Jive-Bomber submitted a new blog post: Car Craft “Grab Bag” Part 3: More Hot Rod Tails Continue reading the Original Blog Post
Wow Jive never saw this one, thanks. That T on the second page had a Henry J deck lid on the rear. Before that it was a roadster pick up, and ran at the lakes. Belonged to a guy named Hoot Gibson. T on the left was Wally Olson's old car.
The 55 Ford taillights were an interesting choice, kinda like an oversized Pontiac taillight. I am sure it would not go over today. I've always wondered if the hot rods of past had yearly inspections and the size of the taillights could have been influenced by inspectors? "Sorry son, them teardrop looking taillight are way too small, don't care if they is stock 39's."
That may have been touched off by the full 'kustoms' (pre war Fords and Mercs) that had taillights molded off completely, and small lenses inserted into squarish cutouts in the bumper guards... Some were so small they were practically invisible.
Always like to check out nice rear-ends, thanks Jive-bomber. Some great ideas for tail-light treatments.
Very nice. Interesting to see the different "design options" and funny that some survived and others don't. Thanks for sharing.
Great article, really shows what was being done. Things looked wild, kookie &/or strange, but cool as hell. Compare the conservativeness of most builds today that walk the beaten path, timeless, tasteful builds, yes! But sometimes that becomes a sea of boredom and blandness. The white A roadster with '55 taillights was on the August '53 HRM cover when owned by William Roland and is the Ex-Don Ferrara Roadster which was on the cover of the August '51 HRM but featured in May '50.
The rear nerf treatment on the opening T roadster looks like a slight variation of Monogram "Green Hornet's" setup.
Most of the early cars had a look of their own. Love it, hate it, not the way I' do do it, the pics speak for themselves. Love 'em, thanks Bomber. Completely understand about the early mags, they are somewhat fragile even under the best conditions!
The Jalopy Journal
