Art & Inspiration 3x3 square photo thread

Benicia, California, 1967 ... '41 Plymouth sedan delivery with added side windows. Must have been an option, workmanship way too good to be backyard. Engine was apart, 2 new Sears pistons came with the deal. Got it back together, would run about 2 miles before it blew all the water out on the ground. I gave it to somebody ... Years later, I learned about water distribution tubes in flatmotor MoPars

 

Pair of '50 88's. The wagon was a 3 speed. The hardtop cost $260, and the wagon $55 & 3 days' worth of yard work.

 

^^^
3 weeks later. Carload of drunk *******'s drove into it. Bought some 4 doors for parts, and another DHC for the door. Was going back together with it when it came time to put the bumper back on. I'd hidden it over the top of the coal bin at the shop where I thought it'd be safe ... silly me - shop owner's relatives cut the ends off & made snowmobile trailer fenders out of it.

 

'54 "K" model. The heater & E-Z-Eye gl*** were the only options. The guy who GAVE it to me said it used a lot of oil. Changed oil the night I got it home, discovered the fuel pump was ****ing oil up & burning it. Upon breaking up with the gal, she took it. Never saw her or the Olds again.

 

Feel like this thread need a bump as I found more 3x3's

 

These are later Polaroid's, but still square. These were taken the day my grandpa sold Taboo back to the original owner/builder back in 1990.

 

Some new additions

 

I had a 33 Dodge sedan delivery with 2 sets of windows in the side panels, that rolled down. It came out of Montana, and had USDA on the doors. I was told there were a few made for hauling test vegetables, and made it possible to keep them cooler than a panel side. It was just like this one !

 

Good looking chick in the one-piece bikini and standing next to the roadster are the same girl, right? I can tell by the way she's standing .

 

came across a stack of the old 3x3s my grandpa took of some of his cars. His 55 Ford was his first car at 16, that was traded in when he ordered the 61 Impala. The 34 was a car he built when my mom was a kid.

 

Man, all those have such a good rake. I really like the ‘61!

 

that is how he has always set his cars up even to this day they all have similar rake on them. I set my stuff the same way now as well.

 

Found some more 3x3s today. My grandma with the 61. My grandparents were dating at the time. The a couple pics of each of them with the 57 Plymouth they owned. Sold the 61 when the got married to get rid of the car payment and picked up the 57 Fury. Didnt have it very long before going back to a Chevy. No clue why he took the picture of the 59. I think it was a friends car.

 

Oh man, would I ever love to build a clone of that one. Or own the original if it's still around...!

 

Thanks everyone for posting! These photos are absolute treasures. They give me a glimpse into a time period that I wasn't able to experience first-hand. Please keep them coming and especially if you have any background info on when or where they were taken please do share.
I have plenty of square negatives/slides/photos although most of them are from a bit later time frame and as you'll see there are some that are not square. I used to print my own B&W photos in a home darkroom and the photo paper was always precut in a rectangular size (4x5, 5x7, 8x10) so part of the square negative always had to be cropped out. They were, however, cropped from square negatives shot with this camera which I still have:


Lately I've been able to scan some of the original negatives so I'll use those when I can. Many of color shots are digital photos of slides projected on a screen (pre-scanner days) so the quality isn't the best but I hope to improve on that in the future. Again, most taken a bit later than the HAMB cutoff but hopefully fit the spirit of the thing...

Cropped from a 2-1/4" square color slide - Flatlanders rod run in Minnesota. Most of the cars in this pic were Amblers' car club members from the Twin Cities.


One of the first MSRA Fall Campout runs I attended.


Main gate off Snelling Ave. - NSRA Street rod Nationals, St. Paul MN 1974:


Another shot from the '74 street rod nats in St. Paul. Check out the chopped and channeled "A" coupe on the right side of the pic. I seem to remember that it was from Wisconsin and have been told that it's still around!?

 

I want that Olds coupe in my garage!

 

A few more squares for ya -

Toppers Rod & Custom Show, early '70's in Fargo ND


World of Wheels, St. Paul MN, early MSRA display-




Copy of a slide taken at an early White Bear Dodge show and swap meet. It's the former Bailon-built Sonny Morris (?) Mercury, then owned by Sterling (Mr. Merc) and Kathy Ashby.

 

.....Me too.

 

Those were the days alright! First Roadsters swap I went to, they were at the Anoka Armory. Sold and bought stuff at the Alexander Ramsey High School location too. I remember White Bear Dodge was a big dealer and they completely cleared out their lot (and I recall their shop too!) every year to stage this show and swap meet on the property. I always wondered where they put all the cars they moved, and who had to move them...

I dug out the slide of the Merc I posted and see it's dated 1975 so I wouldn't be surprised that the Ashbys bought it from whoever had it when you saw it. The real interesting story to me would be, how did it get to Minnesota?

A couple more from White Bear Dodge: at the swap meet a couple guys were literally sitting on a pile of vintage tin!


And I bet you recognize this one - I believe Norm Baltes owned it at the time.


Keep 'em coming guys, we ain't done yet!!

 

1953 Merc

 

T Coupe

 

Time for a bump, yes?
Another slide taken at an earlier Toppers' Rod & Custom show, Fargo ND:


The Model "A" sedan delivery with the "Roller Home" lettering is still around and pretty much unchanged except for new ownership and lettering on the side panels. Saw it at the Toppers' show a few years ago.
And here's a shot of our old '39 Ford Deluxe coupe. It was taken the year before my late wife and I tied the knot. Most of the big dogs at the time were running Tru-Spokes, but me? Merc wheels and bias plies. Later re-did it, all black, stupidly sold it but it's still around the Twin Cities and being well taken care of.
That's the photographer's (me!) shadow in the lower right - pretty easy to crop out.


Okay folks, let's see some more. Be square!

 

I have others this old, but they're not 3x3....

 

Mom with Dad’s ‘41. Grey lacquer that he and a buddy sprayed. Mom was 18, Dad 30. Probably at their home in Culver City, Ca.
Just saw these for the first time the other day, my sister found them in a box of old pictures.