Been kicking around various ideas for different projects. Been talking to some buddies about pleated tonneau covers on the beds of pickups. I see em a lot in mags but were they the norm for hot rod pickups or mainly on show type cars?
There were 2 or 3 pickups in my home town in the 50's that were modified and they all had custom toneau covers and were shop trucks.The one thing they all shared in common was they were made of white(or off-white)canvas and had a contrasting color pleated diamond in the middle.As I remember it they all had brass grommets in the edges for rope tiedowns.Didn't see them with snaps until the 60's.
[ QUOTE ] Show stuff around Portland in the 50's. Pickups that were cool were push trucks..............OLDBEET [/ QUOTE ] Excuss my ignorance again(I'm learning honest)What were push trucks?
i think they are like a lot of "trick" stuff from the era. i'm sure if they could have afforded them every kid with a truck in the 50's (late) would have ran one. but i've seen them mostly in show setting too. push trucks get cars started on the lakes
Lots of show cars in the fifties were actually driven too. You might remember our thorough look into what cars were present at a Renegades show in Long Beach in the late fifties? Sure a few of the cars present were show-only, but most of them were streetdriven too. I'd say that a white plated tonneaucover would look great on a truck with a matching interior, a nice paintjob and a little extra chrome on the mill regardless, but it would also be in tune with the way lots of rods looked in the late fifties in California (at least according to the little books).
[ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] Show stuff around Portland in the 50's. Pickups that were cool were push trucks..............OLDBEET [/ QUOTE ] Excuss my ignorance again(I'm learning honest)What were push trucks? [/ QUOTE ] They push started drag and dry lakes race only cars because they usually didn't have starters or batteries, just a magneto. Sometimes they would have a 2x12 wood front bumper for the job, and were often painted up to match the race car
Tonneaus on pickup beds were common, but for the most part were not pleated. (Pleated = T&R?) Just plain vinyl in a lot of cases and convertible top material in the others. The show trucks were the ones with completely T&R'd tonneaus. Some street runners would have a pattern - usually diamond shaped - of T&R in the middle, but that was about it. White was usually the color of choice. Tonneaus were popular over the back seats of coupes and sedans as well. Same rules - although it was more of a choice than a rule - about the T&R. Percentage wise more cars had T&R tonneaus than did trucks. Trouble with T&R for both cars and trucks is it weighed down the middle of the tonneau and it sagged. Most of the tonneaus were un-supported and depended on tension to keep them flat. Un-supported to make removal easy in case you wanted to haul something. Freight or passengers. White was usually the color of choice for car tonneaus. In fact, white TJ T&R interiors were the most popular. Most times, all white, but some with contrasting piping. Gray and black rugs were the color choice for most T&R jobs. Keep in mind that this is how it was in my home town. For the most part, also how it was in the small town to the east and the big town to the north. Different places, different looks.
My buddy, a 50's Portland area hot rodder, gave me the idea for my bed cover. He told me that quite a few of the hot rod trucks had pleated bed covers. I've also seen them in original early 50's Hop Up magazines.
keep in mind if you do any stitching with padding in it, when it rains or you wash it, it will soak up water big time. then it will either stink or rot. or both.
Checked some old pics. Got to adjust my former post some. Almost all the rods I found didnt have padded bedcovers, just straight white vinyl ones. Maybe the padded bedcovers were a showthing added on the rod when it was exhibited. This pic was taken at Redondo Beach in 55 (JimAs pics).
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