lets see some tri fives- but please no chevys

Good buddy Charlie Pike's '56 Studebaker.

 

Thought I’d bring this thread back to life

 

Here’s one from my photo library.

 

How about a 57’ Ford custom?

 

The Ford 300 Custom in 1957 was a contributing factor for outselling Chevrolet that year.
Supercharged with blackwalls for me, thank you very much! Damn good looking cars.

 

Trying to avoid any Ford pics!

 

Most outstanding feature…”Not A Chevrolet”

 

Wow, it was never called a tri-five, but a large 1957 Buick Roadmaster with rear split windows was our dad’s car, but on his days off, it became a family car.


Hello,

After our Willys Coupe accident, we were in a state of limbo. Our close friend in Los Angeles called us to offer a Ford Sedan for us. I drove up there to do a test drive. It was a 1956 Ford Two Door Sedan that had just come off of racing at Bonneville and was being retired. It was a Flathead motor, 3 speed LaSalle and of course, Moon screw in discs.
Similar in looks, but the one that got away...

It was great looking, was able to accelerate well and it came with nice Moon Discs. As a close friend, he knew that we needed something to ease the recovery and memory. He knew we had the 1958 Impala, but knew we still wanted to be a part of the whole hot rod/drag racing scene or go in a new direction.

Our friend knew we needed a new project and thought this two door, 1956 Ford Sedan would be a starting point. We could see ourselves driving this cool looking sedan on the salt. In a drive around that part of Los Angeles, it had the power and the mellow sound of a race car, but was comfortable on the street. Being on a slightly lowered rake, it handled well around curves and city streets.
old Friday Art of a 1956 Ford Sedan in 1961.
Since it was street legal, cruising up the driveway at the two teenage gathering spots, drive-in restaurant, parking lots in Bixby Knolls would have been just classic. We almost bought it to add to our current hot rods. But, a two car garage with 5 cars?

Our Westside of Long Beach house had a large backyard, but 3 cars sitting outside was not going to cut it back there. Everyday, the parking lot jiggle would take place before we all went our separate ways. High school, college, work in L.A. and still two cars would sit idle all day. Not our family way of doing things, too. Our mom would be driving the C&O Stick Hydro version of the 58 Impala.

But, we were a "sell one, buy one" type of family and couldn’t part with the 1958 Impala or 1940 Ford Flathead Sedan Delivery. Although, our mom would have kept the 58 Impala for her own car. My brother was done with that portion of his life. The ocean and coastal adventures were calling us to challenge the whole surfing adventure, exploration, scene and we could not sleep in the 56 Ford.

Jnaki

Yes, it does seem odd, but, my eyes and ears did not let me down as it was accelerating down the street and when the hood was open in our Los Angeles friend’s driveway. It was a nice Flathead. Perhaps, the former owner wanted a smaller motor for a lower letter classification. No supercharged SBC motor, but a simple cam/3 carb/pistons/crank…perhaps a stroked crank gave it the power it had when I stomped on the accelerator.
Similar Flathead of the 1956 Ford Sedan painted black

Why would someone put in a built-up Flathead motor in a 56 Ford Sedan? Why put an SBC in a Model A? Because it was there and fit the parameters of a specific class structure + rules.

Note:

On a recent art drawing mode, time was spent re-doing the 56 black Ford with a few additions for an upgrade. Highlighted purple pin striping would give the slight glow to offset the dark black. So, instead of scallops, panel highlights, the pinstriping accents the design.

When my wife saw the black 56 Ford, she has always liked the gift I gave her several years ago for her “decorating” for the times. It was a red 55 Chevy station wagon and I found a nice silver travel trailer similar to the Airstream versions we both like. Now, it is a sight each time I walk past it, sitting on a shelf.

But, for the Ford sedan, I decided to draw a color matching travel trailer for the two of us in a minimal style, taking up less room in handling and size. Afterall, we only sleep inside. The small travel trailer was from my teenage days of working in a trailer company assembly line for a couple of weeks. (Kit Trailer Company, a few blocks from our old Westside of Long Beach house.)


Note 2:

Then again, pulling a trailer could lead to sketchy cross winds making our road trips a little hectic. So, perhaps, a nice 11956 Ford Station Wagon would suffice… along those winding up hill coastal cruises and local mountain adventures… YRMV
An interesting looking 56 Ford Nomad version is currently on the drawing boards. The Ford designers were close, but it still needs a little help...