I can`t remember seeing this car before, I like it so much I think I would remember. Some pretty tasty custom touches, very nice. Thanks for the story and showing something I haven`t seen before.
From Kustomrama. Interesting headlight rims. I believe Gene Winfield once marketed this style rim for quad-sized lights. (If I remember correctly, Jerry Weesner copped a pair for his Custom Rodder project Comet.)
Hey 'Mo, do you have any more color pics? Looks so much better in the lime green! Funny, as I was reading the post I was thinking about Bill Hines' '59, hard to believe they were built that far apart. Joey has a knack for finding lesser known cars!
I don't know about that one. To my eye it looks like he traded the cool 59 Chevy taillights for the ugly 58 Ford lights. I don't think the hood of much of an improvement either. I like 59s just the way the General created them, except maybe with a 409 in place of the stovebolt.
This reminds me about a derelict custom car I saw in an old auto shop somewhere around Culver City about 30 years ago. It was a combination '59 and '60 Impala hardtop; had the front clip from a '59 with the eyebrow vents filled in and a frenched taillight panel in the rear with early Cougar lights. No grille, covered in black primer, and had the remnants of a white tuck and roll interior. Sound familiar to anyone? There was also a yellow '53 Pontiac ambulance on the property.
I really like the front end treatment, but the tail light treatment not so much. Usually I am not a fan of lime green, especially on a big car like this '59 but on this one it looks great.
Agreed. Care needs to be taken when messing with this body. I don't care for the taillights and believe the originals are much nicer. Looking at the color shot of the front end it resembles a sock-puppet of the same era...."lambchop" maybe. I always respect a designers willingness to try something different but man these cars are just so "right" that it is real easy to mess them up.[/QUOTE]
I give anybody much credit for figuring out how to put hydraulics on a car back then and building a custom not a muscle car. Such a cool car, just were not enough customs done like that.
I remember in 1958 the first time I laid eyes on the new '59. It was an artist rendering in a Life Magazine ad, and I literally could not believe my eyes! The horizontal fins were just too much to be believed! Yet, later that same model year, Bill Hines had grabbed the bull by the horns and delivered the dripping confection, Xcidian. What balls! The theme was to be eclipsed with the Budha Wagon, a true icon of customizing. As with the Alexander Bros. 1956 Ford, "Victorian", it epitomized the era. One thing I love most is the frenched leading edge of the fins. (I couldn't find a picture, but the S&S Racing team 1959 El Camino was likewise finished.) And I, for one, was never a fan of the 1959 "eyebrows".
From someone who has always loved those early customs, I think cars customized like this were ahead of their times. If you think of the time when they were built, it had to be mind blowing to see a lime green car of that vintage cruising down the street when the newest cars were so staunchly pedestrian. Kudos to those designers who had the vision to make things we all dream of replicating now, 60 years later. Thanks J for digging through what must have been stacks of old rod mags to find this gem.
There was one floating around the PNW in the 60's with the filled eyebrows and a 60 Mercury grill that was one of my favorite 59 Impalas. This is one that I found on Praise the Lowered, it exemplifies early/mid 60's late street customs.
I like that front end treatment above, very well done. (IMHO) The 59`/60` fins were some of the best in my mind, but I always liked the 60` front end more. I would still like to own a 59` tho`, still has some classic lines.,
The Jalopy Journal
