Ok...by "Stripper", I mean my 54 Mainline tudor....not someone who uses a pole in their profession. So....my overall plan for my car is to have it appear, to the casual observer that it's an old grandma car.....a stock, stripped out Mainline with few options that I just pulled from a garage somewhere. Anyone who looks closer, of course, will see all the hours that have gone into the engine bay, mechanicals, the 302/AOD upgrade, the disk brakes, the fact that there's an automatic steering column in a stock-appearing Mainline, etc, etc.....you get the picture. With that in mind, I started sanding and painting the other day using a close approximation to the original Sandalwood Tan....the ultimate low-key, stock, grandma color. The interior trim will be the stock gray color that had a minor hint of brown (if I can find it anywhere). So....the teenager comes home the other day and sees the color and just walks up to me and stares me down....and says "dad, puhlease tell me that you are NOT going to paint the car this color!" She then goes inside the house and informs her mother that I've lost my mind, and now both of the women of my house are quite miffed at me for my color choice. They had a pastel green color in mind, with a white roof. Don't get me wrong, I like the cool two-tone schemes of the 50's, but that's not what I'm shooting for with my car. Anyway....as nicely as I could (you don't want to make your wife and your teenage daughter too mad) I let it be known that it was my car and that I would be painting it my way. They're not pleased with me. I thought you guys might get a chuckle out of the whole thing.
They'll get over the color once you take them for a ride and pin them against the seat! I have 60 VW convertible I'm doing for my wife. She wants it pink - Barbie bug. I said no - I don't care who's car it is - I'm painting and I won't paint pink!
Old school rules: Rule #1 - don't piss off the boss. Rule #2 - obey Rule #1 Oh I hear ya! I thought about doing my '56 Fairlane in tutone dark/light brown - still pastel-ish and I think very 50s but NOOOOOOO - instead it's pea**** and colonial. Not that I don't like it, but I like different too. I haven't seen a tutone brown/beige '56 Ford in I dunno when. But.... I don't want to sleep in the garage. And beside - I like blue/white.... I like blue/white...... And I was SO looking forward to those Roy Rogers embossed seat covers in the brown Ford. . .and maybe a Hoppy bobble head in the back window. . . good luck with the project.
It's a fact. Everybody sees color differently. That's a given. But car guys see color different-er than non-car guys. We like and dislike different hues, but we also factor in the "cool quotient" as it applies to our specific car. That's the part that our significant others don't "get" (a lot of car builders don't get it either, but that's a whole 'nother story...) because they are not immersed in our little corner of the car culture like we are. Cool is elusive. That's what makes cool...well...cool. So, hang in there, Rusty. We get it...even though the babes don't.
Ron....too bad about the two-tone brown loosing out. You look at real photos of traffic from the 50's and there were lots of that particular color combination. Yeah...it's not the flashy bright colors, but that's kind of the point. One of the things I love the most about driving an old car is when I'm stopped for gas or at a restaurant and someone comes up and goes through the whole routine about how they had one in just that color....etc. The bright, flashy cars with all the chrome are certainly pretty but the fact remains that a TON of people had the not-so-flashy versions of these cars. Take my dad's stripper 55 Mainline...it is the epitome of NOT-flashy. You wouldn't believe the p***ion that silly car evokes in people, and half the time it's because it's a plain car. I had a stock Model A back when there were more old timers still around that drove them in high school or even bought them new, and I made the decision to do all black with black wheels and very few accessories, when the trend was to doll the model A's all the way up. It got the same response. You're right missysdad....cool IS elusive, and the average bear does try to get there by applying as much flash as he can get his hands on. And don't get me wrong, there are times when a ton of flash is cool, but usually it's more elusive than that, and involves much, much more work and subtlety (sp?).
Maybe there's a compromise here... (photo from Rik Hoving website, Larry Watson builder) Leave off the kickstand pipes and Watson-style scallops and you've got a pretty cool looking green car... BTW: This shade of metallic green was very popular in my area in the 50's/60's transition years. It was most often mixed with a stock green fabric interior or, on rare occasions, with all-white tuck and roll. Spinners and wide whites were the perfect finishing touch. Absolutely spectacular in my humble opinion.
Here's a link... Let's hope it works. http://public.fotki.com/Rikster/11_..._cars/watson_custom_cars/watson_painted_gree/ Seems to work okay. I'm not real good at links...
You're right....that is a cool base color. However, for a good laugh.....check out the photos of the dashboard, and the cotton fluff they have glued to it. Oh man. Truly disgusting. Which is wierd, because the rest of the car looks good. I remember going to indoor car shows with my dad back in the early 70's when that fluff was all over many of the cars. I thought it looked ridiculous back then too.
Yea, it looks like a work-in-progress. It was probably either blue or white before being repainted and the blue of the interior really fights with the new Burma Green color. The window moldings have been repainted white, probably in anticipation of a white interior to come. The fuzzie stuff was probably temporary, just until the owner had time to pull the windshield and repaint the dash white to match. A lot of the off-brand little books featured unfinished customs in those days, especially the books published on the east coast. Freelance photographers took and sold pictures of cars then, just like today. The west coast mags bought the best photo features, the east coast mags got what was left. This looks to be a west coast car featured in an east coast mag. I've admired the Koller car for years, appreciating it for its excellent exterior...and holding my nose when looking at the interior. I don't think Watson ever did a bad paint scheme, even though some were a little over the top. He did the final paint job on the Pete Angress '52 Victoria which was, in my opinion, a little much. I liked the earlier versions much better. The Koller '55 is very tasteful, probably a Watson "cheapie" accent job of which he has done hundreds, perhaps thousands, during his career. Google "Larry Watson" for lots more photos and information on this amazing and prolific painter. Nice car, and very much in keeping with the period in which it was built. Hope it has given some of youse guys some ideas for your own.
Since we brought up the "fake fur" in this topic,back in the early and mid '60's they sold "fake fur" package tray covers like hotcakes.I had them in my '53 and '54 so will be doing it again in my present '54 since it's retro and it will hide my speakers from prying eyes that are too lazy to buy their own.I got something else I have been wanting today in the mail(kinda like Christmas! ) I have been wanting the side window stainless shades since I first got the '54, finally got them, $35 shipping included I have seen them on ebay for over $300.Hey Ron,I am doing the Blue and white thing myself,can't handle green! I guess from painting tanks,Jeeps and trucks in the Army.
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