Last week, Jay and I dueled over tri-five Chevrolet features. It would be a nice clean break to stop now and move on to another subject... And I'd do that if it wasn't for the Watson painted and Jim Doss owned '58. I mean, how can you talk about mild... <BR><BR>To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.
ha you're reading my mind Ryan, I was hoping you would do a feature on a 58 (and you picked the right one too)
I can never decide which version that I like the best. I'd drive the snot out of either. Personally as far as simplicity goes I've always loved this Watson painted Pontiac '58
I never understood the appeal of a 58 chevy. All the features seem to work against each other....have yet to see one I really like.
Ah, for the money and/or talent to put together a collection of General Motors '58s done in the style of the first version! Skylark wires for the Caddy Coupe de Ville and Buick Century hardtop and Lancers for all the rest. Get rid of all Mr. Earl's excess "gorp" like they did for this Impala and shoot a variety of two-tone candy panel jobs ala Mr. Watson on all of them. Mild custom heaven!
They begin to loose me in '58. But that mild custom at the top is pretty. Restraint became a bad word in styling, I think.
Agree totally. My inlaws had a new '58 348 Turboglide and it was a lemon. They had it one year and bought a '59 Impala and went to Ford products after that.
I always found it interesting how people consider the '58 such a radical departure from the '57 model. But if you put the two side by side, they share a ton of styling cues, it's pretty obvious they came from the same pen. The '59 is a much more radical change in my book. I have a soft spot for '58 Impalas, my neighbor had one when I was growing up (still has it), a gold one with a 348.
Loved 58's since I was a kid,and used to lust after a couple that ran around my town. Wish I'd bought a dozen of them when they were still cheap.
call me crazy, but, i would take a 58 chevy over a tri-five chevy anyday, especially that one!! my god, that car is beautiful.
Sweeeeeeeeeeeet! I've always liked Mox Millers 58 because it's a time capsule. I remember reading car magazines and books throughout the 70s and the 58 Chevy (along with the W motor) always got a bad rap. They would say the 58 styling was a letdown because it was suppose be better than the 57s and the 58s didn't live up to the hype and it turned out to be a one year car. 59 was a all new design from the frame up. Personally, I have always like 58s better than 59s.
Most cars of this era are great fodder for a mild custom, a shave, lowering, and some mild paint changes (throw in some speed parts if you like) are all that's needed to have a cool cruiser. How about some 59's? Thanks, Carp
One the best, and certainly one of the first, is Andy Southard's iconic '58. The frenched upper grille bar (as well as the tail light treatment) took things one step beyond the norm that was to follow for conservatively styled customs. I consider this one of the last "Late, Great '50's Customs".
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