I'm guessing you're pretty close with your dad if he's given the car to you, and since you've been a member here for 5+ years you're obviously a car guy as well. There's a list of things I'd do if I were to BUY that car, but if my dad GAVE it to me I'd never change a thing! I'm real close to my dad too, and if there were things to change on it I'd make sure he was there helping me every step of the way. My dad is in good health, but the day he's gone will be the worst day of my life and I'll want to cherish every memory. How's that for traditional???
It is a nice car as is. The yellow is not that bad. Set of caps and WWW tires and lowered it would be sweet.
In say 1960 the rake look was in! Steel wheels panted, 2" WW and spun aluminum caps - Your yellow is bright a white top would cure that. With the 5 speed and rear what kind of gas millage are you getting?
Traditional?! With a 5-speed ****** and Nova rearend? Everyone always bragging about "Traditional" cars or trucks with a 5-speed ****** or a alternator. Makes me laugh everytime.
me neither.....worse case , buy some of those smoothie center inserts from wheel kid and run them minus the baby moons.....
As for gas millage i am getting about 15-17 on the highway. It also has a 4 barrel intake with split exhaust and the carb is a Carter 450. The car runs great I drove it all they way from Portland Oregon down to Oceanside Ca in one day. It took a bit over 15 hours but it was a great drive. The little 53 performed well and was very comfortable. I love this car, and I am close to my old man. I don't want to take away from anything that he has done to it. He built this car around 2001. And I am surly not going to do anything that would insult him, I am just spit balling here.
that's cool. nothing wrong with taking the car and making it your own though. i'm sure he won't mind.
im with the leave its. it looks like it could have come straight from "American Graffetti" just my opinion.
Hi, I had a 53 4 door and loved it. Most everyone back in my day put 54 tailights on theirs. I bought the 53 top red lenses and put them into the bachup light space at the bottom of the 53 tailight. I then connected the bottom bulbs to the top ones. This gave me 3 red linses in the rear. I got a lot of positive feedback from others who also thought they looked good. They looked like Chrysler tailights of the time. I have never seen another 53 like it. It was an easy conversion and different. I also had the car painted Fawn Beige over Buick Cordovan Brown. The Buick Cordovan brown color was a little more redish root beer color than the 32 below, the Fawn Biege was about the same as the Corvette below, but the combination was great and got a lot of attention. Almost every one wanted a 2 door hardtop in those days but my car made up for being a 4 door 210 because of the great paint job and the tailight modification. I never got around to modifing the grill to 54 but got lots of attention anyway. Your 2 door would look even better with that combination. **** .
That car is right out of mid 60s, if its got black interior its perfict But 3 carbs on it and tell everone its a vett engine
simple... one of these: some of these: and one of these: Make Some Money!!...now thats "Traditional"!
Since we're just spit-ballin' here... To my eye, that yellow screams 70's or 80's. Some have mentioned painting the roof white. I think that will be too sharp a contrast with the yellow. If yer leaning towards whitewalls on your chrome reverses (or someother aftermarket wheel), I'd be inclined to paint just that little bit around the side windows within the business coupe's stainless trim above the beltline. It would be a small swatch of white that would help visually tie to the whitewalls and hint at it's 50's roots/coolness, but not so much white as provide the contrast I mentioned before. Love the '53 Business coupe's...
It looks great like that. If you really wanted to change it, I would do the same as others have suggested. Drop the back a bit and put on some original style chrome reverse wheels.
My dad would love this car! His first car (as he tells me) was a yellow 1953 Chevy! Said that he lowered it with blocks all the way around and it rode like a tank, but he loved it and talks about it frequently.
Above looks great, needs to be a tad lower front and back with 2" white walls narrowest cheater in the back no caps but maybe small cones and bullet nuts & a a very small scallop or crude flame behind the front wheel
One more custom touch, if you are up for an easter egg hunt... instead of putting in the '54 chevy taillights, try to hunt up a pair of '53 or '54 canadian Pontiac taillights for it. The canadian Poncho's used the chevy sheetmetal in the back so I believe they would bolt right up. Personally, I'm tired of the '54 lights. Most people don't know or recognize the canadian pontiac taillights, so they will look like custom pieces.
This car IS traditional. Bright yellow paint, chrome reverse with baby moons, slight rake, chrome side-view mirror (instead of hideous body-color late model side mirrors), all great stuff. I'd drive it. It's not street-roddy and it's not rat-roddy. It's just right.
What isn't traditional about a rake, babymoons and hotrod yella paint! I love it, you need to decide what you want. Early ARE 5 spokes would look cool, natural spokes polished rim, it realy doesn't need much, don't ruin a cool car.
The Jalopy Journal
