History "Remember the old curb alarms"?

Corvette? If you knew 50's cars you would recognize this instantly as a Buick Roadmaster by the 4 portholes ;-)

 

I had one on my Dodge until I almost put my eye out when I had it up on the lift. it was just one stiff wire... probably had a ball on the end at one time. but it is gone now




that Vette needs some dummy spots and a continental kit... just like the 50's

 

Cat Whiskers, you needed a pair on each side of the car even though they would never be used on the drivers side. Four Cat Whiskers, two Static Straps, and a nice pair of Mud Flaps with reflectors. Total cost in the fifties maybe less than $12.00 and your car was ready. I think the Mud Flaps were called West Virginia Air Brakes also.
Twin rear antennas would have been frosting on the cake.
West Virginia has always been up on the latest car accessory !

 

Funny you bring that up. A buddy of mine told me over the phone all excited that he put feelers on his 65 rag. Oh I say just the front, no replies a pair, oh so front and back I say. No he replies both in the front left and right. So now I call his ride the Cat Fish Malibu.

 

Saw a guy walking drunk during Mardi Gras wearing a curb feeler on each ankle! I thought it was friggin funny. Most people did not get it, but I did
and gave him another beer. Mardi Gras is like that.

 

Didnt have a camera but I saw tempo driving by awhile go that had a vent for a roof as a hood scoop

 

We called them feelers in my family also. I remember my mom used to carry a pair of ****s in her purse because of the nylon/ankle thing.

Momy Momy give me a s****, Traditions just threw up and Suzy is getting all the big pieces.

 

We called em "Curb Finders". In the early 70s they were a must have for the "fat whitewalls on anything" crowd. They blended well with bolt on trunk spares (like a Lincoln Mk IV), landau bars, diamond back windows, and the envy-inspiring chrome grill topper. I dunno, maybe that was just a Motown thing?

 

Highlander that would be Mid-Town not Motown thing. It was very popular with the Superfly wannabees about anyplace on this continent.

 

Actually, those rubber straps hangin' down WERE to ground the car!!---Ever hear of "Static electicity"?----Back then in the 50's the "cool" thing was to get a set of clear plastic seat covers installed on your new car, supposidly to extend the life of the original seat fabric.
Only problem was, every time you would slide across the plastic covers, & touched the door handle---You got ZAPPED!---From the static electricity. Thats where the hangin' rubber strap came in.-----OK?

 

Your right HIGHLANDER!! Ya ever see the movie "SHAFT"??
Or was it "Superfly"???

 

Ive got 'em on the right side of my '49 Ford...cheap insurance against trashing a whitewall or a '51 Merc fender skirt!

 

Well uhhhh, what if he's not home when the paper boy comes?????

 

Bonneville humor... I saw a pair on a stretched nose Fiero in impound

 

Yea I can't count how many old cars I bought over the years that had those clear plastic covers on them. Usually they werte all cracked or brittle from the sun and yes they were as staticy as Naugahyde maybe worse. We bought a '59 Impala once that had them with the little diamond bumps all over them that had a blue tint to them.

I had an old timer once tell me that those straps were to keep your fuel tank exploding from static built up by the tires spinning. I guess a rubber strap would ground and the tires would not?

 

Throw it on the porch..

 

Yep. Curb feelers. When I was a kid growing up in Texas, we never saw these. First time I saw them was on a road trip to california. Probably around 1960. Saw a bunch of them there. Couldn't wait to get a car so I could own a set! To this day, I don't have any. Maybe I'll get a set for the shoebox.

 

I'd use 'em on my '47 sedan when it gets skirted, WWs, and sombreros...I recall seein' 'em on some real nice customs in '53-'59 or so... I also recall seeing them on 'Gook Wagons', with the reflector-studded mud flaps, chrome stars on the skirts, and fog lamps and other add-ons.
But a serious clean custom made them look 'functional', as they were...Ever sit in a car with 'em while it was being parked? Sounds like the dentist's office, up close and personal! //G-ggggrrrinddd...

 

Only us old guys knew that, had to put one on my Dakota, tried to hide it so I wouldn't get stop for something hanging down.

 

The rubber strap had a woven core of metal embedded in the rubber and when the strap wore down it exposed a part of the metal wire core which made the "ground" connection with the ground and the metal frame of the car.

That is how it got rid of static, naturally the cars rubber tires wouldn't do it

 

That's why Delorean had to build his car to compete!

 

Thats the one the "nylon" upholstery materials and nylon/ acrylic carpets used in 70's 80's European cars were superb generators of static electricity, plastic internal handles, you guessed it, walk out of the car in your rubber soled shoes at night, the spark from your body to the metal garage door handle was a sight to behold. ZAPPED.

 

Well you got it. i was doing my best to be PC in the description. Short related story, Dad and I found a jumbo JUMBO deal back then on a 74 Cadillac Eldorado for Mom. I mean this thing was PIMPED OUT! Padded top with landaus, curb finders, L-78 15 wide whites and the chrome grille topper. We got it for a song and it had just turned 30K miles. This was in early 75 so it was a pretty new car. We got it home and Mom freaked out!! While not shy it wasn't common for her to swear loudly outdoors but the "No ****in way!!!" was heard by more than 1 neighbor.

We took it to the trim shop, replaced the top, lost all the add-ons and wheeled it out to perfection. The interior was perfect and untouched (rare on those, uh, customs) but it did have several dozen pot seeds in the pleats of the leather.

After that it was simply a 1st cl*** car to be proud of in it's day. Why so cheap? He said, "I can't get anybody to come to da hood and see it!". True story. We saved like 2-3 grand on it and when she sold we got a bit more than we paid after 3yrs! I guess they weren't all bad.

 

Back in the day no self respecting hot rodder would have been caught dead with POS curb feelers on their car. The only cars that had them were the ones with red jeweled mud flaps, numerous mirror's and antenna's, fox tails, port holes and a lighted swan on the hood. We called the Gook Wagons. Even today I woudn't put that **** on my cars.

 

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Ditto on that. Hell, 'double ditto' on that!

Mart3406
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Yep, I drive a city bus and we have them on most of our buses. Keeps tire costs down. Now If I could drop the air out of the bags I would have it going on. Low and slo.

 

My father had a set of curb feelers...he was a ****er for these type of accessories, had a necker knob and one of those stupid plastic green air dams that bolted to the hood ornament to keep bugs off the windshield...never worked so he got a bigger one with a little propeller on it...we kids were really glad when it finally broke off.

 

Dragging rubber or plastic on concrete creates static electricity. If rubber could ground a car the tires would ground it. Most static electricity in cars comes from synthetic fabrics in clothing and seats rubbing together.

Curb feelers were almost standard equipment on cars in the 50s.

 

Back in the 60's I got a set of CURB FEELERS and told the Kids they were antenna for underground radios!!!!

 

I don't care who you are... That right there is funny!