Lets Be Honest.....

[Shadetree]

How many out there removed the chrome from your car, filled the holes and painted it? Put another make grille in your car? Smittys? Removed the hub caps or had racing discs? Had fake lake pipes? Cruiser skirts? Bug deflectors? Spot lights? Suicide knob on your steering wheel? Frenched Headlights? Had your girlfriend's neckerchief hanging on your mirror? Had at least one speeding ticket? Snuck into a drive-in movie in the trunk of your buddy's car? Had hot dogs and Cokes at a drive-n restaurant. Have I missed anything?

If you answer yes to any of these then you grew up in the `50's-early `60's. What a wonderful time that was to grow up...

Shadetree

[kelly.ga]

yes to all except changing the grill and using smittys. we used glass packed mufflers. also lowered the back until the u-joint hit the floor pans.

[Walt Dupont--Me.]

The easiest way to dechrome is remove all the chrome, run a strip of electrical tape the lenght of the car over the holes and paint the car dark grey primmer. You don't even notice the tape. Walt

[Shadetree]

How about flexible exhaust pipes? Rattled but duals were cool!

Shadetree

[felix37]

well, I can't say I was lucky enough to be around that era, but I did remove all the chrome and moldings and fill the holes on my 73' Pinto!

[roadster36]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

I better take a closer look at that engine again.

[1931 flamingo]

Did about 60% of your list Shadetree. Anyone remember "scavenger" pipes??
Paul in CT

[lee34]

Shadetree;How about curb feelers,port-a-walls,49 Plymouth bumpers,drag pipes made from gas tank filler necks (just twist off the cap and you bypassed the smittys),chrome covers for your motor parts(generator,regulator,head bolts,coils).Flipper hubcaps and lets not forget gasoline 30 cents a gallon for regular,33 cents for Ethel. I know there are more but the memories are starting to cloud my mind.Good times and we did not know it .lee34

[Don]

About half but remember the good times at the drive in theaters,even better when we got in free,

[Mark Slight]

In 1954 I had just graduated from high school, I found a job at the Desoto plant in Detroit as a metal finisher for $1.65 an hour. $1.65 x 8 = 13.20 per shift, X 5 days = $66.00 per week before deductions. Aldults were supporting familys on that! Ouch
I was doing OK because I was living at home, didn't take too long before I moved to a local Ford dealer as a line mechanic and doubled my pay. I did most of what you were talking about to a 1948 Ford Coupe that I painted a Cadallic Blue, lowered,nosed and decked it.
"Happy Days"

[Dick Webber]

Here's my first car, a 49 Mercury from 1956. Did all of the above except the neckerchief. The duals were long glass packs and sounded great. No lowering blocks but the same effect was accomplished with rock in the trunk. What a great ride! I learned how to fix transmissions with that Mercury. I have an exact copy car today, but it still has the chrome and stock grille.

It was the greatest of times for a gear head. Ah, the smell of blowby . . .

[Vic Piano]

I kept the body mostly stock on the '48 TuDor I had in High School in the mid '60's. I had single exhaust with a cherry Bomb muffler and an exhaust "cut out" from JC Whitney. Also had many Drive In escapades and had a different article of a girls clothing that sometimes adorned the rearview mirror. The standard mirror accessory was a "Bud" beer can on a string for gas money. My friends and I had a lot of fun in that '48. When we get together, we still talk about it.

[richard crow]

onley proulbem growing up in the 50,s was on your 18th birthday you got a letter from uncle sam it started greetings in you grew up in the 50,s you know what the rest of the letter said.

[Cecil/WV]

I never changed the body trim but it had to have squirrel tails on the antenna in the fall. I did the curb feelers, loud muffler, white flaps, etc.

[Vic Piano]

Yup, same thing happened in the '60's... In fact, I'm still looking for those "friends and neighbors" that selected me...

[36tbird]

Didn't need Smitty's on my '50 Club Coupe, it developed a very nice sounding hole in its muffler. Sounded great!

One night I went to pick up a date and when I met her mother at the door, the mom stayed at the door looking outside after she had invited me in. I asked her what she was looking at. She replied, "You know it's Saturday night and I could have sworn I heard a garbage truck go by." I said, "No ma'am, that's my car."

Later that night I further impressed my date when the hood of the '50 blew up and over the windshield in a race with a 'vette. But, that's another story.

[ken ct]

Originally Posted by lee34

Shadetree;How about curb feelers,port-a-walls,49 Plymouth bumpers,drag pipes made from gas tank filler necks (just twist off the cap and you bypassed the smittys),chrome covers for your motor parts(generator,regulator,head bolts,coils).Flipper hubcaps and lets not forget gasoline 30 cents a gallon for regular,33 cents for Ethel. I know there are more but the memories are starting to cloud my mind.Good times and we did not know it .lee34

In high school we usta buy it for 5 gal for $1 = .20 cents a gal. 1956-57 Excuse me 19.9 per gal. Those were the good old days. ken ct. 5 guys in the car and we all could dig up .20ea. and ride around all nite with the speedo disconnected so the old man wouldn't know how many miles we put on his car.lol now.

[Displayman]

How about repairing the hole in your exhaust pipe
with a Campbell's soup can with both ends cut off
and 2 radiator hose clamps?

[BILL WZOREK]

Still do that today /after all the rest of the pipe is Good !!!!

[37 Coupe]

Originally Posted by Displayman

How about repairing the hole in your exhaust pipe
with a Campbell's soup can with both ends cut off
and 2 radiator hose clamps?

The small "V8" cans were better quality and painted instead of a paper label.