Talking Cars

I don’t know of anybody who doesn’t like or love cars made in the 50’s, do you? What was so special about those? I can name a number of things. Now those old cars are only seen in shows, and not many are a daily driver.

My very first car was a 1956 Ford Crown Victoria. I was only 14 when I bought it. I was on a mission at a young age to obtain as many cars as I could before age 18. There was just something I loved about the 1950 through 1959 era of cars. I think I got it figured out.

First off, when all the auto manufacturers were making 50’s cars, they used real chrome for trim and bumpers instead of fake plastic. When you polish real chrome it shines like a mirror. Then next up is the headlights.

All those 50’s cars had real glass headlamps. All of them round and replacing most of them was a cinch. Those headlamps never faded, turned yellow or leaked water. My question has always been, why didn’t the automakers keep them going? They worked.

The car in the picture is a 1950 Ford Business Coupe. That’s what they were named. See those white wall tires? Do they even make those anymore? I always thought the white wall tires made the appearance of any vehicle more attractive. But now all the tires are boring black.

Virgin Metal. What is that? It means those old cars were made with fresh never used metal. Not made out of a recycled car. The metal was thicker, the paint jobs were less complicated and less expensive and the cars still looked fantastic.

When you opened the door to an old 50’s car, you had amazing head room to put yourself in. Some just had a lap belt. Some had no belt, and for sure no shoulder belt. If you didn’t buckle up, you had no buzzer and dash light telling you to use the seat belt.

During the 1950s many cars were getting away from the 6 volt battery and changing to a 12 volt battery. There was quite a mix of cars and trucks with either battery. Change takes time for some things. Once people realized a 12 volt battery was better, the end of the 6 volt happened.

Only certain 50’s cars had a lot of power. My fathers 58 Plymouth Fury was a land rocket. It had a 360 V8 Desert Commando with two 4 barrel carburetors. It flew. It also flew to the gas stations. That old Fury was the first car I ever saw that when you put the gas pedal to the floor, you could watch the gas gauge needle go down. Do any of you readers remember a car like that?

The 50’s brought about the first Thunderbirds, the first Corvettes and the birth of rock and roll.

50’s cars ran on leaded gas. They had no catalytic converters back then. They also had zero sensors. Most of them came with a 3 on the column shifter and clutch. I can’t think of one 50’s car that had poor visibility. I loved the little vent windows on the front doors that you flipped a lever and opened it up to get fresh air.

Of course those days are long gone and now we drive much more advanced modern cars. If you see a 50’s car, give it a good look. They are getting rare to find and they are so nice.