favorite cars of the golden era

[Story]

A *bit* late for the era but swanky as all get-out

Anyone got a spare $600k?
http://jalopnik.com/393907/raymond-loewy-designed-1959-cadillac-eldorado-for-sale

 

[David Conwill]

Country Club, anyone?

Here's one I've been researching lately:

The 1947 Chevrolet "Country Club" wood-trim option. Made by Engineering Enterprises, Inc., it was a dealer-installed wood kit to make your '47 or '48 Chevy (Aerosedan, coupe, or ragtop) look like Chevy's version of the Chrysler T&C or the Ford/Mercury Sportsman. There's a '47 coupe down the street for sale that would look great with this treatment, methinks. He only wants $2K, think he'll trade for my Escort?

-Dave

 

[Two Gun Bob]

Our family cars...

...were nothing like as grand as those wonderful old American automobiles of the Golden Era, but I can show you the first three cars I remember riding in (I was born 1959).

The pix below are of the same models as we owned (don't have any personal shots of these)...

One of my earliest memories - a 1953 Ford Anglia. Ours was light blue. I remember - aged 2 - being on my mother's lap in the front passenger seat and being hit by a much bigger car in Blackpool, England!

A Ford Prefect 107E - yes, the character in Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy was named after this car!

A 1964 Vauxhall Victor Estate car (station wagon) - the last of the chrome era!

 

[Dinerman]

Hit up a car show today. There were both some very beautiful and unusual cars in attendance.

 

[John in Covina]

THe Car Show looked like a great collection of unusual cars. I had a guy on my paper route that had a yellow Lotus like the one with the tiny back window. Cool cars.

 

[dhermann1]

'41 Buick???

As some of you may know, the 1941 Buick is my dream car. Some day . . . some day . . . I'll own one. In the meantimne I just cyberogle. I stumbled on this pretty hilarious article while engaged in that particular pastime this afternoon. I don't necessarily advocate taking this approach to classic car restoration, but there's definitely something to be said for it. To each his own!
http://www.decorides.com/prattbuick.htm

 

[Warbaby]

It's a bit late for the Golden Era, but the '59 Caddy convertible is one of several cars on my dream car list. And of course, it has to be pink...

 

[DavidVillaJr]

This baby is my favourite, if we can include cars designed in the golden era, but not produced until just after.

1951 Ford Custom Club Coupe

Belonged to my late Grandfather, now is in MY garage.

Someday soon she will be running under her own power, and fully painted....

dv

 

[Prairie Dog]

My father's 1957 Chevy Belair

 

[carebear]

The pic with the jaguar is right near my school, i pass it every morning. They really have a nice assortment of cars. One time they had a 1920's Huppmobile, which was beyond amazing.

Did someone say Huppmobile?

Not mine but the local weekly's cover story is a restoration project.

http://www.anchoragepress.com/site/default.asp

 

[Rockyc]

Airflow and Terraplane

I'm restoring a '36 Chrysler Airflow and a '36 Hudson Terraplane. As soon as the Big Guys let me post photos, I'll put some up. The Airflow has LOTS of Deco detailing, and a great teardrop profile, while the Terraplane is much simpler but in many respects perhaps more stylish overall.

Neat Stuff. Great Thread.

 

[David Conwill]

Can't wait to see it, Rocky. This seems to be a good time for '30s cars. My local auto swapper has a '35 LaSalle for about $5K and I just stumbled upon a '38 Ford Fordor for $5500.

-Dave

 

[Twitch]

I can remember those King Midget ads in Popular Mechanics in the 50s. Every kid saw it as some kind of "junior" car that they could probably drive.

 

[StraightEight]

New member here. Current favorite is our garage Queen Mary, a 1948 Buick Special Model 46S sedanette. An original 30,000-mile survivor with the 248 CID Fireball Valve-In-Head inline-8, 3-speed column shift, and Buick Sonomatic radio. Purchased new on December 4, 1948 from Woods & Vandivier Motor Sales in Franklin, Indiana.

 

[Flivver]

StraightEight...that's certainly a beautiful car. I've always had a weakness for 1942-48 Buicks, although I've never owned one.

Around here, the C-Body Supers and Roadmasters are quite common, but you hardly ever see the B-Body Special like yours. These appear to be quite rare, especially here in New England.

 

[David Conwill]

That is absolutely gorgeous. I have always loved fastback styling. It works especially well on cars of the 1941-1948 era.

-Dave

 

[StraightEight]

Thanks very much. Flivver, you're right about post-war 40-series being somewhat rare. I call mine a '48 but it's actually, technically, a '49 according to the VIN plate and registration. Buick built the '49 Special only through December, '48, with 4631 sedanets and 5777 sedans built. In '49 the Super and Roadmaster were new, introducing the now famous fender portholes, but no Special had been developed so Buick just ran out the production of the '48 car, selling the leftovers as '49s while the factory tooled up an all-new Special for the '50 model year. There wasn't any mention of the Special in the '49 showroom literature.

Even the '46-'48 40-series was something of an orphan. Just 10,778 sedanets were built in '48, even though it was the lowest priced Buick, a complete reversal of the pre-war years when the Special was the best seller by far. Raw materials were in short supply following the war but buyers were not and demand was high. So, being sharp businessmen, Buick allocated most of its available materials to building the more expensive and more profitable Supers and Roadmasters.

This is our second Special. We had this '38 for a few years. A friend of mine and I rebuilt the engine in my garage. It sold to a museum in Orange County.

 

[StraightEight]

And while I've got the computer warmed up, here's the Buick's pit crew at the all-GM car show in Van Nuys a few weeks ago.

 

[Flivver]

Wow!

You both look fabulous... like you stepped right out of 1949!

What a great photo!

Buick had very savvy management at that time. It's no wonder that in a seller's market they downplayed the low profit model and pushed the higher profit series. Just good business.

 

[Bugsy]

I wonderful car in front of wonderful landmark.

Two iconic figures. The gentleman wanted to shoot his new car against the newly completed Golden Gate Bridge.