[Jimbob]

1. '57 Mercury Turnpike Cruiser (Indy 500 pace car and a timeless classic)
2. '57 Chevy Bel-Air (the King of the classics, looked good then, looks good now)
3. '57 Ford Fairlane 500 (the unsung hero which actually outsold the Chevy)
4. '55-57 T-Bird (slow, but sharp)
5. '59 Cadillac (fins gone mad)
6. '58 Buick (caused the great "chrome shortage" of '58 :lol
7. '58 Edsel (we laughed then, but now we admire)

 

[Jimbob]

1 - '55 Chevy Coupe or Post
2 - '57 Chevy Coupe or Post
3 - '59 Cadillac Coupe de Ville Vert
4 - '56(??) Skyliner Vert
5 - '56 Ford Fairlane Vert
6 - '55 Chevy Nomad
7 - '50 Chevy Pickup

Here's a pic of a Skyliner

View attachment 11626

Cool '56 convert. I remember a little redheaded boy assembling a 1/25 scale model of one of those back in "the day." :lol: Wonder why the guy broke from stock and added all that chrome at the front of the engine compartment?

 

[Jimbob]

1. 54 lincoln
2. 53 lincoln
3. 52 lincoln
4. 50 ford business coupe
5. 57 ford fairlane retractable
6. 55 t-bird
7. 56 lincoln
8. 57 lincoln

Hey, Deuce, since it seems you're big on Lincolns, I thought you'd like to see this 1988 Town Car that's in the family.

 

[Jimbob]

That towncar is in nice shape. I wanted one as a but the gas would kill me. My dad had a mark VII of that vintage it was a great car.

It's not bad on gas. It has a fuel-injected 302 cid engine and gets 28-30 mpg on the highway. On top of that it has a big 17-gal. tank. All that, and a continental kit to boot! So run right out and find you a nice '88 Town Car! What? Are you still here? Go on! Get out of here!

 

[Jimbob]

50's / 60's list of cars I had or own, so think "NIFTY" I stretched the time line a little. Listed by year, not desirability.
1. 56' Chevy NOMAD
2. 57' DODGE custom royal 2dr H/T D500
3. 59' TRIUMPH TR3 (Was Fathers still own)
4. 60' Chevy IMPALA 2dr 348ci 4spd
5. 62' Chevy IMPALA 2dr 327ci auto (Own)
6. 67' VW BUG
7. 68' FORD TORINO GT F/B 390ci 4spd

Okay to "stretch" the timeline, Ron. Early to mid-60s had a ton of cool cars too. Limiting it to the 50's, though, would bring out the geezers and "gits," I thought, and trust me, THEY need the excercise! :lol:

P.S. I totally agree with your choice of the '57 D500 Royal Lancer That car would "scoot," and I had its "flipper" wheel covers on my 1st car... a '50 Chevy 2-door post. (They didn't make the old Chevy run any better, but they sure looked "cool...") :wink:

 

[Jimbob]

OK Jim: As requested Glad and Proud to post pic. of my 59' TR3.
P.S My DODGE came with lancer spinner caps, later it had reverse chrome wheels.

Thanks, Ron. I had no more than posted when I looked up and saw that the Triumph was there at the bottom of your post (along with your B and the '62 Chevy). So I edited the request out, but thanks again. Cool little car! A buddy of mine had a green TR-7 that we used to ride and terrorize the countryside in back in "the day." Great car to throw eggs out of! :lol:

 

[Jimbob]

scary memory...

Cars of the 50's

In no particular order these are the one's that bring a smile to my face:

1954 Mercury Montarey hardtop [ OK, it was my car in college]

1956 Stude Hawk w/ Paxton SC - gold and white

1955 Chevy Nomad [and '56 and '57]red or black

1955 Chrysler 300 C and D white

1957 Olds Super 88 silver w/ optional engine pack

1950 Ford coupe - black as a mild custom

1958 Corvette w/ dual quads any color

I couldn't help noticing the '57 Olds Super 88. My older brother was nearly KILLED in one (just like the one here)! His goofball buddy had a new one and lost it on a hilly curve and down over the ravine they went! Car rolled over about 3 times and was totaled. My brother said he saw it coming and jumped into the back at the last second and held onto the bottom of the front seat for dear life. Other than bumps and bruises he was okay, and his drunken buddy didn't have a scratch. He said to this day he would NOT get into a car with that guy!

