Art & Inspiration What car(s) inspired you to have what you own today?

Love Starliners. My Brother owns this one.

 

Tommy, nice car. Something about Starliners. I have always liked coupes and the slope of the roof really does something for me.

 

See my avatar….My dad sold it in the mid 70's to put food on the table. I have vivid memories playing in it making vroom, vroom sounds. I eventually gravitated towards muscle cars which I still have the Chevelle I purchased when I was fifteen. I would love to own an all steel Willy's but I am pretty confident that I will never have one. I really like 32-34 Ford trucks(think Diamond Duece & Matt Thrashers truck) with a fender less drag race vibe. I was fortunate enough to find one for a decent price and am now collecting parts for my build. I am just trying to figure out what direction I want to go, channeled, chopped, hood, no hood etc…… But deep down I would sell it all for a steel Willy's.

 

My project was inspired by Roth's "Race?" and Gabby Bleeker's Fuel Coupe:

 

After my family moved to So Cal in the early '60s the first Hot Rod that I saw and knocked me over was one of my friends next door neighbors boyfriends car.........a 28/29 Tudor. Full fendered, medium blue, big n littles, nice rake and I'm pretty sure an early small block Chev. Only ever saw it twice but boy, did it stick in my head!

 

Always wanted a 33 Vicky also Like the A & B 400's , so I cut up my raggedy ass 33 Fordor and combined the two models and added a Decklid = my 33 Phantom

 

These guys.

 

My cars are a menagerie of countless magazine images of cars I have seen over the decades,filed them away in the back of my mind and to be perfectly honest some of you have posted cars that I have seen a particular style or parts that inspired me.

From that first hot rod magazine so many years ago to the hamb today,the ideas keep coming. HRP

 

Dave, I think you have one of the nicest conversions I have ever seen. Completely unique and artistically beautiful.

 

I went to country school, in 58 the teacher purchased a used 57 chevy. It was a 4 dr. but I thought it was about the coolest thing I had ever seen. I stayed after school sometimes to help her and she would give me a ride home. What a fantastic dash it had. I have owned over a dozen since then, loved every one of them.

 

The 34 I guess was The California Kid even though its gonna be a highboy as long as I am the steward. The 55 is a combination of always regretting selling my 57 when we married in 1982, and my wife's Dad's favorite car ever was a 55 2 dr post. We settled on one of them and the rest is history..

 

Could you post more pictures of your dads willys or add them to your previous post if you have any more?

 

Love those wheels! Seriously a great idea for mocking up.

 

I was probably around 6-8 years old when i saw American Grafitti and Holly Wood Knights the first time.
Milners coupe, and Project X (the 57 for those that may not know...if you dont sell your cars and take up knitting! )
Made a huge impression on me....and no it had nothing to do with yellow, not at all my favorite color.
But the cars were awesome to me.
I bought my 57 when i was 14 (now 40 and still have it), and bought my 32 5 window about 15 years ago still have that.
The other stuff i have or had is generally in relation to my dad and his cars or stories ive heard from him.

Tony

 

When I was a kid, we had a dirt track near our house that raced the old coupes. I remember watching those cars coming off the corner and go down the front straight from a very early age, maybe 3-4? They raced the coupes there until I was around 10, then they changed over to the "late models" (50 and newer!). They raced a Ford & 6 cylinder class and a super modified class that allowed pretty much anything. My dad's friend owned a lot of V8 32 Ford race cars, but his son built a 29 Ford with a 394 Olds engine. I remember one of the guys racing a 426 Hemi Crosley coupe! Those were the days! I'm sorry I was only able to watch them! By the time I was able to race, the coupes were long gone. Gene

 

The Filthy Forty without a question.

 

My great uncle parked his cars in my grandaparents yard, along with everyone else. 55 Kaiser, Studebaker, Willys, a couple Henry j's, a 58 Cadillac a 65 Cadillac, and a 67 Buick Skylark. I have a soft spot for all of them, have one of the Henry J's, and a 55 Stude. and have had numerous Skylarks.Growing up, Dad had a 66 c-10, which I got and sold years later, like an idiot. He had a 69 Mustang fastback when I was younger, and a 59 Biscayne when he was in the Navy. Haven't found a 69 Fastback yet, but I have a 59 , although an ElCamino, and hauled home a 65 C-10 this summer. Guess it is family for me.

 

In March of 1980, okiedokie here on the HAMB had a '40 Ford Deluxe coupe for sale. It was black, with maroon (oxblood) and off-white interior (at least that's what my memory tells me). 283 with Ford trans and closed driveline. I wanted that car so badly! Alas, I was in last semester of college and no money. But someday I hope to own a black '40 Ford coupe!

Your memory is correct. If only I had kept it----------------. Anyway, when I was 15 [1960]I was at our local dragstrip when a classmate pulled up in an orange/red 40 deluxe tudor. Not only was I amazed he was driving [no license] but I was totally blown away by the 40. Orange and white RP interior with built flathead. Man I wanted something like that. His dad was a doctor and bought it for him, mine wasn't and didn't. I later bought a $90.00 40 tudor that used more oil than gas, but I loved it. Funny, I had a conversation with the friend who had the nice 40 a couple of years ago and found out he never liked it much. Has no pictures of it and fewer memories of it than I do. I wish I had a picture of it.

 

The merc in Rebel Without A Cause and the American Graffiti Merc.

 

Me to!

 

This is Project X .
Before it's newest configuration.

 

Kookies hot rod. It was the only reason I watched 77Sunset Strip. Well they did have some good looking girls on there too. At the age of 70 I have a 26 Ford coupe cause there is not much roadster weather here..................

 

This is what i fell for 5-6 years ago..


This is what i have now:

 

I loved reading about this car back in the 70's when Popular Hot Rod magazine would "experiment" with different setups, especially in this phase with the blown small block setup and 4 speed. I saw this car a few years ago and it looked pretty stock as I recall.
I'll post some pics of my Gasser inspired cars when I return home. Thanks for posting everyone and Happy New Year! Vic

 

This is the model that started it all back in 1960

 

For me, as a kid the Monogram 1/8 scale Big Deuce that came out in '77 made a 8 year old dream big about '32's.

 

Life is good got the model and the car

 

57dude... Just curious how old are you?

 

I don't have picture to share tonight, But if we are talking my avatar, my '48 Plymouth, Gary Medors' tribute to his own teen age '48 is really what got my brain going. If we are talking my 'Bucket, it's always going to be Bill Roland's version of Tommy Ivo's 'bucket that get my vote.

 

I was fortunate to ride shotgun in Jack Stewart's '32 roadster to the Christmas Tree Chop in Ojai, California, many years ago. I was never quite the same after that ride. Took me until just a few months ago to actually own an open hot rod, but far better late than never.