Features The Definitive "MILD CUSTOM" Photo Thread....

A Serious MILD CUSTOM Photo Thread....Preferably cars styled from the decade of 1955-1965. I know there is a lot of overlap, and this isn't about perfection or Show cars nearly as much as the cars that were "common" to that decade. Slight mods, Lowering, Nosing, Decking, Paint, Louvers, Hubcaps, etc.
These are the cars that captured most of our attention from back in that era.....many of our heroes came from that time frame, but your photo need not be about the Stars of the era, but the guy who built that car down the block. No Chops, No Channeling, No Sectioning, just MILD, useable everyday Custom cars that captured the early Spirit that was actually within reach of the common man. Let's see if this Thread can develop and maintain a life of it's own. Can a MILD Car actually capture the imagination and hold it? I'm convinced it can because most of us set our budgets, skills and dreams on those cars....very few of us were fortunate enough to ever think a Full On radical Custom was in the cards for us......Anyone who cares to contribute is certainly welcome to post here.....I'll begin with a car that defies the description but only because of the Elegant Execution of the build and extreme attention to detail. They're not all of this caliber, but that doesn't matter in this thread. Mild Customs are no less a labor of love than the best of the breed....It's not about being the best...it's about the "art" of the car..........Centurion9

 

does mine count

 

The first picture is the day I got it, other two are about 3 months after. Got the outside all done, currrently working on the interior, should be done in about 2 weeks.

 

wow thats nice! love those olds' they just have beautiful lines

 

That's exactly what I'm talking about....Thank Guys....Great cars....Keep them coming. There are many threads on high dollar complicated rides built by Top Shelf fabricators, and God Bless them....we're not all there and never will be. This thread is for the guys who love MILD cars and MILD budgets....The cars themselves don't have to be beaters, but they do need to be rolling love affairs with the Automobile......There will always be more Dreamers than anything else...Let's show what we have and love.......Does that make sense?

 

Aussie milds. These were everywhere 35-50 years ago; may be a little hard for overseas cats to get a handle on parts & details etc; this is merely scratching the surface.
Cool thread concept!

 

lol can just imagine the yanks lookin at a humpy and scratchin their heads

 

This car absolutely falls into the mild custom category.

done on a working man's budget and painted in a two car garage (by me).

frenched headlights, shaved doors, welded and filled hood, nosed and decked, shaved gas filler, custom tail lights (all done by Ian Berky Kustoms).

finish body work by Vintage Metal.

Interior by Santy's Upholstery.

chrome and stainless by Restoration Pieces.

before you go off the hook and start calling my car a show car or anything else , i took the EXACT same approach a guy would have taken in 1958. one piece at a time. do the most within budget and make it as nice as possible.

this is what we wound up with...

 

Here's my old DeSoto

 

I'd consider my grandfather's 54 Merc to be a mild custom

 

Interesting thread (although my interest mosly concentrates on the early end of the period). Some cool cars here already!

It's nice to see goodlooking custom cars that "ordinary" guys have built and that I could possibly own and build myself. Also it's very cool to notice how sometimes a combination of some mild and relatively commonly used practices can lead to a big effect and a distinctive outcome. I think that "whole is greater than the sum of the parts" is always true with custom cars, but maybe even more so with a well-balanced mild custom.

alterdpilot, I love your Chevy! My '50 will be gloss black someday.. I'm sure that color will be a nightmare to paint and I fear how it will look, as I'd want to paint it myself.

 

here's my custom has taken 6 years to get to this point. and i drive the wheels off it

 

Great thread idea. There seems to have been a lot of cross over between street machines (I don't think that's a period term), and street customs in that era. I really like mild customs.

Somebody's got to post the '58 Chevy from American Graffiti.

-Dave

 

This is my idea of a mild custom, I cant bring my self to make many more changes.

 

Trying to capture what I had and wanted to do in 1963 to my '51 shoebox. The car has been lowered, nosed, decked, Pontiac sidetrim, wide whites, lancer spinners, dummy spots and capped lakes pipes, flat paint and covered with striping, and a late model small block Ford motor.The small raceboat is a 13 ft. 1949 all wood Willis (Nauti Girl) with a 25hp Mercury outboard. They get alot of thumbs up going down the road together and both run strong. To date one boat show entered-"First in class" and one car show, "Most Popular" Shown together at both shows. Looking forward to this summer shows and cruise-ins.

 

Thanks. I am no expert for sure.
Here are a few I have had the pleasure of photographing. Slim

 

here is my 50 shoebox great thread


Sent from my iPhone using TJJ

 

another shot


Sent from my iPhone using TJJ

 

My 50 olds

 

its a truck...but its a mild custom.
lincoln door buttons, pontiac bumpers, kaiser tail lights, lowered, customized grille

 

Great stuff Guys,,,,this is more like it for most of us here....Bigger and better may come later, but these cars are "within reach"....Thanks, and please keep the thread going........

 

Here’s a few more from my travels. Slim

 

my old 59 was a mild custom

 

these all take me back, yes literally to the 50's, graduated in 1960! these are the cars and extent of mods i remember vividly. growing up in a small town in CNY noone had the bucks for the exotic calif stuff. nosed and decked was a big deal, along w/ tail down, skirts and loud pipes. thanx for sharing for us old farts!

 

My 56 Buick. Shaved everything, custom grille, and lowered. The only thing not done in my garage was the seat upholstery.


This thread is going to be great.

 

Mine