History What would hot rodding look like if the '"pinnacle" cars didn't exist?

What if Richie Cunningham was challenged to a drag race and Arthur Fonzarelli put the coon tune on Mr. Cunningham's '49 Desoto Hemi and he won? would everyone drive Desotos? No... they would put Desotos in Fords ...Does a Mustang look better than a Falcon? Yes... but if there were no Rustnags & I had a 289 and a Falcon would I put them together? Yes... Does a '32 Ford look better than a '32 Doozy? No... but 1 is a dime a dozen has a V-8 and looks more rounded and stylish than a '32 Chev "Grampa Ned" car and the other is rare even in the '50's and weighs 10 tons...I have basically owned every "Pinnacle" car I ever wanted yet I can guarantee I am by far the brokest MF'er on this site...those that say "I could never afford a Deuce" are the same guys who turn up their nose at a dent repair or learning to weld and yes they will never have one... nature abhors a vacuum take a "pinnacle" away and something else will be put in it's place...always and forever

 

all Shotguns

 

OK, I get the Monroe shock absorber and the Russell Wilson things, but what is the Mansfield connection?

 

You are on a roll tonight! I'll take a double of whatever that is your drinking. And Wilson is a Bronco and those are OT!

 

What would hot rodding be like if horses never existed?

 

I think Richard Feynman would have looked pretty cool, cruising around in a snazzy MUNTZ JET, with a set of bongo drums in the back seat. He was unique that way.

 

Pre war Ford had 2 things going for them V8s but the big thing less wood in the body

 

"what IF" i hadn't played with hot rods (and still had my hearing) and still had hair?

 

as well as no seat belts or emissions controls

 

I believe that GM produced a lot more war materials than Ford.

 

What I typed was pure fiction and speculation, tongue in cheek

 

Damn, I hate it when I am too dumb to catch the sarcasm….

 

And all this time I thought pinochle was a card game. HRP

 

"What If"? What if there was no similar 'c'cainery'?

 

Then would have be a Trump suit... or 5 nines and no meld (my typical hand)

 

Wow... you're doing pretty well yourself!!

 

Pinnacle cars? 32 Fords? 57 Chevys ? not so much. For me it was more like Ed. Roth tee shirts , Grumpy's Toy, Drag cartoons etc. and just Hot Rodd'en what ever ya found lay'en in the woods.

 

Hello,

Pinnacle cars is an odd name. But, the idea of those popular versions of makes and models disappearing opens the mind to the borderline cars that could have been, if more did not allow the pressure of makes and models to rule their choices. We grew up with Chevys and Fords. But, we also liked the different makes and models if they has styling ideas that looked good for teenagers and 20 somethings.

There was a girl we knew whose dad owned an Oldsmobile dealership. Needless to say, her first car was a big Oldsmobile 4 door sedan. It was free, so for a teenager, it was better than having to empty out the meager savings account. (although, her account was not meager, but we knew the story...) But, besides the idea of a GM car, those big Oldsmobile cars were not most people’s idea of a popular car. For her, it was new and free to go anywhere, including cruising around with a car full of other teenage girls, which was a plus on the colorful teenage scene.

If we continued that idea, a big family station wagon would have been the surf transportation for those involved in that sport. Speaking of silly surfers, at one time, there was a rush to purchase older custom station wagons that came from those odd ball mortuaries. They had plenty of room in the back, the windows were large and one of a kind design.
They were cool looking, but a little creepy. it took a strong willed mind to ride around in one of those at the beach and surf movies showings. It was just that feeling that one would get when walking into a ghost house or movie scene. (A little on the "Spine chilling" side.) But, for low cost and a low cost Earl Schieb paint job a new station wagon rolled into the beach parking areas with a weird following.

Finished woody wagons were out of reach of most surfers. So, the ones that were ratty, torn up and low cost were few and far between. For those that keep seeing popular photos of well made woody wagons in any surf world arena was in a different world of advertising and make believe.

Low cost old station wagons had what was necessary for those long surf trips with a built in bed in the back with room for necessary supplies, let alone a space for those longboards. Not all station wagons had surf racks and not all of them ended up as custom station wagons for car shows and paint shops.
Some were made into very cool customs...

The not so popular wagons were more relevant if they were reliable and had the functioning aspects for surfers all over the coastal communities. Except for the mean stares from the moms/dads when their teenage daughter and friends piled into a cool station wagon for road trip or a beach adventure.

As far as larger station wagons or those big old Suburban Wagons were concerned, it was just not in the picture for the teenager to use as a larger rolling station wagon or cool surf camper wagon. Although, there was plenty of room for sleeping bags, food, coolers and tons of longboards.

Jnaki

So, what were the other choices? Off brand name trucks and coupes/sedans would have been the ones of choice.
GMC Panel Vans for businesses
a Ford truck for show and drag racing.

Finally, what would the teenager who had the need for speed do for his daily driver/hot rod/drag racing cruiser?
A high performance Rambler sedan with a definite powerful motor would have changed the cruising scene and at the drags. A 60s version of a mild custom Rambler Sedan for the daily drive to school and work.

Throw in a few models of the Studebaker group and a new breed of hot rods would have been the ones cruising the drive-in restaurant hang out scene. Since the "popular" models would have been non existent, a bigger motor in a sleek 57 Studebaker with those cool fins would have gone over in huge sales. Throw in the Paxton/McCulloch Centrifugal Supercharger, more powerful motor and the cruising scene as well as the classes at the dragstrips would have been Studebakers, not 348-409 Chevy sedans.

The swoopy models had the roots in place, but it just did not have the top horsepower to back up the fancy, streamlined design. Supercharged motor with more horsepower would have sold a zillion for this brand to be the top model for racers and teenagers.

Even the Avanti’s short term run would have been a longer run with all of the amenities of a good looking family car. It also had the luxury mode built in, it was just underpowered for that segment of the car buying world.
All drawings from old Friday Art posts...

The Avanti would have been the top seller if the designers had the young anxious teens and 20 somethings in mind. Instead, they designed the car for the luxury end of the family and that did not go over too well. Despite the cool styling, it was not sold for high performance drag racing or the street.