@S.F. Do you have a paper copy of October 1963's Popular Hot Rodding? I probably do, but since I'm 8,000 miles from home at the moment, I can only guess at what Joey was referring to, and why he highlighted this item in his article...
That said, all I can think about when I see this interior, and others like it, is... ...and I'm not sure I hate it, either.
This particular article is a great example of what hot rodding truly is. A lot of us have 'picked' this car apart but it's not our car. Like someone said on here, we maybe could find something on this car that might work on our own. Like the interior, when he had it done he probably didn't think it would turn out so 'in your face' as it did (mind's eye). The rest of the car is so much on the conservative side. Myself, personally, am having a lot of fun trying to figure out what I would do with the front end. Take the grille out and start over? Find something that might work in the 'dead spaces' on the outer ends? Find something that might work where the bumper 'bullets' used to be? I'm still workin' on it.
Sub quote ; "It’s kitschy. It’s cool. And for me, it’s the highlight of this mild custom Chevy. When it comes to wild interiors, where do you draw the line?" Draw the line ? You don't......... It's lines - plural. That 57 is Bitchin' 46 to 64 was a big time for customizing. Thought I'd share some more " Candy Cane" My........The Joe Roth "Little One" 59 Impala with Customized Candy Cane Interior done in 62 by Kasper in Milwaukee......Survivor. Have had more women walk up to me on the interior with " I love it" View attachment 3282145 View attachment 3282144 View attachment 3282145 View attachment 3282144
I sorta held off on this one at 1st. I dunno why, but it did get me thinking about my forlorn 39 Tudor and its interior. My design is mostly a subtle singular color with some minor contrast in the carpet and headliner selection. Rather than have the inside scream at us I wanted it to have some focal points that highlight other design ques found both inside and out. That said, sometimes you want, hell almost need, a singular element to really stand out. Cob's 59 and this one handle that really well. The overall car might not pull it off alone, and with well placed restraint the hard work can be missed and might not leave a permanent memory (or scar to some!) with the casual observer or even the diehard fanatic. Consider a stately American Classic Roadster. It's style long since established, but you see one with Exotic skins from an ostrich, a snake, an alligator, and maybe even frogs. Yes, frogs (!) and suddenly it's one you'll never forget. If there's a larger number of positives that way you did it, you made an impression. 25 years ago I observed a rather stately coachbuilt Bentley at Pebble Beach with a frog skin interior. It left a permanent impression of craftsmanship applied by a dedicated trimmer and an owner with quite the imagination. If I can find a picture I'll toss it in, but it's just an example of how the singular element can "own" the whole. Some great, some wild or over the top, some just right. I'm shooting for the latter. quick edit: The car was a Franay bodied roadster/conv and I found a couple pics via google image search. Sometimes over the top is just right, or on topic, no lines required.