The 54 coupe is very well executed and not over done. I would call this ford a custom. In my opinion it has too much metal work to be called a mild custom. Both the headlight and taillight areas have been reworked. The scoop required metal work, and the side trim exchange involved filling holes and replacing. The grill surround has extensive reworking, and like you say, the grill was custom and fabbed by some one other than J.C. Whitney. In contrast, the also non lowered ford coupe I am profiling has had no metal work and could possibly have factory paint. It has a bull nose, wide whites, and Old's spinners. The most difficult modification was the removal of bumper guards. Let's presume he installed lee lenses to show modifications from all sides. The 49 Ford is beautiful, cl***ic, traditional and has entered the realm of customizing by just having a few simple items added. The two coupes would look good side by side, one a mild custom, the other having lot more customizing.
That car is a solid 9.I would have done the taillights differently,but all other body modifications would be left alone.
That grey 49 Ford is my old car.. Loved it alot.. It's now in Tennessee somewhere I heard . Sent from my XT1585 using H.A.M.B. mobile app
Merc cut down skirts, crestliner steering wheel, nasty full balanced flatsix with two carbs... Straight exhaust...it was fun! Sent from my XT1585 using H.A.M.B. mobile app
I'll keep my eye out for that one, Rob.. I could find a place for the coupe here in KY. I bet it would wake up the neighborhood. Do you have any other pictures? Did the rear get any custom treatment? Interior?
Here are some more pics, with Lancer caps... I had four sets of caps I would swap in & out on the car. had pretty simple interior...
The car was lowered in the back with 2" bocks... and had Jamco kit up front with disc ( dropped a bit up front not a lot from factory.. Yes the 49 was factory paint... had some Night Prowler rear tail light lens...it's a Mild Kustom
Rob, I "like-d" your previous posts, but that just isn't enough. That shoe is ***s! I'd like to know more about that "nasty" flathead! Milled head? Cam? And not to nose, but what replaced this beautiful, perfect ride?
it had a stock milled head, was fully balanced, Red's Header... aluminum twin carb intake (manufacture had milled off) custom carb linkage, repop Stelling & Helling air cleaner... straight exhaust... this is the car that have replaced it.
Thanks, Rob. Looks like another good one. I appreciate this kind of car more and more as time goes on (especially with tweaked original motors!). They reflect the typical cars that were on the street in my part of the country (East Coast) at the time, when small changes were all it took to set you apart from the crowd. (Cal Custom, Lee lenses, etc.) I guess they might best be referred to as "Personalized", and were a big part of the scene. And believe it or not, just a change of stance, wheel/tire combo, paint and upholstery would have landed you in a "Custom' cl*** at the local shows! That's about the time judges started counting modifications, and the "point system" of judging soon evolved. "Style" trumps "change" in my book. But it's all good!
Mo, your welcome ... The woodie is pretty much stock... dropped front uprights.. set of oem chrome rims... Set of vintage Cal Custom Blunt caps I had laying around... just went with 60's surf vibe sort of.. (sand all the surf decals yuck) this one other ride that replaced the 49 also
found a picture of the engine in my ole 49, this was just after swapping the engine... hadn't installed my other air cleaners
The Jalopy Journal
