I miss the chrome

[jamespowers]

BTW- the cost to chrome the Packard-sized bumper will run $4-500 each.

That sounds about right for a 55-57 Chevy as well.
Guards are extra too.

Regards,

J

 

[Fred G.]

My Dad tells of a cousin of his who bought a brand new car in the late '50s/early 60s. He drove around the Missouri Ozarks with his windows up just because he wanted everybody to think he could afford air conditioning (which the car didn't have). Now, that's vanity.:eusa_doh:

- Mark

I would say that's suicidal!


I think the newer cars have more chrome of late. We've been thinking of trading in our Explorer for a new one-- I notice more chrome... a few other new cars are sporting it, too. I remember the hub-bub about hexavalent chrome a few years ago... maybe automakers have found an alternative.

Before I get ragged about being a SUV guy and ruining the environment: If the wife and kids are on the highway and get involved in a wreck, I do not want them in a tin can-- a little higher off the pavement, a little more steel around them seems reasonable.

Old cars are great, they're major downfall is the squeak and rattle... I can live without power windows and locks. I remember my Mom-- 5 foot nothing, probably 100 lbs. soaking wet-- trying to parallel-park a 1962 Mercury Marauder without power steering... what a chore!

I like the safety features of new cars. I'm reminded of the story about Ford Motor's safety push in the 50's... a disaster for them. One fellow wrote to them about their seat belts: "It's the worst thing I ever sat on!"



Famously,

Fred G.

 

[jamespowers]

Before I get ragged about being a SUV guy and ruining the environment: If the wife and kids are on the highway and get involved in a wreck, I do not want them in a tin can-- a little higher off the pavement, a little more steel around them seems reasonable.

No ragging going on here. I completely agree with you and would buy the same thing if I were in the market for a new car. :cheers1:

Regards,

j

 

[Wild Root]

I just don't approve of how some people drive SUV's, the majority seem to drive like reckless teen's who feel invincible or, they tailgate every one around... same with most who drive BMW's... what's up with that?

=WR==

 

[Cousin Hepcat]

I just don't approve of how some people drive SUV's, the majority seem to drive like reckless teen's who feel invincible or, they tailgate every one around... same with most who drive BMW's... what's up with that?

=WR==

Indeed. Definitely not always the case though: as one person said here in another thread about bebop jazz, "careful not to paint them all with the same brush"... though the most obnoxious & memorable SUV & large truck drivers do seem to be the ones that always stick in one's mind...

Swing High,
- Cousin Hepcat

 

[jamespowers]

My friends just finished restoring a 57 Chevy that had beeen in their family since new and the reproduction, V-shaped, rear fender side arrows in stainless cost $450 each. Gulp!

That's what they cost. [huh] That's why you can't put them on new cars. The cost is prohibitive. You can thank the people I previously mentioned for that. :rage:

Regards,

J

 

[Wild Root]

They must have been NOS. Some parts are expensive but, look at how much it is to repair a new car!!! Not much difference there friend! When dealing with old cars, we some times forget that they are collectables and even the parts for them are considered collectable! So, one will have to pay a collectors price to put the correct item back on a car… it’s sad.

=WR=

 

[jamespowers]

They must have been NOS. Some parts are expensive but, look at how much it is to repair a new car!!! Not much difference there friend! When dealing with old cars, we some times forget that they are collectables and even the parts for them are considered collectable! So, one will have to pay a collectors price to put the correct item back on a car… it’s sad.

=WR=

True, repairing a new car will cost you that and another few hundred more.

Regards,

J

 

[Twitch]

My friends just finished restoring a 57 Chevy that had beeen in their family since new and the reproduction, V-shaped, rear fender side arrows in stainless cost $450 each. Gulp!

