I need the chrome piece, I have one its just in bad shape. Cant find a reproduction one. I have the plastic ford emblem/insert, just need the chrome housing. May have to rechrome what I have. I also was looking for the trunk lock chrome housing, I have a new trunk lock cylinder, just need the chrome housing. Only one I seen in Macs book says 56 Fairlaine series, but it looks same as mine, which is a 56 Mainline.
Had you thought about removing just the emblem and leaving the lock? This was a VERY popular restyling bit back in the day. Best of all, it requires no cable or electric solenoid. The key opens the trunk and you lift the lid by the bottom lip. A touch of pin striping and it's done! If the deck lid on my Victoria hadn't been so butchered I'd have done it this way. Simple, trouble-free and very period correct.
I think the lock housings are same on all, I found an NOS one for mine. And depending on what you want re: the emblem/molding - if you absolutely want to replace it, youi may want to check ebay. I found a very nice used one for my Fairlane, not perfect but very presentable and lots less than a repop or rechromed.
Well I guess I hadnt thought about removing the emblem entirely, but I think I would be OK with that since its not original anyway. I ***ume you mean fill in the holes and paint it? I havent taken it off before, so not sure what kind of holes are there for it really. I cant decide if I want to leave the hood ornament on or off either, its m***ive, and frankly ugly to me. (But I didnt grow up in this era so some things I just dont like) Course I may just think that because mine is in such bad shape it looks terrible. This big mama jama (this is NOT mine )
If it was mine, I'd take the front bird off, too. It leaves a pretty big hole in the hood, but any bodyman worth his salt can fabricate a piece to fill it, weld it into place and smooth it with very little body filler required. The front and rear Ford emblems leave only small stud holes which are easily welded up and smoothed over. The '56 hood has very nice contours which are totally overwhelmed by the huge trim pieces, same for the deck lid. I'd leave the door handles and locks as they are, however...but it's up to you. I'd also leave the side moldings, tail lights and head lights stock. You don't need to turn your car into a custom, but cleaning the "extra knick-knacks" off the hood and deck will really clean it up. A nice, simple bit of '50s style striping on the hood and deck will really set your new paint job off. Heck, now that you've got the bodywork started I'm getting as excited as you are to see it finished!
Sounds good, something to think about. I actually bought the front and back emblems, but can always sell them. So you like nothing on the hood, and a lock only on the trunk? No chrome and emblems? Forgive my newbness, is that what they mean "nosed" and "decked"
You are correct, nosed, decked and shaved(no door handles). Check out 56 Kustom's profile pics on here will give you an idea what it looks like.
Yep, like CT says. Really cleans up the front and rear view while only slightly deviating from stock. Back in the day, many brand new cars were driven directly from the dealership to a body shop to have these two operations done. Then lowered and striped. That was the hot ticket trend in SoCal from around '55 to '59 or '60. Guys would have contests to see who was the first to arrive at the drive in with a customized new model car. It got to be a little crazy, but there's lots of evidence of this trend in the little books. Had to be a great time to be a car enthusiast in Customland! The late great custom paint icon Larry Watson is famous for having his '58 T-bird nosed, decked, lowered, bellflowered, panel painted and striped...before the new T-birds were even in the showrooms! He bought the first '58 dealer-demo Thunderbird to arrive at the dealership...it was originally pink with a black/white interior...and had it customized and painted within days, ready to be shown along with the new models at the dealership introduction. The car is well known as the "Vino Paisano" and still exists today, restored to all it's original Watson glory. And then, Watson turned right around and did the exact same thing the following year with his '59 Caddy! The '59 didn't last too long, however. It was soon traded for Watson's "dream car", a '57 Brougham, and ingloriously disappeared. The Brougham was also quickly customized and became Watson's last true custom. He had others, of course, but by then he was getting more exposure as an actor than as a car painter. Interestingly, the Brougham still exists in a private collection, in much the same condition as when Watson finally sold it. Perhaps some day it, too, will be restored and shown once more along with the "Vino Paisano" and, of course, his best known custom, "G****vine", shown here in an early version...and in it's last. Tragically, the real "G****vine" eventually ended up in a landfill in Washington state, after p***ing through several owners. The good news, however, is that "G****vine" has been beautifully cloned in its last incarnation and is seen frequently in shows and runs, driven by its owner...a HAMBer who posts frequently on the main board! And that's the truth!
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