when? white painted fenderwells

hey guys that have been around longer then me i was wondering when did the trend of painting the front inner fenderwells white come about? and how long did it really last

 

1961 Larry Teter's '32 Vicky was the first non-show car I remember as a kid.

Terry

 

This was a late 50's - early 60's phenom. Still cool on the right car

 

Painted mine in '62.....real ***** to keep clean in the Pacific Northwet!

 

I had a '66 chevelle right out of high school in Kansas and painted the wheel wells white, was popular at that time, but painted them back to black after about a month. Pain to keep them looking good though.

 

from what I've seen i would say late 50's to early 60's
probably not for a daily driver..mostly show.

what a PITA it would become for a daily driver or non trailer queen

 

how do you think a black 50 shoebox with copper accents (wheels,pin-stripes etc) and some small yellow orange and red flames would look with white wheelwells ?

 

Sounds like too many colors going on to me. But you can always rattle can one white and see how it looks, easy to spray back to black.
My .02

 

As per earlier posts ... late 50's - early 60's in the Minneapolis/St.Paul area. If you were really hard core, you painted the entire undercarriage white.

 

Uh......no, would be waaaay too much goin' on.

 

Some would go to say "less is more"...

Keep it simple with the shoebox.

 

I recall that Jere Stahl, of Stahl Header fame, painted the entire undercarriage of his '57 Chevy Stocker bright white to make it easier to see and work on. (this was ran as an old racing 'tech tip' decades ago)

 

sounds too busy

 

Not sure why you'd want to draw attention to your wheelwells?

 

Because it was "in" and was cool at the time, just like upholstered wheel wells, hell in the 70's we used to paint the wheel wells white and mount lites to show off our rims and rubber.

 

thanks for the opinions guys , yeah i was thinking it would come out too busy never hurts to get a second opinion

 

Don't do it. Whether it was cool or not, it looks ridiculous. Mullets were cool at one time too but you don't see me rockin a period correct mullet.

 

Saw a post of a TriFive Chevy a while back.
Old custom that was a barn find.
The engine compartment had been upholstered.
Some things should stay in the past.

 

i painted the whole under side of my 65 nova g***er white to make it eaiser to see if i had to get under it in the pits.

 

I kinda like the look when done right, mainly on early compi***ion cars. I plan on painting the fender wells front and back on my A I am building....

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=508646

 

I did my '55 Chevy in 1965

 

it's a compe***ion thing, modern Nascar cars are like that because they paint the entire car in white before the graphics (decals today) go on. I suspect the early race cars were painted for the same reason. It's also easier to spot leaks etc with a white underbody. I painted the top three inches of my oil pan white for this reason, any leaks and you can spot them instantly with a quick inspection. if the pan was black, they would be much harder to see.

 

In 1963-64 I had a dark blue 54 Ford Customline. It had White wheel wells, 59 Caddy taillights and red wheels/whitewalls....it was kick ***!

Murph

 

I went 2 Boot Camp in Dec. 1963 and it was a in thing then.

 

WE used to call it " SANITARY " Chris

 

Late fifties to late sixties. I thought it was cool then and still think it's cool.

 

I'll go along with Billsill45, I too was in the TC late 50's and the daily drivers wheel wells were painted white. About the same time frame a colored clearance lamp was mounted in each painted fenderwell to bounce light off your Olds Fiesta flipper caps, or perhaps 54 Chevy Belair with six (probably stolen) 55 Olds Fiesta flipper bars bolted to each cap for a more unique approach. Just one of the many fads of the day.

 

Exactly what I was thinking! "SANO"

 

We hit that stride about 59 and went till 63. It was the deal if you were cool, or thought you were anyway. Cl***ic parking lot car shows we were displaying the wheels off one side and the wells all flashing on out at ya. It has a cl***ic appeal and is awesome imo on those g***er rigs. Fun stuff ~sololobo~