You Just Never Know!

I took a pic of it in 2004 at a cruise night in Maryland. I don't know who the hell that guy is that is staring at me.

 

For anyone who doesn't remember the coupe, or doesn't get its design, it's your loss.

Hey Rich,The car is as individual as Jim Ewing was?
Somebody has to do something different once in a while!
I like it.<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

 

I'm sure for part of the group it's hard to grasp the impact this car had in the late seventies. You have got to know how boring the whole "resto rod" thng had gotten by the time this car emerged. Remember ten years ago when everything was a smoothed off soap bar? Now imagine every car at every event having black fenders, stock height top, luggage rack, and a greyhound or quail hood ornament. Oh, zenith wire wheels too! This car came out of no where and went Pete and Jakes coupes one wilder. And if you really look at old lakes photography, you'll see precedent for that nose. *****in' then, *****in' now!

 

Those seats are fugly.

 

I always thought it was very cool.

 

It started out with a Rat motor, and quick change rear.
Eventually, it got a SBC,still ran hot, then a V6, rather than open up the nose.

The quickie was too loud, so it got changed out.
the current owner put it back in.

 

Ya know what? Frank, the owner doesn't give a **** what YOU think of the car!

 

AND THEY SHOULD! Not HAMB friendly but deserve respect none the less

 

Be careful, that might hurt..

 

It's not MY favorite styling, but variety is the ****e of life. So it's all good.

 

Please forgive me for calling it a '32. I'll be tied up and whipped to bloodiness in the morning!! For me, this car rolled in an era when dare to be different was like stepping onto a freeway. In alot of ways, like Dobbertins J-2000 Pro Street car.

I just was blown away that here we were talking in front, and they toodled up, to visit with the Kennedy's!! The car definately has impact, but to be honest, I drooled too much over the magnesium wheels!!

Dale

 

Good! Ultimately, that’s the point. The point of the HAMB, IMHO, is to discuss cars, and it wouldn’t be much of a discussion if we just bowed to the pressure to drink the Superbell Coupe Kool-Aid, would it?

Forgive me, but I just hate sacred cows.

-Dave

 

It has a V-6 . And they took the quickie out because it was too loud . That's some hard-hard core hot roddin there.

I'll agree that the car is iconic for the shock and awe factor for the era it was built (and it appears to be nicely built and maintained).........but it's still ugly.

 

Bingo!

 

one more vote for don't like the nose. I liked it better when it was first out. but I have better taste now.

 

How about a vote for "I like it a lot better than the Beach Boys Coupe".
Larry T

 

I remember that one, not crazy about the nose but its part of that car
so its cool.

 

It is not so much the like and dislike....it is the history that I would want....it is from here in Fresno and it was owned by the late Jim Ewing of the Super Bell dynasty. It is one of the most recognized Hot Rods ever.

 

Bigcheese327 ... love the stance of your Falcon!

Ralfs56 ... those are pretty harsh words from someone that owns a '57 Dodge CRL !

 

Hahaha, I would remove your testicles for that car as well............now turn your head and cough.

 

lol, that's like two seconds after it came down off jackstands, the nose is way down now. Besides, my car doesn't purport to be finished. I believe the Superbell Coupe has been for about thirty years.

At least you didn't accuse me of living in my mom's ba*****t.

-Dave

 

Don't forget the 56 F-100 and the 54 Willys Wagon...ugly. I know ugly.

 

If you don't remember the impact this car had when Jim first built it I can see how one would take a dislike for it. But, like someone stated, when it first saw the light of day as a hot rod it was in every magazine and to see it on the road would make your knees weak.
It was a sad day when Jim Ewing p***ed away (BTW, it was from hitting a guy wire in his plane that was the other love in his life, flying) so having this car as a testimony to his vision and building skill is something few of us will leave behind when we p*** from the scene.
I'm with Royal on this one, pick a body part and remove it, just to have it parked in my garage.

Frank

 

wonder why they didn't make it an underbody breather? lots of cars today have grill openings that small, they pull their air from under the car, plenty of room in the nose to do that.

 

Jim was flying his homebuilt, that itself was a hot rod. He partnered with another builder in Bakersfield to improve a very popular homebuilt design to make it much faster. The new plane is called the Harmon Rocket and bumped the cruise speed from approx 180 mph to over 250mph with the latest Rocket. That's haulin' for a homebuilt.......once a hot rodder, always a hot rodder.
There are now 100 Harmon Rockets flying and another 200 under construction.

 

Yeah, I can DEFINITELY agree to DISAGREE. Halibrands on a 70's Mustang or Camaro?!
That would be the coolest rollers a Mustang or Camaro ever had.
Cartoon stance? It's the greatest, ain't it?!
Deep respect for Boyd's cars?! Yeah, hell yeah.

Sacred cow?! Sure, if that works for you.

Awesome......

I'll never be able to figure out if I like the Moons or Hals more.....best part, doesn't matter.

 

For my money its a great car and a genuine icon. It´s never even occurred to me that anyone would think it ugly.

 

I can relate to your experience. I almost **** myself the first night that I saw the car in person. It was in a big box store parking lot too at our local yokel Wed cruise night in the late 70s. There were several including the California kid that drove them across the country stopping at several NSRA events long the way. They were here for the Timonium Nats East that year. What a shock to see them there. That was before Frank bought it.

I believe it had a BB in it when it was first built but it was changed to a V6 because the grill couldn't supply enough air to cool it. Jim Ewing wasn't going to change the grill so he changed the engine instead. (it was popular thing to do in the 70s...gas was over 75 cents a gallon!!) For my money it is the best street adaptation of the Bonneville race car aerodynamic styling ever. If you can't see Bonneville when you look at that car then you might want ot check out coin or stamp collecting. Just kidding don't get an at***ude.

I don't think Frank changed the rear. I know he had the axle tubes powder coated the same orange after he got it. They were all chipped up from all the mileage. He added the Halibrands which can easily be changed back because I guarantee he has everything that came with the car. Frank has several iconic cars and is a great steward of this and all his historic vehicles.

 

The one concesson I'll make to the first posted pictures is I like it better with the first wheel /tire/moon disc combination. If that doesn't evoke memories of Boneville's past with that rolling stock then maybe (as Tommy sugessted) stamp collecting or better yet Barbie Dolls might be better suited for your tastes.

Frank