Never understood the time and effort that went into this type of thing.

[jaxenro]

With an asking price of $275,000 it isn’t like your too worried about driving it to get groceries 

[gtx6970]

13 hours ago, El Roberto said:

How do you change the tires if you get a flat? No windshield wipers?  No bumpers?  Yeah it looks nice but completely impractical in real life.

Im only guessing. But would imagine the chrome mldg is hiding the seam where the side panel comes off.

 

And Practical in real life has nothing in common to the rich and famous who can afford something like this

[Pete J.]

15 hours ago, El Roberto said:

How do you change the tires if you get a flat? No windshield wipers?  No bumpers?  Yeah it looks nice but completely impractical in real life.

This is my daily driver.  I am 68 and live with my wife of 40 years.  No kids living with us.  I don't need to haul a lot of stuff and when I go for groceries a couple of bags is all I need trunk space for(although it will handle a set of golf clubs easily in the rear trunk).  It is 100% practical for me.  Got a family and live in the country?  Would be totally impractical.  Try to judge what works for others through what works for you misses the mark. 

 This is no more a practical daily vehicle then a Rembrandt would be someone's refrigerator art.

[Rob Hall]

2 minutes ago, Pete J. said:

This is my daily driver.  I am 68 and live with my wife of 40 years.  No kids living with us.  I don't need to haul a lot of stuff and when I go for groceries a couple of bags is all I need trunk space for(although it will handle a set of golf clubs easily in the rear trunk).  It is 100% practical for me.  Got a family and live in the country?  Would be totally impractical.  Try to judge what works for others through what works for you misses the mark. 

 This is no more a practical daily vehicle then a Rembrandt would be someone's refrigerator art.

 

Sharp MR2...haven't seen one in ages..

[jchrisf]

15 minutes ago, Pete J. said:

This is my daily driver.  I am 68 and live with my wife of 40 years.  No kids living with us.  I don't need to haul a lot of stuff and when I go for groceries a couple of bags is all I need trunk space for(although it will handle a set of golf clubs easily in the rear trunk).  It is 100% practical for me.  Got a family and live in the country?  Would be totally impractical.  Try to judge what works for others through what works for you misses the mark. 

 This is no more a practical daily vehicle then a Rembrandt would be someone's refrigerator art.

 

How much do you want for that Turbo Pete?

Edited July 25, 2018 by jchrisf

[randyc]

I love the old 50s Kustoms.  Hirohata has to be at the top of the list.   Like it or not, it is the icon of the age really.   But go over to the appropriate areas of this very board and see what folks are doing to their models.   We all have our likes and dislikes.   I'll most likely never own a 49 - 51 Mercury in any form other than small scale.  But doesn't mean I don't love em just the same.   I know the workmanship was sometimes questionable.  And the practicality was often thrown out the window when it was chopped.   And let's not even get into Big Daddy's stuff.  That was just Krazy.  And it was for self promotion to sell T shirts.   I personalloy don't care for stuff in Hot Rod magazine too much lately.  But I can appreciate the work and thought that goes into it.  

Carry on folks.

[Pete J.]

1 hour ago, jchrisf said:

How much do you want for that Turbo Pete?

I don't know.  You will have to ask my Widow!    Seriously, it wouldn't be worth it for me to sell.  I just dropped $12K into restoring everything to OEM spec.  Most of that was an engine rebuild, but I also redid the seats with Kazkin leather to match the original.  When the mechanic was done, he said, "Well, there is nothing left to fix".  

[Pete J.]

1 hour ago, Rob Hall said:

Sharp MR2...haven't seen one in ages..

Thanks Rob.  This one has always been a California car so no rust and it has either been garaged or covered to keep the sun at bay.  I am the second owner.  The first was a space engineer and he maintained it with exquisite care.  He was a good friend, so when I bought it I knew I had to care for it or face his wrath.  He still goes to our monthly club meeting with me in it, so he is keeping an eye on it. 

[Mike999]

Speaking of great designers...here's Raymond Loewy's personal '59 Cadillac.  The story goes that in 1959, Loewy planned a family vacation in Europe.  For comfort and performance, he wanted to tour Europe in a new Caddy.  But he absolutely hated the "rocket-ship" styling of the tall-finned '59 Caddys.  So he bought a new Coupe de Ville and shipped it to Pichon-Parat, his personal coach-builders in France.  They completely restyled the car.  Loewy must have liked it, he drove it until 1970.

According to one story, Loewy was a frugal sort.  He kept the fins and other sheet metal stripped off the Caddy, and re-sold it to offset the cost of the customizing.  An internet search will bring up lots of interesting info about this car.  In 2008, Jalopnik reported it was on eBay, in rough shape, with a Buy It Now price of $650,000.  See the first link below.  The second link shows that it apparently sold at Barrett-Jackson in 2010 for $161,700.00, after a full restoration.

https://jalopnik.com/393907/raymond-loewy-designed-1959-cadillac-eldorado-for-sale

https://azure.barrett-jackson.com/Events/Event/Details/1959-CADILLAC-COUPE-DE-VILLE-RAYMOND-LOEWY-CUSTOM-81377

 

Edited July 25, 2018 by Mike999
error

[Pete J.]

19 minutes ago, Mike999 said:

Speaking of great designers...here's Raymond Loewy's personal '59 Cadillac.  The story goes that in 1959, Loewy planned a family vacation in Europe.  For comfort and performance, he wanted to tour Europe in a new Caddy.  But he absolutely hated the "rocket-ship" styling of the tall-finned '59 Caddys.  So he bought a new Coupe de Ville and shipped it to Pichon-Parat, his personal coach-builders in France.  They completely restyled the car.  Loewy must have liked it, he drove it until 1970.

According to one story, Loewy was a frugal sort.  He kept the fins and other sheet metal stripped off the Caddy, and re-sold it to offset the cost of the customizing.  An internet search will bring up lots of interesting info about this car.  In 2008, Jalopnik reported it was on eBay, in rough shape, with a Buy It Now price of $650,000.  See the first link below.  The second link shows that it apparently sold at Barrett-Jackson in 2010 for $161,700.00, after a full restoration.

https://jalopnik.com/393907/raymond-loewy-designed-1959-cadillac-eldorado-for-sale

https://azure.barrett-jackson.com/Events/Event/Details/1959-CADILLAC-COUPE-DE-VILLE-RAYMOND-LOEWY-CUSTOM-81377

 

Interesting story.  I was not aware of this car, but I can see the Cadillac/GM in the roof line.  I especially like the Flintstone parking brake? 

[Oldcarfan27]

He always seemed to have bizarre taste in styling. He ended up making an expensive Caddy look like a cheap, used Studebaker with Dodge Phoenix styling thrown in. Both cars he had already designed, so I have to ask "Why?".

Just my opinion, though.

[jaxenro]

I agree that caddy looks a little off. I was never a fan of the 59 but this one it’s hard to tell front from back

[Rob Hall]

I kind of like the smooth finless profile, but some of the details are weird, like the taillights...

[gtx6970]

Looks like an Edsel and a Studebaker avanti mated

[JollySipper]

I enjoy seeing kustoms in their raw metal stages.... sometimes the shops building them will have them on display with all the chrome still in copper. Makes for a cool contrast against an unpainted body......

[OldTrucker]

On 7/24/2018 at 6:47 PM, TarheelRick said:

I think I may have dated her when I was stationed in Texas.  There is something about the nose that rings my chimes.  It was a long night at Billy Bob's, if I remember.

Hey! I think I went steady with her in the 7th grade!!!