Since we're talkin the sixties here ..............

[Eshaver]

I 'm reminded of my youth by Mark Moore here , AKA Bluesman . I was sent an e-mail by the owner of Still Runnin magazine announcing several things I needed to be made aware of . First an old friend of mine , Marty Martino has just completed the complete frame off restoration of the 1955 Chevrolet Biscayne 4dr H T . What ya never heard of it ? I bet ya never ever saw a Pontiac Club de Mer either . Marty sold the Clone of the car last year .

Now while I did sucessfully build a model of the G M C L' Universalle , I never got the 1-1 clone I was attempting to do done completely as Marty has done here

http://www.meadowbrookconcours.org/

Go see these cars ! Mr. Bortz seldom if ever shows his collection ! Ed Shaver

[DRG]

It may be it's just that I'm old and sentimental but these cars were built back in the day when they knew how to design and build cars.

[High octane]

It may be it's just that I'm old and sentimental but these cars were built back in the day when they knew how to design and build cars.

Don, that's a very good point you made there, very good indeed and there's a lot of thruth in it.

[ARTEMIS1759]

I don't know. I have come to the conclusion that it is just who owned them before you. Before my 94 Yukon I never owned anything newer then an 81 Chevy Blazer and all my vehicles had more then 100k and some even pushing 200k. '69 GMC 3/4 ton 4x4 with 4:56's and a superlow granny 4 speed with 240,000. 1958 Chevy 4 door Biscayne with 235 I6 and 3 speed with OD and 4:11s with posi with 190,000. '79 Dodge Pickup with 360 and Auto with 260,000. These were all second or third owner. and with newer vehicles I noticed stuff likes to start going out too like the old ones but seems to start at 100k and a lot more expensive. Seems like once it starts until the whole car is rebuilt it don't quit.

Edited July 9, 2010 by ARTEMIS1759

[Ken]

Now watch it, the same thing can be said about the cars built today. Most will never see their first 100K checkup. I post pics all day long of the junkyards around here filled with them. The 79 Ford F-150 I learned to drive in logged well over 200K before my brother spun a bearing for not checking the oil. My 68 Dart went almost 300K before it was t-boned by an uninsured driver and totaled. There are those who would say that cars today are designed to go 100K before checkups because the manufacturers know that most people will dispose of them before that time. All of my old school Toyotas have well over 100K and some are just getting broken in. People's buying habits did not change over night. People have been buying new cars and disposing of them a few years later ever since the boom after WW2. Longevity is more a factor of maintenance than of build quality. Any car will keep on ticking if normal, routine maintenance is performed. Cars only tend to die prematurely when they are not cared for properly. Of course, there are exceptions to the rules

[ARTEMIS1759]

Although, if you want safety stay away from the 58 and up Chevys with X-frame. They did a crash test with a '59 Bel Air 4 door and a 2008 Impala I believe and the 2008 won. The X frame was a piss poor design. Destroyed both cars but once the 2008 rounded the edge of the frame where it dips under the body it tore the 59 up.

Edited July 9, 2010 by ARTEMIS1759

[Jim Gibbons]

Kind of have to agree on the old GM X frame cars. I had a '58 Cadillac series 60 4dr hardtop, and in some ways, it was steel jelly. I have a book on vintage car wrecks, and the X frames did not do well. (Plus, it was a total pain to to rout speedometer cables on those!) The Caddy rode nicely, and was a total looker, but safety was not a keyword back then. I often wonder how many eyes were put out from mid '50s Buick dash nobs (not that they were the only ones to blame...just to me, the most prominent.)

Yes, cars are better and safer these days. Metallurgy, petrochemical technology, and electronics have done things to cars that couldn't be imagined back then. But I'd still rather have a '50s car for the styling and the "bling!" (I'd just install seat belts like I did w/ the '58 Caddy.) I still remember the beautiful red and black interior on my friend's '56 Buick...eye candy. I agree with Dave's comment on grey, black, or tan interiors. Yawn! I want interiors that look like they were done by an interior designer. My '56 Fairlane Town Sedan had a really nice two tone blue finish that was rather comforting, which is what the manufacturer's goal was, I guess.

Marty Martino's replica of the Club de Mer is stunning. I remember seeing photos of his Lincoln Futura body in Collectible Automobile many years ago. He is tremendously talented, and a gift to the old car hobby. Too bad these cars aren't available in the same way as the Beck Porsche Spyders, etc., but then they would lose the exclusivity of a one off.

[bimmerfreak20]

[i agree that the newer cars are safer but the older obnes have character and look great. i only buy old cars lol!

[Joe Handley]

Although, if you want safety stay away from the 58 and up Chevys with X-frame. They did a crash test with a '59 Bel Air 4 door and a 2008 Impala I believe and the 2008 won. The X frame was a piss poor design. Destroyed both cars but once the 2008 rounded the edge of the frame where it dips under the body it tore the 59 up.

Kind of have to agree on the old GM X frame cars. I had a '58 Cadillac series 60 4dr hardtop, and in some ways, it was steel jelly. I have a book on vintage car wrecks, and the X frames did not do well. (Plus, it was a total pain to to rout speedometer cables on those!) The Caddy rode nicely, and was a total looker, but safety was not a keyword back then. I often wonder how many eyes were put out from mid '50s Buick dash nobs (not that they were the only ones to blame...just to me, the most prominent.)

Yes, cars are better and safer these days. Metallurgy, petrochemical technology, and electronics have done things to cars that couldn't be imagined back then. But I'd still rather have a '50s car for the styling and the "bling!" (I'd just install seat belts like I did w/ the '58 Caddy.) I still remember the beautiful red and black interior on my friend's '56 Buick...eye candy. I agree with Dave's comment on grey, black, or tan interiors. Yawn! I want interiors that look like they were done by an interior designer. My '56 Fairlane Town Sedan had a really nice two tone blue finish that was rather comforting, which is what the manufacturer's goal was, I guess.

I keep remembering Dad talking about racing back in the 60's when he had is '62 Plymouth how those X-Frame cars would usually light the tires and slide sideways before they'd actually move forward because the frame would twist under the load of a hard launch and the cars would not hook. That wasn't really a problem on uni-body and normal, full framed cars, but those X-Frame cars would always have that problem. My Dad's folks also had a '63 Riviera that Dad and his uncle built up and they had to do a bunch of suspension and frame work on it to make it hook like a full frame or uni-body car if not better. As for the interior color thing, it's bugged me for a while now that there are not really any color choices now like there used to be. I'd love to know why they still don't offer multiple interior colors...although somehow I get the feeling that production costs, possible environmental problems (from the dyes), and "Driver safety" concerns play a part in it

Edited July 11, 2010 by Joe Handley

[MikeeD]

Safety and technology nonwithstanding, cars of the pre 1980 era had style, grace and personality. In 1957 at 10 years old, I could name most every make of car on the road. Try that today! Cars today are "cookie cutter" cars. They can't be told apart without a program. My first car was a '56 Mercury Montclair 2 dr ht, Black with red and white tuck and roll interior from the factory. It had "style". Sure, it was a sled and I paid no attention to milage. At .30 a gallon, who cared? For $10.00, I could fill my car, take my girl out to eat and to the drive in and have money left when I got home. My, how times have changed. Even the drive-in's are gone..sniff...sniff...

It's no small wonder the 60's are such a fond era to remember...especially for us "old" guys...

If people drove cars with only safety in mind, no one would drive a "T-bucket"...

Just my two cents worth for what it's worth