Art & Inspiration I didn't know Dodges had nice lines

Plymouth and Dodge have had better lines than Ford in many years. In the early 30's the Ford would have to be chopped to have the proportions of a stock Mopar, same in the 40's. Compare this 48 Plymouth with the 48 Ford. The Ford is bulky, boxy, and out of proportion with a tall. akward windshield. The Plymouth is sleek with a low top, short, laid back windshield, and a long decklid. In the late 50's, ford had nothing for the forward look Mopars. If you can't see it, you have an anti-Mopar schotoma.
1933 Ford vs. Mopar:



1948 Ford vs. 1948 Plymouth:






Pair of '57's. Ford and Mopar:

 

Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Some of the Mopars look out of proportion. Especially the 40s IMHO.

That said, there have been many on here who dont care for the 59 Ford which i own. To each theory own. Virgil had some outlandish moments, and that's cool too.

 

'59 Ford; they were advertised as "The World's Most Perfectly Proportioned Car".

I'll leave that alone.

When I was in the tenth grade (1957), one of my older brothers friends had one of these, nosed, decked, and lowered with a split manifold and duals. I loved 'em then and still do.

 

Bud Rich Molica had a white '58 Ranchero in '58. Very detailed, raised up 2", wide 15" steel wheels w/Firestone Daytonas on it. A 'cameo beauty'.
Soon after, an 'upper classman' bought a black '59 Ranchero...He brought it over for the 'crew' to look over.
Our own resident wiseass, Mileaway, took a walk around the new '59 and said, "Man, those taillights are Growin'!"

 

'49 through '52 not stodgy? OK, more cow-like or toad-like. I still like them and like driving them anyway.

 

The 48 Plymouth (IMO) is a much nicer design. And they were tough. I remember as a kid that the all taxi cabs were either Plymouths or Checkers... they got the tar wailed out of 'em on a daily basis and kept on tickin'.
The Plymouth "fastbacks" have good lines, but that bustle is a bit too "frumpy" to blend with the rest of the lines.
My '51 is kind of blocky... with the edges smoothed over. The original design for these cars was modified by one of the corporate big shots He always wore a hat and thought that men didn't want to remove their hats to get into the car, so he had the roof line raised up to accommodate that belief. I've seen a couple of these cars mildly chopped... like a couple inches only... and it wakes up the whole styling of the car. You can tell that's how they were suppose to look originally.
Here's mine compared to a couple more I found on the H.A.M.B., etc. and credit to the owners for beautifying them as they have!

 

I have always liked the MoPars of the 40's and 50's. Some of the early 50's were not to much to look at, but most of them can make great customs.

 

I have always appreciated the older MOPARS, and older INTERNATIONAL trucks, so call me an odd ball, the terminology fits me just fine. Just recently I sold my 47 Dodge Model D-24 3 window business coupe, to a fellow HAMBER here in Washington state. Indeed the lines of the 47 Dodge business coupe, may not be appreciated as much as I think they should, but there is no mistaking what it is. I had the pleasure of driving mine cross country from Stockton Illinois all the way back to Seattle when I first bought it, it was all stock, with the flat head 6 banger and the fluid drive transmission. The old gal gave us a steady 65 miles an hour, and we got 17 miles to the gallon, not bad for a machine that had a lot of miles on the original engine.

 

My very 1st car , was a 51 Plymouth 2 door hardtop I bought out of a back yard in 1971 . I was 12 , it ran and drove but . was two years from my learner permit , sold it to a local kid with a rich dad, he fixed it all up, really had nice paint got rear ended , sad to see it go out like that ..

still only DPCD for me

 

All this other stuff is superfluous. "Stodgy" is a good word when applied to most pre "Forward-Look" mopars, except for these cars. They are special, especially the Plymouths with the smoother rear styling..

 

She may be a witch but I wouldn't call her an 'Old Gal"

 

this is my 1962 dodge lancer.

 

Probably one of the best looking Dodges around. Spotted at Back To The 50's.

 

Whoa... swoopy! That thing is bad ass... The grille is interesting, 'eh? Almost looks like a Zepher grille...

 

One thing I do know is that the 51-52 Plymouth is one of the nicest grilles of all the early 50's cars

 

I SEE THE LIGHT !!

 

Even the 4 doors have nice lines

might have a lead on one

 

Shhhhh! I thought this was a secret!

 

My Desoto,

 

In the 50's in So Cal. the drug dealers usually drove Mopars to avoid the Cops, they seldom pulled them over because they were so slow, now they are almost as popular as a "Shoebox". Times change. JW

 

Yeah, now watch prices start to go up!!

 

Stretching the nose helped the cars proportions immensly!!

 

Hello,

Recently, I saw and took a photograph of a very nicely done truck from far away. My tired old eyes thought it was a 1940 Ford Truck from an obscure angle looking between parked cars. I couldn't be more surprised than to see that the truck was a Dodge, not a Ford.

It would be a hard choice to decide on which one of these trucks to get for our own purposes. They are very similar in design and function. They are both great looking builds. Dodge versus Ford...

Having owned two 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery hot rods for 5 + years, at a ten year different era, it is hard to say no to a 1940 Ford, anything. But, after seeing how the little differences make a design, perhaps the Dodge truck takes this race…or the classic 1940 Ford design we have all come to love in any model or style.

Jnaki

It all depends on what style a person or couple would enjoy or like, in the design. The lowered rake is evident in both, the quality is also evident. So, it comes down to a few choices for ownership. A Dodge or a Ford truck?

It could be as simple as “I like Fords and that is it…” Or a cool root beer paint on the Dodge pushes the choice, (with a nice blending of two colors) and takes the cake… YRMV

 

Some do. The Wayfarers & Cranbrooks, not so much...