 

[Jimbob]

pull my finger!

In no particular order:

1958 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa
1958 Aston Martin DB2/4 MkIII DHC
1959 Porsche 356B Roadster
1957 Bugatti Type 252
1959 Maserati Tipo 61 (the Birdcage maserati)
1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL (Generation II)
1959 Jaguar XK150 3.8 S


DOH! Not a single North American car on the list.

No, that does not make me a snob, I prefer the term 'Aficionado'

While all of the cars on your list are fine cars, any good American would tell you that they DO NOT qualify as true "Nifty Fifties" cars. You're not a snob, oh friendly neighbor to the north, just misinformed. :lol:

:rotfl:

 

[Jimbob]

They were built in the 50s and they`re decidedly "nifty" in my humble and snobish opinion and nowhere does it say American Iron only.
I say give him a pass despite his Canadian leanings. :lol:
Oh, I forgot my `53 MGTD from high school.
Sorry that makes 8.

Brain fade.............is it snobbish or snobish?
I`m having one of those days when nothing looks right.
I think its two Bs..............

You're right, David. Give him the benefit of the doubt (I was just kidding around anyway, of course). We don't need to start a WAR with Canada! :lol:

P.S. It's "snobbish."

 

[Jimbob]

No, we certainly don't want a repeat of the war of 1812. Canada may be forced to burn down the White House, again.

hehe


SO, fear the wrath of the Beaver

Hey, don't forget, Carleton Island in the St. Lawrence River was captured by the United States and never returned. :lol:

 

[Jimbob]

Back on topic...

Now that I did not know. Hmmm, Might be time to break out the slingshots and take her back!

heh

Probably a worthless island, or I'm sure you would've by now... :lol:

But, we're getting off topic with all this talk of war. Nifty-Fifties cars. In case anyone wonders what a '57 Chevy looked like back in '57 (might've been the summer of fifty-eight), here's an old pic of my brother's ride, parked in the grass in front of his high school.

(Note how the car sits 4 inches lower in the rear. Back in "the day" the thing to do was install "lowering blocks").

 

[Jimbob]

This is a pic of my Dad's Henry J....i just happen to be in the pic .....i think he was telling me "Wash that Car" :lol:

Man, that Henry J brings back memories. I had an aunt that used to take us kids places (swimming, amusement parks, out to the country) in hers, and one of our favorite things was to lay our head on the rear wheel well (that protruded into the cabin area of the back seat) and listen to the tire go around. Thanks for sharing, Dennis!

 

[Jimbob]

Blue Henry J!

Ur welcome...jim...i was looking for a pic of my Dad's 56 chevy when i saw the one with the Henry j.....a couple of things come to mind about that car.......i dont know the year of the car and i never saw one that was not black.

My aunt's was a blue 1951 model. See pic. They ran from '51-'54. Most were black back then, but there was a ton of blue, green, and even some yellow ones. Oh, burgundy too. They made them through 1954, though the '54's were just left-over '53's. More on them at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_J/

 

[Jimbob]

My top picks for nifty fifties: North America
1. 57-58 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz convertible
2. 56-57 Continental Mk 11
3. 56-57 Fuelie Corvette
4. 57 Fuelie Belair (2dr htp, rag and Nomad)
5. 57 Ford Fairlane 500, especially Skyliner (retractable hardtop)
6. 56-57 TBird with porthole hardtop and continental kit
7. 56 Studebaker Golden Hawk (supercharged)
Honorable mention: Chrysler 300C hemi, 57 Olds with tripower, 57 Ford Ranchero

Imports:
XK 120 Jag
MG TD
Austin Healy
Volkswagen Beetle
Mercedes 300SL Gullwing
BMW 507
Porsche 356 Speedster

I believe many of these cars epitomized the era, because of their styling/appeal, popularity, rarity, ground-breaking engineering/performance/styling.

