MY STAR JANUARY 24 FIVE FOR FRIDAY: FIVE 65-YEAR-OLD CUSTOM GRILLES THAT WERE MORE MISS THAN HIT

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The classic era of custom cars had many winners because the 50s and early 60s were the start of the space age so anything that looked rocket or jet-like was a goal.

The first one was a 1959 Oldsmobile.

This is a car that didn’t need customizing because it was already a space age icon. The gap between the quad headlights was a signature feature of the ’59 Olds. You could ID them at night because of the unique placement of a 1959 Oldsmobile’s headlights.

They were low, wide, and late 50s cool from every angle so the addition of an extra headlight between the two factory lights on a ’59 Olds was unnecessary—and goofy-looking. The bullets in the grille were less goofy. The whole setup reminded me of the spaceship lights behind Richard Dreyfus’ truck in the movie ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’.

The next example was found on a 1955 Chevy.

You don’t have to go very deep into the car hobby to know a ’55 Chev is part of the legendary tri-five Chevy lineup (5-6-7 series). I personally liked the ’55 Chevy for its clean front end because it was so understated and subtle.

This custom was the opposite of that clean look because the grille was full of wheel disc spinners. It looked like the guy had driven his car through the local auto wrecker’s used wheel cover section at 100 miles per hour. It didn’t work for me—I’m sure it didn’t work for ’55 Chevy guys then–or now.

The third example of sub-par customizing from the past was found on a ’54 Mercury.

This Merc had a ’54 Pontiac grille with a ’55 Pontiac bumper painted to march the car’s color and simulate a roll pan.

Bear in mind, a huge part of 50s customization techniques revolved around mixing and matching parts between manufacturers, so this Pontiac-Merc combination was routine.

In this case, it didn’t add up for me because the grille looked too obviously grafted on and the painted front bumper made the old Merc look 20 stories tall. This was definitely not a winning look–in my humble opinion.    

The fourth car was a 1950 Ford shoebox convertible.

This Ford is another example of a legendary car that failed miserably in this custom form. It had a frenched (recessed) ’50 Mercury grille shell and a hand-built grille with vertical and horizontal bars.

The owner also frenched the headlights and modified the hood, but all that did was make this classic old Ford look like it was in mid-project stage—not a great visual for an early 50s classic.    

The fifth and final car was a 1950 Chevy with a ’55 Ford grille.

This wasn’t the worst example of this group, but it failed for me because it was boring. It was way too subtle, because if you’re going to do a custom—at least make it noticeable.

The other problem was because it didn’t require much effort or skill. This custom touch is something that’s well within my Sawzall skill set, so there’s no shock and awe with this Chevy—just the question “Why bother?”.

By: Jerry Sutherland

Jerry Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer with a primary focus on the collector car hobby. His work has been published in many outlets and publications, including the National Post, Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal, Ottawa Citizen, Montreal Gazette, Saskatoon StarPhoenix, Regina Leader-Post,  Vancouver Sun and The Truth About Cars. He is also a regular contributor to Auto Roundup Publications.

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