a single one of them was a Ford product. Well, that changes today! I spotted this heavily customized Ford when I was lured down an East End side street by a quick glimpse of a late-60s Dart, spotting this '54 in all its lowered orangitude just across from the Mopar (don't worry, Dart fans, you'll see that '69 pretty soon). There's no telling which model this car is, what with the utter absence of any sort of trim, but I'm hoping it's a Mainline. Damn, that's a great car name- bring back the Mainline, Ford! I'm not sure what category this thing falls into, and I don't care. I imagine hair-splitting purists of several camps might be outraged by some aspect or other of this car, but it looks good . That's what counts, right? Blankets over the seats and plywood door panels. The interior could be a work in progress, or this might be the intended end result. Hey, it looks comfortable! Shave the handles, lose the trim, but keep...
|
|
|
|