I'm probably gunna do it anyway ,but i have an old custom cars mag from the time that really mattered ,and some dude with a 54' wrote in to the dear a bbey ,wanting to know how hard it would be to graft 57' qaurters on his 54' and it got me thinking.I dont know if he ever did it or not ,but I wanted some opinion on how it would flow.My 53' already has parts from 41 different old cars ,so its not exactly a virgin anyway.The taillamps are frenched 54's now but i want something truly unique.
you've got me thinking now.. I really don't know how it would 'flow'. The 57, even though they are only a few years apart, has a very different overall shape and style to it than the '54. My first thought was that the fin's would be too 'sharp' to flow with the rear of the car.. The '54 is a relatively round car, there's really no sharp angles on it..to where the fins have a very distinct flat plain on the top, and a sharp angle in the rear.... Right now, i'd say i wouldn't do it..only because personally i think the two style's are too different.. I do believe that depending on how radical the rest of the car is, or is going to be, will have an effect on the modification as well.. I wanted something unique for my 53 too.. I used the 54 Lee lenses, and hand formed the housing to extend the quarters and tunnel the light's.. It may not be a tottal quarter swap, but it's very different and unique.. Just another thought for you. Good luck no matter what you do.. Tony.
i think it would be cool. about the part of it not flowing very good. i have seen alot of people make little fins over the taillights when the french em and that pointy part doesnt look too out of place. i say do it and take pictures
Thanks for the positive feed back,but radical is an understatment for my car.It's got a Plymouth grill and front bumper , 55' Chevy headlights, Olds front wheel openings ,Poncho on the rear a chopped top and so on...I have studied 57's lately and the top of the qaurter is about the same width .Not to bragg ,okay just this once ,but I have a knack for making **** look like it fits .
thats a bold statement id love to see a photoshop of it I think its a GREAT idea, really, but I cant picture it looking good with the "sharp" and fairly narrow 57 fins. But then again we have all see the movie grease, what about the red greased lightning car? I love the looks of that car, and thats even more round than a 53-54 chev. But then again the fins on it probably werent 57's. Are you thinking of using the 57 fin trim? If so you are going to have to modify the top of the find because it isnt round or peaked, its got a piece that fits into the trim. Also, you probably know it but if you dont, the belairs had a really long piece of trim on the fins, and the 150 and 210 models had alot shorter fin trim. and PLEASE, dont cut up anything but a 4 door sedan 57 Briggs
Yes ,I was gunna use the trim from a 210 ,because its short and my car has no side trim .I think long trim on the top of the fins would look kinda tacky.Oh and I would'nt think of hacking up a 2dr. 57' just for thrills.
It's not bragging in my oppinion.. I have both a 57 and a 53, and know what your saying about the top of the quarters.. From the sound of the rest of the car, this mod might fit right in. Good luck, and post pics if you do. I'd like to see how it looks.
Back a long time ago I had a 54 Chevy 2-dr. sedan that had been chopped and made into a hardtop.I didn't build it originally,but the guy who did used 55 Chrysler taillights frenched into the fenders.They are roughly the same width as the Chevy fender but about twice as high. It also had a rolled pan front and back with a handformed oval grille opening and a 55 Chrysler Windsor grille(3 horizontal bars).Really looked nice and not a whole lot of reforming.(for the taillights anyway).
Rat, Im afraid that car had to be seen to get the idea. There was a great pic of it inTex Smiths book called How to Build Custom Cars when Boots Ripley owned it. The grille was later changed to a 54 Pontiac with 53 Chevy parking lights. What a tasty wild custom.
I'd find a couple of 54 & 57 model kits on eBay and kit bash them and build a model of what you want.
HMM. i think it would look, um. whats the word? ...HIDEOUS! at least in my head. i could be wrong and i'm all for radical customs. i'd realy like to see a photoshop of it myself cause i am very curious about it. i think it's great your not afraid to do things outside of the norm.
Here's a couple pics of it when I first got it in 1974.Sorry for the lousy pics but I had to photo the originals.
Thanks Ray! Now imagine it slammed to the ground with a 57 Olds back window,skirts,Whiewalls w/59 Pontiac hubcaps and a fresh coat of suede which is the way I saw it in 86 in Jersey City N.J.
I think it will work great as long as you have them going straight back level with the body lines of the car, like they are on the '57 car. The '53-54 fender line curves down some towards the rear, which looks right for the car,stock but the '57 fin would look "droopy" if it followed that line and would look out of character if it swooped up like a Mopar product. Straight back, short 210 top stainless, and no on the '57 side trim because of the "bump" in the '54's 1/4 panel. Did you say you was using the '57 rear bumper too? The Station wagon bumper with the license plate recess was a popular one for getting the plate off the trunk lid if you are.
What I'm picturing in my head seems about as appealing as wearing a strap on inside out and backwards....... Someone needs to photoshop this idea.
I was planning to keep them level with the highest point of the 53' qaurter.I think DrJ is right it would look bad if they flowed downward in the rear.Oh yeah about the strap on thing ,I tried that in front of a mirror once, it doesnt look too bad!
You mean something like this? Originally built by Serge Ruillard, Buffalo, NY in the mid-fifties. Later (still?) owned by Don Curtain of Greenville, PA. 1954 Chevy Belair with 1956 Plymouth tailfins and lights. Same idea should work with '57 Chevy fins, though the Plymouth fins are narrower, I think. I try to post more pics this weekend Dave
You probably wont believe this but I almost used fins from a 56' Plymouth, but shyed away from them because of that rib on the top that extends from the door to the end of the fin.I know wear one is in a creek near here.I think its the only car out of the 9 in there that I havent borrowed parts from.
i am actully doing that on my 53 chevy, i am going to pick up the 57 rear bumper and tail lights this sunday and i was just going to use some round stock and sheetmetal and make the actual fins... personally (maybe just because im going to do it) i think it will look pretty awsome.
Didn't someone do a concept drawing a number of years ago for one of the Mags ... I seem to remember it being blue, but maybe that was the 57 with the 49 fastback secton added I am thinking about
Sounds like one of those accidental customs that Kr*** & Bernie woulda created in the old CARtoons magazine.
Rod and Custom in the early-mid '90's has some of these idea's put to the pen and paper concept. And a scaled down Finned '50's Plymouth that is great.
I think it sounds kool I like org kustoms I got a 65 Starchief that i want to weld some sort of Cad fins on .............just need to find a 60s Cad parts car
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