I hardly ever post but I ran into a '55 Firedome hardtop at the pick and pull and had to comment to somebody. Nearly all the trim was gone and it occurred to me that the "B" team must've been ***igned to handle the jewelery for that car because it really does nothing but detract from the nice lines of the '55s. If there was ever a car that looked 100 time better w/o chrome this would be it. I cant help but picture a coachbuilder custom ala Derham (padded roof, small rear window, minimalist trim, black of course). That side trim is begging to be a straight line that tapers to a point just aft of the rear kickup. How would you turn this car out?
you might ask for help with your ideas on the long photoshop thread here. considering buying it or, just thinking outloud?
Buy it and shorten up the trim. The Fireflites had a completely different set of trim than the Firedome. The Flites were commonly two-toned like this. Pretty nice looking, in my opinion. VonDust here on the Hamb has a pretty cool chopped '55 Fireflite coupe. Some info here.
What I can see doesn't look too bad, for sheetmetal, anyway. If I found that in my local pullapart, I'd be thinking about making skirts out of that roof, or something. Somebody, somewhere needs some of that.
Ha, just thinking, I currently have plenty to keep me busy. I appreciate the stockers too but I can't help but think most of the trim went further than it needed to (especially the stuff around the hole in the leading edge of the hood). Considering where mainstream tastes were headed at the time (more = more) you can understand the thinking behind all the added flash. My main point is that one really doesn't realize (or forgets?) how sweet the pure lines of the design are until you see it naked. Once you do see the car stripped down it becomes clear how those '55s evolved from the Ghia cars: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipe...cial_GS-1_coupe_-_blue_-_rvl_(4637143285).jpg ...which I believe can be traced directly back to Exner. Before Exner went crazy with the fins, etc he strove for a "pure automobile" look which was largely interpreted as sort of a European or otherwise "foreign" influence because it was so different from the "lead slug" school of design so prevalent at the tail-end of the 40s-early 50s. Looks like I'm not the only one who thought the Derham treatment was a good fit with these mopars: http://www.hemmings.com/users/185216/ride/4373.html
You and I must be looking at two different cars. You mean the car with one single spear down the side... has too much added flash? Some might say the 1955 Firedome was downright plain. Compare and contrast any comparable mid-tier GM car of the same year. Weld up 10 trim holes and you've got a beautifully sectioned, hardtopped '49 Ford with a toothy grille and a Hemi. Yep, you are correct; Ghia built those cars from Exner's design team. Exner himself preferred minimal trim on his designs to accentuate the overall styling. He demanded that the Chrysler 300s didn't dabble in gaudiness like, say, a Desoto Adventurer or Dodge Custom Royal Lancer did. Really, your first reaction is to cut skirts out of the roof? Some people's children...
Nope, that'd be my 3rd reaction. I've tried to buy complete cars from pullapart before, and so have some of my friends, and it's always no sale. Parts, and pieces, yeah, but not whole cars. I'd like to think that anybody who needs sheetmetal for one of these will find out bout this car before it get's crushed
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