 

[Twitch]

Wild Root- exactly. The modern 5 MPH bumper is complex and therefore expensive. Also great care must be taken (read profesional mechanics) to remove them due to the spring tension that can injure the person removing them if doen wrong. I'd say the cost of chrome vs. the bouncey bumber is probably equal

 

[Miss_Bella_Hell]

Good old TJ? I had a 1988 white Monte Carlo stolen and it was never found. It probably ended up in good old TJ!:rage:

Or in good old pieces.

 

[Wild Root]

Any one here recall seeing in old movies how some drivers would bang bumpers around in the 20's and 30's when parking? Very little damage done to either cars... most bumpers in the 20's and early 30's weren't chromed... they were polished steel I believe... so, they were designed to take a punishment and when they needed to be replaced, it wasn't a big deal... in fact, body shops were affordable in the 20's to 40's due to the fact that most people owned a car for much longer back then and would take them in to have little patch jobs done and repainting a car wasn't as much as it is today even with the conversion of yesterday's dollars to today’s. We can thank the fact that today's cars would need a whole panel or fender replaced apposed to having dents banged out and fixed. So, the art of body work is becoming a very expensive art... we are paying a lot for human labor here... it's crazy!

=WR=

 

[jamespowers]

I think those bumpers were actually spring steel. The bumper flexed inward if it was hit and popped back out when the pressure was released. I think anyway. [huh]

Regards,

J

 

[Marc Chevalier]

We can thank the fact that today's cars would need a whole panel or fender replaced apposed to having dents banged out and fixed.

It's this same mentality that has led to today's mens shoes (not sneakers) having a sole and heel that's one big piece of rubber. In the old days, heels could be detached from soles and replaced. Today, once the heel is worn down, the whole shoe is useless. You have to throw it out long before the sole has gotten worn out, let alone the leather uppers!

What a (calculated) waste!



Anyway, fftopic: Back to the chrome.

.

 

[Wild Root]

I think those bumpers were actually spring steel. The bumper flexed inward if it was hit and popped back out when the pressure was released. I think anyway. [huh]

Regards,

J

Yes, a polished spring steel... I like the 20's and early 30's cars for this... they seemed so rugged to a point... you could roll them and bang them up and keep driving... yeah, the fenders would be twisted up a little but, that made them look cool!lol Love the old car chase movies! So funny!!!

Yeah Marc, you're right... I know what you mean... it's sad about the shoes today.

=WR=

 

[Hondo]

My friends just finished restoring a 57 Chevy that had beeen in their family since new and the reproduction, V-shaped, rear fender side arrows in stainless cost $450 each. Gulp!

Sorry to drop into this late, I too love chrome, 57 Chevy was my Dads first new car, the home 8mm movies are awesome, throw back into time.

Wildroot: I hear you on SUV's, I hate to see them parked in front of supermarkets (Bel-Air, Safeways) they block the view to get out :rage:

 

[Marc Chevalier]

One of the nice things about the PT Cruiser is that its very easy (and fairly inexpensive) to "chrome it up".

I've added some chrome trim to mine, as well as a chrome grille, bumper accents, hubcaps, headlight frames and taillight covers:

.

 

[J. M. Stovall]

One of the nice things about the PT Cruiser is that its very easy (and fairly inexpensive) to "chrome it up".

I've added some chrome trim to mine, as well as a chrome grille, bumper accents, hubcaps, headlight frames and taillight covers:


.

Lookin' good! Now you just need some new side view mirrors and you're set!

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Unfortunately, the chrome side-view mirrors I need cost hundreds of $$$


.

 

[panamag8or]

Normally, I drive a New Beetle diesel - cute & weird like a classic, but much more powerful, comfortable, and one of the safest cars on the road. Plus, it has air conditioning. Sometimes, though, I just get a hankerin' for a classic...which is when my Karmann Ghia rolls out onto the street:

Nothing beats the feeling you get when you're rolling down the street in a classic car. I tend to avoid driving her when it's 6,000 degrees out, but on a nice summer's evening...ohhh yeah.

One area where I differ from most on the FL is that I prefer European cars, but I do love old Golden Era American cars.

My dream is the T-Bird parked next to you at the antique mall.