Well, it's been a while since I posted about my '58 Fairlane, so I thought a new thread was in order. The previous thread was misleading, as people thought I was referring to carbs when I mentioned quads. I always liked '57 Fords, but never liked the headlights. There are kits that use pickup rings, but even that leaves the lights looking to big, and they overpower the front end. I liked the way Tiago did the quads in his Ranchero, before the accident, so I decided to do the same. Remember, I have a '58 with a '57 clip. Several people throughout the years have done this, but most kinda miss the mark, in my humble opinion. The change was made, and I might add, it was not easy. Then the tranny went South. Remember, this is a dual purpose cruizer. The critter spent this entire summer in a shop getting a tranny change. I went from a C6 to a built C4, since it's lighter, and takes about a third of the HP to operate. Remember, this is also a racer. So, here we are. The headlights are done, the fenders have been welded to the crossbar, which has been welded on both ends. The front hood corners have been rounded. The front trim has been removed, as well as the side lettering. The side trim holes have been added to the front fenders (remember, they are '57), the side trim has been straightened and polished (Brad the magnificent), rockers replaced, and all blocking has been done. The original plan was to leave the top white, and add pearl and some scallops. Then my wife overheard the plan. She says no, no, no. The white will "wash out" the light yellow pearl. Stay true to the plan, she says. Paint it green. The whole idea of this project, was to build a custom, painted to commemorate Larry Watson. NOT CLONE...... Just some new ideas using his fantastic ides and designs. With this in mind, I recalled the LeFevre '59 El Camino. The first rendition was always my vision of his best work. It has a green top. So, it will be. The color shot below actually has 6 different combinations of the same base yellow. The lighter side in the middle will be used. The center green is the accent. Lemme know if you have ideas on the outlining, since this is different that the El Camino......Thanks
Not exactly what you are lookin for but just for the heck of it.(since I ran across it while lookin for ideas for ya)
Hey Low Budget...You're on the right track, just a year too new. All of the panels were added after the first phase. Only the outlines and a few accents were done, in the medium green. It was simple, and yet stunning, at least in my wee brain.......
Aaahhhh....Now that feels better, doesn't it ?? It's amazing how much different the panels make, and not for the good..... I love that light pearl yellow, and the medium green really sets it off. I believe that one of the articles on this puppy said that it had gold colored pinstriping. That might be the best way to go. Help !!!!!
A candy blue would go with the yellow too and even candy red Spray up some good size test panels first, then you will know what is best in your eye
Hey DND, I thought about a different color for the outlining, and drew out several, but none seemed to produce the effect of these two together. Watson used to be the master at combining pearls and candies, in the right combination of colors, at least early on. He got carried away later on in his career, probably due to the many paint jobs he did. I tried to visualize even different shades of yellow pearl, but the light color used on the El Camino just seemed perfect. I also try to stay true to the original, even through I'm going from Chev to Ford. I'm not going to get carried away on the outlining, just keeping it simple. It's bad enough that I taking a basic mild custom with pearl yellow paint out to the drag strip, with all those macho critters. But the whole idea was to create a dual purpose kruizer to commemorate the work of Larry Watson.
Yes Larry did have the eye for neat colors working together, who would have ever thought about silver & maroon He knocked it out of the park when he did up his ' Square Bird ' with those two colors, looked great then and now 55 yrs later still looks great
I like your plans cabong! How about a narrow line of orange (softened just a wee, wee bit towards a melon shade)? Sounds like you have someone right there who knows her stuff; what's she recommending? Dave
Hey Dave, That orange is tits!!!!! I think hat I mentioned the El Camino had a gold color stripping. That orange really brings out the other colors. Nancy really likes the orange also...whew!!!!! I'd like to pick your brain on how you did that stripe. It really makes it easy to match colors.... Speaking of color combinations, DND, whaddayathink abot the candy root beer pearl and candy yellow Ford that Larry did..WOW !!!!
Glad you (both) like the stripe! Photoshop can be a magical thing - that's for sure; and there are probably a hundred easier and faster ways to do the stripe than the way I did it. I sure am looking forward to seeing the Fairlane in colour. No better custom painter to emulate than Mr. Watson! Dave
Here's the green on the top, prior to clearcoat. The yellow and pearl goes on the bottom this afternoon. Man, now I git'n excited !!!! Travis tried roundingthe corners on the stripes, but the top grooves and lack of width made it weird, so he tried it with straight edges.....I think it looks fine. That green is actually a House of Color Vibrant Green Pearl.....No damn wonder it looks so good....... And thanks Chopolds, for the compliment...We appreciate it !!!
Hey Peanut, nice to hear from you again !!!!! And, my wife still has he Lark, still won't let me drive the bugger !!!
Hey Peanut, nice to hear from you again !!!!! And, my wife still has he Lark, still won't let me drive the bugger !!! I hate to get off track, but what the heck, we're all car nuts. The Lark is my wife's cruizer. It has a Kettering 289 with a close ratio 4-spd, all out of a '62 Gran Tourisimo. She had shown me the Lark about 20 years ago, sitting in a storage yard. Then it disappeared. Turns out it was stolen for the "starwires" that were on it. God they were ugly. The owner, had a business next to the starage yard, and told me that the lowlifes in Oakland had stolen it. He used another term, and you would have to have been there to appreciate the silence. Ernie, is a Louis Gossett lookalike. Great guy. The Lark was in a storage yard, and had every panel kicked in, every piece of glass broke out, and the roof caved in. The butthead owner of the yard wanted a fortune. I went back to look at this poor baby sitting on the drums, in mud up to its' chassis. I opted to pass. No way...Too much work. I walked away, then made the fatal mistake.....I looked back, and that license plate actually spoke out loud to me. Please........I was totally screwed. I bought it, fixed it, and surprised my wife that Christmas. All thanks to Gary Minor, my good grumpy friend from San Leandro, CA. Now don't get me wrong, I still can't drive it, 'cause it's hers.
Okay, okay.....Back to the point at hand. Those who know me understand my chronic illness of telling stories....... The Mighty 58 is pearl yellow. I couldn't take pictures this morning I realized at the last minute that my battery was dead. So, the next best thing. Here it is all taped up and ready for that pearl green in the outlines and scallops. You can still see the pearl yellow. By now the green is on, and in the morning the tape comes off and the clear goes on. I'm confident that Larry is watching, grinning through that beard, and I can only hope that he approves....... The hood looks a tad bare, but the "super duty" scoop goes on, and it's scalloped similar to the top.
I see that big black Lincoln cruizen the streets of Idaho. It's hard to miss, especially with the stunning upholstery... Thanks for the kudos !!!!
Well, it's painted and drying out......The yellow looks light due to the booth lights and white walls, but in fact it's pretty much dead on to the LeFevre El Camnio. Now I need to find a pinstripper in the area to do the miles of straight lines.
The Jalopy Journal
