Projects What screams 1962 show car to you?

Insane amounts of chrome, even on things that you'd never see, like internal brake parts:

 

I thought everyone chromed their backing plates?

 

"4 headlights",are too often talked about as ugly by younger guys=They have zero eye of the time.
Same for a number of things done.
Ture Eye of the time,comes from being there then ,or understanding the history, so one is not looking back with a much newer pre-set ideas.
Simply put, the impact of adding the news trend at the time,is not known,years later. When you were not there your self,as I was! So yup,I like 4 haedlight most of the time I see them.

 

You know that’s right…..
I’ve already started thinking about them. My wife made a set for my nephews 58. White vinyl . They were a bitch to turn inside out.

@dana barlow i like em……just on your car.

 

My daughter is a hell of a seamstress and I asked her one day about making bed chain covers for me. She looked at me with the strangest expressions and suggested that was waaaay too much to know about me. I had to explain they were for the truck not the Mrs.

I went a different route on my tailgate but she was going to make them removable for cleaning and care of the chain when they got wet. She suggested using snaps or a chrome zipper.

 

I'm a '58-'62 guy too. I'm not sure what it was about that period, but so many things that really speak to me I find are from that period. I expand it to '65 when it comes to hot rods and race cars.
Sounds like you are on the right track. The mid-sized white walls were the most popular, looking at the show picture in post # 21. Colorful metallic paint with white upholstery. I'd look seriously at making some tasteful nerf bars for it, like Winfield did. Caddy engine with multiple carbs and plenty of chrome. I never cared for the overdone exhaust treatments, you know, lakes pipes combined with stacks and/or bed pipes. Hey, how about chrome lakes plugs behind the front wheels and flared chrome scavenger pipes? Period correct but not cliche.

 

Yeah, well now you etched a picture in my minds eye……make it stop!

 

Chrome was max cool,but $$$ ,so also polish any metal too high gloss helped a lot ,an only cost my time.
I had my cars in a lot of shows all around my State.
One of many show tricks*= I'd take one wheel off an lay it down in the roped off display,with brakes showing all pretty chrome;brake shoes , springs an backing plate.<<<< In fact, the one wheel was ,my only one, on the hole car with chrome ,but no one know the other 3 were not !
The chrome brakes shoes n springs were only added at each show an then replaced by my reg. set. for driving/ I didn't trailer like some. I drove to every show ,on 3 days shows,I'd stay with one of local car guys for a place to sleep an way to get around. Doing so many shows,we got to know most of the other show guys well/part of the fun. A few high $$ guys stayed in Motels.

 

Yep, we used to get the most points if you dropped one wheel at the indoor judged shows. For me it was always a front. That inner fender, suspension, tire and wheel and brakes got had more detailing time than the rest of the car combined. Those were the days, windows up on one side, door ajar, trunk open, hood open, convertible top up, tires and wheels indexed, show sign, lights, mirrors and a theme usually to put it over the top.

One car I showed, I used a chrome bumper jack (as a prop, it was actually supported by a bottle jack hidden under the car) to make it look like the car had a flat on the highway. I used a black carpet that had stripes on it like a roadway, used a 20 foot piece of guard rail that I stole form some tweakers, made up some road signs that said Route 69 and speed limit 69 (to match the year of the car), had the spare hanging out out of the trunk. I got 1st place at the Portland Roadster Show in my class for that one.

 

I guess I should clarify, I have no interest in doing indoor shows, I just like the look from that era. this will be built to drive. I just want it nice....once. Take a ton of pics, have some girls pose next to it, then start racking up miles.

 

And yeah, I’m still chroming backing plates. Gold engine paint on the wheel cylinders though. Chromed all of the head bolts that show on the old Olds too. Love that sixties look.

 

^^^^Nice

 

I build them all as if they are going on the show circuit. I still drive em and thrash on them (I just tore the radiator out of my roadster after the top tank came lose in 111 degree weather at Hotrodarama and showered it in hot, nasty water). It will be back in an indoor show in a couple of months locally.

Build that truck, show it one time while it is fresh and then put the miles on it...and the the girls, definitely put girls on it.

 

I have a set of backing plates that I picked up. 12" 1956 F250. I have to weld up the old holes then drill them for the later styled wheel cylinders. Adding that to the chrome pile. My wife better get another job.........

 

An up to date show rod/show car would indeed have the width and style of whitewall that was available on the new cars in 1962. That was a 60's show car thing for up to date show cars. That was in the PNW at least.

 

Dang those look nice and can actually be seen as well. Great job.

 

Chrome or upholstered running boards!

 

I’m looking at pleated, but they may get painted white for durability.

 

Thought I remember the ‘36 PU I had, used latches, not chains? I could be mixing it up with another. Long gone soon after I came here, and the one I have left is a bit bare in the bed area
But the running boards will get used. So do something durable. Maybe a step plate used on earlier vehicles?

 

The 35-36 used a chain, it has a larger loop and a spring loaded hook.

 

upholstered wheel well

 

I've been dreaming of a '40 sedan...
Channeled 4" over the frame, with both front and rear fenders molded to the body and raised 2" and hood sectioned 2" to give it a sectioned look without actually being sectioned. It would have tunneled canted quads headlights with expanded metal inserts, '60 Corvette taillights and a rear cove with expanded metal and chrome bullets where the tailpan would be. Under the hood would be a gold painted 327 with 6 Strombergs, running only the center 2. Pearl white tuck n roll radiator cover and firewall pad with SW twin blue gauges in the firewall; vacuum, volts, water temp and oil pressure.
Chrome 15" steelies with spider caps and dual skinny white cheater slicks out back and narrow dual skinny whitewalls up front.
The interior would consist of a '62 tbird rear seat covered in pearl white, and some swivel buckets covered in pearl white. A floating center console goes front to back, with tuck n roll padding on top. Carpet is white fuzzy fur, and the headliner is a big pearl white tuck n roll diamond. The dash has been filled, painted pearl white, and fitted with as many twin blue gauges as possible, tunneled about an inch deep into the dash. A '62 Impala steering wheel would be used. Chrome garnish mouldings of course.
Color would be either a blue pearl or Kandy gold, with simple pearl white scallops on the headlights and taillights.
Bumpers would consist of diamond themed nerf bars.