Eye of the Beholder & Continental Kit's

I like them on some cars, then again I like sidemount spares as well. I know...I know...some peoples taste is all in their mouths.

 

dive platforms belong on boats.

 

This is funny but the designer of the Lincoln Continental didn't like the rear mounted spare either.

He said, we just finished getting rid of the rear mounted spare off our production models. So when I designed the custom body coupe for Edsel Ford I went to a lot of trouble to hide the spare, even though I had very little trunk room to begin with. But when Edsel saw it he said "No! no! I want it to have a Continental look".

He was referring to the "Continental" models made by Rolls Royce and Bentley. These cars were specially equipped for long distance touring on the Continent of Europe. Roads were better, speeds were higher and distances longer than in England. They built special models with heavy duty cooling systems, higher gearing, and special bodies, lower and lighter than the conventional limousine. They recommended 2 spare tires, mounted on the back of the car for better balance.

Here are some Rolls Royce models. Notice how the Continental models are lower and shorter than the regular town car.

http://www.rrab.com/rph2.htm#top

This is the look Edsel Ford was after. Later, the rear mounted spare became a sort of trademark of the personal luxury car. It was also used on the Packard Carribean and offered as an option on other cars.

It did free up some trunk space and could help balance a nose heavy car with a big motor. Other than that it was not very practical, at high speeds it was like dragging a parachute behind the car.

For some reason they were popular in the midwest and northeast, not so popular in the west and south.

 

Bob Gregorie?

 

You definitely HIT the nail on the head....
Swim & Dive platforms only belong on the stern of a boat

 

Yes, that car was done by Eugene T. (Bob) Gregorie

 

The other thing about continental kits is that many find an empty spot to add a muriel of something, usually Elvis or Marilyn or a scene from a drive thru restaurant with the car itself in it and the words Back To The 50s or Just Cruisin'

 

another reason to put continental kits in my "stupid useless never do to something i own list"

 

Continental Kits were a sign of the era. Kinda like big fins and mucho chrome, three toned paint jobs and three color interiors. Huge chrome grills and massive bumpers front and rear. A 1957 Mercury Turnpike Cruiser said it alll for that time with all the above and forward pointing antennea and power rear window.

It's a part of Detroit American car history brothers.

 

when I was in high school (50s/60s) they were very popular. Those of us with an appreciation of what cars SHOULD look like called them "manure spreaders". To those of you not from that era, most new cars had continental kits as an option from the dealer at the time you ordered your car. Neighbor had a 58 Merc with one of them, and I could never understand the appeal - he could not park it in his garage, and putting anything in or taking it out of the trunk was a major PIA.

 

I loved this car when it was fresh, and still find the continental tire mount forgivable on this one. I think the extended quarters work well on a skirted car:



...but it's really the only one that I think worked well. I got my mother's '54 Merc as a hand-me-down, and the first day I had it I removed the continental kit and the stock skirts.

 

It works on the Larry Ernst Chevy

 

And you really lose a LOT of weight on a 'bird.

 

some cars look good with them and some don,t . it was v.ery .
big in the 5.
0,s

 

The extended fenders turn it from gook to custom, and make the extra length part of the car and not just an excrescence hung on the back.

 

Eugene! That's it!
I felt I had it mostly right.

My Dad restored a '40 Continental many years ago, so the name was just on the tip of my tongue.