That was a great choice of nifty-fifties cars. Wouldn't that '57 Ford have been called a "Meteor" up there though?

 

[Jimbob]

HENRY J AD!

Here's an original TV ad for the NEW 1950 Henry J. Makes you want to run right out and buy one! "Knee Action" front suspension? :lol: (no "Nifty-Fifties thread would be complete without it).
<embed width="448" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" src="http://i519.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid519.photobucket.com/albums/u353/StvMcQueen_bucket/YouTube-1950HenryJShortTVAd.flv">

 

[Jimbob]

I Love Lucy (and '57 Fords!)

Except for trim differences, Meteors were the same as Fords and Monarchs were retrimmed Mercurys. There was no retractable-roof Meteors produced, but there was a ragtop. My father had a '57 Monarch which had a maple leaf on the c pillar trim and it fell off, exposing the head of Mercury underneath. There were Ford Monarch dealers and Mercury Meteor dealers until production of Monarchs and Meteors ceased in 61. A Falcon clone known as the Meteor Frontenac was built in 1960. The Monarch and Meteor names were resurrected later in the 60's and the 70's on various models. Similarly, we had Chevelles/Beaumonts and Chevy 11/Acadians. They were rebadged Chevrolets with Pontiac badges using Chevy drivelines. The GTO was a US import, which meant that the big block Beaumonts and GTO's competed against one another on the Pontiac dealer's showroom floor! Canadian-built Pontiac full-sized models also used Chevrolet drivetrains. These were identified as Strato Chief, Laurentian and Parisienne (cheapest to most expensive). These GM's were all built in Oshawa Ontario.

Great info, Gary. Thanks! I can't understand why Ford & GM felt they had to rename anything, though. It just seems silly to me. Anyway, interesting stuff. You mentioned the '57 Ford Skyliner on your list, so this is for you. Enjoy!
<embed width="448" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" src="http://i519.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid519.photobucket.com/albums/u353/StvMcQueen_bucket/YouTube-1957FordFairlane500Skyliner.flv">

 

[Jimbob]

This was my 58 Edsel Pacer, that I owned in the 1970's.

Great looking Edsel! Would you believe that Tom McCahill, car tester and writer for Mechanix Illustrated back in the day, wrote that the Edsel looked like "an Oldsmobile sucking on a lemon." :lol: He also said the '59 Chevy had a trunk lid so huge "you could land a Piper Cub on it." One of my favorites of his was his opinion of the ride of the '57 Pontiac: "...smooth as a prom queen's thighs," he said. Very funny man. There's a good Motor Trend article on him at: http://www.motortrend.com/classic/features/c12_0603_icons_uncle_tom_mccahill/index.html
Anyway, speaking of Edsels, I'm downloading a video of "Uncle" Tom testing the 1958 model. Be patient.

 

[Jimbob]

WE HAVE A LIFTOFF!

Finally. It's a wrap. Here's the video of Tom McCahill and the '58 Edsel. I just wonder how much they paid him, because his write-up in Mechanix Illustrated was nothing like what he says here. Money talks, I guess. Anyway, here it is.
<embed width="448" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" src="http://i519.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid519.photobucket.com/albums/u353/StvMcQueen_bucket/YouTube-1958Edselpromotionalfilm.flv">

 

[Jimbob]

That was a great clip, I liked the way it cornered. :lol:

I think the cornering was called "Dynamic Dip." Or was is "Swashbuckler Sway?" I forget...

 

[Jimbob]

its amazing we all are still alive....... ;-)

No seatbelt. Solid steel dash. Rib ripping steering wheel. How DID we survive? Hey, maybe we didn't! Maybe we've been walking around all these years as GHOSTS and it's still 1958 in the REAL world! :lol: